IJRM Special Issue on BRANDING IN A DIGITALLY-EMPOWERING WORLD
Guest Editors: Tulin Erdem (New York University), Kevin Lane Keller (Dartmouth College),
Dmitri Kuksov (University of Texas at Dallas) and Rik Pieters (Tilburg
University)
Submission deadline: October 15, 2014
The last decade has seen technological developments that have transformed markets and
marketing. Both consumers and companies have new capabilities that they could not have even
dreamed of a few short years ago (see below). Empowered consumers are meeting equally
empowered companies as both groups have access to increasingly detailed information about just
about anything or anyone. Consumers can choose to become as involved as they want with a
brand, with their influence ranging from just posting comments and evaluations at one end of a
continuum to actually determining the nature and direction of a brand at the other end. Similarly,
companies can choose to become as involved as they want with consumers, from hosting a brand
web site at one end of the continuum to actively engaging and interacting with consumers in
product and brand development at the other end. Many of the rules of branding are changing and
many new rules are being introduced in this new digital era. This special issue of IJRM will
focus on the latest thinking and research in branding that reflects the enhanced consumer and
company capabilities in a digitally-empowering world.
New Consumer Capabilities
Can use the Internet as a powerful information and purchasing aid
Can collect fuller and richer information on products, services, brands, and companies
Can search, communicate, and purchase on the move
Can tap into social media to share opinions and express loyalty with others
Can actively interact with companies
Can digitally receive ads, coupons, and other marketing materials
Can easily compare prices and seek discounts
New Company Capabilities
Can use the Internet as a powerful information and sales channel
Can collect fuller and richer information about markets, customers, prospects, and competitors
Can reach consumers on the move with mobile marketing
Can tap into social media to amplify their brand message
Can facilitate and speed external communication among customers
Can send targeted ads, coupons, samples, and information to customers
Can dynamically set prices to reflect different levels of supply and demand
This special issue aims to capture and publish the latest thinking on Branding in a Digitally
Empowered World. Without limiting the scope of the papers to be submitted, we encourage
original empirical, behavioral, analytical, or managerial work studying the following:
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
How much control do firms have over their brands in this environment? How much control
should they exert over their brands when consumers may want to redefine the brand?

How should firms develop fully integrated channel and communication strategies to best
reflect the wide variety of digital options? How to evaluate the consistency of messages
across so many touch points in this environment? How to measure the effectiveness of an
integrated branding communications campaign?

How to capture the dynamics of brand evolution in such an environment?

What factors affect consumer’s sense of empowerment and level of engagement with
brands in general or for any particular brand?

What are the optimal metrics and response strategies that companies should employ with
social media?

How are ads, promotions and other communications processed by consumers differently
digitally as compared to their traditional counterparts?

What are the costs and benefits of companies adopting yield pricing strategies to optimize
supply and demand?
The review process will feature a maximum of two rounds and final decisions will be made
before June 2015. Given the limited time-window for revising papers, the editors’ aim in most
cases is to make a decision on the first round. It is therefore very important that submissions are
as polished as possible. When submitting a paper (http://ees.elsevier.com/ijrm), authors should
mention that the paper should be considered for this special issue (Article type: "SI: Branding").
Inquiries can be sent to editor-ijrm@idc.ac.il.
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