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Frederik Andsbjerg Vohnsen Student ID: FV93641BAMMC - Bachelor Thesis Supervisor: Torben Uldall SørensenExam Number: 302616 Integrated Marketing Communication

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INSTITUT FOR ERHVERVSKOMMUNIKATIONDepartment of Business Communication

STUDIENUMMERStudent No.

FV93641

EKSAMENSNR. (6 cifret nummer på studiekortet kaldet Kortnr. eller eksamensnr.)

Student Exam No.:(6 digit No at your Student ID-card called either Kortnr. or Eksamensnr.)

302616

HOLD NR.:Class No.Ex.: U02

FAGETS NAVN:Course/Exam Title

eso-BA-1/4120510073//Bachelor’s Thesis

VEJLEDER:Name of Supervisor

Torben Uldall Sørensen

ANTAL TYPEENHEDER I DIN BESVARELSE(ekskl. blanktegn):

Number of Characters in your Assignment(exclusive of blanks):

54,998

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May 2014

Frederik Andsbjerg Vohnsen

Supervisor: Torben Uldall Sørensen

Bachelor in Marketing and Management Communication

Integrated Marketing Communications

Aarhus School of Business and Social Sciences

Total Characters: 54,998

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Character Count: For Assignment 53,761

Character Count for Tables: 1,237

Character Count Including Tables: 54,998

Number of Appendices: 4

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Abstract

Till today, consumers have experienced a vast amount of societal factors changing not just the

way they consume, but also the importance of their role in the corporate value chain. We have

seen social media act as a vehicle for increased consumer power, and aid them with the

possibility of expressing their voice in a manner so amplified that organizations have been

forced to take a stance. Hence, organizations are now interacting with interfering consumers.

One of the main requests of this modern prosumer (producing consumer) is spiritually

gratifying products. They have moved up the Hierarchy of Needs to the very top, allowing

them to seek for more than self-esteem. They want empowerment to positively transform the

lives of others.

In order to satisfy the need for spirituality, this thesis sets out to investigate how to deliver

successful spiritual marketing, using corporate spirit as the main driver. Moreover, the latter

also performs as the problem statement of this thesis.

The objective for the following analysis is thus, to determine the critical success factors for

spiritual marketing, utilizing corporate spirit through employees.

The important theoretical foundations for this thesis will be vested in the book “Marketing

3.0” aiding us to understand the foundations of spiritual marketing By Philip Kotler Herman

Kartajaya and Iwan Setiwan. (Kotler et al, 2010) The academic journal “Total Customer

Engagement” emphasizing the key constituents of internal employee management, and how

to secure brand integrity by Christopher Roberts and Frank Alpert (Roberts & Alpert, 2010).

Additionally, for us to understand the increasing consumer power we will utilize Simon

Mainwaring (2011)(2013) and his two articles on this topic.

This thesis is divided in three parts: The increasing power and importance of prosumers and

their need for spirituality, the necessity for corporate spirit in the creation of brand integrity

in spiritual marketing, and lastly an analysis of how to generate authentic corporate spirit

utilizing employee engagement. The thesis and its analysis will be substantialized by case-

studies provided by Nike among others.

The findings expressed a clear connection between wholesome spiritual marketing and brand

integrity. Hence, the promised positioning of the brand must be kept for consumers to be

satisfied. The analysis on employee engagement revealed that if organizations had the

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spiritual values promised to consumers implemented in the corporate vision, mission and

values, employees would have a vastly greater chance of delivering the promised product

since they understand it. Thus, employees must be engaged and understand the vision they

participate in delivering. Lastly, the analysis yielded a result showing that consumers and

employees answer to the same intrinsic needs, which enabled this thesis to address them with

the same tactics, empowerment and transformation.

Table of Contents

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1. INTRODUCTION & STRUCTURE........................................................................................................................ 81.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT.............................................................................................................................................................91.2 THEORY OF SCIENCE.................................................................................................................................................................91.3 SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM.................................................................................................................................................. 101.4 RELEVANCE OF SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM IN THIS THESIS...........................................................................................11

1.5 Theoretical Framework……………………………………………………………………………………………………….........11 1.5.1Philip Kotler………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….12

1.5.2 Roberts & Alpert…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..121.6 DELIMITATIONS...................................................................................................................................................................... 12

2. MARKETING 2.0 – A CONSUMER ORIENTED PARADIGM.......................................................................13

3. MARKETING 3.0 – A VALUES BASED PARADIGM......................................................................................133.1 COCA- COLA CASE..................................................................................................................................................................143.2 MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS......................................................................................................................................15

3.2.1 Change of Needs............................................................................................................................................................. 163.3 CONTEXTUAL FACTORS FOR MARKETING 3.0...................................................................................................................16

3.3.1 Expressive Social Media.............................................................................................................................................. 17 3.3.2 Collaborative Social Media…………………………………………………………………………………………………...17 3.4 Prosumers and how to embrace them…………………………………………………………………………………….18

3.4.1 Co-Construction............................................................................................................................................................. 183.4.2 Brand to Life Integration........................................................................................................................................... 19

4. ANALYSIS - AUTHENTIC DNA FROM WITHIN………………………………………………………………………...21 4.1 Character Building - The Company Fingerprint……………………………………………………………………....22

4.2 ANALYSIS OF CORPORATE CULTURE AS A DRIVER FOR SPIRIT........................................................................................22 4.3 The 3i Model………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..22

4.3.1 Positioning....................................................................................................................................................................... 23 4.3.1.1 Positioning in Nike Case………………………………………………………………………………………………..244.3.2 Differentiation............................................................................................................................................................... .25

4.3.2.1 Differentiation in Nike Case…………………………………………………………………………………………..254.4 HOW CAN CORPORATE SPIRIT AND CULTURE BE GENERATED........................................................................................26

4.4.1 Values and Culture…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….….264.5 EMPLYEE ENGAGEMENT - A CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR...............................................................................................26

4.6 Values Based Matrix.........................................................................................................................................................27 4.6.1 Mission…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………27 4.6.2 Vision………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…28 4.6.3 Values………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…28

4.7 INTERNAL STRATEGY FOR SPIRITUAL MARKETING AND TOTAL CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT....................................294.8 ROBERTS & ALPER – TOTAL CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT................................................................................................30

4.8.1 The Producing Employee........................................................................................................................................... 314.9 COMMUNICATING THE MESSAGE TO THE EMPLOYEES......................................................................................................33

4.9.1 A Story That Moves......................................................................................................................................................... 34 4.10 Emproees for Socio-Cultural Change…………………………………………………………………………………....34

5. INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS – RABOSTIC MODEL................................................355.1 RESEARCH & AUDIENCE........................................................................................................................................................365.2 OBJECTIVES..............................................................................................................................................................................37

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5.3 STRATEGIES............................................................................................................................................................................. 37 5.4 Tactics & Implementation……………………………………………………………………………………………………..38

6. CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................................................39

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY:................................................................................................................................................... 418. APPENDIX…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….44

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1. Introduction & StructureThe notion of ‘consumers’ has been vastly altered during the past few decades.

Initially, in the first paradigm 1.0 of marketing we saw them as passive constituents where

they were expected to act as planned to a range of generic products and limited marketing

efforts.

Then marketing 2.0 was born, and companies moved their focus to the needs of consumers

and how they would build their image from the brands surrounding them.

Now, a new reality is striking upon the paradigm of marketing: Marketing 3.0 of Spirituality.

(Kotler, Kartajaya, Setiawan, 2010).

It is said that: “The concept of marketing can be seen as the balancing concept to that of

macroeconomics. Whenever the macroeconomic environment changes, so will consumer

behavior change, and this will lead marketing to change” Kotler et al, 2010, preface)

In a world of increasing global poverty, rising pollution and rapidly shifting changes,

marketers can no longer rely solely on one-way communication with their targeted

stakeholders.

In the paradigm of marketing 3.0, consumers are aware of the world around them, and do not

only worry about their own image. Their concerns range from sustainability to the state of the

world and much more. Henceforth, the centricity of the market has changed from consumers

to Humans. A market where profitability and corporate responsibility have taken the insoluble

shape of Yin and Yang. Thus, brands are no longer just commodities, but carriers of corporate

promises regarding Spiritual Satisfaction.

Moreover, in this 3.0 paradigm of constant change, companies are no longer just relying on

what they say, but also what they actually do. In order to align promises and actions, the

culture of the company has gained vast importance in generating brand integrity.

Judging the corporate efforts, consumers have moved up the hierarchy and are no longer just

targets for campaigns; they shape the campaigns and co-exist in a mutually beneficial

existence with the brands that surround them.

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Initially, this thesis will examine the difference between marketing 2.0 and marketing 3.0.

This will entail a clarification of the 2.0 modern consumer, the 3.0 Prosumer (producing

consumer) and their relationships with brands.

Focus will be on the co-creational nature of the present, and furthermore analyze its

applicability in terms of strengthening the market positioning and mental mapping towards

consumers and their self-identity.

Subsequently, a strong definition of Corporate Spirit will be generated in order to define its

importance in the creation of successful Spiritual Marketing. An analysis of employee

engagement will be conducted to conclude how it affects corporate culture and determines

the integrity, and ultimately, overall brand image. Lastly, the Integrated Marketing

Communication theories of Pickton & Broderick (2006) will be applied as a summative tool to

examine the coherence and applicability of the recommendations of spiritual marketing in

actual campaigns.

1.1 Problem Statement In a world of prosumers demanding spiritual gratification from their shopping experience,

how can we as marketers apply internal corporate spirit based on employee engagement as a

driver for authentic spiritual marketing and brand integrity?

1.2 Theory of ScienceWhen interacting with marketing and branding, one is operating with intangible knowledge

creation. Different paradigms emerge and fade away, and within these paradigms the societal

trends and tendencies vary vastly depending on innumerous factors.

In our current paradigm, products are not only practical commodities on a physical level, but

also metaphysical stimuli affecting consumers.

In this connection, how people perceive these products, brands, and even themselves are

strongly dependent on the socio-cultural setting, and most importantly the knowledge-

creating interaction with other consumers.

Hence, choosing Social Constructionism as a scientific standpoint seems rational.

The beneficial applicability of Social constructivism is further endorsed by one of the topics of

this thesis: understanding the process of how prosumers mentally position, evaluate and

integrate brands into their lives. Moreover, Social Constructionism allows this thesis to

investigate the societal co-constructional processes where consumers’ perception of a brand

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is created. Hence, also whether or not a brand fulfills the critical needs of marketing 3.0

consumers.

1.3 Social Constructionism As stated by Vivien Burr (1995), one cannot refer to any specific individual as being the

perfect example of a social constructionist. Every single one has a vast majority of personal

attributes that set them wide apart, but also a few strong similarities that pull them together

in the paradigm of social constructionism.

The main traits in the paradigm of social constructionism has been constructed by Burr

(1995) as follows:

The first trait is a critical stance towards taken-for-granted knowledge. (Burr, 1995)

Social Constructionism “invites us to be critical of the idea that our observations of the world

unproblematically yield its nature to us, to challenge the view that conventional knowledge is

based upon objective, unbiased observation of the world.” (Burr, 1995, p.2)

Thus, it can be said that social constructionism opposes the belief that one true meaning can

be found.

The second trait of Social Constructionism is that truths and knowledge are all culturally and

historically bound. Social constructionism states that as consumers; our norms and the way

we interact with the external environment presented to us, is not a result of generic holistic

truths, but the outcome of the cultural and historical processes that surrounds us.

Hence, any general “truth” that is connected to a culture, is not vested in objective

observations, but are rather an artifact of this culture and should not be considered any more

valid than other. (Burr, 1995)

The third trait, and presumably most important to this thesis, is that “Knowledge is sustained

by social processes” (Burr, 1995)

Consumers unknowingly construct meaning through interacting in social processes, and

generates an outcome which is basically culturally accepted opinions. (Burr, 1995)

So what the individual consumer believes to be true strongly depends on the social

environment and the social interaction within it. (Burr, 1995)

This implies that we as such don’t know any “true” human nature or essence.

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1.4 Relevance of Social constructionism in this thesisSince the consumer does not have a preset human essence, consumers are per se not driven

by intrinsic factors, but dominantly by a set of socially constructed norms and demands that

fit the culture that shaped them. (Burr, 1995)

The process inside this social constructionist paradigm was illuminated by Berger &

Luckmann in their book The Social Construction of Reality (1966, as cited in Burr, 1995).

They proposed a principle where all social phenomena were argued to be created by the

social interaction of humans. Moreover, the humans also sustained these phenomena through

social practice in three phases. (Burr, 1995)

Initially, an individual acts on the world around him/her and tells a story of his/her belief, the

story is externalized and will be retold by the surrounding individuals. As time passes, the

story will enter a social realm and generate a certain level of social validity. Subsequently, the

process of ‘objectivation’ will transform the story from a subjective uttering, to a scientific

objective with a legitimized existence in that current philosophical paradigm.

This second phase takes the story from being a subjective story arising from constructive

interaction between individuals, to a ‘fact’ seeming to be issuing from the nature of the world

yielding it self to us.

Thirdly, the future generations are born into a completed loop of theory implementation.

The initial story is now a part of the factual world of nature. They will ‘internalize’ it as a part

of their consciousness of understanding, even though this story was once a subjective

uttering. Hence, Social Constructionism allows the world to be individually constructed by the

social interaction of people, but also to be experienced as having a natural order of universal

truths. (Burr, 1995)

Consequently, social constructionism not only allows this thesis to assume that the needs of

consumers are contextually bound and act accordingly, it also underlines the importance of

satisfying these spiritual needs, as one dissatisfied consumer could contribute to the creation

of others consciousness in social interactions. (Burr, 1995)

1.5 Theoretical Framework

In order to generate an overview of the applied theories and the theorists behind them, an

introductory part will highlight their nature and relevance of this thesis.

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1.5.1 Philip KotlerBeing seen as one of the founding fathers of modern marketing, Philip Kotler has created the

theory of Marketing 3.0 (2010) emphasizing the future of brand and consumer interaction.

In this thesis, this publication will be contributing to the general understanding of spiritual

marketing. A theoretical piece not only adding to the legitimacy of this thesis due to its

authoritative voice within the field of marketing, but also a theory focused on the future. This

supports the prescient nature of this thesis, and acts as a vehicle for creating a thesis aimed at

expanding into new areas of marketing, rather than explaining the current. Moreover, the

theory by Philip Kotler offers an aspect of marketing granting consumers more importance,

and hereby substantializes the introductory conceptualization of consumer power in this

thesis.

1.5.2 Roberts & Alpert The key word for the applied theory of Roberts and Alpert (2010) is alignment. The theory

revolves around the model of Total Customer Engagement, aiming at aligning the corporate

activities in order to generate a cohesive corporate effort. This thesis will benefit from the

application of this theory, by creating a framework for the analysis of aligning the promised

product, and the internal culture of the company. Thus, the theoretical work of Roberts and

Alpert (2010) will contribute by supporting the importance of corporate spirit for the

creation of brand integrity, and offering synergy in a company operating within marketing 3.0.

1.6 DelimitationsThe legitimization of examining corporate spirit powered by employee engagement is vested

in the clear relation between successful spiritual marketing and positive brand integrity.

(Kotler et al, 2010) The severe importance of actual spiritual content towards consumers is in

this connection inarguable, but this thesis will however focus on the delivery powered by

corporate spirit, as spiritual marketing is dependent on brand integrity. (Kotler et al, 2010)

Hence, we will not look into the creation of spiritual content, but the delivery of it.

Moreover, the RABOSTIC model will be utilized as a summative tool for examining if the

outcome of this thesis is cohesively applicable to realistic marketing models.

The recommendations will serve as theoretical guidelines within the RABOSTIC model, and

will not result in an exhaustive case analysis.

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2. Marketing 2.0 – A Consumer Oriented Paradigm The goal of the following section is to highlight the nature of the paradigm described as

Marketing 2.0. The revelation of this paradigm will enable this thesis to generate a

comparative model of marketing 2.0 and Marketing 3.0 and its underlying differences.

Marketing has existed for as long as the trade of goods, but a clear conceptualization of the

field is an arising era. Initially we saw marketing 1.0 (Kotler et al, 2010) with a clear product-

centric scope of low costs and standardization.

A clear stratification of this paradigm was expressed at the time in 1923 by Henry Ford:

"Any customer can have a car painted any colour he wants so long as it is black.".

(Kotler et al, 2010)

Marketing 2.0 arose with the modern information age (Kotler et al, 2010).

An era where information technology was a fundamental constituent.

Consumers were empowered with the possibility of comparing products, gather knowledge

and make educated decisions regarding their consumption. Furthermore, the market allowed

consumers to define product-value themselves, and marketers had to develop products

custom-made for specific target segments.

The “Golden Rule of Customer is King” had begun. (Kotler et al, 2010)

3. Marketing 3.0 – A Values Based ParadigmThis part of the thesis will explain the notion of Marketing 3.0, and the consumers within it.

Moreover, this section will serve as an explanatory benchmark for the posterior analysis of

spiritual marketing and how to apply corporate culture as a driver for it.

Spiritual marketing has been around for quite some time. However, it is in these years that we

are witnessing a clear conceptualization taking place. (Kotler et al, 2010) As previously

mentioned, Marketing 2.0 saw consumers as smart with the mind and heart to make their

own choices and construct their own identity. (Kotler et al, 2010)

Nevertheless, Marketing 2.0 approached consumers with the belief that they were targets

acting according to marketing campaigns proposed by the brands.

The key marketing concept was differentiation, and aimed at pleasing both functional as well

as emotional benefits.

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In marketing 3.0, the basic understanding of consumers’ nature is seeing them as whole

human beings. (Kotler et al, 2010) This paradigm adds an extra dimension to consumers,

which allows them to search for more than emotional satisfaction when choosing and

consuming a brand, namely spiritual gratification. The objective is no longer to only satisfy

intrinsic consumer needs, but also to make the world a better place. (Kotler et al, 2010)

3.1 Coca- Cola Case To exemplify the nature of Spiritual Marketing, a recent 2014 Coca-Cola ad titled “There are

Reasons to Believe in a Better World”(Coca Cola, 2014) will provide us with a contemporary

example*.

The video advertisement is structured by negatively connoted facts being opposed to an equal

amount of positive facts that in a numeric sense overpower the negative. (Appendix 1)

The factual statement: “For every weapon sold in the world, 20.000 people share a Coke” does

not aim at targeting the consumers at a functional or emotional level, it aims at providing the

customer with the spiritual satisfaction. A belief that the purchase of a Coca Cola for sharing

will generate positivity opposing the negativity formed by international weapon trade.

It fundamentally perceives the consumer as human beings, with a need for making the world a

better place. (Kotler et al, 2010)

Marketing 3.0 is strongly applicable in times of cultural turbulence (Kotler et al, 2010) as it

gains more relevance when consumers are impacted by rapid social fluctuations and search

for answers. These answers are primarily based on hope, and help to confront issues that

affects the consumer whether mentally or physically. An example could be, the rising global

threat of weapons. (Kotler et al, 2010) Hence, companies as Coca-Cola practicing Marketing

3.0 differentiate their brand depending on corporate values, and interact with consumers at a

higher and more interpersonal level than that of Marketing 2.0. (Kotler et al, 2010)

So, what is it consumers want? Have we reached a paradigm where consumers are more

worried about saving endangered animal species, and protecting the ozone layer with an

ethically correct swipe of their credit card? The next model will aim at explaining the

development in consumer preferences.

*The Coca Cola ad is produced in culturally based editions. The analyzed is the English/international version.

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3.2 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

(Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs)

“Empowerment means self-actualization. It is about allowing your consumers to move up the

Maslow pyramid and fulfill their higher needs. Creating transformation is the ultimate form of

marketing to the mature market.” (Kotler et al, 2010, p.127)

When assessing the Hierarchy of needs from Maslow at the level of Esteem, we see primarily

intrinsic motivational factors such as Self-Esteem, a trait stemming from Marketing 2.0. Here

we are dealing with consumers searching for differentiation and emotional satisfaction that

fits the preferred lifestyle. (Kotler et al, 2010) An example of consumer advertising at this

level is the print advertisement of Dior Homme (Appendix 2)

Here we see a commercial aimed towards the consumer’s self-conception and lifestyle, rather

than solving societal issues.

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3.2.1 Change of NeedsThe Dior ad is connecting to its audience at a level where they provide the consumer with a

product, which revolves around a set of hedonic features that allows the consumer to create

self-identity from consuming this product. (Gilmore & Pine II, 2007) (Batat, 2011)

With spiritual marketing, consumers are undergoing a cognitive transformation. This

transformation can be visualized by looking at the difference between the second-highest

level, and the top level in the hierarchy of needs: Self-actualization.

When a consumer has advanced to the level of self-actualization, they operate in a new

paradigm with changed desires. They no longer look solely on their own image and others

perception of them; they start taking a stance on morality and search for problem solving

regarding the issues surrounding them. (Kotler et al, 2010)

So what the hierarchy of needs reveals is a change from esteem-based customer needs, to a

spiritual paradigm where companies and their products are expected to deliver much more

than materialistic well-being.

However, why are we first experiencing this clear spiritual conceptualization in the paradigm

of marketing 3.0, and not much sooner since humanity have always experienced ethical

trouble and global issues that had to be dealt with?

The subsequent part of this thesis will explain the contextual factors contributing to the

foundation of spiritual marketing.

3.3 Contextual factors for Marketing 3.0 As stated above, consumers have changed their path towards a paradigm of spiritual

consumerism (Kotler et al, 2010). The question of “why?” is to be answered by the contextual

factors of our time. Spiritual marketing is enabled by the customers’ ability to express

themselves via the arising options of social media and collaborative marketing. (Kotler et al,

2010)

Kotler et al (2010, p17) defines this new wave technology as:

“Technology that enables connectivity and interactivity of individuals and groups”.

Hence, we are experiencing a strong empowerment of consumers as they have been given a

new platform for communicating. Instead of expressing their single opinion, consumers

cluster together and let communizing act as a vehicle for enhanced power of voice. (Kotler et

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al, 2010) This social media platform exists in two forms: Expressive Social Media and

Collaborative Social Media.

3.3.1 Expressive Social Media The definition of an Expressive Social Media platform can be described with three words:

Facebook, Twitter and blogs. Consequently, we are dealing with any social media where any

customer can express their thoughts unlimitedly, and uncensored.

Despite the rhetorical limitation of a Twitter-Post in 140 characters, this media and its

technological siblings are on the verge of achieving a far greater definition than “a marketing-

tool for companies”. This evolution is placing a rising pressure on corporations to initiate an

ethically responsible agenda. (Mainwaring, 2011)

We are experiencing social media transforming from a chat-device into a strong mechanism

being utilized as a vehicle for social transformation. This mechanism is applied by socially

conscious, and spiritual, consumers seeking to use their voice and buying power for

obstructing unsustainable corporations and tampering with capitalism. (Mainwaring, 2011)

A single offline consumer is rarely a threat to a corporation as these can quickly be

compensated if they utter their dissatisfaction. The real power of social media lies with

online-consumers and “The capacity of social media to link millions of people around the world,

to shape opinions and foment the “cognitive dissonance” necessary to create broad-based

movements for change, is putting real power behind consumer challenges to unethical,

inauthentic, or irresponsible corporate behaviors.”(Mainwaring, 2011)

3.3.2 Collaborative Social Media

As an extension to Expressive Social Media, Collaborative Social Media is a conceptualization

of the before mentioned consumer power.

Kotler et al (2010, p.11-12) expresses this accumulated power as such:

“Marketing 3.0 is a collaboration of business entities with similar sets of values and desires”

An example of what the utilization of Social Media can yield was seen in 2011 where a 22-

year-old woman took on one of America’s biggest providers of Internet and TV, Verizon, when

they decided to add a $2 convenience fee every time a customer wanted to pay their bill by

phone or online. The young consumer started a petition via. Change.org, where over 165.000

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signed their signature within days showing their support for the case.

The fee was retreated within days for Verizon to prevent reputational damage (Taylor, 2011)

The above example underlines the increasing importance of consumer satisfaction, and it

moreover shows which powerful role the collaborative age of Marketing 3.0 is accrediting the

consumer. Consumers are no longer passive targets, but equal partners whose say is as

important as any other corporate partner.

This powerful role of the consumer should be seen from many aspects. Not only does it

change which precautions should be taken towards them, it also changes the entire

conceptual definition of the consumer. We are no longer dealing with regular consumers; the

corporations now have Prosumers. (Gunelius, 2010). Prosumers gravitate towards companies

that are using social media, to start dialogues concerning the social issues that worry them.

(Mainwaring, 2011) Hence, social media allows not just an open dialogue between consumers

and companies, but also builds a strong argumentative foundation for why brands should

cooperate with the increasing amount of prosumers who actively contribute to setting new

standards for companies and their spiritual commitment. (Mainwaring, 2011)

3.4 Prosumers and How to Embrace Them

As elaborated above, prosumers can be dangerous to corporations due to their increasingly

powerful position. The following section will investigate the beneficial outcome of embracing

prosumers, and how to nurture the relationship using co-constructional theory.

3.4.1 Co-Construction The following subsection will aim at revealing the relationship of co-construction between

consumer and company. Moreover, the importance of this phenomenon will be emphasized.

“The customer is always a co-creator of value” (Vargo & Lusch, as cited in Payne et al, 2008,

p.84)

The nature of consumers has evolved into a more powerful position, where they have the

possibility of influencing companies into altering their activities. (Kotler, 2010) With this

development follows the era of consumer co-construction, where the consumer is not just

influencing the companies, but also the product offering. (Xie & Bagozzi, 2008)

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Endless corporations have sought to include their consumers in the process of product

development. This tactical action can be deemed as re-active or pro-active. It depends, are the

companies surrendering to their consumers and their rising need for empowerment, or do

they see the an opportunity to be grasped where they do not have to guess the wants of

consumers, but can instead be told their exact needs? The social constructionist approach of

this thesis allows us to operate with a belief, that the individual consumer is not prefixed with

a specific set of essential values, but rather evolves preferences depending on their habitual

context in which they consume social processes. (Burr, 1995)

Hence, the consumer and its actions is a “participant in the customization of one’s world” (Firat

et al. 1995). For a company to be allowed access as a regular constituent of a consumer’s

customized world should be seen as an opportunity.

This opportunity is grasped by letting the consumer make their mark on the products

whether they are co-constructing or co-producing (Xie&Bagozzi, 2008).

A relevant exemplification of strong public co-construction was presented by American snack

manufacturer, Doritos, as they created the consumer competition “Crash The Super Bowl”

towards the 2014 NFL Super Bowl.

Doritos opened up for consumers from all over the world to create a 30-second-long

commercial featuring the famous Doritos chips, and add it to an open online community

created by Doritos. The fellow consumers on this online community were then given a chance

to vote for their favorite consumer-made commercial, and the winner would win 1 million

dollars and have their commercial shown during half time at the Super Bowl. (Cordova, 2014)

The above example by Doritos serves as a great exemplification of both co-construction as the

consumers are allowed to vote for the product they like the most, but also because they got to

co-produce the actual content. (Xie & Bagozzi, 2008)

3.4.2 Brand to Life IntegrationWe experienced how consumers move up the hierarchy of needs by being allowed to express

their creativity, and create products instead of just consuming them. Consumers start

interacting in a causal bond with the brands they cooperate with, a process exemplified with

the “Brand-to-life integration” model created by the author of this thesis.

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Brand-to-Life Integration Model

We can define co-construction as “Value creation activities undertaken by the consumer that

result in the production of products they eventually consume and that become their consumption

experiences.” (Lusch and Vargo, as quoted in Xie&Bagozzi, 2008, p.110)

The above quote sums up the main aspects of the Brand-to-Life Integration model:

Henceforth, consumers shape their own life by implementing products they co-created

themselves through social processes. Conclusively, the brands will not just be an image-

accessory, but an integrated part of themselves in their lives. (Kotler et al, 2010)

No matter how valuable the co-constructed content is to a company, the prosumer will always

remain a threat. When the consumer gets to construct a brand from their own personal

reflection and integrates the brand as a part of their life, they will always be very perceptive

to brand actions that are not aligned with the internal prosumer-values.

An example of the above was provided in the early 2000’s by American sports apparel

producer, Nike. In the late 1990’s, Nike faced several accusations of child labor, and poor

working conditions in their offshore production facilities. Consumers started boycotting the

Consumers

Co-Creation

Companies

Offering

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products, and all over the world the development of Nike as an abusive brand started forming.

In order to deal with the accusations, Nike implemented a more transparent organization

where new audits and standards were applied to the factories in the east. (Nisen, 2013)

What happened was, that Nike consumers all of a sudden saw that the brand they participated

in constructing, was now connoting some very unfavorable values. Hence, the Nike prosumers

also reflected these unethical values.

As visualized by the Brand-to-Life Integration model, consumers engage in a symbiosis with

the brand. So whenever the brand value input does not match that of the consumer output;

their consumers will try to readjust the values.

Lastly, this thesis stresses the importance for companies in our current paradigm to treat

marketing 3.0 consumers respectfully. Why? As mentioned above, the power of consumers

has increased vastly over the years due to the applicability of social media, and the influence

of communized effort. (Kotler et al, 2010) Hence, companies must consider the prosumer an

inevitable constituent in the process of manufacturing.

4.0 Analysis – Authentic DNA From WithinTo this point, we have illuminated the scientific approach of social constructionism on which

this thesis will be constructed, and investigated the nature of consumer-oriented marketing

2.0. Moreover, we have reasoned a societal move up the hierarchy of needs, and a rising

consumer demand for ethically correct products in the paradigm of Marketing 3.0.

A paradigm in which, we have also described the increasing power of prosumers, who co-

construct the meaning of brands.

Lastly, the model of Brand-to-Life Integration presented a visualized rational of why brands

have become obliged to listen and engage in dialogue with their prosumers.

Conclusively, consumers are demanding ethical solutions, and they have gained the power to

enforce their wants. The rest of this thesis will aim at explaining how to practice spiritual

marketing. Most importantly, this analysis will expand beyond the regular field of spiritual

marketing, as it does not only focus on the regular conduct, but on how to achieve an

authentic spiritual DNA build from within the company core and its employees.

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4.1 Character Building – The Company Fingerprint

When consumers made the change from Marketing 2.0 to Marketing 3.0 and spiritual

marketing, they went from “passive” consumers with heart and mind, to human beings with a

trinity completed by Spirit. (Kotler et al, 2010) For brands to connect with human beings, they

must develop an authentic DNA; a unique fingerprint on which they can build their core

differentiation towards consumers, and satisfy their needs for spirituality.

The key factor to differentiating in an authentic manner is to deliver what is promised, as

active prosumers will rapidly reveal companies that deceptively advertise spiritual

marketing. (Kotler et al, 2010) If a consumer catches a company in false advertising, the loss

of credibility can be substantial due to the horizontal network of consumers established by

social media, allowing them to connect and unite rapidly. (Kotler et al, 2010)

4.2 Analysis of corporate culture as a driver for spiritThe need for spirit points brands in a direction where the new ethical and morally bound

expectations of the consumer can actually be reasoned and understood, all by connecting with

the consumer at a deeper level. (Kotler et al, 2010) Companies need to realize that they have

reached a stage in the age of marketing where they no longer define needs. They can neither

just fulfill needs. They need to understand them. Therefore, brands must understand the

anxieties and desires of consumers, in order to grasp their needs. First then will they possess

the key to “Unlock the soul’s code” (Stephen Covey, as cited in Kotler et al, 2010, p.35)

As previously stated, the main point of Spiritual Marketing is for the customer to resolve

issues that they feel strongly about through their purchase habits.

When organizations understand this, they should, according to the above uttering by Covey

(Kotler et al, 2010, p.35) be able to unlock the soul of the consumer. However, it can be

strongly argued that understanding the ethical and moral needs of the consumers are not

nearly enough, the execution of delivery should also be correct. This statement marks the first

argumentation for how to conduct spiritual marketing based on corporate culture.

4.3 The 3i Model

A common understanding of brand consumption is vested in the belief, that consumers search

for brands with authenticity to avoid increasingly fictitious offerings. (Pine & Gilmore II,

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2007) Hence, the real key for consumer’s soul lies not only within offering a product that is

ethically correct, but also an offering that is legit and followed up by action. A relevant model

for analysis of promises vs. effort is the 3i model of Kotler et al (2010).

When operating within marketing 3.0, the brand can be visualized as a three-pieced triangle

consisting of: Brand, Positioning and Differentiation. This trinity is accompanied by the three

I’s: Brand Identity, Brand Image and Brand Integrity.

The overall outline of the model is, that the three I’s, are outcomes of the Positioning, Brand

and Differentiation of the company.

The exemplification of this model will be carried out using the previously mentioned example

of Nike and their issue revolving around consumer dissatisfaction regarding the use of

sweatshops. (Nike, 2005)

4.3.1 Positioning When talking about authenticity, positioning is the first constituent of the 3i model that can

alert consumers to be cautious about an inauthentic brand. (Kotler et al, 2010) The

positioning of the brand is technically just a claim, which in combination with the Brand

constructs the Brand Identity. The brand identity is the placement of your brand in the

consumer’s mind.

On one hand, the positioning needs to be unique, and most importantly; strongly address the

spiritual needs of the consumer. Contrary, the promises made by the brand needs to be

realistically fulfilled in order to create Brand Integrity.

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4.3.1.1Positioning In Nike Case: As stated, Nike felt the force of the united prosumers around 2000 when they were accused of

having unacceptable production facilities with low paid workers in their off-shored eastern

sector. (Grant, 2012) The formulated positioning must also address the rational needs of the

ethical consumers. (Kotler et al, 2010) The below positioning is summoned from Nike’s

rapport (Nike, 2005) on future targets and performances regarding environment and working

conditions; both topics rooting the prior problem of Nike and the spiritual dissatisfaction of

their consumers.

Hence, the positioning promises to deliver sustainable conditions and wellbeing of the

employees all done by delivering a continuous product.

(Nike, 2005)

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4.3.2 Differentiation The above Brand Integrity is the linkage between positioning (what is promised), and the

differentiation (what is done). Brand Integrity is the DNA of a brand, and mirrors the true

reliability of a brand. Hence, if consumers do not experience coherence between the

positioning and differentiation of a brand, it will generate a bad Brand Image. On the other

hand, if a company is able to deliver what it promises, the synergetic powers of the effort will

generate a positive Brand Image. (Kotler et al, 2010).

The overall purpose of differentiation is to fulfill promises and establish trust in the brand.

The generated outcome of a good differentiation is spiritual satisfaction of consumers,

assuming that the promised positioning is aligned with these values. (Kotler et al, 2010)

Essentially, the 3i model allows us to touch consumers as complete humans with both stimuli

for the mind with a promised positioning initiating a buying process, Brand Integrity to satisfy

the need for spiritual satisfaction, and lastly the heart will gather the information and make

the final decision. (Kotler et al, 2010)

4.3.2.1 Differentiation In Nike Case: In 2005, Nike changed their positioning to being more environmental and socially sustainable

in order to meet the spiritual demands of their consumers. (Nike, 2005) In order to generate a

synergetic effect between positioning and differentiation, Nike initiated innumerous

campaigns and initiatives world wide addressing all of the needs expressed by their

consumers. Among these were audits of working conditions, attention to use of chemicals etc.

(Nike, 2005) (Appendix 3)

When looking at appendix 3, we see that Nike have provided consumers and stakeholders

with updated audits on the promised positioning. (Nike, 2005) The fact that they provide

consumers with clear evidence of their positioning generates foundation for the brand

integrity and positive brand image.

Above, we experienced how the use of internal organizational effort can help anchor and

synergize the market positioning effort of a company. Moreover, the 3i model helps this thesis

derive that without an organization to deliver the promise, nothing besides bad brand image

will be generated. (Kotler et al, 2010)

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4.4 How can corporate spirit and culture be generated The 3i model helped us underline the severe importance of the spiritual marketing 3.0, and

additionally it showed the overall components necessary for having spiritual marketing for

your brand, namely the ability to deliver your promises.

The subsequent section will take us deeper into the world of spiritual marketing powered by

internal corporate values.

We will define the underlying active constituents of a corporation that adds to the

achievability of a successful spiritual marketing.

As a vehicle for understanding, The Values Based Matrix by Kotler et al (2010) will be utilized.

The overall purpose of this analysis will be to conclude on the critical success factors of

corporate actions towards successful marketing 3.0.

4.4.1 Values and Culture

The first constituent of marketing 3.0 can be directly transferred from the 3i model: an

attention drawing promise that positions the brand, and intrigues the consumer. (Kotler et al,

2010) The majority of consumers clearly sense the nature of an organization’s values and

culture (Aaker, 2010). It can almost be said that consumers have a sixth sense, and they are

most likely to realize whether the intentions of a spiritual initiative is authentic or inauthentic.

(Kotler et al, 2010) Besides, if the consumers do not sense an inauthentic positioning before

purchasing a product, they will know when the true differentiation shows. As we saw in the 3i

model: synergy, and lack hereof, is strong enough to determine whether or not the brand

image is perceived as wholesome.

4.5 Employee Engagement – A Critical Success Factor

“54% of global employees say their company’s purpose is not clearly conveyed to all

employees “(Mainwaring, 2013)

If your employees do not understand the vision, it is very unlikely for them to buy in and

participate in realizing it. (Kotler et al, 2010)

On the other hand, when employees are well aware of the corporate purpose, they will also be

better aided for carrying out the mission stated. (Aaker, 2010)

Hence, for companies to have successful corporate cultures they need to focus on values,

culture and their employees.

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To obtain this success, we can combine these constituents in a combination telling us to

include good values in the company’s mission, vision and values in order to create employee

commitment, and generate a good authentic corporate culture. (Kotler et al, 2010)

This way, the good values become a part of the corporate DNA, and not just a marketing

initiative. (Kotler et al, 2010)

4.6 Values Based MatrixIn order to show the critical success factors of spiritual marketing powered by corporate

spirit, the below matrix will show the company constituents and how to implement

spirituality throughout all of them.

4.6.1 Mission

“Successful businesses do not start their planning with financial returns” (Drucker, cited in

Kotler et al, 2010, p.40) The same can be said about spiritual marketing if you initiate a

spiritual project with the main goal being profit and customer satisfaction, the integrity of the

project will reveal its true nature at some point. Therefore, the first object of the matrix is the

Mission (why). To represent the mission, we have the “Inverted Doughnut” where the hole in

the middle represents the core values of the company, and the dough symbolizes the changing

operations and business scope (Kotler et al, 2010) What we need to have, is a clear mission

statement that acts as a reason for being with more enduring terms to unify the efforts of the

company.

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Values Based Matrix, (Kotler, 2010)

4.6.2 Vision

The Vision (what) of the company is symbolized by a compass, as the vision should contribute

to inventing the future, and the next direction for the company (Kotler et al, 2010)

This future state of the company should show what it aspire to become and achieve.

Most importantly, the vision has to be rooted in the mission, and serve as an aligned

synergetic extension.

4.6.3 ValuesLastly, we have the wheel, which symbolizes the values cycle. The definition “a corporations

institutional standards of behavior”(Kotler et al, 2010,p.41) implies that the values are used for

unifying the morals and effort in a clear direction. This is done in the hope of embedding them

in its practices, which will reinforce the behavior of both employees and customers (Kotler et

al, 2010)

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Summing up, the vertical axis represents the mission, vision and values of the company that, if

aligned, can unite the efforts of the company and unify them in one direction building on top

of each other. On the horizontal axis, we see the three categories Mind, Heart and Spirit.

As characterized in the introduction, these satisfies respectively marketing 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0.

Conclusively, the vital information to extract from the Values Based Matrix for the sake of this

thesis is, that spirit is not limited just to the Wheel of Values. One cannot have the vision of

selling spiritually satisfying products to customers, if the company Mission and its internal

Values are not based on these spiritual ethics. (Kotler et al, 2010) Hence, all constituents of

the matrix are all essential parts of a synergetic spiritual culture.

4.7 Internal Strategy for Spiritual Marketing and Total Customer Engagement

On one hand, 53% globally would not invest in a company product that does not actively

support a good cause. On the other hand, 91% of global consumers would switch brands if a

different brand of similar price and quality supported a good cause. (Mainwaring, 2013)

What we can extract from these facts is that not only is there a vast market share to obtain if a

company successfully integrates authentic spiritual marketing in their mission, vision and

values, a possible loss is also at stake. Current consumers have developed an increasing

cynicism towards brands. A total of 82% of consumers believes that the advertised

positioning does not match up with the actual customer experience. (Shaw & Ivens, as cited in

Roberts & Alpert, 2010) Moreover, another 80% determines that if they experience a lack of

synergy between company promise and actual offering, they will not buy the product again.

(RightNowTechnologies, as cited in Roberts & Alpert, 2010).

As earlier concluded, consumers have a strong sense for identifying the true nature of brand

integrity and brand image (Kotler et al, 2010).

If a company wants to benefit from the arising trend of consciously aware consumers and

enter the paradigm of marketing 3.0 as a dominant market force, we can conclude that they

need to do things right, and conduct spirituality both among their customers and employees.

The following section will aim a deciphering the use of internal communication strategies for

affecting corporate spirit, and causally the brand integrity.

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4.8 Roberts & Alpert – Total Customer Engagement

“Tell me, I’ll forget. Show me, I’ll remember. Involve me, I’ll understand. (Carter et al, 1986)

When dealing with corporate spirit in marketing 3.0, it is not just about preaching, but about

aligning values so the proposition and the differentiation balances. (Kotler et al, 2010).

Employees need to be educated so they can instruct the customers, and deliver the integrity

needed for a positive brand image, and to be able to “live the brand” (Kotler, 2010,p78).

Additionally, the entire company must act in synergy with their offerings, not just the

employees. So, if a corporation has the value of protecting female labor connected to its brand,

it must also focus on hiring women and caring for female employees. Otherwise, customers

would experience a disruption in the brand integrity. (Kotler et al, 2010)

Applying aspects of the Total Customer Engagement Model (Roberts & Alpert, 2010) allow us

to not only emphasize the crucial guidelines for corporate spirit, but also acts as a vehicle for

creating loyal consumers who not only prefer your brand, they become advocates. (Roberts &

Alpert, 2010)

Total Customer Engagement Model (Roberts & Alpert, 2010)

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The main concern of this model is centered in the middle, Customer Value Proposition(CVP).

This is the actual value offered to customers in a combination of all corporate activities.

In order to deliver the CVP as intended, two key elements must be aligned. The first element is

the organization and the brand advertising it should consistently communicate to the

customers. This should not just be the brand logo and slogan, but the core values of the

company. Secondly, the internal Culture must be planned and authentic in order to deliver the

correct customer experience via engaged employees. By simultaneously doing so, both the

promise and the delivery of the company will harmonize. (Roberts & Alpert, 2010)

For the customers to feel satisfied with the offering, and for them to get the correct customer

experience, four steps should be implemented in the corporate planning. This thesis will focus

on step 3 involving employee planning. (Roberts & Alpert, 2010, p. 201)

1. Develop a unique value proposition based on strong customer insight

2. It should communicate this value proposition consistently in its brand advertising

3. This promise is then ideally delivered by staff that support and understand the strategy,

and their individual role

4. This cultural foundation will deliver a strong customer experience matching the promise

It is noteworthy to draw the connection between step 1 and 2 to the initial findings of the

thesis regarding prosumers and co-construction. So, brands operating within the sphere of 3.0

have consumers who are at the top of their needs looking for morality and self-actualization.

These were found to have great interest in affecting brands in their desired direction, and

having great power to do so due to their unified interconnectivity with one another on social

media. Consequently, it can be assumed that brands trying to follow these two steps have

great a chance of generating strong customer insight, due to the fact that their co-

constructional prosumers actively express their desires.

4.8.1 The Producing EmployeeWhen it comes to employee engagement concerning corporate performance, Roberts & Alpert

(2010, p. 201) proposes 4 levels of organizational ability to deliver integrity and engaged

customers:

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1 “Brand, internal culture, customer experience and customer value proposition are not

clearly defined”

2 “Brand, internal culture, customer experience and customer value proposition are clearly

defined but have been designed in isolation and are not aligned”


defined and aligned to create engaged customers”


defined and aligned to create engaged customers. Plus these elements are embedded into

the daily operation of the organization”

When looking at the 4th level, the value proposition of the company is clearly defined and

embedded into the daily operations of the organization. Hence, the employees are living the

brand, and they have the values implemented in their consciousness (Kotler et al, 2010).

In order to implement the brand values as an embedded constituent of the employees, the

organization has to live by two rules: Embed & Engage. (Roberts & Alpert, 2010)

The employees should be given enticement to develop new initiatives based on the planned

customer experience. For this to happen the employees must be exposed to consumer

feedback. This way, new initiatives will be aligned with the customer expectations. (Roberts &

Alpert, 2010) Besides embedding the notion of customer satisfaction into the employees’ field

of responsibility, they need to be engaged actively in the process, not just performing it. So,

how do we make sure employees are motivated to engage? The same way consumers are,

empowerment. Roberts & Alpert, 2010) In order to empower employees towards true

commitment and exhibition of the corporate values, they need to be sold the strategy and

know that they make a difference, just like prosumers.

Essentially, the author of this thesis suggests the need for the invention of a new term:

Emproees (The Producing Employee).

The theory by Roberts & Alpert (2010) suggests two ways of selling the strategy to Emproees:

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1 rational

Business benefits, competitive benefits, market perspective

2 emotional

Customer perspective, doing the right thing, an invitation to make a difference;and to

involve them in the design and delivery of your customer experience elements.

The first strategy involves reaching out to the employees, letting them know how it would

affect their position in the company, and also the market position of the company.

Second and most importantly, the emotional strategy invites the employee to take action and

make a difference in creating the customer experience. Referring back to the initial quote for

this section, the emotional strategy definitely underlines the importance of the words:

"[…] Involve me, and I’ll understand” (Carter et al, 1986)

The subsequent part will elaborate on how to address the employees with an emotional

strategy.

4.9 Communicating the Message to the Employees According to Kotler et al (2010), it is equally important to communicate the corporate values

to the employees, as marketing it to the consumers. If the employees do not understand the

message, how can they convey it? Another important point of this analysis is found in the very

nature of marketing 3.0 and the current state of society. In the initial part of this thesis we

defined the very essence of spiritual marketing; namely the consumers’ need for

empowerment and ability to change the world for the better (Kotler et al, 2010). The same

need can be defined for employee engagement. Looking at the above theory of Roberts &

Alpert (2010) it states that one of two opportunities is to target employees by creating an

emotional appeal instead of the rational appeal. The same theory is strongly applied for

customer advertisements, either you sell a product on rational numerical values or you create

an emotional sphere around it with values. (Roberts & Alpert, 2010) So, if customers and

employees are basically driven by the same intrinsic needs for empowerment and to have

their lives transformed to be able to transform the lives of others, why not persuade them in

the same way?

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4.9.1 A Story That MovesTo engage employees in generating corporate spirit, the company must offer a mission and

vision that implies transformation. When doing so, a compelling story should be implemented

to target the emotional appeal of the employees, and they should be involved in the

accomplishment of this mission. (Kotler et al, 2010) Many employees see the spiritual

initiatives and corporate values as marketing acts. (Kotler et al, 2010) Hence, it is crucial that

the stories around the mission and values of the company are authentic. Thus, if the

employees experience inconsistent promises they will, just like consumers, feel betrayed and

turn their back on the company.

4.10 Emproees for Socio-Cultural Change This wish for transformation is vested in the societal move up the hierarchy of needs.

Consumers and employees allow themselves to be more concerned about others and as this

thesis has concluded, companies are obliged to satisfy this need by implementing the spiritual

values within the core corporate values. However, a company has to take the above findings

on corporate spirit into consideration when operating within marketing 3.0.

Many companies choose a reactive short-term solution, when offering spiritual satisfaction.

They do what is termed as Philanthropy, which implies e.g. donating 5% of the profit for a

targeted cause, often connected to the business area. The problem is, that philanthropy is

driven by socio-cultural change, and tries to satisfy needs provoked by the exact same. Hence,

they will always be one step behind.

Another way to perform marketing 3.0 is Cause Marketing.

Cause Marketing can be described as directing both money and energy towards a chosen

societal issue. However, instead of just donating money, the issue will be linked to the brand

and its products. The actions of the company will expand to involving the issue in their

marketing material, and hereby be rooted deeper in the corporate values. (Kotler et al, 2010)

The problem is, corporations have a tendency to view spiritual needs as a Public Relations

responsibility, and not as an opportunity. Instead of waving it off with short-term

philanthropy, cause marketing should be taken to a new level where it generates socio-

cultural transformation.

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When looking at the three stages towards socio cultural change as depicted by Kotler et al

(2010)(Appendix 4), it is clear that the two constituents powering this evolvement is in great

coherence, and touches some of the very founding values of this thesis: Self-actualization and

Horizontal Consumer Empowerment.

The essential way to reaching this transformation, is by offering the consumers and

employees power to transform the lives of others and move up the hierarchy of needs. Not on

a temporary basis, but create sustainable transformation that is innovative and proactive,

instead of just following the philanthropic trends.

This way a company can set the spiritual trends, instead of obeying them.

What this thesis is pursuing is to urge companies to go deeper, and not stop with empowering

consumers with transformation. They should also give employees the chance of

transformation, and create the strongest possible sociocultural change stemming from within

the very core of an organization. Hereby, the corporate spirit and focus on “Emproees” will

generate the ultimate authentic brand integrity with the strongest impact.

5.0 Integrated Marketing Communications – RABOSTIC Model Through this thesis, Marketing 3.0 has proven to be of increasing importance, both influencing

market offerings and organizational spirit. As a summative process tool, the RABOSTIC model

of Pickton & Broderick (2005) has been chosen due to its beneficial structure allowing us to

create an overview of the coherence between the stages and constituents of successful

implementation of Spiritual Marketing, both concerning consumers and employees. The

model will not be used for visualizing implementation of promotional elements, but how it is

delivered by the organization. The chosen elements are: Research, Audience, Objectives,

Strategies, Tactics and Implementation.

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(Pickton & Broderick, 2006, p.284-540)

The RABOSTIC model is a sequential process model that acts as a planning tool for the entire

process of implementing a marketing initiative. (Pickton & Broderick, 2006)

A crucial prerequisite for successful application of this model, is synergy between all

promotional elements, so the planning generates a product where the value of the sum is

greater than its parts (Pickton & Broderick, 2006).

In the subsequent section, it will be utilized for investigating if the, in this thesis

recommended, use of spiritual marketing is appropriate for actual implementation in a

marketing campaign, and hence the legitimacy of the claims concerning its beneficial traits.

5.1 Research & Audience Two inseparable process elements are research and analysis. In order for a company to

determine their desired audience, one must understand the external factors such as consumer

relationship with market and brand. (Pickton&Broderick, 2006) Firstly, we explored the

differences between marketing 2.0 and 3.0; a change in consumer power and their

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possibilities in the market. We detected the motivation of 3.0 prosumers, and pointed out the

economic, technological and social forces surrounding them. We applied the hierarchy of

needs to determine which prerequisites were necessary for marketing 3.0, and lastly we

applied the 3i model, where we determined the importance of brand integrity between

promise and delivery. With the above assessment of consumer, market and product analysis,

one would be enabled to settle on a clear audience segmentation: Consumers within the

highest level of the Hierarchy of Needs with an urge to co-construct, who have ethical values

regarding their purchasing behavior, and who believe that they can benefit from solving

issues through purchase and social media. This way, our findings can legitimately be

integrated as a rational segmentation based on demographics, psychographics and behavior.

(Pickton & Broderick, 2006) Hence, we do not only understand the consumer, we are also

aware of the importance of social media as a medium and its pitfalls.

Lastly, we recognized the requirement for viewing Emproees as an audience with the same

needs and psychographic profile as prosumers; Self-Actualization.

5.2 ObjectivesIn this model, objectives serve as a direction-giving element guiding the company. It is said

that objectives must be; Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, Relevant, Targeted and

Timed (SMARRTT). This way, organizations will know where they are going, and their efforts

will be unified towards a shared goal. Moreover, it can be measured when they reach it. When

working with marketing 3.0, organizations must, as argued, have SMARRTT objectives. This is

due to the need for organizations to incorporate their goals and values into the mission and

vision. If they do not know their goals, how can they expect employees to reach them?

(Pickton & Broderick, 2006)

5.3 Strategies Strategy forms the road towards the objectives. A marketing communication strategy should

acknowledge who the campaign addresses, what its objectives are, and what can influence it.

With our above segmented target audience and objectives, we know that we have to satisfy

empowered and increasingly cynic consumers’ need for spirituality. With the 3i model, we

identified that integrity was a key figure in consumer satisfaction, and we moreover

established how to generate it, by keeping the promises made.

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When looking at key strategic features from the RABOSTIC model, Brand Values, Unique

Selling Proposition (USP), and Competitive Positioning are of severe interest for this thesis.

As detected in the 3i model, the proposition acted as enticement for consumers to purchase a

product. This promise should show differential advantage; how the brand meets consumer

needs, and communicated brand values. For marketing 3.0, we found that the ultimate USP

was not only to promise spiritual gratification from purchase, but also to realize the

differentiation. Hence, Brand Integrity is the key strategy.

5.4 Tactics & Implementation

If a strategy is the road towards objectives, tactics are the vehicle. Earlier we concluded that

integrity was the appropriate method for consumer satisfaction within 3.0. The method

deemed beneficial for this was employee engagement. Instead of using an external marketing

strategy in this part of the RABOSTIC model we concluded that internal corporate spirit were

more suitable, as the main USP is keeping promises, and if employees do not buy in how can

they deliver what is promised? Hence, the tactic of making employees engaged depends on a

strong implementation. Typically, when discussing implementation in Integrated Marketing

Communications one relies heavily on the execution and appeals of promotional elements.

However, as this thesis focuses on internal operations, we will not consider how to promote a

spiritual cause, but how to deliver it.

Most theory concerning implementation is aimed at consumers, but as earlier argued

consumers and employees were deemed to possess the same needs for empowerment. Hence,

the promotional appeals of Pickton & Broderick (2006) can also be applied for internal use.

To implement this engagement of employees, a consumer/employee oriented approach of

emotional appeal should be applied, due to the previously mentioned need to sell the mission

in a compelling story. This way, the corporate spirit will contribute to proper execution of

employee engagement.

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6. Conclusion:

Initially, we experienced the transitional conceptualization of the societal move for consumers

up the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The needs of consumers are no longer relying on self-

esteem enforcing consumption experiences, but has moved to the top level of Self-

Actualization, where they are now are looking for spirituality and a chance to transform the

world and challenge issues surrounding them. We found that brands have become obliged to

engage in spiritual marketing, as their target audience has evolved from consumers to

prosumers, who actively want to influence and co-create content. Moreover, these prosumers

has gained severe importance due to their increased power stemming from social media, and

its ability to gather and amplify the voice of united prosumers. We applied the Brand-to-Life

Integration model showing us that prosumers eventually end up consuming their own co-

construction, and since consumers have become the brand they will be very sensitive to

organizational actions that are not aligned with the values of the consumers. Hence, what the

company promises, and what the company delivers must be synergistically aligned.

In order for this alignment to be realized, we applied the 3i model of Kotler et al (2010)

showing us that brands must propose a positioning matching the spiritual needs of the

consumers, but also have a delivered differentiation that substantializes it and jointly creates

positive Brand Integrity.

When delivering spiritual promises to consumers, this thesis argued that it should be build

upon an authentic DNA. So instead of seeing spiritual marketing as an obligation,

organizations should see it as an opportunity and embed the promised values in their mission

and vision for brand integrity. This was argued using the Values Based Matrix by Kotler et al

(2010), revealing to us that spirituality must be embedded in all aspects of the organization

for them to be able to authentically deliver it. This formed the main argumentation of this

thesis that employees should be the main vehicle for delivering spiritual marketing.

When applying the Total Customer Engagement model by Roberts & Alpert (2010), we

visualized the need for company culture and spirit, as the supporting element for aligned

brand advertisement and corresponding customer experience. This claimed importance of

employee engagement was reinforced by the question: if employees do not buy in to the

vision, how should they help realize it? Based on the above finding, we concluded that

employees have to understand the mission and vision of the organization to deliver it.

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The proposed solution for doing so, was to make the employees “live the brand” just like

consumers, since their intrinsic needs for transformation turned out to be similar to that of

consumers.

To show the applicability of the recommended organizational spiritual strategies, the

RABOSTIC model was applied, showing the cohesive nature of the elements, and revealing

that the active engagement of employees can not only be used as a proper marketing device

for campaigns, it can also be implemented in the RABOSTIC model, as the main needs of

employees are the same, as that of consumers.

Hence, the employees should be sold the spiritual marketing based on the same arguments as

the prosumers, Empowerment and transformation for others. For this purpose, the author of

this thesis created the term Emproees representing the involved producing employee, who

generates strong and authentic spirituality stemming from the very core of the brand.

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8. Appendix

Appendix 1: Coca-Cola: “ There are reason to believe in a better world”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dHOzw5KSlE

π(Accessed on the 1st of May)

Screenshot 1:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dHOzw5KSlE


Screenshot 2:

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Screenshot 3:

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Appendix 2: Dior Homme

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1pG8uDf_7VY/UjCrR9coCoI/AAAAAAAAOMY/buqei3dHaXM/

s1600/Jude-Law-Dior-Homme-

Intense_fragrance_parfume_profumo_adv_campaign_spot_2010_2011.jpg

(Accessed on the 1st of May)

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http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1pG8uDf_7VY/UjCrR9coCoI/AAAAAAAAOMY/buqei3dHaXM/s1600/Jude-Law-Dior-Homme-Intense_fragrance_parfume_profumo_adv_campaign_spot_2010_2011.jpg




Appendix 3: Nike Performance and Targets http://www.nikeresponsibility.com/report/content/chapter/targets-and-performance#SustainableManufacturing

(Accessed on the 1st of May)

Goal 1: (FY = Fiscal Year)

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http://www.nikeresponsibility.com/report/content/chapter/targets-and-performance#SustainableManufacturing

http://www.nikeresponsibility.com/report/content/chapter/targets-and-performance#SustainableManufacturing



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Appendix 4: Socio Cultural Change

(Kotler et al, 2010,p.127)

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