Tracking brand positioning for an emerging destination: 2003 to 2015

Few published studies have monitored destination brand image over time. This temporal aspect is an important gap in the literature, given consensus around the role perceptions play in consumers’ decision making, and the ensuing emphasis on imagery in destination branding collateral. Whereas most destination image studies have been a snapshot of perceptions at one point in time, this paper presents findings from a survey implemented four times between 2003 and 2015. Brand image is the core construct in modelling destination branding performance, which has emerged as a relatively new field of research in the past decade. Using the consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) hierarchy, the project has benchmarked and monitored destination brand salience, image and resonance for an emerging regional destination, relative to key competitors, in the domestic Australian market; and the survey instrument has been demonstrated to be reliable in the context of short break holidays by car. What is particularly interesting to date is there has been relatively little change in the market positions of the five destinations, in spite of over a decade of marketing communications by the regional tourism organisations and their stakeholders, and more recently the mass of user-generated travel content on social media. The project didn’t analyse the actual marketing communications for each of the DMOs. Therefore an important implication is that irrespective of the level of marketing undertaken the DMOs seem to have had little control over the perceptions held in their largest market during this time period. Therefore it must be recognised any improvement in perceptions will likely take a long period of time, and so branding needs to be underpinned by a philosophy of a long term financial investment as well as commitment to a consistency of message over time; which given the politics of DMO decision making represents a considerable challenge.

Kartläggning av plastkorkar och förslag till förbättringar för den australiensiska marknaden

The project Design analysis and proposals of plastic screw caps in Australia was performed at Högskolan Dalarna incooperation with University of Western Sydney, Australia. The Swedish company Tetra Pak, in Lund, were assigner forthe project that was performed 2006-2007. The commission was to do a survey about the packages for non-carbonateddrinks in Australia. The bottles had to be plastic, able to open in one step and with focus on the caps.The project has result in design analysis and a new proposal of a plastic screw cap for the Australian market. Sixbottles were choosen and they were all testet on 20 consumers each with a Likert-scale test. The result from the test andthe survey underlied the work with a proposal of a new design. The most important qualities for a optimal opening is:a tamper that is easy to break and also guarantee that is not been opened before, wide and soft grip, ergonomics, easyto close and that is good looking.

Managing contactability in telephone surveys

The Australian market research industry relies on telephone interviewing as one of its major data collection methods. Through Its LIST initiative, the industry has committed to best practice In research methods in order to address various concerns, especially the decline in response rates for telephone interviews. Response rates are determined by the co-operation of eligible respondents and their degree of contactabllity. The reported study is concerned with the way the industry attempts to manage contactabiIity. A study of fieldwork managers responSible for over 75% of all phone interviews in Australia revealed a limited use of contact enhancing strategies such as longer fieldwork periods and more callbacks. Commercial imperatives for timely surveys and a lack of end-user concern for response rate issues, along with cost issues, were believed to be responsible.

Allocative and informational pricing roles in MBA program choice

This paper reports on a study of how prospective and current MBA students (n = 699) made tradeoffs between tuition price and other variables in choosing a university program in the Australian market. Two price segments were identified: price-negative and price-positive. The price-positive segment constituted 13 per cent of the sample. The behaviour of the two price segments is interpreted in relation to the allocative and informational roles of price. Price-positive respondents were found to be more concerned with the reputational characteristics of universities and programs in making their choice. Age, enrolment mode, and residential state were found to be associated with segment membership. The results suggest that an MBA by distance education can be regarded as a prestige product for some market segments.

Choosing response scale labels and length: guidance for researchers and clients

There has been much debate over the optimal format for scales, particularly in regard to two key issues - the labelling of points and the overall length of response scales. This paper reviews the evidence regarding the advantages of different scale types and lengths, and provides guidance as to what scale types suit different research objectives. Using a direct comparison of 400 responses on 5-point and 11 -point scales to the same question, by the same people, we examine some of the important differences previously found and then illustrate the impact they have on data quality and useability. Our conclusion, based on past research and our own analysis, is that longer, balanced and unlabelled scales offer the maximum flexibility and reliability in the majority of cases.

Tendering for low cost generics in Australia

An Australian federal government committee recently proposed, as a cost-saving measure, the introduction of sealed-bid competitive tendering to exclusively supply the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme with specific generic medicines. A similar plan involved an open tender to supply generic products below a government set price, also linked with a reduced patient co-payment as an incentive. These proposals represented an opportunity to encourage the price of generic pharmaceuticals to move closer to the marginal cost of production—a process that could be subsequently applied to innovative (or brand-name) patented medicines in a therapeutic class with many competitors. This article examines these tendering proposals, particularly in relation to the potential for increased involvement of generic pharmaceutical manufacturers in the Australian market.

Consumer behaviour

The third edition of this Australian text continues to convey the essence of consumer behaviour and to connect psychological, socio- cultural and decision making aspects of the discipline. While the book is based on the American edition of Schiffman, it has been heavily adapted to suit the Australian market.

The case for reverse mortgages in Australia : applying the USA experience

In the USA, reverse mortgages have been promoted as a means of accessing equity locked up in a residence, especially after the owner/s has retired. Although there have been some teething problems, the concept of mortgaging the family home after achieving freehold ownership has many merits. Often an asset-rich household must survive on relatively small regular income, and is unable to access the increasing wealth of the family home. A reverse mortgage overcomes this hurdle.

The largest asset for many ageing households is their primary place of residence, the traditional house and suburban land parcel. Recently, the Australian housing market has witnessed substantial growth in the value of its capital city housing, especially on the east coast of Australia. This can be attributed to factors such as owner-occupiers trading up to a better class of dwelling, and the continuing gentrification process for owners choosing not to relocate. At the same time, demographic changes have placed pressure on the regular income of retirees, many of whom have no superannuation fund. For example, life expectancy rates continue to rise and there are an increasing proportion of single person households in society. This has placed additional pressure on financial resources of retirees, especially those with a substantial investment in their family home and a relatively small pension.

This paper visits the reverse mortgage scenario in the USA and considers potential implications for the Australian market. Strengths and weaknesses of this product are contemplated, and the viability of reverse mortgages is discussed. Although there are obvious benefits for certain segments of society, reverse mortgages are a unique product and caution should be exercised to ensure the public is fully knowledgeable from the outset.

Cointegration of stock markets between New Zealand, Australia and the G7 Economies :searching for common trends under structural change

This paper examines whether the New Zealand equity market is integrated with the equity markets of Australia and the G7 economies by applying both the Johansen (1988) and Gregory and Hansen (1996) approaches to cointegration. The Johansen (1988) test suggests that there is no long-run relationship between the New Zealand stock market and any of the other stock markets considered in the study. The Gregory and Hansen (1996) test finds that the New Zealand and United States stock market is cointegrated, but the New Zealand stock market is not cointegrated with the other stock markets in the study. This suggests that in order to avoid some of the risk through international portfolio diversification there is potential for investors to purchase shares in the New Zealand market and either the Australian market or most of the world’s leading equity markets.

Underpricing of infrastructure of IPOs: evidence from India

This paper explores the underpricing of initial public offerings (IPOs) made by infrastructure companies in India from 2004 to 2010, and follows Dimovski who reported that in the Australian market, infrastructure IPOs did not produce underpricing returns that were statistically significantly different to zero. The objective of this paper is to investigate the underpricing of infrastructure IPOs in the emerging market of India and to explore factors that may influence the underpricing of infrastructure IPOs in India. The results show that, on average, the underpricing returns were 25.4% and statistically significantly different to zero, while money left on the table, in aggregate is not. In contrast to Australian evidence, significant underpricing in Indian infrastructure IPOs indicates greater risk of these investments. We find that oversubscription, government ownership and issue size are significant variables in explaining underpricing in Indian infrastructure IPOs.

Netflix Australia launch could be imminent

Netflix's success has been a phenomenon in the United States and where it has migrated as a source for the distribution of film and television content in recent years. Now producing and distributing original series such as House of Cards and Arrested Development, Netflix is building a successful model that could move into the australian market in future months.