The article explores the paradoxes that for-profit social ventures face when managing integrated marketing communications (IMC) and how they deal with and overcome the tensions that comprise these ...paradoxes. To investigate the nature of these paradoxes we integrated two theoretical perspectives: Service-Dominant Logic and Paradox Theory. While the former served as a lens to analyze social marketing phenomena, the latter is applied to comprehend and explore the underlying tensions within these social businesses in the communication setting. Following a multiple-case study based on interviews with founders, owners, and directors of Brazilian for-profit social ventures, we depicted how traditional marketing practices can lead both to problems and solutions manifested in the four IMC pillars (stakeholders, content, channels, and results). We recognize that properly managing stakeholders' relationships aiming at the cocreation of value may result in valuable insights for dealing with tensions in all the four IMC pillars, and for achieving better marketing performance and higher social impact.
In the context of a virtual transformation of consumer behavior, commercial offer switches play an important role in increasing customer awareness of the company’s product and the recognition of ...the company itself. The study was conducted by sending online forms Google Form followed by data processing using Excel and SPSS. The purpose of this study was to identify the degree of consumer awareness of the horse-centered leisure activities in Almaty city and Almaty region. The survey was conducted by online sending out a Google Form with subsequent data processing by using Excel and SPSS. Novelty of this study is consideration of the significance of the awareness of the company’s product (goods/service) in connection with the virtual transformation of consumer behavior is considered. As the result, study showed the levels of awareness degree about the horse-centered leisure activities in Almaty city and Almaty region the among interviewed respondents
Reaching communication consistency across online channels like websites and social media is pivotal for international brands (IBs) in their effort to internationalize their recognition. This study ...investigates whether and how IBs integrate communication across two online channels in different countries in terms of adaptation and standardization approaches. We perform a content analysis of the websites and Instagram pages of 75 IBs to analyze their integrated marketing communication strategies deployed in two markets: Russia and Italy. This study reveals that IBs may adopt one of the four strategies when considering the design and content of the website and social media simultaneously: (1) standardized convergence, (2) adaptive convergence, (3) mixed convergence, and (4) cross-media divergence. Strategies are described across macro elements developed through a novel fine-grained framework. We discuss our results by exemplifying how communication consistency is reached across identified strategies. With this study that simultaneously analyzes the website and social media communication strategies of IBs, we contribute to the marketing communication literature by conceptualizing key global integrated online marketing communication strategies. In closing, we provide several managerial implications and recommendations for further research on this topic.
Purpose
Despite decades of scientific and practical experience in the field of integrated marketing communication (IMC), little is known about the role of IMC in the era of new media. The purpose of ...the present paper is to undertake a first step to close this gap by proposing thought-provoking impulses for customer-centric IMC. This is done by discussing central premises of customer-centric IMC in terms of the changed conditions on the media markets, its challenges and principles and its implementation issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides a conceptual approach to customer-centric IMC by deriving new lines of thinking from a review of existing literature relating to the concept of IMC.
Findings
The paper positions customer-centric IMC as an important advancement of IMC. It shows that the most important new lines of thinking which could be adopted as strategic components of customer-centric IMC are relationship orientation, content orientation and process orientation. The paper thus suggests that customer-centric IMC is a balancing act between a company’s own branding activities and the integration of customer-centered issues.
Originality/value
The originality of this paper resides in a detailed conceptual discussion of new insights into a customer-centric IMC. In contrast to existing work on IMC, this paper threads together the existing perspectives on IMC (inside-out and outside-in) to highlight the potential role of IMC in the era of social media (customer-centric IMC) by adding an outside-out view to the concept of IMC.
The authors use evidence from store openings by a bricks-and-clicks retailer to examine the drivers of substitution and complementarity between online and offline retail channels. The evidence ...supports the coexistence of substitution across channels and complementarity in demand. In places where the retailer has a strong presence, the opening of an offline store is associated with a decrease in online sales and search; however, in places where the retailer does not have a strong presence, the opening of an offline store is associated with an increase in online sales and search. The evidence suggests that whereas online and offline channels may be substitutes in distribution, they are complements in marketing communications. Specifically, the type of marketing communication driving complementarity seems to be information about the existence of the brand. For example, the authors observe a large increase in new customer acquisition and sales, and little difference between fit and feel products and other products. Thus, it is the presence of the store, rather than information about the attributes of the products in the store, that drives complementarity.
The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the world economy, affecting many industries. Given the growing inadequacies of traditional marketing communication channels in the digital age, fashion retailers ...are looking at innovative ways of communicating with consumers. Gamification’s efficacy as a marketing communication’s tool can be linked to its potential to satisfy users’ intrinsic needs, ostensibly through evoking a pleasurable consumer experience via autotelic use reminiscent of videogame engagement. The goal of this study was to investigate the use of gamification in the fashion retail industry. A qualitative approach was followed by means of an exploratory research design. Judgement sampling was used to identify a total of 25 participants from whom data was gathered by means of conducting three focus groups. Data was analysed by means of the Morse and Field approach using Atlas.ti. The results indicate that consumers are aware of gamification and enjoy using it, describing it as a fun and enjoyable experience. Consumers’ primary motivation for using gamification applications is to gain financial benefit in the form of discounts, vouchers, points or rewards. The dominant challenges identified with using gamification applications are that they do not provide a user-friendly interface, as well as privacy and security concerns and connection issues.
To help marketers to build and manage their brands in a dramatically changing marketing communications environment, the customer-based brand equity model that emphasizes the importance of ...understanding consumer brand knowledge structures is put forth. Specifically, the brand resonance pyramid is reviewed as a means to track how marketing communications can create intense, active loyalty relationships and affect brand equity. According to this model, integrating marketing communications involves mixing and matching different communication options to establish the desired awareness and image in the minds of consumers. The versatility of on-line, interactive marketing communications to marketers in brand building is also addressed.
The emergence of Internet-based social media has made it possible for one person to communicate with hundreds or even thousands of other people about products and the companies that provide them. ...Thus, the impact of consumer-to-consumer communications has been greatly magnified in the marketplace. This article argues that social media is a hybrid element of the promotion mix because in a traditional sense it enables companies to talk to their customers, while in a nontraditional sense it enables customers to talk directly to one another. The content, timing, and frequency of the social media-based conversations occurring between consumers are outside managers’ direct control. This stands in contrast to the traditional integrated marketing communications paradigm whereby a high degree of control is present. Therefore, managers must learn to shape consumer discussions in a manner that is consistent with the organization's mission and performance goals. Methods by which this can be accomplished are delineated herein. They include providing consumers with networking platforms, and using blogs, social media tools, and promotional tools to engage customers.
Purpose: The article discusses the plan of integrated marketing communication with an emphasis on designing a strategy for the brand X. Marketing communication is one of the key elements of strategic ...marketing, as it has a significant impact on the recognition and success of a company or brand. It should be emphasized that in the era of information technology, information overload, and increasing consumer demands, the concept of marketing communication is much more complex than simply informing target customers about the existence of a product or service. Methodology: The quantitative research was carried out using a survey questionnaire technique. For this purpose, we used a web-based 1KA survey sent via email addresses. Results: The survey determined (1) the level of general interest in alarm systems for the protection of residential, holiday, and commercial properties, (2) the level of awareness of brand X. We further identified (3) the target audience of the brand X, (4) the key message for advertising needs and (5) communication channels through which to address the target audience. Practical implications: The obtained results were our key guidelines in designing a marketing communication strategy for the brand X, aimed at improving the effectiveness of current marketing campaigns and increasing the sales of products under the selected brand.
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