The interplay of social semiotics in selected examples of experiential brand marketing
- Authors: Rennie, Tarryn
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Communication in marketing , Semiotics , Branding (Marketing) , Social marketing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3695 , vital:20454
- Description: As with the traditional form of print advertising, advertisements were, and still are designed in a particular way to attract the viewer’s attention and direct the attention towards a specific area within the framework of the advertisement. However, besides print advertising, today’s markets require further interaction with consumers and the public at large. This has given rise to the use of experiential brand marketing whereby consumers interact with the brand in out-of-context situations. The advancement of technology has enabled user experiences to go beyond the traditional forms of branding such as television, print, radio and even on-line advertising, websites and so forth and users are able to upload experiential brand experiences instantly on social networking sites. This, in turn, has indicated that marketers need to take full advantage of social networking, PR and audience interaction with brands. Theo Van Leeuwen & Gunther Kress (2005:7) investigated the context of ‘framing’ in visual communication where elements either have some kind of ‘connectedness’ or ‘disconnectedness’. This study focuses on the context of Van Leeuwen’s (2005:7) ‘framing’ of traditional print magazine designs to the environments or brandscapes in which experiential brand activations are taking place. According to Lenderman (2006:52), experiential marketing requires person-to-person networking with consumers who use sophisticated networking tools for respectful conversations between the consumer and the brand. Not only is this a cost effective solution to making a relatively unknown brand reach the masses, but it also allows an opportunity of immediate audience participation and instant recording of data that can spread across a global network. The theoretical base of social semiotics, underpinned by Van Leeuwen’s theory of ‘framing’, forms the theoretical basis of this study, with case studies of various experiential brand activations being analysed. An analysis of the environment in which the brand experience takes place, along with consumer reactions and their reactions to the overall brand experience in terms of experiential branding is studied. The aim of this research is to identify how the interplay of social semiotics could be used to interpret the current trend of user brand experiences in terms of experiential, interactive marketing.
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- Date Issued: 2016
The impact of the marketing communications mix on the purchase decisions for pharmaceuticals in South African Public Health Sector
- Authors: Sogoni, Vuyo Monwabisi Vula
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Pharmaceutical industry -- South Africa -- Marketing , Communication in marketing , Direct marketing , Sales promotion
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8908 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021030
- Description: A significant amount of pharmaceutical marketing literature is available. Most of this marketing has doctors, physicians and specialists as main target audience due to the fact that, historically, these medical professionals were the main pharmaceutical purchase decision makers. Pharmaceutical marketing literature has, historically, also been biased towards the private health sector for obvious reasons as the private health sector constitutes the minority of the pharmaceutical market but with a significantly enormous purchasing power than the public healthcare market, constituting the biggest pharmaceutical market in numbers. It is not surprising therefore that majority of pharmaceutical marketing models have been tailor made for the private healthcare market as the growing number of pharmaceutical companies compete for a piece of the small but extremely profitable private healthcare market. South Africa is no exception as it reflects exactly the same pharmaceutical landscape as described above. For growth purposes, pharmaceutical companies have been showing a continued interest in the public healthcare market in Africa as the vast numbers of the African population present an opportunity for pharmaceutical sales. The inspiration of this research study emanated from the realisation that, in order for pharmaceutical companies to take advantage of the looming African opportunity, there is very little literature on pharmaceutical marketing in the public health sector of which majority of the African market constitutes. This study therefore investigates the impact of marketing communication mix elements on pharmaceutical purchasing decisions for pharmaceuticals in the public health sector in South Africa. Personal selling, public relations and promotions are the marketing communications mix elements being investigated in this study as they are the most commonly utilised in the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, the study aims to develop an understanding on which of the chosen marketing communications mix elements has the most influence on the pharmaceutical purchasing decisions in the context of the public health sector in South Africa. The study also aims to explore the causal effects of such influences in the public health sector in South Africa. The findings will be valuable to pharmaceutical marketers that are trying to tap in the public health sector market as it is different from the private health sector. The study employs more qualitative approach. A small sample was utilised from the public health sector in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. Semi structured interviews were used to collect data which was analysed using grounded theory data analysis methodology. Empirical results revealed that personal selling influences pharmaceutical purchasing decision the most and promotions the least. Mitigating factors were uncovered to assist in optimising the marketing communication efforts for marketers in this sector.
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- Date Issued: 2014