Consider a two-product firm that decides on the quality of each product. Product quality is unknown to consumers. If the firm sells both products under the same brand name, consumers adjust their beliefs about quality subject to the performance of both products. We show that if the probability...

Buzz marketing is becoming a more and more relevant topic. Yet, most research is descriptive and does not provide insights into the underlying mechanisms. To overcome this void, the paper provides a causal model of buzz marketing focusing on the motives of potential buzz agents and their effects...

Ambush marketing is becoming a more and more relevant topic. However, most research has remained descriptive. No study has yet considered the image effects of ambush marketing using a causal model. Thus, the present paper provides a causal model of ambush marketing focusing on cognitive and...

This paper is concerned with the tension between consumer persuasion and freedom of choice. We study how assertive language (as in the slogan Just do it!) affects consumer compliance in hedonic vs. utilitarian contexts. Previous literature consistently claimed that forceful language would cause...

Critical Mass is a common feature of technology diffusion processes. We develop a structural model of demand with network effects to provide a rigorous definition of critical mass as a function of installed base, price and network effects. Using data from the digital cellular telephony market,...

The internet offers market researchers a broad variety of possibilities to gather information and insights. Online surveys and online observations are to commonly used research methods. In this article, both methods are being compared and their possible value proposition in terms of brand...

We study firms' advertising strategies in an oligopolistic market in which both non-comparative and comparative advertising are present. We show that in equilibrium firms mix over the two types of advertising, with the intensity of comparative advertising exceeding that of non-comparative...

Die Aufwendungen für Online-Werbung sind in den vergangenen Jahren rasant gewachsen. Ihr Anteil am gesamten deutschen Werbemarkt lag 2007 bei sieben Prozent und die Tendenz zeigt weiter steil nach oben. Der Versuch von Microsoft, den weltweit zweitgrößten Suchmaschinenbetreiber, Yahoo, zu...

In this study, we consider the role of a publicly owned platform and programme quality in the free-to-air broadcasting industry. We compare the equilibrium levels of advertising under private and mixed duopoly competition, and show that the connection between programme quality and advertising...

Zaccour (2008) investigates the behaviour of a marketing channel where firms invest in advertising to increase brand equity, showing that an exogenous twopart tariff cannot be used to replicate the vertically integrated monopolist's performance. I revisit the same model proving the existence of...