Is Mobile Marketing the Future of Advertising - Dissertation Example

Such a method of integrating technology for the marketing of one’s products and services is referred to as integrated marketing communication. By definition, Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is a new aggressive tool and approach adopted by companies to avail utmost benefits from their advertising efforts. It refers to a model intended to provide consumers of the marketing mix an opportunity to avail all features of marketing communication including publicity, sales endorsements, public relations, and direct marketing in an integrated force, rather than allowing each of these elements to function in seclusion (Kortler 2002).

Alternatively, Varey (2001) regards the concept of integrated marketing as a paradigm shift towards more bespoke, customer-oriented, technology-supported marketing systems. Interactive media revolutionizes marketing communications from a one-way process to a two-way process with the communication between the consumers and marketers at the center (Stewart & Pavlou 2002). Duncan and Moriarty (1998: 8) have affirmed that “interactivity is a hallmark of the paradigm shift in both marketing and communication.

” Shankar and Malthouse (2006: 3) defined interactive marketing as: “an integrated exchange process by which an organization uses the understanding of customer behavior, technology, and other resources to create and manage customer value and collaborative relationships and enhance shareholder value through relevant brands, products/service offerings, ideas and messages communicated and delivered to the right customers through appropriate channels and contact points at appropriate times.

” This outlook of interactive marketing is evidently stimulated by Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) (e.g. Peltier et al. 2003, Shultz et al. 1993, Kitchen et al. 2004). Throughout the past decade, IMC has caused a mounting curiosity among academicians and practitioners alike. From an interactive marketing perspective, IMC not only describes and allocates the integrated function of assorted communication media but also deals with the manner in which the arrangement of diverse media boosts the general efficiency of an organization’s customer relationships practices.