This qualitative research aims to explore the challenges faced by rural youth entrepreneurs in conducting digital marketing. Digital marketing activities carried out by them are still limited in social media and e-commerce applications. The challenges are fraud, internet infrastructure, delivery services, the development of digital technology adaptation and work-life balance.

An increasing number of women are becoming empowered with changing cultural dynamics, gender equality, education and technology. The use of Internet and social media platforms by businesses at various stages is on the rise. Despite its benefits, women entrepreneurs in developing countries are less inclined towards using the online mediums for their business in comparison to men. This study observes activities where women entrepreneurs use online mediums for business purposes, understands challenges faced in doing so, reasons behind such challenges and how do they deal with them. Qualitative research is conducted via semi-structured interviews with women entrepreneurs at India. Findings indicate that there are commonly prevalent issues faced by Indian women entrepreneurs while using online mediums. As a way out, they either choose to shy away from digital mediums or seek external help. They are more comfortable using digital mediums where the communication and onus is one way, there is limited need to trust the other person or there is less possibility of receiving damaging comments in public. For interactive activities, women refrain from using online mediums. Financial, social and cultural factors also play a role in keeping women entrepreneurs behind from using online mediums for their business.

The current paper examines how parasocial interaction (PSI), imaginary and illusory relationships with fashion designers, enhances luxury consumers’ social media contributions. SEM results (Mplus 7.4) from an online survey with visual stimuli (n = 555) show that PSI with fashion designers increases opinion leadership and content production. Specifically, opinion leadership mediates the impact of PSI on user-generated content (UGC) creation, but not electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). Luxury consumers only produce UGC when their leadership abilities are emboldened through PSI with fashion designers. Overall, these findings contribute to a growing body of digital luxury studies while helping luxury firms to counterbalance their legacies and brand awareness through social media.

This research seeks to unveil how YouTube influencers and digital interaction can contribute to the process of customer-brand relationship and engagement. Based on in-depth interviews of female Youtubers devoted to the lifestyle categories, we aim to comprehend the engagement factors that influencers should rely on to promote engagement between their followers and the brands they advocate.

In this digital era, native advertising (Laursen, 2017) has begun to dominate advertising revenues due to its effectiveness in captivating attention of online users. Digital native advertising are advertisements in the form and function of editorial content such that its commercial intent is obscured to the reader (Wojdynski & Evans, 2015). Given its “non-intrusive” characteristics, platforms publishing advertisements of this nature can effectively circumvent ad-blockers that inhibits brands from reaching target audience (Vranica, 2015). Nevertheless, some have construed this as a deception towards digital users which could be detrimental to their attitude towards the brands conveyed via such advertising method (Wojdynski, Evans, & Hoy, 2017). Despite such existing controversy, there is still lack of evidence investigating whether digital native advertising would trigger positive or negative attitudes towards brands (Harms et al., 2017). On this premise, the goal of this study is to comprehend how native advertising would affect brand attitude. Correspondingly as well, this study will also investigate in what way the factors associated to native advertising that would influence brand attitude.

Digital video advertising is an emerging creative format increasingly prevalent online. To attract audiences, creative strategies often employ narrative storytelling techniques that transport the viewer into an entertaining cognitive and affective experience. This study explores key engagement characteristics of creative executions across categorical digital video advertising formats.

The aim of this study is to select MLMA and Noen Eubanks as representatives of Gen Z’s unique subculture ‘E-girl’ and ‘E-boy’ to analyze fashion images and determine their meaning through the perspective of persona. To conduct this study, a literature review and case studies were combined and fashion images of E-girl and E-boy appearing on social media were analyzed to identify the personas they expressed. A case study of MLMA and Noen Eubanks’ Instagram and TikTok account posts showed that grotesque, kitsch, and gender-related images stand out. The digital personae demonstrated by E-girl and E-boy fashion images were demonstrated to be a strange persona that reject perfect beauty and a playful persona escaping from reality and anxiety. Lastly persona of individual identity was shown to be formed. This study provides a basis for understanding and interpreting Gen Z’s culture and aesthetics that will lead to future trends. Based on this study, I hope that various studies on E-girl and E-boy apparel will be conducted, and that by understanding the importance of E-girl and E-boy culture for Gen Z (which is paying attention to fashion trends), this can be used as a marketing strategy to consider their characteristics, with data used to inform design development.