The goal of this research study is to examine the nature and effects of social media marketing and the role it has played towards driving Gen Z into the luxury fashion industry. In addition, qualitative exploration focused on uncovering the reason behind why this market chooses to purchase luxury products and investigated the relationship between social media influencers, luxury brands, and their consumers. Through 12 qualitative research interviews, five key insights were suggested from the results of the study: people buy luxury to fit in or stand out in social groups, social media marketing portrays a false reality, social media has contributed to the rise of Gen Z consumers in luxury fashion, social media has normalized owning luxury products, and social media has caused lowered self esteem and social pressure amongst Gen Z. These insights can be explained through a triangular framework, making up a marketing ecosystem involving the brand, the social media influencer, and the consumer. These three roles work together to buy and sell goods from one another. If one of the players fails to do their role, the relationships fall apart. Given phones and apps are highly personal items often only used by one individual, understanding and comparing the ads and images one user is exposed to versus another can be very tricky. Recently, the Federal Trade Commission has increased regulations over native advertisements when viewers became unable to decipher ad from reality. Gen Z’s may inadvertently compare themselves to influencers, ultimately causing lowered self esteem when they cannot possess or achieve the lifestyle of these individuals. These insights are important to help understand how to negate the negative effects of social media marketing and propel companies to be more transparent in their marketing initiatives to reduce social pressure and poor mental health amongst Gen Z. Luxury brands could utilize more explicit differentiators on paid advertisements compared to editorial material to make audiences more knowledgeable of the type of content they are viewing. In addition, society should change the way people perceive online content and have more open discussions surrounding the ethics of native advertising and decipection social media posts may cause. The way young users interact and process social media posts is very complex. Investigating this topic is important to prevent the possible underlying repercussions of social media and help marketers best cater toward this market in an open, ethical fashion. This study concludes with managerial applications and directions for further research. Businesses should prepare to face increasing guidelines regarding native advertising. These guidelines may include requirements to have explicit markings on branded content and binding contracts with social media influencers. To work around these restrictions, the future of luxury fashion indicates that direct to consumer strategies are on the rise. Video livestream retail and social commerce are already taking the Chinese market by storm and it's only a matter of time before American brands will be forced to adapt to keep up with changing trends in the marketplace. DTC brands benefit from having a direct channel to the consumer without interpretation or the need for intermediaries. Given this research primarily focuses on the links between the brand to influencer and influencer to consumer, future exploration could focus on the channel between the brand and consumer through direct selling. Going forward, brands may prefer to interact with their customers directly, without the use of an influencer, to help establish a close relationship with their audience through a seamless customer journey.

Based on the findings from previous studies and research, social media use and psychological issues among minors are increasing overtime. However, there are still questions about whether or not these factors are related to one another. The goal of my study is to better understand the relationship between social media use and the psychological issues among minors by analyzing their self-esteem, self-efficacy, social anxiety, locus of control, and peer pressure. My research examined minors' time spent on social media, their influencer engagement, and the social media platforms they use and how these factors impact the constructs of interest: self-esteem, self-efficacy, social anxiety, locus of control, and peer pressure. My study was conducted by distributing a survey to minors (ages 12-17) that asked about their social media use and habits. Based on my findings, I concluded that minors that use a large number of social media platforms have lower self-esteem and high levels of peer pressure, the more frequently a minor uses social media, the higher their self-esteem is, and the more social media influencers that the minor is following, the lower their self-efficacy is. Additionally, using certain social media platforms, following certain types of influencers, and participating in certain engagement behaviors had different effects on the minor’s self-esteem, self-efficacy, social anxiety, locus of control, and peer pressure. An implication from my results is that social media can be a positive outlet for a minor's mental health and it can impact a minor positively or negatively depending on how they use it.

This project examines the correlation between consumer perception and willingness to pay for electric vehicles (EVs). Using secondary research regarding sustainability, pricing and other factors influencing or swaying purchasing decisions, newfound details were uncovered. A survey was then created to collect primary research data, gauging general interest using a side-by-side comparison of the top three U.S. auto manufacturers and their efforts to transition to the next era of the automobile. From this, new marketing and advertising techniques are offered to allow for a more widespread adoption and quicker transition to full EV lineups in the near future - essentially, closing the gap from interest to action.

This creative is established in the field of business, with an emphasis on fashion, art, and<br/>the creation of a body-positive exhibit. Using qualitative research from experts on fashion<br/>curation, we seek to create, curate and pitch a fashion exhibit. Using the information we gather<br/>from experts from two different museums, we will create a new age exhibit that pushes the<br/>boundaries of fashion as art through our theme of body positivity.

This paper investigates how a luxury fashion brand would be able to strategically position itself within Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela. It specifically looks at consumers' perceptions of general and visual branding strategies such as international and local positioning. Secondary research was conducted on domestic and international branding strategies, standardization and adaption techniques, and cultural business differences between the three countries. After primary research was completed through a survey and multiple interviews. The survey looked into perceptions of international and local brands of each country. The survey was an A/B test where participants were either given questions surrounding a local or international brand description and advertisement visuals. With the interviews, they provided a baseline of information from Colombian consumers on general perceptions of luxury brands, products, and the memories associated with them. Overall, it was found that Columbian participants had more positive perceptions of international brands, Peruvian participates had a more positive perception of local brands, and Venezuelan participants did not have a significant preference for either. Based on these findings, recommendations were made suggesting possible brand positioning and entry strategies for companies wanting to expand throughout Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela. The continuation of this paper includes an analysis and interpretation of the findings, the limitations of the research, and the possible future direction and continuation of this research.

This thesis research aims to define, identify, and promote community theatre as a “third space” for disadvantaged youth. A third space is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “...the in-between, or hybrid, spaces, where the first and second spaces work together to generate a new third space. First and second spaces are two different, and possibly conflicting, spatial groupings where people interact physically and socially: such as home (everyday knowledge) and school (academic knowledge)” (Oxford Dictionary, 2021). For disadvantaged youth, the creation of a third space in the theatre can give them a safe environment away from issues they may have at home or at school, it can further their learning about themselves and others, and it can also help those youth feel a sense of belonging to a community larger than themselves. Because of these benefits, it is clear that performing arts programs can offer a great impact on disadvantaged youth; however, many theatre companies struggle to market their programming to said communities. This may be in part, due to low marketing budgets, no specificity in labor resources dedicated to youth programming, or ineffective marketing strategies and tactics.<br/>In order to ideate marketing recommendations for these organizations, primary research was conducted to determine the attitudes and beliefs revolving around youth participation in community theatre, as well as the current marketing strategies and tactics being utilized by programmers. Participants included program managers of youth theatre programs, as well as youth participants from several major cities in the U. S. The secondary research aims to better understand the target demographic (disadvantaged youth), the benefits derived from participation in arts programming, and marketing strategies for the performing arts. Following data analysis are several recommendations for the learning, planning, and implementation of marketing strategies for theatre programmers.

This thesis research aims to define, identify, and promote community theatre as a “third space” for disadvantaged youth. A third space is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “...the in-between, or hybrid, spaces, where the first and second spaces work together to generate a new third space. First and second spaces are two different, and possibly conflicting, spatial groupings where people interact physically and socially: such as home (everyday knowledge) and school (academic knowledge)” (Oxford Dictionary, 2021). For disadvantaged youth, the creation of a third space in the theatre can give them a safe environment away from issues they may have at home or at school, it can further their learning about themselves and others, and it can also help those youth feel a sense of belonging to a community larger than themselves. Because of these benefits, it is clear that performing arts programs can offer a great impact on disadvantaged youth; however, many theatre companies struggle to market their programming to said communities. This may be in part, due to low marketing budgets, no specificity in labor resources dedicated to youth programming, or ineffective marketing strategies and tactics. This research aims to provide tangible recommendations for youth programmers to better involve their target audience.

The discussion of the word “natural” in product marketing and its power to persuade consumers is not often discussed. Research on consumer behavior surrounding “natural” products is compelling due to the current lack of research on the topic and true meaning of the word. Without any legal guidelines for the marketed use of the word “natural” in the sale of personal care products and cosmetics, consumers’ perceptions of the “naturally” marketed items are subjective. Additionally, brands identify with the word “natural” in different ways, using the word as an ideograph to suggest brand enhancing associations to consumers without legally needing to support these associations.

The following thesis is a creative project that looks at all facets of the “natural” personal care product and cosmetics industry. This includes the origin, history of use, regulations, and consumers’ understanding of the word “natural” in marketing, as well as the identity of the word “natural” as an ideograph. In addition, this project illustrates in-depth analyses of the three major consumer segments of this industry. These analyses uncover each consumer type’s perceived connotations of the word “natural” in personal care product and cosmetics and their characteristics and buying behavior. Lastly, this project features a plan for a digital marketing campaign to showcase this research and incite discussion that raises awareness surrounding the word “natural” in the beauty space.

Binaural beat therapy is one acoustics technique used in music; a technique utilized in the music most people listen to when they have trouble sleeping or concentrating. The binaural beats technique, along with other therapeutic methods in music, have always fascinated me. This topic is something that I’ve wanted to research for some time. So for this creative project I want to challenge myself. I am going to learn how to produce music intended for musical therapy. I’ll be implementing methods based on my research. I hope to produce a piece of music that can help others. My goal is to create a song that has the potential to be added to the vast online library of therapeutic music.

The Film Industry is one of most exciting and informative businesses in the world, a business where the revenue of a single feature film can approach or exceed $1 billion. Current trends show a significant increase in independent production and a demand for major studio facilities outside of California. Many states are meeting the demand by building state-of-the-art sound stages and production facilities. To further attract productions into their state, tax incentives and rebates are offered, resulting in a long-term influx of movie production that generates hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue for their communities, contributing an estimated $200,000 a day into the coffers of the localities where they film. In addition to the revenue it generates, the motion picture and television industries employ over 1.3 million Americans. Despite numerous benefits to states that cater to the movie industry, Arizona continues to flounder. With all the resources and advantages offered to Arizona including good weather and proximity to Hollywood, the state has the potential to become a key player within the film industry. The purpose of this study is to conduct interviews from industry professionals, both in and out of state, to get an idea of where Arizona stands in the movie making industry and if the state should take the steps necessary to build a more dominant presence. Using states like New Mexico as a model, comparisons will be made between different programs offered and implemented in both Arizona and other states. Data will be collected through induction of personal interviews and the responses gathered will be used to formulate a more formidable opinion on what Arizona is capable of doing within the movie making industry.