Marketing Communications →

How Paid Promos Take the Shine Off YouTube Stars (and Tips for Better Influencer Marketing)

Influencers aspire to turn "likes" into dollars through brand sponsorships, but these deals can erode their reputations, says research by Shunyuan Zhang. Marketers should seek out authentic voices on YouTube, not necessarily those with the most followers.

The COVID Gender Gap: Why Fewer Women Are Dying

To promote the greatest safety, public health officials should target their pandemic messaging to men differently than to women. Research by Vincent Pons and colleagues. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Vote Choice Formation and the Minimal Effects of TV Debates: Evidence from 61 Elections in 9 OECD Countries

This study of 61 elections around the world finds that vote choices aggregate a lot of information obtained during the electoral season, but the contribution of TV debates to this process is negligible.

Soul and Machine (Learning)

This paper argues with examples and predictions that while marketing science theory, engineering, and machine learning capabilities are changing the way we think about marketing, true advances will come when marketing managers know when to trust the machine and when to trust their instincts.

Branding Sells Cereal, Handbags, and Vacations. Can It Sell a Country?

Countries such as Israel now realize they need to engage in public diplomacy as well as foreign diplomacy, and in place branding, not just political advocacy, says Elie Ofek. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Calculators for Women: When Identity Appeals Provoke Backlash

With calculators targeted to women and laundry products aimed at men, examples of identity-based labeling—or “identity appeals”—abound in advertising and marketing. Five studies show when and why such identity appeals backfire. Identity appeals may fail equally whether they evoke negative or just milder stereotypes.

Warning: Scary Warning Labels Work!

If you want to convince consumers to stay away from unhealthy diet choices, don't be subtle about possible consequences, says Leslie John. These graphically graphic warning labels seem to do the trick. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

How Charitable Organizations Can Thwart Excuses for Not Giving

Charitable organizations provide all kinds of reasons for donors to give money—but sometimes their messaging does just the opposite, shows research by Christine Exley. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Fearing Fox News, Democratic-leaning Companies Delayed Negative Announcements

Jonas Heese and Vishal P. Baloria explore strategies used by companies to reduce the risk of potentially negative press, focusing on Fox News and the 2000 presidential election. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Managers' Cultural Background and Disclosure Attributes

How does the cultural background of executives affect the way in which they communicate with investors? This paper examines the impact of cultural backgrounds of individual managers based on their ethnic heritage on their disclosure narrative during earnings conference calls. Among the findings, managers from individualistic cultures are likely to use a more positive tone, use greater self-reference, and make fewer apologies in the Q&A portion of the conference calls. The capital market reacts to disclosure style in a predictable way: optimistic tone is associated with a positive stock return following the call. However, market participants do not adjust their interpretation of disclosure tone for firm value based on the cultural background of the management team.