Imitation as the sincerest form of ignorance
Purpose – This paper aims to note the imitation of apparently successful advertising as a replacement for thought by too many advertisers, misapplying the tactics of what seem to be past successes by other companies to current situations, sometimes not even attempting to find insight relevant to the current advertising situation. Imitation of what may be lucky accidents has become a tool for improper applications of old tactics to new problems.Design/methodology/approach – Noting the frequent pronouncements by business journalists that many businesses do things because they know they “work,” the reality is that even among marketing professionals, conventional wisdom is often, at best, an oxymoron.Findings – The pragmatic business need is to analyze new situations and consumer interests.Originality/value – The paper shows that, since advertising decisions are often the recommendations from outside suppliers, business managers who pay for this advice must realize that past success by others does not mean th...
The Stealth Influence of Covert Marketing and Much Ado about what May be Nothing
Most discussions of covert marketing stem from three basic statements: (1) People are generally skeptical of any business-provided sources of information, so publicity or even random endorsements by strangers on the street might provide consumers with more persuasive sales messages; (2) advertising creators repeatedly say that they need to “break out” from the increasingly cluttered mass media environment; and (3) news reports of any pervasive marketing activity include a direct assertion, or at least an implicit presumption, that business managers do it because they know it “works.” Management decisions to use any covert marketing tactic are driven by the first two beliefs, and public policy worries of its improper or deceptive influence on consumers flow from the third. However, most covert marketing efforts are undertaken with professional uncertainty of whether anything really works as they create new areas of consumer skepticism and even more commercial clutter.
Computer Simulation Modeling
Computer simulation as a research methodology is presented as the intersection of modeling, simulation, and computer analysis. Five component parts of simulation models are identified: input variables, output variables, assumptions, algorithms, and parameters. Computer simulation (CSM) has two primary uses for those interested in the study of organizations or who work within them: theory development and policy planning. The advantages and disadvantages of CSM for each of these purposes are examined and recent examples for each are explored.