Abstract
This paper investigates the detailed promotional attitudes of retailers across three countries. The key aim was to see whether the perceptions of owner-managers of nine commonly used promotion tools varied across country. Both perception and budget data was examined, as well as selected combinations of promotion tools.

Abstract
This study analyses the contrasting perspectives on sales promotion concept between the prescriptive definitions and the managers’ perceptions. The definitions proposed in marketing textbooks emphasise the tactical, short term and accessory nature of sales promotions tools. The managers’ goals seem to be developed based on a balance between customer and competitor orientation. © 2015, Academy of Marketing Science.

Abstract
This study aims to contribute to the understanding of children’s word-of-mouth communication: how it is processed, its dimensions and its relation to other sources of information and to young consumers’ use of the Internet. Theoretical contributions from consumer socialization, new media and word-of-mouth communication studies are assembled, and an exploratory qualitative analysis in the form of focus group interviews with 7–11-year-old children is reported. We provide empirical evidence for word-of-mouth communication being a common activity among children. Observation and marketing exposure both complement and trigger word-of-mouth activity. Electronic word-of-mouth communication is less frequent, but the Internet is a relevant source of information and marketing exposure; it assists children’s learning about products and brands and furthers their purchase decision processes. This study suggests that word-of-mouth communication received by children is more complex and dynamic as compared to extant literature, suggesting that future research further explores its sought and unsought components, as well as its relationship with non-verbal peer influence that results from observation. © 2019, Academy of Marketing Science.

Abstract
Purpose: This paper aims to examine the mediating role of brand satisfaction and brand trust in brand equity antecedents and outcomes through an empirical investigation of brand equity elements. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was conducted in Pune and Mumbai, two prominent cities of India. A structured questionnaire focussed on garnering responses on measuring brand equity antecedents and outcomes was circulated to the cell phone users. The questionnaire aimed to assess the role of two additional variables, namely, brand satisfaction and brand trust, in the existing and the conceptual model of brand equity (Keller, 2001). Based on the data analysis, a structural equations path and the mediating model were developed. Findings: The findings of this study show that the new brand equity model is highly relevant in predicting brand equity as compared to the existing brand equity model (Keller, 2001). The brand equity mediation model clearly elucidates the role of brand trust and brand satisfaction. Research limitations/implications: With reference to a theoretical contribution, the study broadens the existing hypothetical model of brand equity. The findings of this research provide a strategic and analytical model for brand managers to build brand relationships among their consumers. Originality/value: The present study challenges the existing model of brand equity (Keller, 2001) and further makes an effort to fill in the gaps in the existing theoretical model of brand equity. © 2019, Umesh Ramchandra Raut, Prafulla Arjun Pawar, Pedro Quelhas Brito and Gyanendra Singh Sisodia.

Abstract
Purpose: This paper aims to identify and compare the graphical shapes and meanings attributed to place/city by the designer/creative/author of a city visual identity (VI) and by the client and designer’s peers. Design/methodology/approach: To identify and compare the graphical shapes and meanings attributed to place/city by the designer/creative/author of a city VI and by the client and designer’s peers. Findings: This paper analysed the way the visual culture of different stakeholders influenced the process and the construction of the iconographic meanings. Secondly, this paper assessed how the design tools impacted the creative process in that specific context. Practical implications: A demanding involvement of more participants in the design process can be worthy for a VI outcome. Visual identity of a city is both designer’s creative as a political process. The several aesthetical options decisions implied adaptation, trade-offs and negotiations. Originality/value: This research explains how the design tools and forms were used in the creative process of designers when conceiving the VI of a place. This research also reveals how a design work can have an effective impact on the sensory qualities emanating from city brands which are recognized by tourists and citizens. The consideration of the designer’s tools makes a relevant contribution to understand some underlying procedural issues.

Abstract
Increasing digitalization has posed new challenges for businesses, and digital coupons are an important means of promoting their sales. However, there are still gaps in the literature on how they are distributed. The objective of this paper is to study whether the distribution of digital coupons through a referral program increases purchase intention and perceived quality towards a product. By conducting an experimental design, the results point out that consumer purchase intention increases if the recommendation is made by someone with a strong relationship and if a digital coupon is offered, and when the tie relationship is weak or no relationship, it does not vary significantly. On the other hand, the results showed that perceived quality does not vary with the offer of a digital coupon, regardless of the strength of the tie between the person who recommended and the consumer. Current research suggests that managers should use this information to design a digital coupon program tailored to the company’s objectives to retain and capture customers. This new approach to digital voucher distribution is one of the first to investigate their distribution, and their simultaneous use with a referral program. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.