1. Brand Marketing in Asia

Dr Hong-Wei He, East Anglia University, UK

Cultural differences in consumer behaviour in general have been widely recognised, however, the impact of cultural differences on consumer responses to brands is a new and nascent field of inquiry.

2. Marketing Communications with an Asian Flavour

Associate Professor Kim Fam, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

The influence culture on marketing communications is widely studied. In this cluster, we examine the impact of various cultural elements on higher educational services, use of sales promotion techniques, and consumers’ attitude towards advertising messages.

Theme 1: Marketing the brains business

The provision of higher educational services to international students across national borders has been a major growth industry for many countries. The thrust of this theme is to examine whether Asian cultural values and the stage of economic developments in international students’ home countries have an impact on their attitudes, and the perceptions of the messages and media used by advertisers (universities) in their recruitments, branding/positioning strategy, and the quality of facilities and services provided. Researchers who are active in this theme include: A/P Kim Fam; Dr KC Chung and Dr George Li. Total value from various funding bodies: US$26,000.

Theme 2: When is a goodbye a good buy?

Sales promotion is value offered to the customers to stimulate demand in a short-term. Attention in this theme is focused on those sales promotion techniques that give Asian recipients the most satisfaction. Specifically, it is interested in exploring the possible link between equity theory, the preference of sales promotion technique and purchase satisfaction. Researchers who are active in this theme include: A/P Kim Fam; Dr Lisa McNeill; A/P Ernest de Run; and Lin Yang. Total value from various funding bodies: US$106,000.

Theme 3: Voice of consumers

This research theme focuses on Asian consumers’ attitudes towards advertising messages. The ad likeability project attempts to identify the attributes of likeable/dislikeable television commercials in Asia and then examine whether these attributes increase/decrease purchase intention. The controversial products advertising project involves 11 countries. Primarily this project examines the relationship between different generational cohorts and their perceptions of the advertising of controversial products. Active researchers include: Dr David Waller; A/P Kim Fam; Dr Sergio Bieggemann; A/P Ernest de Run; Dr Tim Kristy; Dr CL Luk; and Dr Reinhard Grohs. Total value from various funding bodies: US$62,000.

Theme 4: Cues in advertisements

There are numerous cues used in an advertisement to draw in purchase from consumer. Attention here is paid to the various ethnicities, cultures, and religion in the Asian context and their reaction towards a variety of cues. These cues include color, language, dialect, religious symbols and images, and perceived ethical advertising. Specifically we are interested in exploring the use of cues and the reaction of consumers, looking at Accommodation Theory. Researchers who are currently active in this theme include: A/P Ernest de Run.

3. Place-Based Marketing

Dr Andrea Insch, University of Otago, New Zealand

This research theme focuses on the ways places – towns, cities, regions, countries – are marketed to create value and compete for customer attention, interest, favourable attitudes, consumption and loyalty. An important issue which this group is currently working on is developing a measure of place brand equity that can be applied in cities around the world to measure the power of their brands. Among recent research, the group focused on the protection of national trademarks, use of national associations in product labelling and packaging as well as residents satisfaction measurement. The group is keen to share their knowledge and expertise and to collaborate with others with similar research interests. Active researchers include: Dr Andrea Insch and Dr Magdalena Florek.

4. Young Consumers Marketing

Professor Kara Chan, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

Young consumers deserve our special attention as they represent three markets. They have their own money to spend. They influence the family purchase decisions. They are also the target of a wide range of products and services for adults. We examine the impact of various marketing communication activities on children and adolescents including those initiated by commercial sources as well as NGOs.

Theme 1: Young consumers’ responses to marketing and marketing activities

Various developmental models on consumer socialization were proposed in the research literature. There is a need to test these models in a cross cultural context. Researchers who are active in this theme include: Prof James U McNeal, Prof Kara Chan and Dr Brian Young.

Theme 2: Consumption values

Do children and young consumers become more materialistic? Do materialistic value orientations depend on gender, age, and social economic status? How do materialistic consumption values develop in different socialization stages? What are the consequences of materialistic values? This theme examines the consumption values endorsed by young consumers. It also investigates whether these values differ in different cultural settings. Researchers who are active in this theme include: Dr L.N. Chaplin, Prof M. Goldberg, Prof T. Kasser, Prof H. Dittmar, and Prof Kara Chan.

Theme 3: Young consumers and healthy eating

This theme attempts to look for effective ways to encourage young consumers to consume less undesirable food and beverages. It examines various advertising strategies to address obesity issues and to adopt healthy eating habits. Content analysis will be one of the ways to examine the current advertising practices of food and beverages that target young consumers. It also examines the perception of healthy eating among young consumers. Researchers who are active in this theme include: Prof Gerard Prendergast, Dr Alice Grønhøj and Dr Tino Bech-Larsen.

5. Fashion and Luxury Products Marketing

Dr Lisa McNeill, University of Otago, New Zealand

Cultural difference has long been claimed to impact the way in which products should be marketed within different countries. One of the key areas of recent interest has been the perception of prestige branded, high involvement goods in different cultural settings, and the effect that this has on the positioning and promotion of such goods within individual export markets. Asia provides a key set of export markets for fashion and luxury goods manufacturers and innovators, but with this opportunity comes the difficulty of understanding the cultural implications of selling within these markets.

Another key area is consumption issue. There is a growing middle class in Asia, who are spending more and more on prestige branded goods. In terms of consumer spending patterns, Asian countries are ranked highly among the most optimistic economies in the world, and often outstrip Western countries in terms of consumer economic confidence. Some key questions arise in regards to this increased spending however, including issues of sustainability and environmental impact of consumption of disposable fashion goods. Researchers who are active in this theme include: Dr Lisa McNeill and Dr Tony Garrett.

6. West and Central Asia Marketing

Associate Professor Syed Aziz Anwar, e-TQM University, UAE

Since the 1970s, the West and Central Asia regions have made significant progress on the socio-economic front. The oil boom of the 1970s paved the way for a large number of countries of the regions considerably to expand their social and economic infrastructures. However, major challenges remain. This group aims to address issues that examine and analyze the challenges facing the excellence-seeking marketing organizations in the West and Central Asia regions in view of the shifting paradigms in the world economy.

Theme 1: India and China: Impact on West and Central Asia

Great emerging nations of our time such as India and China have demonstrated the ability and willingness to venture into potentially promising markets of West and Central Asia. The countries of West and Central Asia stand to benefit from the international transfer of marketing knowledge, particularly from China and India. Researchers will address questions related to cross-cultural marketing under the influence of this theme.

Theme 2: Carving services marketing excellence in West and Central Asia

With growing internationalization of markets and the advent of service firms clustering around the nerve-centers of socio-economic activities in a large number of countries of West and Central Asia, it has become quite inevitable and of course challenging for practicing marketing managers to deal with diverse cultural situations. Researchers in this track will focus on service marketing research in interaction with cross-cultural contexts of West and Central Asia. It is likely to enrich existing knowledge in the area of marketing.

7. Chinese Cultural Marketing

Professor Clyde Warden, Director of Chinese Consumer Connection, Taiwan

With the growth of the Chinese consumer market, Western researchers have begun to examine issues within the Chinese cultural context. This theme emphasizes going a step further and documenting the unique cultural aspects of Chinese retailing that contribute to unique theory development rather than adoption of Western models. This Chinese-centric approach emphasizes local experience, culture, language, education, psychology, and values working under the assumption that Western models are insufficient for accurate description of Chinese consumer behaviour. Examples of this emphasis include the important role of concepts such as renao ( 熱 鬧 ) in Chinese cultural settings. The complex and rich nature of Chinese consumers is explored in tensions among existing values and imported marketing values.

This theme encourages work on marketing topics ranging from product choice and service encounters to post-consumption attitudes and macro marketing. Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies are encouraged with an eye to contextualization influenced by anthropological techniques. Use of multimedia, such as video, photography, audio, and online communication, is encouraged in order to create rich models that contribute the development of locally grounded theory and actionable results. Work in this theme is showcased online at the Chinese Consumer Connection (http://ccc.qbook.tv), where researchers present their work through rich media. Active Researchers: Prof Clyde Warden and Prof James Stanworth.

8. Emerging Paradigms in the Indian Marketplace

Dr Paurav Shukla, Brighton University, UK

India, for some time now the focal point of the global trend toward strategic offshoring, has simultaneously become appealing as a market in its own right. With GDP growth more than double that of the USA and the UK during the past decade, and with a forecasted continued real annual growth of almost 7 per cent, India is one of the world's most promising and fastest-growing economies, with multinational companies eager to invest. A consumer-oriented economy is emerging in India. The researchers working in this cluster would focus on the emerging paradigms in the Indian marketplace especially focusing on the following themes:

Theme 1: Consumer marketing challenges in India

Research activities under this stream will focus on the effects of consumerism and the emergence of the new age Indian consumer. Since the opening of the Indian market in early 1990s the increasing choices of available products and services have created a customer who is in the middle of a transforming market. The traditional Indian values and ethos are being challenged with the younger generation embracing the global value system. A distinct culture is emerging out of it wherein consumers are trying to balance on best of the both worlds. This presents an interesting set of challenges for marketers and researchers alike. Researchers working under this theme will explore the challenges and opportunities emerging in the consumer markets of India.

Theme 2: Business marketing challenges in India

There are an unprecedented amount of changes being observed in the present Indian business market. With multinational companies vying for the large Indian consumer market, new level of competition is emerging on every front be it, manufacturing, services or retail. The nature of the present day competitive landscape presents an interesting platform to study Indian business markets challenges. Researchers working under this theme will explore those transient challenges in the Indian business markets.

Theme 3: Internationalization to and from India