We are not that different really – celebrating religious festivals around the world

Since today is Christmas Eve, I am bringing you a paper about religious festivals. It is a small but really interesting study by Elizabeth C. Hirschman, Ayalla A. Ruvio and Mourad Touzani, looking at how Christians, Muslims and Jews celebrate their central religious holidays – i.e., Christmas, Ramadan and Passover – in three settings: Dominant … Continue reading We are not that different really – celebrating religious festivals around the world

Video of talk at BCS

The video of my talk at BCS earlier this year - entitled 'Who wants 4G?' - is now available online. It is rather long and not the best sound quality, but it touches on a some key concepts and models that help us understand adoption of technological products. There were some great questions from the … Continue reading Video of talk at BCS

A new type of marketing celebrity: common people

Sainsbury’s has a long tradition of using celebrities to help promote their products, from pilot Amy Johnson in the 1930s to celebrity chef Jamie Oliver in 2000. And, now, Sainsbury’s is once again reaching out to celebrities. Not one, but four. And there isn’t a TV actress, a sport professional or a pop star in … Continue reading A new type of marketing celebrity: common people

Even Ryanair needs to do something about customer service

Well, well, well. MarketingWeek reported that Ryanair, the (in)famous low cost airline often criticised for appalling customer service, is recruiting a Marketing Director. The job advert specifies that the post holder will be in charge of promoting the company’s safety, customer service and low fare messages. Yes, that’s right: customer service. Maybe O’Leary is reading … Continue reading Even Ryanair needs to do something about customer service

Who wants 4G?

This afternoon, I am delivering a talk at the Oxfordshire branch of BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT. More details here. In this talk, we put technology to the side and focus, instead, on the social and psychological needs of mobile phone users. This is the slide set for the session. As usual, I would … Continue reading Who wants 4G?

Social Media users praise brands in private and criticise in public

Jan Kietzmann and I have been investigating how social media users talk about their consumption experiences online, a phenomenon called “electronic Word of Mouth”, or eWoM. While there is considerable research regarding why and, to an extent, how consumers engage in eWoM, our research is novel in that it: Investigates how different aspects of the … Continue reading Social Media users praise brands in private and criticise in public

Here we go, again. The sales!

Ah, the sales season. I have a love-hate relationship with the sales season. Very occasionally I will be very pleased with something that I got on sales. But, overall, it is a depressing time, when otherwise bright people make the silliest of purchase decisions (me included). Here are some of the most common tricks used … Continue reading Here we go, again. The sales!

Breaking through the filter bubble with social media

The blog has been very quiet for the past 2-3 weeks because I was travelling. It was a mixture of work and holidays, in the US. I had hoped to keep writing during this period. However, it proved frustratingly difficult to have access to fast, reliable and inexpensive Wi-Fi. In the end, I just gave … Continue reading Breaking through the filter bubble with social media

Is the second screen killing TV?

The website ‘Marketing Charts’ reported the results of a study conducted by the Council for Research Excellence on TV viewing habits in the US. The interesting angle picked up by Marketing Charts is the extent to which viewers multitask with another screen while watching television – so, for instance, whether you check your e-mails while … Continue reading Is the second screen killing TV?