Search results

Aligning corporate communications through different information sources is a great challenge for marketers, especially those operating in the tourism sector, which has been harshly affected by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This paper provides a deep analysis of the implementation of seven basic principles of the integrated marketing communications (IMC) paradigm in a crisis situation.

In-depth interviews with tourism and hospitality service providers were conducted in the fourth quarter of 2021 in Croatia, a destination that showed remarkable results in terms of the number of international tourist arrivals during the pandemic.

Most firms successfully transitioned from tactical to strategic IMC implementation. Some problems were reported in the coordination of communication tools and channels. Whereas the use of digital technology was enhanced, database management did not receive sufficient attention. Message clarity represented the greatest challenge, while consumer-centric communication was the most neglected principle. Relationship building was pursued mainly through B2B rather than B2C communication, whereas brand equity development pursued through communication mix mostly focused on increases in awareness, perceived quality and attitudinal loyalty.

This research is qualitative in nature and provides opinions on IMC adoption from the managerial perspective only.

This paper provides guidelines for the successful integration of marketing communications (marcom) in an extremely ambiguous and uncertain environment.

The contribution of this work lies in the proposal of a new refined and expanded theoretical framework of IMC principles and numerous marcom strategies for operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, thus providing relevant implications for academia and industry.

The concept of integrated marketing communication (IMC) has received considerable coverage in the literature, but even its most ardent supporters have noted problems in translating the concept into reality. Reports on an extensive two‐phase study of the New Zealand advertising and marketing industry, undertaken as part of an international series of studies of IMC implementation and usage, which was conducted over the 1997‐1998 period. The findings of the first phase, conducted in mid 1997, reveal a strong commitment to the integration of marketing communications (marcoms) by both marketers and advertising agencies. The study also revealed substantive differences in perception between these two groups as to how integrated marcom processes should be managed and/or outcomes evaluated. The second phase of the study was conducted in mid 1998. This focuses on an analysis of the extent to which leading organizations have implemented IMC. It also identifies and evaluates barriers and obstacles that have impeded progress in developing and implementing IMC programmes, and reviews ways in which such problems have been tackled.

Respondents in 86 UK companies known to engage in the sponsorship of schools and school activities participated in a survey designed to investigate the extent to which sample firms perceived and managed their schools sponsorship programmes as commercial investments rather than as philanthropic donations. The study also examined the reasons for schools sponsorship, how closely it was integrated with other forms of marketing communications, the location of responsibility for its administration, whether it was leveraged by other marketing communications instruments and how it was monitored and evaluated. Cluster and multiple group discriminant analyses were completed to identify the characteristics of the sample businesses which adopted materialistic as opposed to altruistic approaches towards the practice.

The purpose of this viewpoint is to raise the issue of the development of marketing communication in and for emerging markets.

This is a conceptual piece which is not supported by formal research. It is based on existing literature and the experience of the author. Previous experience, writings, consulting and teaching are the primary base for the discussion. Suggestions and recommendations for further research and development are made.

This work suggests that present western models are inappropriate, therefore, it provides an alternative view and a new conceptual model. The model developed has been based on the needs and requirements of emerging markets and is presented and discussed.

This viewpoint provides practitioners with a new, practical way to consider and develop marketing communication programs in emerging markets. It also provides the academic community with a conceptual model which can be tested and refined over time. Thus, it serves a dual purpose: it provides a new, unique and relevant view of marketing communications in emerging markets and it also provides a platform for cooperative research among the academic and professional communities.

The concept suggests that consumers now and will in the future control the impact and effect of all forms of marketing communication. There are substantial implications of this shift of marketplace power if the suppositions of the author are accurate.

This viewpoint builds on other research, writing and developmental work by the author. It is the synthesis of several years of research, teaching, consulting and discussion by the author in a number of emerging markets and economies.

The paper seeks to indicate where resources should be directed to utilize online marketing communication (OMC) further, including the identification of the diversity of OMC adoption, prioritization and future potential.

A conceptual model of prioritization and potential of OMC, specified as a structural equation model is developed. Research data are collected from both Danish advertising agencies and major companies, and based on these data the model is estimated by using partial least squares (PLS).

The adoption of OMC by companies, as opposed to advertising agencies, is rather diverse. Companies should take responsibility for the holistic utilization of OMC, as well as the development of holistic prioritization methods. Special attention should be given to online relationship communication, as this discipline is the primary driver of confidence in future potential, and online interactive communication, which has the largest potential for improvement.

The research is based on a single geographic market (Denmark), and its transferability to other markets can be questioned. The geographical constraint also means that the sample is limited.

The paper presents original findings for online marketing communication planning and prioritization, and thereby adds to a green field that lacks both theory and practical recommendations.

Advertising and sponsorship are both key areas of concern to management scholars. In the dynamic and sophisticated market world in which integrated marketing communication strategies play roles of increasing importance, this paper reflects on the extent to whcih sponsorship has moved away from being a philanthropic approach to communication and has taken a key role as a strategic approach to marketing (and thus corporate) strategies. The article note the problem prestented by the lack of a clear theoretical definition, considers the strategic objectives that result in sponsorship programmes, reflects on the difficulties (or downright lack) of measuring the success of sponsorship programmes (noting that organizations will judge success in different ways), reflects on the controversial aspects of some sponsorship programmes and examines groups at which sponsorship might be targeted. It concludes that sponsorship has a significant (some would say major) role to play in increasing sales, enhancing corporate image and leveraging employee morale. It concludes by suggesting significant areas that merit further research in this greatly neglected academic area.

Both advertising and sponsorship are key areas of marketing communications activity, though the latter has acted as a somewhat “Cinderella” subject. In the heightened and increasing consumer‐oriented marketing communications world of the 1990s, this paper asks whether these two marketing communications methods exist in an uneasy alliance or strategic symbiosis. Given the press (both practitioner and academic) coverage concerning integrated marketing communications, it may seem self‐evident that the latter alternative is preferred, but a rationale behind this preferstment is advanced. Notably, the shared conventions of the two communications activities constitute the text of their interactions. This sharing, or as we have termed it, a symbiotic relationship, leads in turn to the what can be described as the unity of a marketing communications culture, or its objective (managerial) mind.

Contemporary practitioners of content marketing (CM) often suggest their discipline is an ancient one, yet mainly limit its origins to the custom-published magazines of the late 1800s. The purpose of this paper is to synthesize some of the many definitions of CM and to report the first scholarly history of its development and practice.

This study’s purposes led to the following research questions: To what extent were CM strategies and tactics used before the 20th century? How have the uses and characteristics of CM changed or remained the same over time? Sources included general histories focusing on the earliest uses of advertising and promotions and edited book chapters and journal articles on the histories of branding and early print advertising, marketing and advertising practices in ancient and medieval periods and the development of consumer cultures around the world.

Research findings support three conclusions: CM existed much earlier than often acknowledged; has emerged as a unique marketing discipline, strategically and tactically distinguishable from the others (e.g. advertising and sales promotion); and possesses objectives, strategies and tactics that have remained remarkably consistent in practice across the millennia.

The research supports several insights to the history of marketing and the practice of CM. Some of the CM strategies and tactics identified in this paper, for instance, have previously been concluded to be part of advertising’s history. Findings also reveal that many of advertising’s American pioneers actually used CM to persuade 19th-century businessmen to adopt widespread advertising. In addition, the emphasis on interactive, digital media in CM definitions offers a likely explanation for the recent enthusiasm behind CM as a response to global trends in consumer preferences and global competition, as well as why contemporary CM practitioners have often failed to recognize they are practicing a “new” discipline that has actually been in use for thousands of years.

Past integrated marketing communications (IMC) frameworks have established brand contacts as important sources of information and feedback. This paper aims to discuss how the presence of multiple brand stakeholders and the proliferation of digital media increase the amount of brand information generated exponentially. When a firm fails to harness this information, it risks misalignment between brand identity and brand image, which, in turn, tarnishes brand-equity.

Past IMC frameworks are reviewed and extended to identify specific brand contact points between multiple stakeholders that hold significant potential to dynamically reconfigure brand identity. Theoretical propositions regarding the IMC function’s role in managing these contact points to generate brand-equity are offered.

The brand contacts described and their successful integration into a firm’s brand-equity strategy extend current IMC-based brand-equity models and suggest fruitful, novel avenues for creating brand-equity. Further, these brand contacts offer practical examples of how the scope of marketing communications can be redefined.

This paper contributes to the body of research on the elevation of IMC to a strategic level function. In addition to the synergistic communication of the brand offering, IMC needs to play a pivotal role in coordinating the contacts between the brand and stakeholders, and in extrapolating relevant brand insights from these contacts.