Stealth marketing to generation Y

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate the appropriateness of using stealth marketing to advertise to Generation Y. Stealth marketing is a covert form of advertising where the target audience.is unaware that they are being marketed to. Marketers are skillful at portraying stealth marketing advertisements as very realistic, authentic, personal and conversational messages often communicated in casual settings. This research examines how members of Generation Y respond to stealth marketing attempts in terms of purchase likelihood (before and after knowledge of the attempt is introduced) and ethical perception. The research identifies four types of stealth marketing: brand pushers, celebrity spokespeople, disguised editorial content and viral marketing. Overall, before knowledge of the attempt was introduced, the stealth marketing advertisements tested were effective in inducing purchase likelihood. However, celebrity spokespeople were the most ineffective means of communicating stealth marketing attempts. Content-based stealth tactics (i.e. disguised editorial content and viral marketing) appear to be more effective in terms of generating purchase likelihood, but are also more likely to be deemed unethical after knowledge of the attempt is introduced. It can be concluded that the very stealth nature of a stealth advertisement is key to its success when targeting Generation Y. In general, members of Generation Y are responsive to stealth marketing attempts. These findings indicate that, if selected and executed properly, marketing managers can look toward stealth marketing tactics as a means of effectively targeting Generation Y with minimal fear of negative backlash.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2010

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Massiah, Carolyn

Degree

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

College

College of Business Administration

Degree Program

Marketing

Subjects

Business Administration -- Dissertations, Academic;Dissertations, Academic -- Business Administration

Format

Print

Identifier

DP0022576

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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