Don E. Schultz

The inevitability of integrated communications

Abstract The concept and practice of integrated marketing and communications has been challenged by functional specialists and practitioners. Evidence presented shows integration being driven by technology, and, thus, an irresistible force. Advertising, as currently practiced, is based on a mass production model. The future is one-to-one marketing and communication, based on behavior more than attitudes and driven by databases and new electronic delivery systems. A “shift of information technology” model illustrating three types of marketing systems is presented. This provides a practical method for practitioners to identify their need for integrated marketing and communications and the speed with which the integration must occur.

Customer/Brand Loyalty in an Interactive Marketplace

ABSTRACT The interactive marketplace changes traditional marketing theory. An argument is made for the development of shared values and reciprocity as a theory base on which to build customer relationships. A planning matrix is presented and illustrated with a case example.

Interactive integrated marketing communication: combining the power of IMC, the new media and database marketing

The interactivity of the new electronic media requires that a database-driven segmentation approach to communication strategy be employed to take advantage of its uniqueness. To accomplish this, firms must develop ways of collecting information at the individual level by traditional and/or electronic means, and of using that data to create informationintensive customer communication strategies. These strategies should then employ the new media to generate interaction with customers. We term this approach ‘Interactive IMC’. In this article we propose and illustrate an interactive IMC process model.

Social media's slippery slope: challenges, opportunities and future research directions

Purpose – Academics and the business community are interested in learning how social media can benefit (or harm) consumer‐brand engagement. As more branding activity goes social, marketers are not always welcome in all social media spaces. In this invited commentary, the authors aim to lay out the challenges that social media faces for enhancing consumer‐brand engagement. In doing so, they seek to turn social media challenges into future research directions.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews prior literature on social media and brand engagement.Findings – The majority of social media marketing initiatives take the form of communicating sales promotions to already engaged consumers.Practical implications – Marketers need to find ways to use social media to create lasting brand engagement rather than to merely utilize this communication technology to enhance short‐term revenue.Originality/value – This critical review provides marketing academics and practitioners avenues for future research and...

Transitioning marketing communication into the twenty-first century

The argument is developed that marketing and marketing communication are in transition, moving from the historical marketing approaches of the 1960s, which focused on the 4Ps to a new, interactive marketplace in the twenty-first century. A structural model of three marketplaces is presented based on the location and control of information technology. The premise is developed that as information technology shifts from one market player to the next, definitive changes in the need for communication develop. A description of the development of the Integrated Marketing Communication concept is furnished. Based on that, a four level transition process is proposed as organizations move from one stage of integrated marketing communication development to another, generally based on their ability to capture and manage information technology.

A Response to ‘Theoretical Concept or Management Fashion’

ABSTRACT This paper, by two well known writers on IMC (Integrated Marketing Communications), is a response to Cornelissen and Lock (ref 34845, JAR Sept/Oct 2000), which contends that IMC is a management fashion rather than a developing academic theory. They refute the contention.

Understanding the Diffusion of Integrated Marketing Communications

ABSTRACT Once again a ‘paradigm shift’ is about to occur, leaving an accepted and acknowledged academic and social frame of standardization, simplification, and specialization totally perplexed. In the field of advertising, the paradigm change is coming from an offspring called Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC). And, nowhere is that more evident than in the non-English-speaking countries where the primary focus on mass advertising and mass communication is giving way to more integrated forms of communication, including such areas as sales promotion, direct rn.edu marketing, public relations, events, and the like. During the last decade, a series of studies have been conducted, either on a country level or sometimes among several nation states investigating the development, diffusion, and acceptance of IMC. In many of those studies, the comparison has been in the development and diffusion of the concept among traditional advertising agencies and/or advertiser companies. Thus, the most recent research on IMC has been mainly focused on its perception by clients and their advertising agencies (1991 and 1993 in United States; 1995 in the United Kingdom; 1998 in New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and India; 1999 to the present in many research studies). In some of those studies, scholars have argued that IMC is nothing new, it is simply a reiteration of what marketing and communication organizations have always done. In others, research has shown that IMC is indeed a new paradigm and can be quite successfully deployed by all types of firms in the new millennium.

IMC: New horizon/false dawn for a marketplace in turmoil?

Is integrated marketing communications (IMC) a new horizon or simply another false dawn for marketing communications that has failed to live up to its promises? This issue becomes critical in a marketplace in economic turmoil. Two leading IMC researchers and writers argue for a totally new view and a new agenda for IMC going forward to match the new economic realities faced by marketing organizations. Their views are driven by marketplace, consumer and technology changes enhanced by increasing globalization and a shift of marketplace power to the consumer, all heavily influenced by the current economic conditions.

An inside-out approach to integrated marketing communication: An international analysis

The ‘inside-out’ approach used in this paper describes the implied educators’ perceptions of integrated marketing communication (IMC). From an analysis of 87 IMC course syllabi from six countries, and in-depth conversations with IMC programme directors and developers, we sought to determine whether those who teach IMC have reached a consensus on what IMC is; whether they embrace, reject or simply tolerate this new discipline area; and, specifically, how they are presenting IMC to the next generation of practitioners and scholars. The findings suggest that what is being taught around the world continues to be what would traditionally be considered promotions strategy, advertising management or marketing communication with minor IMC theory or content. For the most part, the syllabi we evaluated neither drew from the key constructs of IMC, nor were the key writers and published disciplinary research included in the course offerings. This gap – between what IMC writers have put forth, the established industry practices and what is being taught to the next generation of practitioners and academics – presents a significant challenge. This is a particular challenge to the scholars and teachers who are charged with the responsibility of encouraging best practices, presenting the most current and relevant applications and research approaches, and including the most current theory in their course delivery.

The evolution of IMC: IMC in a customer-driven marketplace

One of the advantages of a long career is that you get to see and experience many changes. Seldom are the changes radical and immediately obvious, but over time, we’ve seen the development of new models of learning, the globalization of higher education, the increased emphasis on research, the call for marketing productivity and the resulting emphasis on marketing metrics. Many of these changes have been profound in that they changed what we do forever. Certainly, earlier periods in marketing, the ‘good old days’, set the stage for the present and the future, but only for those who could accurately see the environment and accurately assess the impact on how we now think about marketing and especially about marketing communications. During the past 50 years, we’ve seen the emergence of many marketing management frameworks, for example, the ‘4Ps’ (product, price, place and promotion), the marketing concept, the product life cycle, positioning and others. Often these frameworks shape the way we think about marketing, stimulate our research questions, influence what we teach and, typically, guide marketing practice. Some of these frameworks influence marketing practice for a long time – others are more short-lived, replaced by new observations. This issue of the Journal of Marketing Communications is about the development, maturity and future of one of these managerial frameworks – integrated marketing communications (IMC). There can be little doubt that IMC is one of the most influential marketing management frameworks of our time. Today, IMC is the subject of professional and textbooks; trade and academic conferences; higher education curricula; academic journals and industry magazines; and an on-going, lively discussion about how to shorten the gap between what is happening with IMC practice and what should happen. How did the IMC evolution happen and where do we go from here?