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Introduction – In recent years virtual reality and augmented reality (AR) applications, which are widely used in many sectors, have become important tools in marketing communication. The change and differentiation that takes place in a revolutionary digital environment also affect social change. This change has led to the use of AR applications as a communication tool to affect all decisions of consumers in the purchasing process.

Purpose – The focus of this study is on AR applications using an experimental application in the context of marketing communication with experiential marketing and new technologies.

Method – This experimentation was carried out on over 2 million downloaded mobile applications by Turkish users of an AR brand of wall paint. The experiment included 32 consumers, painters, and interior designers in Istanbul. These formed the groups of the study. The authors aimed to determine whether AR mobile applications are seen differently between these three groups in terms of attitudes and buying intentions vis-a-vis other brands. Thus, the authors will determine the importance of AR applications in marketing communication, satisfaction of experience, and the effect on purchase intention in terms of the different groups. In line with the results, strategies will be presented to marketing practitioners. The literature review of the study enabled the formation and design of the research method and scales.

Findings – The preliminary study revealed that the attitudes toward experiential marketing, brand attitudes, and purchase intention using the AR application were significantly different from the catalog application.

At present no frameworks exist for services marketers to incorporate social media (SM) within marketing communications planning. The majority of integrated marketing communications (IMC) frameworks were developed prior to the development of the widespread use of digital and SM for information seeking, sales and service. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this issue for services marketers specifically as they differ from FMCG, industrial and durable marketers in terms of marketing messages, branding, media and channels. Furthermore, as they are less reliant on outsourced sale channels they have more potential than other industries to integrate social and digital media to build awareness, brands and sales.

Depth interviews were conducted with eight senior services marketing executives to identify the impact of SM on marketing communications planning, implementation and measurement.

The findings revealed that the unique characteristics of SM (such as interactivity and individualisation, integration of communication and distribution channels, immediacy and information collection) impact traditional marketing communications frameworks. These impacts manifested in 12 modifications specific to services and SM to traditional generic IMC frameworks encompassed by the themes of reach, service channel, word-of-mouth advocacy, consumer generated messages, listening and behavioural measurement.

The rapidly evolving nature of SM means senior services marketers need to educate organisational stakeholders regarding implementation issues, which may be a barrier to effective integration of SM within marketing communications.

With digital marketing communications budgets reaching 30 per cent within some organisations, it is timely to put forward a marketing communication decision-making framework that first incorporates SM and second is suitable for services marketers.

Develops a model which integrates the development of marketing relationships with marketing communication practice. Especially within the realm of relationship marketing thinking, communication may be understood as an act of persuasion. Using three classical rhetorical elements, we may see this process as developing an understanding of the communicator’s intentions and qualities (ethos) and the communication climate (pathos), both of which are necessary for engaging in constructive dialogues with customers (logos). On this basis, the paper outlines a model for integrating practices of marketing communication with relationship building and illustrates the model using a case study from a Danish bank as a reflective device.

The development of database marketing has brought a new set of possibilities to marketers. The use of one‐to‐one communication is a new way of closing the gap between the clients’ expectations and experiences. However, the realization of new one‐to‐one communication strategies has its limitations. According to Norwegian research presented here, the preconditions for carrying out one‐to‐one communication are only present to a very limited extent. The possibility of the ad agencies assisting their clients in their efforts to exploit a new individualized strategy by using marketing systems in their customer approach is very limited. The “core of dialogue” consists of six elements: the strategic formulation ability, the level of knowledge about one‐to‐one communication, the use of suitable marketing systems, what kind of data is registered, to what extent “soft” data on the client’s opinion is collected, whether changes in the agency’s organization is done according to demands from the market and whether product development is done according to demands from the market. The expression made up from the six elements constitutes the preconditions for communicating in dialogue. That is why we named the phenomenon “the core of dialogue”. A tool for clients and agency managers to test their own ability to perform dialogue‐based one‐to‐one communication is presented.

This study aims to explore the role of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot marketing efforts (CMEs) in the establishment of relationships between brands and their customers, extending the link between relationship marketing and online consumer behavioral intentions.

Data are collected from 1,072 customers in the USA, who used chatbot marketing activities from any of 30 brands leading their industries in messaging innovation. Structural equation modeling is used for data analysis.

Results show that interaction, information, accessibility, entertainment and customization are important CMEs components. CMEs have significant direct effects on the quality of communication with chatbot agents and indirectly affect customer–brand relationships (CBR) and customer response. In addition, the findings demonstrate that CBR mediates the association between communication quality and customer response.

Implications of this study can enable practitioners to understand the effects of AI on user experiences and provide a guide for the development of CMEs strategies and relationship building.

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 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.

Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is regarded as an important marketing management issue because of increasingly dynamic market conditions, and the impact that this dynamism is having on the effectiveness of traditional marketing communications tools and planning approaches. IMC relates to me strategic management of marketing communications to achieve superior brand performance. This paper uses that Integrated Marketing Audit (Duncan and Moriarty, 1997) as a mechanism to analyse the degree of integration of marketing communications management and link this to measures of brand performance. The research employs the Australian and New Zealand wine industries as a context to consider this relationship. Analysis suggests that a higher degree of integration in marketing communications management results in better brand performance. As a result, managers of wine brands should consider how to adopt IMC principles and review their management of marketing communications.

This study aims to investigate how marketing communication (MC) and nascent corporate communication (CC) strategies are juxtaposed in the small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) setting.

A qualitative research method based on a multiple case study approach is elaborated in a South-East Asian emerging economy.

The key findings show that MC and nascent CC strategies coexist in SMEs, and are frequently closely interwoven, enabling the introduction of an integrated hybrid communication (IHC) theoretical perspective in this context. Four requisites inform IHC management: communicate the identity/roots; establish and communicate the relationship with multiple stakeholders; communicate the product/service to customers; and communicate other activities of the firm (e.g. corporate social responsibility and brand identity). SME managers were predisposed to use at least three communication channels among the following: advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing and/or personal selling. Furthermore, managers generally preferred internet-enabled communication.

This study provides fresh insights into how SMEs could integrate their communication strategies to increase their survival chances and business growth. However, the need to develop SMEs is required in every economy. Thus, the present findings could be seen as relevant to various audiences (academic, practitioners and/or policy-makers) such as for managers from Western and/or European settings who are interested in operating in the Malaysian economy.

By using the four requisites that inform IHC, owners/managers of SMEs can adopt a more holistic approach, by strategically planning communication activities using both communication typologies (i.e. product and firm level). Thus, SMEs will be able to enhance clarity and consistency in their communication strategy and achieve brand equity across relevant stakeholders in the long run.

This study introduces the IHC theoretical perspective and reveals the communication tools used by SMEs to communicate product and brand-related messages to multiple stakeholders. These messages tend to stem from and are shaped by the identity/roots of the firm embedded in managerial personality/values.

The purpose of this paper is to discover and empirically test the gap between the theory and practice of integrated marketing communications (IMC) in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).

The paper follows a quantitative approach, using the questionnaire technique. Questionnaire items emerged from a literature review and a qualitative step (in‐depth interviews). The questionnaire was submitted to a sample of 210 manufacturing firms. Factor and cluster analysis were performed in order to give a descriptive overview of different communication behavioral profiles within SMEs.

The sample shows evidence of a certain ability in marketing communication management on the part of SMEs. A group of virtuous firms able to employ a great variety of communication tools, to define in‐depth and consistent messages and to declare ambitious and long‐term goals appears. However, these firms do not adequately manage the internal organizational process aimed at marketing communication planning. As well as these virtuous firms, a large group of firms which show more gaps including in their range of activities, message, and goal definition, still exists. Structural characteristics are useful but not exhaustive in order to understand the existence of such a distance between SMEs active in communications and those with greater communication gaps. Besides, structural characteristics, internal dynamism proves to be one of the most important motivating factors in marketing communications.

Although this paper is restricted to a small sample, it constitutes a significant starting point in attaching importance to marketing communications within SMEs.

From this paper, practitioners may understand where intervention guidelines are needed in order to improve a marketing communications plan for a small or medium enterprise.

Owing to the focus of previous research on large company practices, this paper represents an original trial to empirically apply the IMC approach only within SMEs.