consumer engagement analysis

International Journal of Market Research Vol. 52 Issue 6

801© 2010 The Market Research Society

DOI: 10.2501/S1470785310201661

The concept of engagementA systematic analysis of the ongoing marketing debate

Rossella C. Gambetti and Guendalina GraffignaUniversità Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

Consumer. engagement. is. emerging. as. a. central. concern. in. brand. management.strategies .. Nonetheless,. the. concept. is. new. in. market. research. and. has. been.dealt.with. so. far. in.widely.differing.and.sometimes.contradictory.ways. in.both.the. academic. and. professional. literature,. so. understanding. the. true. nature.of. engagement. is. now. both. timely. and. necessary .. The. basic. aim. of. this. study.is. to. outline. and. explore. the. different. perspectives. in. the. current. debate. on.engagement.by.conducting.an.exploratory.and.systematic.content.analysis.(using.purpose-designed.T-lab.software).of.the.concept.of.engagement.in.the.marketing.and.communication.literature,.both.academic.and.professional ..The.results.of.the.analysis.raise.urgent.managerial.and.methodological.issues.relating.to.the.concept.and.practice.of.engagement,.and.point. to. future. research.directions.aimed.at.a.broader.and.deeper.understanding.of.the.concept .

Background

As. both. product. value. enhancers. and. key. intangible. assets. in. achieving.differential.competitive.edge.(Keller.et al. 2005;.Fiocca.et al. 2007),.brands.need.constant.input.from.innovative.strategies.and.techniques.if.they.are.to. elicit. positive. responses. from. consumers. and. renew. their. confidence.and.trust .

In. the. present. global. market. scenario, the. pursuit. of consumer brand engagement plays.a.key.role.in.a.new.customer-centric.marketing.approach.designed. to. cope. with. the. constantly. evolving. individual. and. social.dynamics.of.postmodern.consumer.behaviour ..In.recent.years,.three.types.of. factor. have. emphasised. the. central. role. of. consumer. engagement. in.

Received.(in.revised.form):.1.March.2010

The concept of engagement

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building.and.maintaining.strong.customer–brand.relationships.in.order.to.achieve.competitive.advantage:

1 .. customer-related.factors2 .. media-related.factors3 .. company-related.factors .

Customer‑related factors.are.concerned.with.current.trends.in.individual.behaviour. that. highlight. the. importance. of. consumption. as. a. value-creation. process. in. postmodern. society. (Firat. &. Venkatesh. 1995),. and.the. hedonistic. and. experiential aspects. of. consumption. (Hirschman. &.Holbrook. 1982) .. Today’s. customers. are. looking. to. satisfy. composite.needs. that.have.both. cognitive. and. emotional.dimensions,. and. focus.on.the.symbolic.value.of.products.and.their.ability.to.elicit.pleasure.and.fun,.engage. with. emotions. and. fantasies,. and. help. customers. identify. with.the. brand. (Klinger. 1971;. Holbrook. &. Hirschman. 1982) .. Moreover,. an.expanding. youth. market. and. reappraisal. of. the. leisure. concept. and. its.related.needs.have.emphasised.the.role.of.entertainment.in.both.consumer.behaviour.and.branding.strategies.(Caputo.&.Resciniti.2003) ..Consumers.also.want.to.play.a.more.active.role.in.the.consumption.process ..They.want.to.co‑create.brand.content.and.value. to.build. their. identities. in. the.here.and. now,. express. themselves. creatively,. socialise. with. other. consumers,.and. enjoy. unique. and. memorable. experiences. (Csikszentmihalyi. 1997;.Fabris.2003;.Calder.&.Malthouse.2005;.Aitken.et al. 2008) .

Media‑related factors. are. concerned. with. ongoing. changes. to. the.media. that. are. forcing. companies. to. rethink. how. they. plan. their. media.mix .. In. particular,. rapid. advances. in. media. technology. are. encouraging.the. spread. of. digital. technology. and. boosting. cross-sector. convergence,.resulting.in.meta-markets.generated.by.the.convergence.of.entertainment.and.other.sectors ..Moreover,.gradual.fragmentation.of.audience.is.making.it.increasingly.difficult.to.reach.numerically.large.consumer.groups.using.a. narrow. range. of. old. media. (Firat. &. Shultz. 1997) .. The. causes. of. this.fragmentation. are. the. proliferation. of. media. products. and. changes. in.consumer. media. use,. with. a. growing. preference. for. radio,. satellite. and.cable.TV,.and.the.internet ..An.additional.factor.is.that.media.preferences.are. also. changing. (Ceccarelli. 2006) .. Consumers. are. now. more. likely. to.choose.media. they.pay. for.directly,. like.DVDs,.pay-TV,. the. internet. and.videogames,.which.may.not.carry.advertising ..Companies.are.responding.to. these. changes. with. a. more. complex. media. mix. whose. integration. of.old.and.new.media.makes.it.possible.to.increase.impact.on.consumers.by.


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breaking.through.the.clutter.and.engaging.with.them.through.interaction,.participation,.entertainment.and.innovative.creativity .

Company‑related factors. are. concerned. with. changes. in. corporate.behaviour. brought. about. by. evolving. consumer. profiles. and. attitudes.to. consumption,. as. well. as. changes. in. the. media. scenario .. Competitive.strategies.now.centre.on.the.company’s.ability.to.build.strong,.distinctive.brands.based.on.an.integrated.mix.of.old.and.new.media.able.to.support.a.clear.brand.identity.over.time ..In.today’s.world,.a.successful.brand.strategy.emphasises. the.need.to.pursue.a.new.marketing.approach.that.combines.the.principles.of.market.proximity.and.customer.experience.management ..This. new. marketing. approach. is. based. on. empirical. observation. of.competitive.context,.anticipation.of.customers’.needs.and.desires.through.cool-hunting,. flexible. solutions. that. place. consumers. at. the. heart. of. the.marketing. process,. and. the. use. of. new. interactive. marketing. tools. and.techniques. (Stokes. 2000) .. The. ultimate. aim. is. to. foster. ‘conversational.relationships’. with. consumers .. Experience. management. focuses. on.consumption. experiences. that. are. based. on. a. complex. set. of. sensory,.cognitive,.affective,.behavioural.and.relational. responses. (Schmitt.1999) ..These. responses. solicit. the. active. participation. of. individual. consumers.who.help. to. construct. their.own.unique.brand. experiences. (Prahalad.&.Ramaswamy. 2000) .. To. co-create. a. total. experience. with. customers. that.can.boost.their.brand.attachment.and.loyalty,.companies.need.to.channel.their.management.efforts.into.orientating.the.context.clues.present.in.the.environment.or. built. into.products. (Carbone.&.Haeckel. 1994). towards.customer. engagement .. In. today’s. society. it. is. context. clues. rather. than.performance. clues. that. determine. both. product. differentiation. and. the.customer. satisfaction. generated. by. unique,. positive. experience. of. a.product.and.brand.(Dahlén.2005) .

Experiential.marketing.methods.and.techniques.enable.target.markets.to.be.identified.more.flexibly,.enhancing.bottom-up.segmentation,.targeting.and. positioning,. and. market. proximity,. which. channels. communication.efforts. into. identifying. and. enhancing. customer. touchpoints. (Brioschi.2005) .. These. environmental. touchpoints. (e .g .. squares. and. streets. where.people. gather;. the. places. where. they. go. to. buy. or. consume,. such. as.sales. points,. shopping. malls,. events. venues,. and. so. on). facilitate. the.development.of.engagement. in.consumers,. since. in. those.urban.contexts.they.are.typically.most.receptive.to.brand.messages,.most.laid-back,.most.open.to.new.ideas,.and.most.prepared.to.listen.and.interact.(Cova.et al. 2007;.Gambetti.2009) .


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The concept of engagement in the marketing literature

Engagement.is.a.new.concept.in.the.marketing.literature ..It.is.currently.seen.as. a. fundamental. driving. force. behind. postmodern. consumer. behaviour.and. decision. making,. though. a. clear. and. comprehensive. definition. of.the. new. concept. has. yet. to. be. provided .. Organisational. psychologists.have. tentatively. defined. it. as. a. sort. of. ongoing. emotional,. cognitive.and. behavioural. activation. state. in. individuals. (Kahn. 1990;. Schaufeli et al .. 2002;. Wefald. &. Downey. 2009),. while. advertising. academics. and.professionals. see. it. as. the. ‘turning. on. of. a. prospect. to. a. brand. idea.enhanced.by.the.surrounding.context’.(ARF.2006) .

Moreover,.engagement.has.been.defined.in.the.academic.marketing.and.advertising. literature. in. widely. differing. and. even. contradictory. ways,.either. as. a. somewhat. muddled,. all-inclusive. concept. (Bowden. 2009),.or. as. a. synonym. of. other. apparently. similar,. much. better. established.concepts.like.involvement.(Sawhney.et al. 2005),.activation.(Etgar.2008),.empowerment (Shaw. et al. 2006),. commitment. (Alloza. 2008),. retention (Carter.2008).and.loyalty (Kerr.2009) .

Hence,. there. is. now. the. need. for. a. wider-ranging,. more. consistent.exploration. of. engagement. as. a. complex. construct. in. postmodern.consumer.behaviour .

Empirical analysis

Aims

To. start. understanding. the. true. nature,. fundamental. drivers. and.consequences. of. engagement,. we. systematically. analysed. the. ongoing.debate. on. engagement. in. the. academic. and. professional. literature .. The.aims.of.the.analysis.were.to:

•. explore. the. main. dimensions. associated. with. engagement. in. the.marketing. and. communication. literature. (i .e .. how. is. engagement.conceived?. Which. variables. and. issues. are. related. to. it?. Are. there.different.types.of.engagement.or.is.it.a.unified.concept?)

•. identify. similarities. and. differences. in. the. vocabulary. most. often.associated. with. engagement. in. academic. peer-reviewed. journals. and.professional. journals,. and. in. the. contextualisations. of. engagement.most.commonly.used.in.the.marketing.and.communication.literature.(see.‘Method’,.below) .


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The. results. of. this. preliminary. analysis. raise. urgent. managerial. and.methodological. issues. relating. to. the. concept. and. the. practice. of.engagement,. and. point. to. future. research. directions. aimed. at. a. broader.and.deeper.understanding.of.the.concept .

Method

T-lab. software-aided. content. analysis1.was. carried.out.on.both. the. titles.and.abstracts.of.all.the.academic.and.professional.articles.mentioning.the.concept.of.engagement.listed.in.the.Business.Source.Premier.international.database.(Ebsco.Electronic.Publishing) .

The. word. ‘engagement’. was. not. considered. in. isolation. from. other.defining.or.contextualising.keywords.because.on.its.own.it.is.far.too.vague.and.decontextualised,.and.can.sometimes.verge.on.the.meaningless .

Instead,. we. considered. engagement. as. a. specific. conceptual construct.associated.with.the.main.contextual.dimensions.in.which.it.features.as.an.autonomous.concept ..Consequently,.our.analysis.covered.only.those.titles.and.abstracts.in.which.engagement.is:

•. adjectivally.defined.and.contextualised,.and•. the.central.topic.of.the.article .

The. marketing. and. communication. literature. (Schau. &. Muniz. 2004;.Ephron. 2006;. Wang. 2006;. Kilger. &. Romer. 2007;. Neff. 2007;. Schultz.2007;.Bowden.2009;.Heath.2009;.Sprott.et al. 2009).has.so.far.yielded.five. main. contextual. dimensions. of. engagement:. consumer,. customer,.brand,.advertising.and.media .

Customer. engagement. and. consumer. engagement. are. concerned. with.individuals. who. are. or. can. be. engaged. by. a. brand,. advertisement.or. communication. medium,. whereas. brand. engagement,. advertising.engagement. and.media. engagement. focus.on.brand,. advertising.message.and. the. mass. media. as. contexts. capable. of. eliciting. engagement. in. the.individuals.exposed.to.them .

A. list. of. 237. titles. and. related. abstracts. was. retrieved. from. Ebsco.Business. Source. Premier. database. on. 6. September. 2009 .. The. following.key.concepts.were.selected.as.search.parameters.using.Boolean.operators:

1. T-lab.content.analysis.and.text.mining.software.is.widely.used.by.qualitative.researchers.in.Italy.and.other.European.countries,.and.is.usually.listed.as.text.manager.software.(Lewins.&.Silver.2007) ..For.a.more.detailed.account.of.its.design.and.function,.see.Graffigna.(2009) ..


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•. Consumer.engagement.(or)•. Customer.engagement.(or)•. Brand.engagement.(or)•. Advertising.engagement.(or)•. Media.engagement .

T-lab.6 .1.made.possible.a.quantitative.analysis.of.how.themes.are.explored.in.the.various.literature.corpora ..Compared.with.other.widely.used.content.analysis. procedures. (for. a. review,. see. Neuendorf. 2002),. this. approach.seemed.the.best.way.to.systematically.explore.coverage.of.engagement.in.the.ongoing.literature.debate,.and.to.‘characterise’.the.specific.approaches.adopted. in. the.academic.and.professional. literature ..Our.choice.of.T-lab.was. due. both. to. the. wide. variety. of. statistical. analysis. that. it. performs.on.a.textual.database.and.to.the.specific.graphical.representations.of.the.main. outputs. (words. occurrences. and. co-occurrences). that. it. produces ..T-lab. analysis. is. based. on. context. units. (CU). and. lexical. units. (LU).(for. a. detailed. account,. see. Gilardi. &. Lozza. 2009;. Graffigna. 2009) .. A.text. corpus. can. be.divided. into. elementary. contexts. (EC). and. variables,.the. two. subsets. of. context. units .. ECs. are. portions. of. text,. delimited. by.punctuation,.that.correspond.to.one.or.more.statements ..Variables.are.the.criteria. the. researcher. chooses. when. organising. and. classifying. the. text.corpus ..Our.study.uses.two.variables .

1 .. Field of inquiry,. which. divides. the. entire. database. corpus. into. two.sub-corpora:2

.– an.academic.sub-corpus.of.27.academic.journal.titles.and.abstracts.that.mention.engagement

.– a. professional. sub-corpus. of. 210. professional. journal. titles. and.abstracts.that.mention.engagement .

2 .. Type of engagement,. which. divides. the. entire. database. corpus. into.three.sub-corpora:.– a. brand. engagement. sub-corpus. of. 43. titles. and. abstracts. (from.

both.academic.and.professional.journals).identified.by.the.keyword.‘brand.engagement’

2. The.two.sub-corpora.considered.in.the.analysis.were.of.different.lengths.and.derived.from.different.numbers.of.sources ..However,.the.fact.that.all.T-lab.comparisons.are.based.on.chi-square.tests.helps.the.researcher.to.cast.light.(only).on.significant.thematic.differences.in.the.sub-corpus.under.investigation,.and.to.avoid.biases.due.to.the.differing.sizes.and.compositions.of.the.sub-corpora.(Lancia.2004) .


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.– an. advertising. engagement. sub-corpus. of. 11. titles. and. abstracts.(from. both. academic. and. professional. journals). identified. by. the.keywords.‘advertising.engagement’.and.‘media.engagement’3

.– a. consumer/customer. engagement. sub-corpus. of. 183. titles.and. abstracts. (from. both. academic. and. professional. journals).identified.by.the.key.words.‘consumer.engagement’.and.‘customer.engagement’ .4

Lexical. Units. (LUs). are. words. or. phrases. that. are. analysed. according.to. the. graphic. forms. they. assume. in. the. text,. or. ascribed. to. dictionary.headwords. or. semantic. classes. (e .g .. working. =. work) .. The. software.produces.matrices.of.relationships.between.the.units.of.analysis.(CU.and.LU).in.which.frequency.numbers.indicate.occurrences.or.co-occurrences.of.the.phenomena.in.question.(Lancia.2004) .

Outputs

Thematic Analysis of Elementary Contexts. (TAEC). was. carried. out. to.survey. the. corpus. contents. using. a. small. number. of. significant. thematic.clusters,. each. consisting. of. a. set. of. elementary. contexts. (i .e .. sentences.and. paragraphs). characterised. by. the. same. patterns. of. key. words,. and.described.in.terms.of.the.lexical.units.(words.and.lemmas)5.and.variables.most.characteristic.of.the.context.units.of.which.it.is.composed.(Figure.1) ..In.other.words,.TAEC.made.possible.a.preliminary.systematisation.of.the.main.themes.relating.to.engagement.in.the.ongoing.literature.debate .

TAEC.analysis.of.the.entire.database.corpus.(i .e ..all.titles.and.abstracts.included. in. the. research). produced. two. factors. explaining. the. lexical/thematic.variance.of.the.analysed.corpus .

1 .. A. focus. on. company. relationships. aimed. at. stimulating. stakeholder.engagement:.internal, on employees vs external, on customers.(Factor.1) ..Both. the. internal. and.external. focuses. emphasise. the. strategic. role.of.communication.in.the.development.of.engagement.strategies.and.plans ..The. internal. focus. on. company–employee. relationships. emphasises.internal. communication. supportive.of.organisational. change.and.CSR.

3. The.sources.identified.by.the.two.key.words.were.merged.because.of.the.semantic.proximity.and.small.number.of.the.retrieved.titles/abstracts .4. The.sources.identified.by.the.two.key.words.were.merged.because.of.their.semantic.proximity ..In.most.cases.‘customer’.and.‘consumer’.were.used.just.as.synonyms .5. In.linguistics,.lemmas.are.the.head.words.of.dictionary.entries .


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Notes: The tables list thematic specificities of the factors that explain variance between elementary contexts (EC). The factors are interpreted on the basis of the threshold values of their constitutive elements (i.e. the words that are ‘more typical’/ ‘concentrated’ at each pole of the axes).

Figure 1 Factors explaining lexical/thematic variance of the analysed corpus in Thematic Analysis of Elementary Contexts (TAEC)

Polarity +

Type Elements Test valuesLEM Advertise 6.61LEM Consumer 4.42LEM Purchase 4.40LEM Message 3.96LEM Online 3.84LEM Internet 3.61LEM Medium 3.50LEM Research 3.41LEM Virtual 3.39LEM Growth 3.24

Polarity +

Type Elements Test valuesLEM Organisation 7.55LEM Individual 4.67LEM Trust 4.53LEM Estimate 4.50LEM Alliance 3.92LEM Decision 3.83LEM Formation 3.30LEM Loyalty 3.27

Polarity –

Type Elements Test valuesLEM Responsibility –2.04LEM Influence –2.08LEM Advertise –2.15LEM Corporate –2.30LEM Message –2.59LEM Co-production –2.71

Polarity –

Type Elements Test valuesLEM Business –7.04LEM Communication –6.10LEM Company –6.73LEM Employee –4.23LEM Internal –4.47LEM Corporate –4.65LEM Challenge –3.02LEM Opportunity –3.02LEM Plan –3.15LEM Change –3.16LEM Organisation –3.18LEM Strategy –3.32LEM Responsibility –3.49

Factor 1(The focus of the company relationships aimed at stimulating stakeholders’

engagement: internal, on employees vs external, on customers)

Factor 2(The kind of aspects related to the concept of engagement emphasised in company strategies: emphasis on soft, relational aspects of engagement vs

emphasis on pragmatic, managerial aspects of engagement)


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(see. Figure. 1,. especially. such. words. as. business,. communication,.internal,.employee,.company,.organisation,.change,.responsibility).as.a.fundamental.tool.to.develop.engagement ..In.contrast,.the.external.focus.on. company–customer. relationships. emphasises. online. advertising. as.a.primary.customer.engagement.tool.to.stimulate.consumer.purchases.(see.Figure.1,.especially.such.words.as.advertise,.online,.internet,.virtual,.message,.medium,.consumer,.purchase) .

2 .. Engagement-related. features. of. company. strategies:. soft, relational aspects of engagement vs pragmatic, managerial aspects of engagement (Factor. 2) .. When. the. emphasis. is. on. the. soft,. relational. aspects. of.engagement,.the.focus.of.company.actions.is.on.stakeholder.trust.and.building. loyalty. to.the.company.(see.Figure.1,.especially.such.words.as.organisation,.individual,.trust,.alliance,.loyalty,.decision) ..When.the.emphasis.is.on.pragmatic,.managerial.issues.of.engagement,.the.focus.of. company. actions. is. on. content. co-creation. (corporate. messages,.advertising,.etc .).as.a.form.of.company.influence.on.stakeholders.(see.Figure.1,.especially.such.words.as.responsibility,.influence,.corporate,.advertise,.message,.co-production) .

TAEC.also.identified.four.conceptual clusters.in.the.analysed.corpus ..A.semantic map.was.drawn.up,.based.on.the. two.above-mentioned.factors.(Figure.2) .

The. first. cluster. (in. the. lower-left. quadrant. of. the. map). considers.engagement as a form of interaction between employee and customer,.and.emphasises.the.use.of.the.digital.environment,.and.virtual.communities.in.particular,.as.primary.interaction.tools.for.employee–customer.engagement.and.mutual.knowledge.enhancement.(see.Figure.3,.especially.such.words.as.product,.digital,.enhance,.knowledge,.interact,.community,.achieve) .

The. second.cluster. (in. the.upper-right.quadrant.of. the.map).considers.engagement as an alliance between company and customer,.and.emphasises.the. soft,. relational. aspects. of. engagement. as. ways. to. build. and. enhance.trust. and. loyalty. between. the. company. and. its. customers. (see. Figure. 3,.especially. such. words. as. organisation,. individual,. role,. trust,. loyalty,.alliance,.decision) .

The. third. cluster. (in. the. lower-right. quadrant. of. the. map). considers.engagement as co‑production of contents between company and customer,.and. emphasises. managerial,. pragmatic. aspects. of. relationship. building.between. the. company. and. its. customers,. in. particular. communication.programmes. and. plans. aimed. at. exploring. consumers’. attitudes. and.expectations.through.co-production.of.contents.(see.Figure.3,.especially.such.


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words. as. co-production,. corporate,. consumer,. relationship,. expectation,.attitude,.communication,.plan,.programme) .

The. fourth. cluster. (in. the. lower-left. quadrant. of. the. map). considers.engagement as a top management effort towards its employees,. and.emphasises.the.supporting.role.of.communication.channels.and.technology.in. developing. strategies. and. plans. to. encourage. and. manage. employee.engagement. (see.Figure.3,. especially. such.words. as. channel,. technology,.chief,.officer,.promotion,.control) .

Specificity Analysis. (SA).on.the. two.sub-corpora. identified.by.our. first.variable.(academic.sub-corpus.vs.professional.sub-corpus).was.then.carried.out.to.identify.the.main.thematic.specificities.of.engagement.and.ways.of.managing. it. in. the.academic.and.business.worlds ..SA. indicated. the.most.typical.words. (over-used. lemmas). and. those. typically. absent. (under-used.lemmas). in. each. subset ..A. chi-square. test.defined. the. significance.of. the.analysis.outcomes.(see.Figure.4) .

Figure 2 Semantic map of the four conceptual clusters of Thematic Analysis of Elementary Contexts (TAEC)

Engagement as alliancebetween company and

customer

Engagement as co-production of contents

between company andcustomer

Engagement as top management

e�ort towardsits employees

Engagement as interaction between

employee andcustomer

Emphasis on soft,relational aspects

of engagement

Emphasis on pragmatic,managerial, aspects

of engagement

Relationshipcompany–customers

Relationshipcompany–employees

–0.8 –0.6 –0.4 –0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6

–0.4

–0.2

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

Notes: T-lab makes possible a graphic representation of elementary contexts (EC) in a semantic map that casts light on their thematic similarities and di�erences. The map originates from two main factors (see Figure 1) that explain thematic variance between identi�ed ECs.


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Cluster 1: focus on employee–customer interaction (emphasis on virtual communities)

Lemma Chi2EC in

clusterEC in total

Product 93.38 42 57Digital 34.79 23 38Enhance 18.32 10 15Knowledge 13.07 5 6Interact 13.69 6 8Community 11.59 9 16Achieve 10.43 5 7

Cluster 3: focus on relationship strategies between company and customer (emphasis on co-production of contents and communication tools)

Lemma Chi2EC in

clusterEC in total

Co-production 22.40 15 15Corporate 15.94 18 22Consumer 12.46 98 186Relationship 12.36 28 42Expectation 11.94 8 8Plan 11.84 33 52Design 10.94 17 23Programme 10.94 22 32Attitude 10.63 14 18Communication 10.24 27 42Consumption 8.95 6 6

Cluster 2: focus on trust/loyalty between the company and its customers (emphasis on soft and relational aspects of engagement)

Lemma Chi2EC in

clusterEC in total

Organisation 53.33 20 32Individual 21.41 6 8Trust 20.88 5 6Role 19.78 10 19Play 16.55 5 7Alliance 16.55 5 7Loyalty 13.91 14 37Decision 12.65 6 11

Cluster 4: focus on top management effort towards its employees (emphasis on communication channels and technology)

Lemma Chi2EC in

clusterEC in total

Channel 44.63 16 18Technology 33.71 27 46Story 20.27 6 6Promotion 16.36 10 15Chief 15.89 9 13Officer 15.70 6 7Control 15.42 7 9Focus 13.06 28 68

Notes: Each table describes the main features of each elementary context (EC). Each EC is composed of all words and phrases that share the same meaning context. Each table lists the elements (words) that proved significant in the chi-square test. The rows of each table also give individual word occurrences in the EC and the entire data corpus.

Figure 3 Words featuring in the four conceptual clusters of Thematic Analysis of Elementary Contexts (TAEC)


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SA.of.the.academic.sub-corpus.revealed.the.following.specificities .

•. There.is.a.strong.focus.on.measurement.issues.relating.to.engagement.as.well.as.on.the.identification.of.factors.influencing/producing.engagement.or.mediating.its.effects ..There.is.a.classical,.linear.perspective.typical.of.a.positivist. research.procedure. (see.Figure.4,.especially.words. such.as.theory,.demonstration,.research,.methodology,.implication) .

This. is.particularly.evident. in. traditional.empirical. studies ..For.example,.Wang.(2006).seeks.to.determine.whether.the.greater.engagement.generated.by.the.contextual.relevance.of.an.advertisement.also.increases.advertising.recall,. message. involvement,. message. credibility,. and. attitudes. towards.the. message. and. advertisement .. Kilger. and. Romer. (2007). explore. the.relationship. between. media. engagement. and. the. likelihood. of. purchase.and. advertising. receptivity .. Finally,. Sprott et al .. (2009).develop. and. test.a.scale.to.measure.brand.engagement.as.a.form.of.self–brand.connection:

•. ‘engagement’.is.used.as.a.synonym.for.other.terms,.such.as.involvement

Specificities

Word Chi2 Subtotal TotalMessage 78.46 24 28Study 32.39 26 51Implication 23.58 9 12Responsibility 23.35 8 10Alliance 19.57 6 7Research 17.93 20 45Relationship 17.81 19 42Involvement 16.78 10 17Methodology 16.27 7 10Process 15.62 22 54Theory 15.59 5 6Demonstration 12.77 6 9Entertainment 12.77 6 9Strategic 12.66 8 14

Under-used words

Word Chi2 Subtotal TotalOnline –10.54 1 53Employee –8.78 3 63Plan –8.17 2 52Manage –4.78 1 29

Notes: The tables list significant words and their corresponding chi-square values, occurrences of words in the considered variable level, and occurrences of the same words in the entire data corpus.

Figure 4 Specificity Analysis (SA) of the academic sub-corpus


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•. the.focus.on.soft,.relational.dimensions.of.engagement.is.particularly.evident;.in.addition,.engagement.has.a.strong.entertainment.dimension,.which. usually. points. to. an. alliance. between. company. and. customer.(Figure.4)

•. engagement.is.seen.as.a.process.(Figure.4),.i .e ..a.dynamic.phenomenon•. little. importance. is. attributed. to. pragmatic,. managerial. issues. of.

engagement.(e .g ..decision.making,.ROI.evaluation,.effective-efficient.budget.allocation),.or.to.engagement.issues.relating.to.employees.and.internal. marketing/communication. practices. (see. Figure. 4,. especially.under-used.words.such.as.employee,.plan,.manage)

•. little.reference.is.made.to.the.internet.world.as.a.potential.source.of.engagement.(see.Figure.4,.‘online’.as.an.under-used.word) .

SA.of.the.professional.sub-corpus.revealed.the.following.specificities .

•. There. is. a. strong. focus. on. communication. programmes. to. enhance.customer. engagement. (see. Figure. 5,. especially. such. words. as.plan,. agency,. campaign,. customer,. focus,. engagement) .. In. these.programmes,. employee–customer. relationship. management,. and. an.effective.employee.communication.plan.drawn.up.by. the.company’s.top.management,.play.a.central.role.in.engagement.building .

Specificities

Word Chi2 Subtotal TotalOnline 10.54 52 53Employee 8.78 60 63Plan 8.17 50 52Agency 7.46 47 49Campaign 6.92 37 38Customer 6.50 277 322Focus 6.44 63 68Engagement 5.03 279 327Manage 4.78 28 29Sale 4.07 25 26

Under-used words

Word Chi2 Subtotal TotalMessage –78.46 4 28Responsibility –23.35 2 10Theory –15.59 1 6Strength –8.51 2 6Vision –8.51 2 6

Notes: The tables list significant words and their corresponding chi-square values, occurrences of words in the considered variable level, and occurrences of the same words in the entire data corpus.

Figure 5 Specificity Analysis (SA) of the professional sub-corpus


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•. The. focus. on. pragmatic,. managerial,. concrete. issues. of. engagement.is. particularly. evident. (see. Figure. 5,. especially. such. words. as.plan,. manage,. sale),. but. little. importance. is. attributed. to. long-term.engagement.initiatives.and.strategic.vision.(see.Figure.5,.‘vision’.as.an.under-used.word),.immediate.results.being.the.prime.objective .

•. The.internet.(online).world.is.a.central.topic .•. There.is.a.clear.focus.on.employee.engagement.as.a.way.to.enhance.

customer.engagement .•. Little.importance.is.attributed.to.theoretical.issues.aimed.at.enhancing.

our.knowledge.of.engagement.(see.Figure.5,.such.under-used.words.as.theory,.strength) .

Word Association Analysis. (WAA). of. the. academic. and. professional.sub-corpora. was. also. carried. out. to. identify. main. key. words. and. the.lexical. units. (words,. lemmas. or. categories). that. share. co-occurrence.contexts. with. them .. The. selection. was. computed. using. an. Association.Index.(Cosine.Coefficient,. see.Salton.&.McGill.1984)6.and.visualised.as.a. radial.diagram.(see.Figure.6).with. the. selected.key.word. in. the.centre.and. other. co-occurring. words. distributed. around. it,. each. at. a. distance.proportional. to. its. degree. of. association .. The. statistically. significant.relationships.between.the.elements.(i .e ..lemmas.and.words).are.therefore.univocal. and. mono-directional. (i .e .. from. the. key. word. at. the. centre. to.each.of.the.other.selected.words.distributed.around.it) .

WAA. showed. that. customer/consumer. engagement. and. brand.engagement. predominate. in. both. sub-corpora,. confirming. a. common.orientation. towards. a. holistic,. integrated. concept. of. engagement. that.is. linked. not. to. any. particular. medium. or. advertising. message,. but. to. a.comprehensive.brand.strategy.targeted.at.a.specific.market .

Confirming.our.previous. results,. the. academic. sub-corpus. also. reveals.a. strong. positivist. focus. on. building. universal. conceptual. models. and.linear.explanations.of.those.models.(see.Figure.6,.especially.such.words.as.conceptual,.demonstrate,.reveal,.mediate,.measure) .

Finally,.the.academic.sub-corpus.reveals.a.strong.focus.on.process-based.engagement,. which. is. by. nature. flexible. and. dynamic,. pointing. to. the.paradoxical.effect,.at.least.in.this.preliminary.stage.of.the.study,.of.using.over-rigid,.simplistic.methods .

6. The.Cosine.Coefficient.measure.was.first.used.by.Salton.and.McGill.(1984).in.information.retrieval.studies.to.evaluate.the.degree.of.association.between.documents.and.words,.and.later.to.automatically.classify.both.elements.(i .e ..document.clustering.and.key.word.clustering) .


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Figure 6 Word Association Analysis (WAA) of the academic and the professional sub-corpora

Academic sub-corpus

Professional sub-corpus

Notes: The graphs show the thematic elements most associated with the word ‘engagement’ in the two sub-corpora (academic and professional). The selection of associated thematic elements is based on an association index (Cosine Coe�cient). The association value of each thematic element is graphically represented in terms of distance from the key word (i.e. engagement).

ENGAGEMENT

ENGAGEMENT

DEMONSTRATE

MEDIUM

MEDIUM

AGENCY

SERVICE

MARKETDISCUSS

ARTICLE

STRATEGY

PERCEIVE

MESSAGE

PROCESS

INTERNET

MEASURE

MEASURE

PURCHASE

ADVERTISE

CONSUMER

CONSUMER

EMPLOYEE

DIRECTOR

INCREASE

COMPANY

CUSTOMER

CUSTOMER

COMMUNICATION

MANAGEMENT

CONCEPTUAL

MEDIATE

CREATE

MARKET

ARTICLE

MOBILEBRAND

BRAND

FOCUS

PLAN

REVEAL

FOSTER

ADVERTISE


816

The. professional. sub-corpus. reveals. a. strong. focus. on. operational.management. issues. of. engagement,. such. as. decision. making,. problem.solving.and.optimal.use.of.corporate.assets.(see.Figure.6,.especially.such.words.as.company,.strategy,.plan) .

The.professional.world.attributes.special.importance.to.communication.(see. Figure. 6,. especially. such. words. as. communication,. agency). as. a.primary. corporate. tool. to. stimulate. and. enhance. consumer. engagement ..More.specifically,.great.importance.is.attributed.to.employee.engagement.as.a.primary.driver.of.consumer.engagement .

Finally,. Correspondences Analysis (CA) was. performed. to. synthesise.the.specific.thematic.features.of.each.sub-corpus.(academic.sub-corpus.vs.professional. sub-corpus.and.brand.engagement. sub-corpus.vs.advertising.engagement. sub-corpus. vs. consumer/customer. engagement. sub-corpus).and. position. them. on. a. comparative. thematic. map .. CA. cast. light. on.relationships. between. the. various. corpus. sub-sets. and. their. specific.contents,. and. identified. factors. that. explain. variance. between. variables ..The.significance.of.these.factors.was.determined.from.the.threshold.values.of.their.constitutive.elements .

In. Figure. 7,. the. two. variables. of. the. analysis. are. positioned. on. a.thematic.map.structured.by.two.main.factors ..The.first.factor.(horizontal.axis),.which.explains.0 .39%.of.variables.inertia,.opposes:

•. at. its. positive. pole,. topics. relating. to. traditional. communication-effectiveness. parameters. (see. Figure. 8,. especially. such. words. as.message. recall,. attitude,. credibility,. involvement). and. mediating.variables;. in.other.words,. it.classifies.articles.that,. in.their.titles.and/or. abstracts,. focus. on. the. effects and implications. of. engagement. in.marketing.strategy

•. at. its. negative. pole,. topics. relating. to. online. tools. (see. Figure. 8,.especially. such. words. as. digital,. online),. employee. engagement. (see.Figure. 8,. especially. such. words. as. employee,. employer,. director,.company).and.communication.campaigns.(see.Figure.8,.especially.the.word. ‘campaign’);. in.other.words,. this.pole.emphasises.strategy.that.makes. possible. the. production and management of. engagement. as. a.strategic.asset .

This.factor.clearly.differentiates.the.academic.sub-corpus.(the.‘Academic’.field. in. Figure. 7,. positioned. on. the. positive. pole. of. the. axis. and. more.focused. on. the. analysis. of. theoretical. dimensions,. the. consequences. of.engagement.and.its.implications.for.marketing.research.and.strategy),.from.


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the.professional.sub-corpus.(‘Professional’.field.in.Figure.7,.positioned.on.the.negative.pole.of.the.axis.and.more.focused.on.the.pragmatic.conditions,.e .g .. online. environment,. digital. tools,. communication. efforts,. that.make.possible.the.production.and.management.of.engagement) .

The. second. factor. (vertical. axis),. which. explains. 0 .33%. of. variables.inertia,.opposes:

•. at.its.positive.pole,.topics.mainly.relating.to.communication strategies aimed at enforcing brand values and image. (see. Figure. 8,. especially.such.words.as.brand,.advertise,.campaign,.message)

•. at. its. negative. pole,. topics. mainly. relating. to. customer management and service. (see.Figure.8,.especially.such.words.as.customer,.service,.consumer) .

It. is. interesting. to. note,. on. the. one. hand,. that. both. academic. and.professional.articles.are.positioned.at.the.same.level.on.this.axis,.indicating.

Figure 7 Thematic map of Correspondences Analysis (CA)

TYPE_ADVENG

TYPE_BRANDENG

FIELD-ACADEMIC

TYPE_CONSENG

FIELD_PROFESSIONAL

Customer managementand service

Brandcommunication

Engagementeffects/

implications

Engagementproduction/

management

Notes: Correspondences Analysis (CA) describes relationships between the semantic units (words) and variables that divide the corpus. The results are expressed as speci�c content similarities and di�erences between the various sub-corpora.

–1.0 –0.5 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0

–1.0

–0.5

0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0


818

Notes: Correspondences Analysis (CA) also identifies factors that explain inertia between variables. The factors are interpreted on the basis of the threshold values of their constitutive elements (i.e. words and the variables taken in account). The two factors generate a map that represents thematic similarities and differences between the sub-corpora.

Figure 8 Factors explaining lexical/thematic variance in the analysed corpus in Correspondences Analysis (CA)

Polarity +

Type Elements Test valuesLEM Believability 9.38LEM Mediate 6.89LEM Involvement 6.58LEM Effects 6.51LEM Strength 5.29LEM Advertise 5.26LEM Recall 5.13LEM Attitude 4.74LEM Perceive 4.72LEM Implication 4.48

Polarity +

Type Elements Test valuesLEM Brand 18.12LEM Advertise 6.53LEM Campaign 5.35LEM Message 3.61LEM Enterprise 3.59LEM Market 3.48

Polarity –

Type Elements Test valuesLEM Customer –6.63LEM Service –3.15LEM Application –2.03LEM Factor –2.44LEM Approach –2.44LEM Consumer –2.46LEM Performance –2.47LEM Plan –2.58LEM Technology –2.68LEM Strategy –2.68

Polarity –

Type Elements Test valuesLEM Digital –3.07LEM Online –3.30LEM Employee –3.46LEM Market –3.50LEM Campaign –3.54LEM Brand –3.63LEM Customer –3.69LEM Director –2.07LEM Manage –2.17LEM Employer –2.23LEM Company –2.24

Factor 1(Focus on engagement effects and implications vs focus on engagement

production and management)

Factor 2(Focus on brand communication vs focus on customer

management and service)


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that. both. the. polar. contents. described. by. this. factor. may. be. equally.represented.in.the.two.corpora .

On.the.other.hand,.this.second.axis.differentiates.the.three.sub-corpora.generated. by. the. second. variable,. i .e .. type. of. engagement. (consumer/customer. engagement. vs. brand. engagement. vs. advertising. engagement) ..More.specifically:

•. the.brand. engagement. sub-corpus. (‘Brandeng’. type. in.Figure.7). and.the.advertising.engagement.sub-corpus.(‘Adveng’.type.in.Figure.7).are.positioned. on. the. positive. pole. of. the. second. axis. because. they. are.specifically.related.to.the.communication.strategy.adopted.to.enhance.the.consumer.brand.engagement

•. in.contrast,. the.consumer.engagement.sub-corpus. (‘Conseng’. type. in.Figure.7).seems.more.focused.on.the.services.and.initiatives.a.company.may.adopt.to.strengthen.and.manage.its.consumer.relationships .

Limitations

This. exploratory. study. is. a. systematic. content. analysis. of. academic. and.managerial.articles.dealing.with.the.role.of.engagement.in.the.theory.and.practice.of.marketing.and.communication ..The.results.are.both.provisional.and.preliminary,.therefore,.and.require.further.investigation ..It.would.also.be. advisable. to. perform. more. extended. software-aided. content. analysis.of.databases. (sub-corpora). that.are.more. similar. in. size.and.articulation ..From. this. perspective,. it. would. be. worth. including. in. the. databases. the.full.texts.of.articles.on.engagement.published.in.academic.and.professional.journals,.so.as.to.have.more.material.to.analyse .

Discussion

The. study. raises. two. fundamental. issues. –. one. managerial,. the. other.methodological –. relating. to. concepts. and. approaches. to. engagement. in.the.academic.and.professional.literature .

As.for.the.managerial.issue,.although.the.marketing.and.communication.literature.describes.five.contextual.dimensions.of.engagement.(consumer,.customer,.brand,.advertising.and.media),.the.words.and.topics.associated.with.engagement.show.that.consumer brand engagement is.seen.as.the.only.really. significant. concept .. The. fact. that. concepts. of. customer/consumer.engagement.and.brand.engagement.predominate.in.our.empirical.analysis.reveals. an. orientation. towards. an. integrated. concept. of. engagement.


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linked. not. to. any. particular. medium. or. advertising. message,. but. to. a.comprehensive.brand.strategy .

The.other.contextual.dimensions.of.engagement.(advertising.and.media).are.basically.concerned.with.the.ability.of.a.medium.(mainly.classical.ones.like.TV.and.the.press).or.an.advertisement.to.stand.out,.break.through.the.clutter.and.grab.audience.attention ..But.this.is.an.old,.traditional.approach.to.engagement.that.fails.to.catch.its.real.dynamic.essence ..In.today’s.world,.engagement. is. concerned. with. complex,. evolving. consumers. living. in. a.postmodern,.increasingly.connected,.multi-tasking.society .

This.points.to.the.importance.of.the.behavioural activation component.of. engagement,. including. its. co-creational,. social. sharing,. interactive,.collaborative. and. participative. dimensions. (Hoeffler. &. Keller. 2002) ..These. dimensions. can. be. fully. understood. only. if. marketers. develop. a.holistic. view. of. their. brand. (Schultz. 2007). that. elicits. consumer–brand.activation. through. integrated. brand. efforts. based. on. a. combination. of.traditional. and. innovative. media. and. communication. tools. that. connect.with. consumers. at. all. possible. touchpoints. and. involve. them. in. lived.experiences. of. the. brand. (Joachimsthaler. &. Aaker. 1997;. Hackley. &.Tiwsakul.2006;.Whelan.&.Wohlfeil.2006) .

Another. issue. is. the. fundamental. differences. between. academic. and.professional. approaches. to. engagement. and. related. gaps. in. current.academic.and.professional.literature .

Our. study. revealed. a. strong. academic. focus. on. building. universal.conceptual.models. and. linear. explanations.of. these.models,. in. line.with.the. traditional.deterministic. approach,. accompanied.by. a. clear. emphasis.on.engagement.measurement. issues.and. the. identification.of. factors. that.influence/produce. engagement. or. mediate. its. effects,. again. in. line. with.classical,.linear.positivist.methodology .

Moreover,. the. academic. focus. on. the. soft,. relational. dimensions. of.engagement.as.an.alliance.between.the.company.and.the.customer,.points.to.involvement,.trust,.loyalty.and.value.co-creation.as.the.basic.drivers.of.engagement .

Our. results. show. that. the. academic. world. has. not. yet. focused. on.pragmatic,. managerial. issues. of. engagement. (e .g .. decision. making,. ROI.evaluation,. effective-efficient.budget. allocation).or.on.engagement. issues.relating. to. employees. and. internal. marketing/communication. practices ..This.may. suggest. the.need. for. a. better. integration.of. academic. interests.and.the.necessities.of.the.business.world ..The.gap.between.the.academic.and.business.worlds.in.terms.of.knowledge.priorities.and.research.agendas.is. well. known. and. has. been. much. discussed. in. the. literature:. academic.


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researchers. often. aim. to. produce. general,. nomothetic. theories,. whereas.professionals.are.keener.on.ideographic.and.context-specific.explanations.(Benington.&.Hartley.2004) .

We.believe,.as.other.scholars.do.(e .g ..McDonald.2003,.2008;.McDonald.&. Wilson. 2004;. Piercy. 2006;. Boddy. &. Croft. 2007;. Mouncey. 2007;.Reibstein.et al. 2009),.that.the.role.of.academic.marketing.research.should.be.to.advance.theory.and.methods,.and.to.have.an.impact.on.marketing.practice.by.being.intellectually.rigorous.and.learning.to.translate.findings.into.actionable.proposals.and.practically.relevant.conclusions .

Perhaps. academic. studies. of. engagement. might. consider. not. only. the.traditional.media,.but.also,.and.primarily,. the.new.media. that.marketers.have.to.deal.with.every.day.to.enhance.their.brand.competitiveness,.such.as. online. social. and. entertainment. media,. and. unconventional. urban.touchpoints .. And. perhaps,. too,. the. interrelationships. between. employee.and.customer.engagement,.and.their.implications.for.effective.and.efficient.marketing.and.communication.programmes .

In.contrast,.our.study.revealed.a.strong.professional.focus.on.operational.management. issues. of. engagement,. oriented. towards. decision. making,.problem.solving.and.optimal.use.of.corporate.assets.such.as.communication,.which.emerges.as.a.fundamental.corporate.tool.to.stimulate.and.enhance.consumer.engagement .

Employee–customer. relationship. management,. an. effective. employee.communication.plan.coordinated.by.top.management,.and.extensive.use.of.online.communication.tools,.also.play.a.central.role.in.engagement.building .

Finally,.our. study. shows. that. the.professional.world.has.not. yet. turned.its. attention. to. long-term. engagement. initiatives. and. strategic. vision,. or.theoretical. issues. aimed. at. furthering. our. knowledge. of. engagement .. The.emphasis.is.on.tactical.approaches.and.tools.aimed.at.achieving.short-term.results ..Perhaps.a.more.rigorous,.strategic.approach.could.help.practitioners.to.arrive.at.a.broader.theoretical.understanding.(Boddy.&.Croft.2007).of.the.drivers.and.consequences.of.engagement,.which.would.prevent.engagement.from.being.seen.as.just.another.new.marketing.‘trick’.to.reawaken.consumer.attention.and.revitalise.the.media.market.in.the.short.term .

This.may.suggest.that.closer.collaboration.between.academic.marketing.researchers. and. professional. marketers. could. combine. the. rigour. of. the.former.with.the.relevance.and.practicality.of. the. latter,. to. the.benefit.of.both. (Catterall. &. Clarke. 2000;. Boddy. &. Croft. 2007;. Mouncey. 2007,.2009;.Reibstein et al ..2009) .

In. conclusion,. our. study. shows. that,. owing. to. its. multi-dimensional,.heterogeneous. nature,. engagement. is. a. very. complex. concept. strongly.


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influenced.by.psychological,.social,.interactive,.relational,.experiential.and.context-based.components ..Engagement.is.a.postmodern.phenomenon:.by.nature.it.is.multi-faceted,.mutable.and.difficult.to.predict.since.it.involves.interaction.between.individuals,.and.between.individuals.and.their.context .

Hence,. in. methodological terms,. engagement. calls. for. more. flexible,.in-depth. research. methodologies. better. suited. to. exploring. and.understanding. postmodern. psychosocial. constructs .. In. other. words,. it.seems.unlikely.that.traditional.neo-positivist.methodologies.(mainly.based.on. quantitative. analysis. and. linear,. causal. models). will. bring. us. closer.to. the. holistic,. multi-faceted. essence. of. engagement. (Schultz. 2009) .. In.contrast,.qualitative.methodology,.as.opposed.to.quantitative.methodology.(which.is.more.interested.in.universality,.generalisability,.homogeneity.and.regularity),. appears. particularly. suited. to. engagement. studies. (Holbrook.&.O’Shaughnessy.1988). because.of. its. ability. to. explore. subtle. nuances.of.social.phenomena.and.integrate.perspectives.from.different.disciplines.to. bring. new. insight. and. understanding. of. the. marketing. environment.(Catterall.&.Clarke.2000) .

Conclusions and research prospects

Though. both. the. academic. and. professional. marketing. communities.clearly. share. an. interest. in. the. study. of. consumer. engagement,. there. is.an. equally. clear. lack. of. hard. knowledge. about. the. construct .. A. more.profound. knowledge. and. understanding. of. engagement. is. urgently.needed ..Furthermore,.our.exploratory.analysis.shows.that,.in.the.ongoing.engagement. debate,. the. tendency. is. to. force. this. new,. postmodern.phenomenon.into.well-established.traditional.moulds .

We. believe. that. an. inductively. founded. theoretical. framework. of.consumer. engagement. based. on. empirical. data. gathering. and. enquiry.is. urgently. needed,. and. that. this. framework. should. give. priority. to.more. flexible,. holistic. approaches,. such. as. the.widely. known.qualitative.methods.used.in.social.and.marketing.research .

To. further. this. aim,. we. are. working. on. a. study. that. aims. to. explore.and.model.the.process.of.consumer.brand.engagement.in.unconventional.communication. contexts .. The. study. is. based. on. a. Grounded. Theory.approach. to. qualitative. methodology. (Glaser. &. Strauss. 1967;. Clarke.2005;.Morse et al ..2009),.which,. thanks. to. its. flexible.design.and.data-collection. procedures,. may. offer. a. holistic. perspective. on. engagement.that. takes. full. account.of. its.multi-dimensional.nature ..The. study.design.


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is. broad. and. complex .. The. first. phase,. now. ongoing,. involves. in-depth.qualitative.interviews.with:

•. individuals.who.have.been.involved.in.unconventional.communication.initiatives. relating. to. specific. brands. (e .g .. ambient. communication.events. in. urban. contexts,. web-based. viral. communication. actions,.online. social. networking,. branded. entertainment,. user-generated.content. websites);. the. aim. is. to. explore. their. experience. of. brand.engagement.and.identify.the.features.of.unconventional.communication.that.make.it.effective.in.generating.consumer.engagement

•. marketing.managers.with.experience.of.various.brands.and.industries;.the. aim. is. to. explore. their. approach. to. consumer. engagement. and.enhance.the.strategies.they.use.to.foster.it .

Mindful. of. the. complexity. of. a. social. phenomenon. like. engagement,.the.study.design.includes.additional.data-gathering.and.analysis.strategies.such.as.observation,.discourse.analysis.and.visual.materials.analysis ..This.will. make. possible. a. more. complete. understanding. of. how. consumers.experience.brand.engagement,.and.the.contextual.conditions.that.enhance.or.impede.its.development .

We. believe. that. the. results. of. this. study. will. enable. us. to. construct. a.preliminary.consumer.brand.engagement.model.able.to.describe.the.basic.antecedents,. phases. and. consequences.of. the.brand. engagement.process,.and. a. consumer. brand. engagement. scale. to. be. tested. empirically. in. our.future.research ..We.believe.our.study.will.enable.us.to.identify.the.optimal.conditions.for.unconventional.communication.effectiveness.in.generating.consumer. brand. engagement,. and. that. this. will. offer. useful. support. to.marketers.when.formulating.strategies.and.plans .

However,.building.a. theoretical. foundation. for. the.consumer.engagement.process.is.a.challenging.and.ambitious.task.that.calls.for.coordinated.effort.on.the.part.of.academic.researchers.and.practitioners.committed.to.this.topic .

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International Journal of Advertising,.27,.2,.pp ..279–297 .Alloza,.A ..(2008).Brand.engagement.and.brand.experience.at.BBVA,.the.transformation.of.a.150.

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About the authors

Rossella.C ..Gambetti. is.Assistant.Professor.of.Management.Sciences.and.Lecturer.of.Corporate.and.Marketing.Communications.at. the.Università.Cattolica.del.Sacro.Cuore. in.Milan,.where. she.also. serves.as.a.Research.fellow. at. the. Research. Laboratory. on. Business. Communication .. She. is.Editor-in-Chief. of. Communicative Business. Italian Research Review on Business Communication,.the.first.Italian.scholarly.peer-reviewed.journal.specifically.dedicated.to.research.issues.related.to.corporate.and.marketing.communication .. She. has. been. Visiting. Scholar. at. the. Michigan. State.University. and. Aoyama. Gakuin. University. (Tokyo) .. She. completed. her.Ph .D ..in.Marketing.and.Corporate.Communication.at.the.IULM.University.in.Milan .

Guendalina. Graffigna. is. Assistant. Professor. of. Organisational. and.Labour. Psychology. and. Lecturer. of. Qualitative. Methodology. at. the.Università. Cattolica. del. Sacro. Cuore. in. Milan,. where. she. also. serves. as.didactic.coordinator.for.the.II.level.Masters.Degree.in.Qualitative.Methods.applied.to.Social.and.Marketing.Research ..She.has.been.a.Post.Doc.fellow.(A .A .. 2007–2008). and. sectional. lecturer. in. Qualitative. Methods. (A .A ..2008–2009). at. the. International Institute for Qualitative Methodology,.University. of. Alberta .. She. received. her. PhD. in. Social. Psychology. at. the.Università.Cattolica.del.Sacro.Cuore.in.Milan .

Address.correspondence. to:.Rossella.C ..Gambetti,.Università.Cattolica.del. Sacro. Cuore,. Department. of. Economic. and. Management. Sciences,.Largo.Gemelli,.1,.Milan,.20123.Italy .

Email:.rossella .gambetti@unicatt .it

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