A wide dimensionality of subject matter

This issue publishes five papers – all relating to marketing communications, and with a very wide dimensionality of subject matter. Four papers stemming from the USA, and one from India. The first paper by Segijn et al. focuses upon new personalization technologies to deliver ostensible personalized messages to consumer relative to ‘synced advertising’. The effects of such advertising are analysed in detail. The discovery of downsides – both in terms of critical attitudes and a level of perceived surveillance. Evidently more work of an educational nature is needed in order to increase consumer confidence in such advertising. The paper by Song and Ferguson relates to the perennial matter of stakeholder support relative to CSR programs in an important domain of facilitating donations to specific societal causes and generating or maintaining towards corporation or businesses engaged in CSR. Personal belief-based altruistic motivations work well in conjunction with the perceived social corporate motive. Both need to be analysed, understood, and carefully planned for relative to profit and not-for-profit sectors. Michelle Seelig’s paper addresses a topic of growing importance to all readers of ‘green’ issues in connection with marketing and corporate communications, i.e., the emphasis on green attributes, imagery, and credentials in attempts to market qualities of the natural world. Naturally now, as a result of widespread exposure of greening for the sake of rhetoric, greenwashing, etc, consumer confidence is low, skepticism is high, and distrust is the order of the day. Clearly, as Seelig strongly recommends, environmental stewardship has to be continuous, believable, and worthy of trust. Customer engagement is now a topic worthy of marketing attention and research as Gligor et al. assert. The outcomes of their research differ by gender relative to purchases, influence, knowledge etc but not necessarily customer referrals. Perceived brand fairness (as explained), however, mediates gender impactfulness on customer engagement. The final paper by Dogra and Kaushal considers the effectiveness of digital financial advertising relative to creating favorable consumer attitudes and purchase intentions. The much-favored and cited TAM model is augmented and confirmed by this paper, which will be benefit to aid marketers, planners, and managers in developing and implementing new policies.