Product placement in computer/video games: an analysis of the impact on customers purchasing decision

Branding strategy is crucial in strengthening firms’ market competitiveness. This study examined the influence of brand equity of luxury brands on attitudinal responses and behavioral intentions of consumers towards electronic word-of-mouth. The population of this study was consumers in Saudi Arabia who search about online reviews of luxury brands on social media platforms. This study used a convenience sampling technique. The research data were collected on-line from 277 luxury brand consumers in Saudi Arabia using a quantitative Likert-type survey. SPSS and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used to examine the research hypotheses. The results of this study showed that brand equity and its components (brand image and brand awareness) have significant positive relationships with consumer attitude towards electronic word-of-mouth, as values of correlation coefficient were r = 0.440 and r = 0.396, respectively, at a significance level less than 0.01. Additionally, the results indicated that brand image and brand awareness have significant positive relationships with consumer intention to follow electronic word-of-mouth, as values of correlation coefficient were r = 0.336, r = 0.360, respectively, at a significance level less than 0.01. The findings of this study provide valuable theoretical and practical implications for managers and marketers in the luxury brand sector.

Halal brands are gaining popularity among Muslim consumers across the world. This study aims to explore the effect of brand awareness, religious belief, and brand trust on young Muslim consumers’ willingness to purchase halal-branded products. The electronic questionnaires were distributed to participants through Google Forms via a popular social media platform. The survey sample consisted of university students from Bangladesh who identified as Muslims. The paper utilized a purposive sampling technique to select participants for the study, resulting in a total of 517 respondents being included in the sample. Finally, 479 responses were found usable for this study, with a response rate of 92.70%. Among 479, 300 participants were male, while 179 students were female university students. The latest edition of the software SPSS has been employed to examine hypotheses and correlations, with a confidence level of 95%. The results showed a significant impact of brand awareness, religious belief, and brand trust on purchase willingness. Moreover, it indicates that consumers’ brand awareness about halal products (β = 0.392) has a greater effect on their purchase willingness. These findings have the potential to provide valuable insights for halal brands, as they can have a substantial impact on the purchasing choices of young Muslim consumers, particularly regarding their religious and halal concerns.

The Bangsaen 42 Chonburi Marathon is the most attended full-marathon event in Thailand and a high-standard running event classified as the World Athletics Elite Label Road Race. The increase in runners reflected the response from both regular and new runners. This mixed methods study aimed to analyze branding processes, marketing communication perceptions, brand personality, and the relationships between perceptions of marketing communication and brand personality. The qualitative approach involved in-depth interviews with three key informants. A quantitative approach was applied to the questionnaire. The sample included 400 runners who participated in this event using nonprobability sampling. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation statistics, with a significance level of 0.05. The results showed three brand-building processes: 1) strategic brand analysis of runners’ needs, organizing marathon running events in Thailand, and self-analysis; 2) brand identity system under the only marathon running event in Thailand with world-class standards under the concept of “The passion of world-class marathon” and brand value of “You will run a full marathon with world-class standard;” 3) brand identity implementation systems through various media to demonstrate sound management. This sample group perceived marketing communication at a moderate level, and the perceptions of brand personality of the marathon met the competence the most. The relationships between marketing communication and perceptions of sincerity were positively correlated, with a correlation coefficient of 0.46 and a statistical significance of 0.05.

Acknowledgment
A research grant from the Faculty of Sport Science, Burapha University supports this study.