Only recently, competition authorities tend to agree on comparative advertising being helpful in promoting competition. They now encourage firms to use it. They reason that comparative advertising, if fair and not misleading, increases consumers’ information about alternative brands. For this to work, comparative claims must be credible. Competition policy and legal practice are essential in ma...

A 3-year comprehensive analysis of aflatoxin contamination in peanut butter was conducted in Zambia, sub-Saharan Africa. The study analyzed 954 containers of 24 local and imported peanut butter brands collected from shops in Chipata, Mambwe, Petauke, Katete, and Nyimba districts and also in Lusaka from 2012 to 2014. For analysis, a sample included six containers of a single brand, from the same...

INTRODUCTION This study investigated the performance of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), compared different models within a brand, compared identical copies of the same model within a brand, and examined performance using different protocols. METHODS Airflow rate required to generate aerosol, pressure drop across e-cigarettes, and aerosol density were examined using three different proto...

Social media is changing the balance of power as well as the dynamics of communication between manufacturers and retailers, their brands, and consumers. In this research we examine the effects of companies’ responses to consumer criticism in social media. Our findings indicate that a vulnerable response leads to more positive behavioral consequences without damaging product quality perceptions ...

Competitive advertising interference arises when viewers of advertising for a focal brand are also exposed to advertising messages for competing brands within a short time period, say one week for TV advertising. Although competitive advertising interference has been shown to reduce ad recall and recognition and brand evaluation measures, no studies have examined the impact on sales. In this re...

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to assess the extent of any fall in recommended retail prices (RRPs) of tobacco products sold in Australia following the 2012 implementation of plain packaging. METHODS RRPs published in price lists by the New South Wales Retail Tobacco Traders Association covering the months of November 2011, November 2012 and November 2013 were recorded for all listed brands and ...

This paper proposes an audience selection framework for online brand advertising based on user activities on social media platforms. It is one of the first studies to our knowledge that develops and analyzes implicit brand–brand networks for online brand advertising. This paper makes several contributions. We first extract and analyze implicit weighted brand–brand networks, representing interac...

OBJECTIVE Although studies demonstrate that exposure to brand-specific alcohol advertising is associated with an increased likelihood of youth consuming particular brands, the relationship between quantity of brand-specific advertising exposure and quantity of brand-specific consumption has not been firmly established. METHOD Using the Alcohol Brand Research Among Underage Drinkers (ABRAND) n...

INTRODUCTION Ceftriaxone is an extended spectrum cephalosporin that has been used for decades for combating infections caused by wide array of pathogens and prescription of antibiotic is in favor of specific brands without realizing the potency of the brand. The in-vitro activity of three brands of ceftriaxone and various antibiotics against clinical isolates is studied. METHODS This comparat...

This study tests the supposition that different types of restaurants appeal to or attract substantially divergent market segments. Instead of targeting specific markets, the analysis suggests that restaurant brand managers should take a mass marketing approach. The study examines the "Consumer Picks" survey data collected by WD Partners and the National Restaurant Association to determine the e...