Marketing communications

[8] As business becomes increasingly global with greater access to the Internet, mobile phones and social media, new challenges exist to inform people in targeted foreign markets.

[19] They are considered experts in selecting the highest quality products due to their extensive knowledge, and as such are able to influence the purchasing behavior of other consumers despite lacking the celebrity status of an opinion leader.

[23] Radio by definition is the broadcasting of sound programs to the public and today can be live streamed through a broadband connection or digitally transmitted into people's cars or homes.

Fill et al.[23] argue that radio communication promotes "emotional consumer–centric associations" as each listener is forced to construct a visual representation of the words and sounds such as music in their minds.

[29] For example, Vogue, a leading paid circulation fashion magazine,[30] publishes advertising efforts alongside beautiful imagery and elegant photography, the association of the two communicates respectability and sophistication and promotes the credibility of the brands which appear in the same publication.

Newspapers are often run on a weekly schedule offering up-to-date information and coverage of local events and businesses as a lower cost alternative to other forms of media.

[21] Strategic selection of various communication platforms is known as a media strategy which aims to engage an audience in a conversation and, as a result, attempt to create a lasting relationship.

[36] These factors are typically accomplished through traditional paid platforms, such as print, electronic, outdoor and alternative media, that aims to target a mass segment of the market.

For example, most paid communication platforms, print, and electronic media are filled with marketing and advertising messages and are subject to clutter, often forcing brands to compete for attention.

In addition, people who like the same TV drama, like Game of Thrones, or fans of the same movie star, such as Tom Cruise, will group together to discuss and share their feelings.

[46] Again, according to Financial Times, with the shifting trend of using mobile phones for online purchase in China, the people using cellphones to log on to the Internet outnumbered those using PC,[47] the next wave of restructuring faced by JD.com and its major competitors like Alibaba.

Haoyu Shen, the chief executive of the JD.com, ascribed this result to its own company's app rather than the co-operation with Tecent, the Chinese second largest online corporation, although it invested in JD.com in March 2014.

It usually involves using email to send ads, request business, or solicit sales or donations, and is meant to build loyalty, trust, or brand awareness.

[53] After failed attempts to solve the issue through customer service, Carroll uploaded a humorous YouTube video titled "United breaks guitars",[32] which experienced over 15 million views.

[54] Carroll's YouTube video is an example of the multiplier effect, and how consumer experiences are shared through user-generated content (UGC) networks and word of mouth communication.

Advantages of telemarketing include targeted communications, flexible and direct interaction between the organization and the customer, it can be an effective personal selling partner and it is cost-effective compared to face-to-face contact.

This marketing communications platform allows organizations to directly target customers to remind them to renew subscriptions, give exclusive product discounts, or build brand reputation through competitions or sweepstakes.

CDs are small and simple to hand out to target audiences and most modern computers have CD drive readers, however, most of the same information can be presented on a website or email.

A number of empirical studies, carried out in the early 1990s, found that the new IMC was far from a "short-lived managerial fad," but rather was a very clear reaction by advertisers and marketers to the changing external environment.

Each of these communications disciplines was treated as a "silo"; with little thought to the synergies between them, with the result that many different stakeholders involved in presenting the company's external image throughout the breadth and length of a campaign.

[72][73] Secondly, the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's), instituted a task-force to investigate integrated marketing communications (IMC), with the result that the first official definition was published.

[77] In 1991, the faculty of Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University in conjunction with the AAAA, began the first empirical research study designed to investigate how IMC was being used.

And, in the same year, the Medill School at Northwestern University changed their curriculum to include a focus on this new idea of integrated marketing communications rather than the traditional program which had emphasized advertising.

Rather it means that every piece of promotion – from advertising to direct mail to collateral materials to packaging to posters to corporate vehicles to business cards and office stationery – should be immediately recognizable as part of the same livery.

Porcu and his team point out that many of the first, tentative attempts to practice IMC were primarily concerned with integrating the message, so that the organization appeared to speak with "one voice," but failed to adopt a more rounded customer orientation.

The outside-in approach offers a unique way to plan, as it operates backwards by concentrating on customers first, then determining the most effective course of marketing and communication methods to implement.

By sending strategic messages and monitoring any external reaction, organizations gain feedback data from consumers which can be used to inform subsequent planning or fine-tuning of the communications strategy.

[110] Individuals reactions toward the new restructure will differ, as some become custom to the process and enjoy the borderless integration, on the other hand, some may feel threatened from the absence of control that once maintained order and power within the previous structured organization (Vladmir, Miroslav, & Papic, 2012).

Due to the fast-paced growth of technology, customers are rapidly gaining more power through forums such as word of mouth; now with capabilities of reaching a much wider audience through the use of social media.

[116] Many organizations are yet to relinquish such control, as shown by research conducted by Campaign magazine, which can only be suspected to be due to the fear that it could potentially diminish the marketing profession.