Faculty Reflection: Anshu Arora
Savannah State University
Course(s): Global E-Business and Advertising & Promotion Management.
A Success Story in Programmatic Change
Global E-Business (MKTG 3179) course provides students with solid experience in creating market data-driven strategies for the future success of a business. More than ever before, marketers are responsible for getting results and for generating the appropriate metrics to determine whether their objectives were achieved. The course examines an application of statistical and information analysis to marketing decisions defined as 'Marketing Analytics' in electronic environments.
We are living in a technology driven society. No technological break thorough in the past have affected human beings (and possibly organizations) so much as Computer, Internet and Communication Technologies. These technologies have changed the way people live, learn, work and play. In the business domain, these technologies have not only changed the way the traditional business activities are conducted but also created new business paradigms.
InTeGrate Module used in the above course: Social Norms Marketing versus Community Based Social Marketing
In this marketing class, the students read articles and materials on sustainability. The students then picked up topics pertaining to areas related to health and its relation to sustainability. They analyzed the sustainability related social media campaigns for businesses.
One of the student, Ms. Rafaella Gavino (Marketing Major, Undergraduate Student) worked on 'Vegetarianism' as a concept and wrote a research paper titled "Marketing Vegetarianism through Moralization and Knowledge Calibration." The paper has been accepted for presentation at the 2017 American Marketing Association Conference to be held in Orlando, FL during February 17 – 19, 2017 (https://www.ama.org/events-training/Conferences/Documents/2017%20WINTER%20AMA%20PROGRAM.pdf). \
Research Paper: MARKETING VEGETARIANISM THROUGH MORALIZATION AND KNOWLEDGE CALIBRATION
ABSTRACT:
This research extends the theories of moralization and knowledge calibration to vegetarianism. In two studies involving interviews with vegans, vegetarians, and meat-eaters; we investigated consumer attitudes towards vegetarianism. Our text analysis results revealed that emotionally calibrated consumers are 'moral vegetarians' who find meat repulsive, and make ethical food choices. In contrast, cognitively calibrated consumers are 'health vegetarians' who scan the nutrition information, avoid meat due to health restrictions, and embrace vegetarianism for healthy life. Finally, we provided insights into how faux meat companies can promote their products and transform consumer behavior towards vegetarianism by advertising ethical and environmentally friendly foods, and healthy and anti-obesity foods to moral and health vegetarians respectively.
KEYWORDS Vegetarianism, moralization, emotional versus cognitive calibration, meat consumption, faux meat, text-analysis software
OTHER SUSTAINABILITY CAMPAIGNS THAT STUDENTS WORKED ON:
AT&T's It Can Wait
Like so many well-executed social media projects, AT&T's It Can Wait started at the top - driven by chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson's personal desire to stop texting and driving. In the last year the multi-media and multi-platform awareness raising program has been so powerful that even AT&T's competitors, including Sprint Corp, T-Mobile US and Verizon have got on board.
Nike's Making App
Nike has a particular sustainability goal: to be a leader in innovation and sustainable design. Not only is the company applying that ambition to its products, it's also intent on sharing knowledge and inspiring a new generation of designers. Hence the Making App, providing free detailed in-house sustainability impact information on 22 different product materials to create their own sustainable products.
Vestas' Acts on Facts
Wind farms aren't the most popular of clean energy initiatives. All too often they become embroiled in not-in-my-back-yard politics and natural environment versus power production debates. Danish Wind Power Company, Vestas chose to tackle this issue with a dedicated awareness-raising lobbying social media project.
Intel's One Girl Rising
Girl Rising is a global movement intended to improve education for girls and, in so doing, reduce poverty and improve the wellbeing of communities. Intel's girl's education campaign, Intel For Change was a strategic partner in Girl Rising's storytelling (the centerpiece being Girl Rising journeys, a documentary by director Richard E Robbins) that so far has helped raise $2.1m for education programs.
M&M's Facebook page
Consumers don't care about sustainability issues, right? Wrong. They do if the message is conveyed in a way that is consistent with the brand. M&Ms sugar-coats (in a good way) parent company Mars' initiatives around sustainable cocoa production and other CSR causes by telling the stories through the same M&M characters it uses to promote the brand.
GE's Brilliant Machines
What could be more boring than watching shipping containers transported by rail around the US? Surprisingly, with the help of a techno soundtrack and some smart editing, GE has made intermodal transport interesting in this mildly addictive YouTube video for its Brilliant Machines campaign. With more than 300,000 views, industrial transportation with reduced environmental impact has never been so interesting.
Walmart Green's Pinterest page
Plenty of consumer brands have embraced Pinterest as their social media shop window. Walmart has created this dedicated green products and services page to reflect the work it has done in making its supply chain and some products more sustainable. While it might not persuade a mass consumer audience of the need to buy and live sustainably, the Pinterest project demonstrates that Walmart means (green) business and let's everyone share its message.
Levi's skateboarding in South Africa
Levi's support of skateboarding by building skate parks in South Africa (and also in India) allows the company to create a dynamic street sport video series that explains its social causes to the wide world of social media in a medium we all like to snack on.
Incorporating InTeGrate Materials
Adaptations
I use social media and advertising adaptations for sustainability campaigns.