Academic
Navigating the Landscape of CSR and Inclusive-Exclusive Marketing: Leveraging Authenticity. Flanders, K., Lawrence,L., Vodopyanova,N., Natale, D. The 2024 Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings, (JAMT) (ISSN: 2151-3236).
This research investigates the inclusive and exclusive nature of marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The researchers conducted an extensive literature review as a prerequisite to a future quantitative study, investigating research about the key differences between inclusive and exclusive marketing strategies. Further investigation explored the impact of inclusive and exclusive marketing on a company’s image and reputation, citing specific examples of marketing efforts from various organizations. This paper offers insights into the challenges organizations face while striving for inclusive marketing practices and explores ways to overcome obstacles and leverage advantages in developing CSR initiatives. Additionally, it discusses the role of storytelling and anecdotes in conveying messages of inclusivity and exclusivity through CSR and how consumer demands influence businesses in their CSR and marketing inclusivity efforts. The paper concludes by highlighting emerging trends in CSR and inclusive marketing, emphasizing the importance of staying informed and innovative in this ever-changing business landscape.
The Four Minute Men: Progenitors of Today’s Influencers. Natale, D.W. Southeastern Review of Journalism History. Volume 7, Number 1. Fall/Winter 2023 ISSN 2151-7967
The Four Minute Men (4MM) was a national volunteer group of over 75,000 speakers who rehearsed their presentations and targeted their home communities (Creel, 1924). They served the U.S. government during World War I through the Committee on Public Information and helped influence U.S. citizens to register for the draft, fund the war, and perform other patriotic duties through the power of their word-of-mouth (WOM) speeches given between film reels in movie theaters. The great success of this innovative 4MM gambit came as they circumvented traditional mass media channels and went straight to the people with their messages.
This paper proposes that the 4MM speakers affected their communities in a manner the government, NGOs, and agencies could not because they bypassed mass media and instead delivered their word-of-mouth messages, characterized by trustworthiness, directly to their audiences. Furthermore, to be selected as one of these powerful influencers, the 4MM had to have the capability to affect other people in only four minutes–no longer. Twenty-first century influencers have adopted the 4MM game plan of sidestepping traditional media channels by using eWord-of-Mouthmessaging hallmarked with trustworthiness to motivate audiences. Successful social media influencers (SMI) have the power to reach and impact their followers in brief posts that individuals consume in seconds.
Propaganda Pandemics:The Use of Misinformation and Disinformation to Obfuscate Pandemics’ Impact. Natale, D.W. THE FLORIDA COMMUNICATION JOURNAL I ISSN:1050-3366. VOLUME 50, ISSUE 2, FALL 2022
The Covid-19 pandemic is fraught with two categories of propaganda: misinformation (the dissemination of incorrect information, generally unknown as false by the messenger) and disinformation (the intentional sharing of inaccurate information often with a nefarious goal). A student survey characterized some of their pandemic information perceptions as misinformation and others as disinformation. Through this haze of uncertainty, the one thing that came into sharp focus is the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation by some mainstream media through their reporting and amplification of the social media posts of politicians, influencers, institutions, trolls, bots, and regular users. This paper compares the use of media propaganda during the epoch of the COVID-19 pandemic and the era of the Spanish Flu of 1918–1919. During the period of the Spanish Flu, media was dominated by newspapers, pamphlets, cables, signs, newsreels, and movies. COVID-19 spread during a period controlled by the internet and its incumbent social media, and online news outlets alongsidelegacy media including newspapers, magazines, films, broadcast television and radio.
Government Regulators Were Late to the Vaping Party, and American Kids Started Without Them. Natale, D.W. BRAVERY, Vol. 4, Spring 2020.
Government regulators were late to the vaping party, and American kids started without them. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are playing catch up in regulating the marketing of vaping products and e-cigarettes. Tobacco companies often use online influencers to promote their products to youngsters around the world, and inevitably in America. The use of social media native ads (sometimes called sponsored content) is to camouflage its marketing intent. These ads resemble the surrounding content and posts. On social media, this often takes the form of influencers surreptitiously promoting products. This type of promotion skirts laws against advertising to young people and may be deceptive.
Recognition and Perceptions of Native Advertising in Media. Natale, D.W. The Indiana University of Pennsylvania. A DISSERTATION submitted to the School of Graduate Studies and Research in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy. Published by ProQuest Spring 2019.
The genre of native advertising is growing exponentially, and marketers predict over half of all online ads will soon be a form of this sponsored content. The growth on mobile platforms is even greater, yet there is trepidation among regulators and consumer groups concerning the transparency of native ads and their continual evolution. The addition of the use of artificial intelligence to specifically match native content to editorial is increasingly problematic. On social media platforms, influencers market to the public through their postings and in YouTube videos. This research attempted to understand if consumers recognize these ads and to gain insight into their perceptions of these ads through the examination of native ads in online news media and the popular social media platform Instagram. This research was conducted through an online experiment that queried participants’ perceptions and recognition of native advertising. This study found that the marketing of Instagram micro-influencers was better received by the study participants than major influencers. Additionally, the halo effect was only activated by the masthead of a prestigious online legacy media entity to sway participants’ perceptions of the quality of the content they read.
The Evolution of “Blackface” and Black Stereotypes in American Culture and Mass Media. Natale, D. Presiding/Panelist. 44th AEJMC Southeast Colloquium, Columbia, S.C. March 2019.
“G.I.F.T.S. for Corporate Communication: Cultivation, Culture, and Tolerance.” Natale, D.A panel presentation for the Florida Communication Association’s 88th Annual Convention, Lake Buena Vista, FL. October 20, 2018.
I Am Not a Dingo: The Evolution of Fake News and Truthiness to Satirical Exposition. Natale, D. Florida Communication Association 2017 Conference, Walt Disney Resort, FL. October 2017. Peer reviewed paper.
Fake and satire news programs have long been the staple of cable television. However, 2017 has seen a paradigm shift with the prominence of political comedy in mainstream media including Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee, Bill Maher, Trevor Noah, Andy Borowitz, John Oliver, and the guests and cast of Saturday Night Live. Many of these comedians have reached the apogee of their comedic careers as the result of the current political climate. Satirists are challenging the media’s lock on gatekeeping and may even be acting as the trigger that journalist use to frame the news. These satirists may be influential enough to lead stymied journalists from their status as lapdogs to the intended role of the Fourth Estate as watchdogs for the democracy.
Parasocial Bereavement: Where do they Turn when their Soap Opera Friends Depart? Natale, D. The Florida Communication Journal, Volume 45, No. 1, Spring 2017.
This study surveyed the depth of the Parasocial Relationships which soap opera viewers experience. This research queried the choices of the 221 respondents, and these findings reveal that some sufferers may experience Parasocial Bereavement as a result of their permanently severed parasocial relationships. Almost a quarter of the participants were males and they exhibited slightly higher parasocial attachment than women. Most respondents characterized their parasocial loss as similar to the loss of a close friend and 80% reported missing their cancelled soaps all the time even though the shows were cancelled many years ago.
From Hope and Change to Anger and Anxiety: Demagoguery and Discourse in the 2016 Primary Elections. Natale, D. National Communications Association (NCA) Conference Presentation (NCA). Peer reviewed paper.
This essay deconstructs the 2016 political campaign discourse of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump through the prisms of demagoguery and polarizing propaganda theory. It finds that both candidates employ the techniques of passionate appeals, use vague, loaded terms and negative ethical persuasion that involve fear, anxiety and emotional appeals. Both rely on polarizing rhetoric to reinforce their outsider ethos and to separate themselves from a dysfunctional and abusive political mainstream.
Social Media-Driven Propaganda: In the Crosshairs of the Black Flag. Natale, D. Journal of Communications Media Studies. 2016.
Most Americans became cognizant of the “Black Flag” in August of 2014 when the Islamic State filled Twitter feeds, Facebook, and YouTube channels with videos of beheadings, recruitment messages, Jihadist diatribes, and gruesome images. This article asserts that social media propaganda of the deed (SMPOTD) has altered Lasswell’s communication model since legacy media is bypassed, and there is no ability to control the messages. The model itself must evolve to represent that SMPOTD may represent both the medium and the horrific message.
Power to the People: Crowdsourcing and the Ascent of Machiavellian Ethics in Journalism. Natale, D. Florida Communications Conference
The essay seeks an understanding of the value of crowdsourcing and citizen journalism as a communication tool, to evaluate the growth of its usage, and to discern the ethical implications of crowdsourcing for journalistic purposes. This paper proposes that journalism is evolving from a Rossian-based duty ethics into a form of Machiavellian consequentialism.
Gender in Business Magazines as Portrayed on the Covers of U.S. and Egyptian Business Magazines. Laurel Highlands Communications Conference, Indiana, Pa. April 2016. Group presentation.
The Impact of Bridging Social Capital on Select Populations. Panel Presentation. Laurel Highlands Communications Conference, Indiana, Pa. April 2015.
Social Media Propaganda Battle. Natale, D. Individual presentation. Laurel Highlands Communications Conference (LHCC), Indiana, Pa. April 2015.