International Journal of Advertising – Special Issue

¡°Leveraged Marketing Communications¡±

Leveraged Marketing Communications (LMC) refers to brand-building strategies

that are ¡°an intentional pairing of a brand to benefit from the associations the target

audience has with the object¡± (Bergkvist and Taylor 2016, p. 158). LMC conceptually

binds a wide range of marketing communication strategies previously studied in

isolation: celebrity endorsements, sponsorship, product placements, cause-related

marketing, and cobranding.  

LMC strategies basically assume that an entity (e.g., Michael Jordan) can be paired with a

 brand (e.g., Nike) to evoke associations that ultimately enhance brand awareness and

evaluations. In the past decades, psychological studies have increasingly investigated a

ssociation processes in theoretical contexts such as associative networks, schema theory,

dual-process models, affect transfer, classical conditioning, and attribution theory.

LMC research conceptually integrates findings from diverse literatures into a theoretically

coherent story unique to marketing and advertising. For example, LMC uses conventional

information processing and meaning transfer models to show how marketing communications

could strengthen or weaken brand–entity leverage through factors such as format, length,

attractiveness, and celebrity endorsement.

In this special issue, under the broad rubric of LMC, we aim to feature recent works

examining the association between brands and entities, ideas, and contexts. We

particularly welcome papers combining theory and practice to offer new perspectives

to help academics, practitioners, and policymakers better understand and apply LMC research.

We welcome submissions on topics addressing LMC. Suggested topics include but are not limited to:

• Celebrity Endorsements

• Sponsorship

• Product Placements

• Branded Entertainment/Branded Content

• Cause-Related Marketing

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

• Cobranding

Submission information

We will give consideration to those manuscripts that are submitted to the three

designated LMC tracks specified below—LMC I, LMC II, LMC III

—at 2018 Global Marketing Conference at Tokyo.

• LMC Track I: Product Placement, Branded Entertainment and Branded Content,

• Sukki Yoon (Bryant U.)

• LMC Track II: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Cause-Related Marketing,

• Yung Kyun Choi (Dongguk U.)

• LMC Track III:  Cobranding, Celebrity Endorsement, and Sponsorship,

• Kacy Kim (Elon U.).

Extended submission deadline for the 2018 Global Marketing Conference at Tokyo is Jan. 31, 2018.

Direct inquiries to the Special Issue Editors:

Sukki Yoon  – Associate Professor of Marketing, Bryant University (syoon@bryant.edu)

Yung Kyun Choi –Professor of Advertising and Public Relations, Dongguk University (choiyung@dongguk.edu)

For More Information:

International Journal of Advertising: http://www.internationaljournalofadvertising.com/

2018 Global Marketing Conference at Tokyo: http://gammaconference.org/2018/