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The purpose of this study is to compare and contrast Internet marketing communication tools used to accomplish key marketing goals between European Union higher education institutions (HEIs) and non-EU HEIs, such as in the case of Poland and Ukraine.

In the article, the authors used the literature review method to justify the importance of implementing HEI marketing strategy based on marketing communications with Internet users, and thus to justify the relevance of the chosen research topic. Based on the literature review, the authors identified the goals of HEI advertising campaigns on the Internet (branding, recruitment of students, site traffic increase and subscription of Internet users to the university newsletter) and substantiated the analytical study of the two countries. The survey conducted by the authors allowed them to form their conclusions, the validity of which is based on the interpretation of the indicators calculated in the analytical section.

The hypothesis that the focus of HEI Internet marketing communications, recruitment of students, is universal regardless of the country of origin is proven. There is also no significant differences in Internet marketing communication tool use that is “simpler” and cheaper. University marketing managers widely use Internet advertising tools, but they have difficulty implementing public relations and sales promotion tools. Internet marketing communication is an important component of HEIs' marketing strategies, thus, comparing EU and non-EU HEIs informs future strategies.

The results of this research are of interest to HEIs that seek to improve the adaptation of their marketing communication strategy to meet the conditions of digitalisation and to strengthen their competitive foothold within the market. Also, the findings can help HEI marketing staff members to improve marketing communication tools used to build and maintain relationships with their online customers.

This study highlights the similarities and differences in approach to Internet marketing communications among EU (Poland) and non-EU HEIs (Ukraine). In conducting a thorough review of research, as well as a survey of 185 HEI marketing staff members, the paper offers insight into the approach HEIs of varying cultural backgrounds take to Internet marketing communications and online recruitment.

The proliferation of the internet and world wide web (WWW) in recent years has resulted in the creation of new social and marketing spaces, and a new form of interaction and identity formation. This paper aims to investigate this phenomenon.

Whilst cost benefits and profit derivation from the internet and other hypermedia mediated communication environments have been the focus of much research, the majority of these assessments have left many assumptions unarticulated. Questions of how contemporary communication content and interactivity is different from the singular “one‐to‐many” communication models have been avoided in this research. This paper investigates these deficiencies and goes on to suggest how academics and practitioners can realign their thinking in the light of these findings.

Computer mediated marketing environments provide organisations with a medium that can be used to deliver content in a variety of ways to consumers. This capability highlights the distinction between the information in marketing communication and the vehicle used to deliver the information: that is, content differs from communication.

The paper highlights how versatility of the internet as an instrument for mediated communication means that organisations can integrate different modalities of marketing communications into a strategy that combines on‐line and off‐line tactics to meet strategic objectives.

The purpose is to gain an understanding of how traditional service companies use the internet in their marketing communication and what effect the internet has had on their use of other marketing communication channels.

Multiple case studies have been carried out at 19 Swedish service companies.

The findings show that three different communications strategies are used depending on the scope of internet use and the extent to which the companies utilise relationship marketing. Small or decentralised companies use the personalised relationship communication strategy. Large companies have the option of using either the mass relationship communication strategy or the mass transaction communication strategy. The characteristics of the strategies and their respective effects on the other marketing communications tools are described.

The conceptualisation of the communications strategies provides a framework that gives added understanding and is useful for further studies.

The presentation of the strategies and their implications should be useful for managers of service companies when planning their communication activities. The managers will benefit from making a conscious choice between the strategies and considering their features and implications.

The conceptualisation of the internet communications strategies provides a novel view of the communications options for service firms. This framework is useful for further research and for managers of service firms.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the particularities of integrated marketing communication (IMC) in the online environment.

Both secondary and primary data (face‐to‐face interviews with 29 marketing or communication managers of UK online consumer retail firms) are analysed in order to identify the various meanings of the integrated online marketing communication, the opportunities and challenges raised by online communication, and the structure of an efficient integrated online marketing communication system.

The transparency, interactivity and memory of the internet force the organisation to adopt a proactive‐reactive attitude in online communication, and to combine consistency and continuity with flexibility and customisation.

The number of interviews used to collect primary data is relatively small; the use of the information collected is general and unstructured; and the findings are applicable only to online customer product retailers.

The messages sent by the company to its online audiences have to be transformed/adapted in a three‐stage process.

The paper identifies the specific opportunities and challenges raised by the internet for integrated marketing communication, and proposes an original model for the adaptation of online messages to core corporate values, communication strategy and tactics, and targeted audience/communication channels.

Explores the nature and potential of marketing communications in hypermedia, and assesses the role of computer‐mediated communication to assist the marketing communications mix. The activities of one company (MCB UP Ltd) are reviewed, as it develops its Web site towards a high value‐added, effective and integrated marketing communications environment. Explains why Internet marketers must provide high value‐added Internet resources, allowing communication both with and between players in the organisation’s supply chain. The impact of computer‐mediated “connectivity” and “interactivity” is discussed in terms of the effectiveness of Web‐based marketing communications. Commercial opportunities for capitalising on the marketing potential of “virtual communities” are identified. Examples of how such communities may be created and sustained are presented.

The crossroads between new media (predominantly the Internet) and marketing communications is a topic of growing interest and importance. Several themes are addressed in this paper including the involvement of the advertising agency, the role and features of Web sites, the measurement of effectiveness, Internet advertising and e‐commerce and the management of new media marketing communications. The author presents empirical evidence from a comprehensive study amongst UK marketers on contemporary practice, and proffers advice on best practice.

To derive an applicable conceptual framework of branding via the internet form; to show how that framework can, by organising and integrating current knowledge, assist marketing planners in the development of successful internet‐based branding strategies.

The conceptual framework presented here derives from a thorough analytical and critical review of the literature on branding in the conventional and virtual marketing environments.

There are three key themes in the mainstream branding literature, supplemented in the proposed framework by a fourth research stream self‐evidently relevant to internet‐based branding. It is clear that the resulting four main elements of the framework are strongly interrelated in the practice of brand management in the online environment.

The “Four Pillars of i‐Branding” should be of intellectual interest and practical value to marketing planners and those advising them, providing a more systematic approach to the understanding and application of branding, online.

The literature of “i‐Branding” is at present at a formative stage, with limited integration among its themes. The framework described here provides the basis for the rational formulation and implementation of branding strategies, applying internet‐based tools to the tasks of marketing communication and customer relationship‐building in particular.

This study seeks to examine the empirical link in export market ventures of the relationship between the internet (when it is used for communication, networking, market research, sales, image enhancement, cost reduction and competitive advantage purposes) and export marketing performance.

Data were gathered via a self‐administered mail survey of Australian exporters. The sample consisted of 133 Australian firms coming from a wide cross‐section of industries.

The findings indicate that, when the internet was used to achieve a competitive advantage for the firm and reduce the costs associated in doing international business, these uses of the internet were significant in discriminating between high and low export marketing performance. Furthermore, the international experience of the export venture's management was a significant factor in discriminating between high and low export marketing performance.

From a methodological perspective, a potential concern may be that the measures are all self‐reported. Consequently, the relationships tested may be susceptible to the influence of common method variance. Evidence has been provided that, when the internet is used for cost reduction purposes and as a competitive weapon, this will have a positive impact on export marketing performance.

A major contribution of this study is that it re‐validates measures for the different uses of the internet, namely, communication, networking, market research, sales, image enhancement, cost reduction and competitive advantage.

This study aims to explore internet marketing adoption in emerging industrial markets across several internet-based technologies (i.e. social media platforms, static and transactional websites).

This study is mainly based on an exploratory research design and investigated the online presence of 570 industrial organizations in terms of their involvement in social media. This study also examines if websites are used for basic marketing communications (brochureware) or for conducting advanced marketing activities. An online survey is used to explore the relationships between several factors and internet marketing adoption.

The study found that half of the investigated organizations are using the internet as a one-way communication vehicle through static websites. The study also revealed that decision-makers in emerging industrial markets are enthusiastic about social media, particularly Facebook. In addition, internet marketing adoption was positively related to perceived relative advantage, compatibility, organizational innovativeness, competitor and customer pressure.

From practitioners’ perspectives, the findings can help decision-makers identify the current levels of involvement in internet marketing. At the macro level, the high percentage of organizations with minimum involvement in internet marketing calls for conducting awareness initiatives to educate industrial organizations, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises, about the opportunities offered by the internet.

The findings from this study enrich internet marketing research because it focuses on industrial organizations in emerging markets, which is a rarely examined context despite its importance and potential.