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With the challenges presented by new media, shifting media patterns, and divided consumer attention, the optimal integration of marketing communications takes on increasing importance. Drawing on a review of relevant academic research and guided by managerial priorities, the authors offer insights and advice as to how traditional and new media such as search, display, mobile, TV, and social media interact to affect consumer decision making. With an enhanced understanding of the consumer decision journey and how consumers process communications, the authors outline a comprehensive framework featuring two models designed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of integrated marketing communication programs: a \"bottom-up\" communications matching model and a \"top-down\" communications optimization model. The authors conclude by suggesting important future research priorities.

•We compare the impact of multiple touchpoints on consideration in four categories.•Respondents report on six touchpoints using the real-time experience tracking method.•Touchpoint positivity and not just touchpoint frequency influences consideration.•In-store communications positivity is more influential than that of ads, WOM or PR.•Peer observation, a hardly studied touchpoint, is both pervasive and persuasive. Marketers face the challenge of resource allocation across a range of touchpoints. Hence understanding their relative impact is important, but previous research tends to examine brand advertising, retailer touchpoints, word-of-mouth, and traditional earned touchpoints separately. This article presents an approach to understanding the relative impact of multiple touchpoints. It exemplifies this approach with six touchpoint types: brand advertising, retailer advertising, in-store communications, word-of-mouth, peer observation (seeing other customers), and traditional earned media such as editorial. Using the real-time experience tracking (RET) method by which respondents report on touchpoints by contemporaneous text message, the impact of touchpoints on change in brand consideration is studied in four consumer categories: electrical goods, technology products, mobile handsets, and soft drinks. Both touchpoint frequency and touchpoint positivity, the valence of the customer's affective response to the touchpoint, are modeled. While relative touchpoint effects vary somewhat by category, a pooled model suggests the positivity of in-store communication is in general more influential than that of other touchpoints including brand advertising. An almost entirely neglected touchpoint, peer observation, is consistently significant. Overall, findings evidence the relative impact of retailers, social effects and third party endorsement in addition to brand advertising. Touchpoint positivity adds explanatory power to the prediction of change in consideration as compared with touchpoint frequency alone. This suggests the importance of methods that track touchpoint perceptual response as well as frequency, to complement current analytic approaches such as media mix modeling based on media spend or exposure alone.

Purpose This conceptual paper aims at developing a customer-centric marketing communications approach that takes the starting point in the customer ecosystem. Design/methodology/approach After a critical analysis of existing marketing communications and integrated marketing communication (IMC) approaches, a customer-driven view of marketing communications is developed using recent developments in relationship communication, customer-dominant logic and the notion of customer value formation as value-in-use. Findings A customer-integrated marketing communication (CIMC) approach centred on a communication-in-use concept is conceptually developed and introduced. The analysis results in a CIMC model, where a customer in his or her individual ecosystem, based on integration of a set of messages from different sources, makes sense of the many messages he or she is exposed to. Research limitations/implications The paper presents a customer-driven perspective on marketing communication and IMC. The analysis is conceptual and should trigger future empirical grounding. It indicates the need for a change in mindset in research. Practical implications CIMC requires a turnaround in the mindset that steers how companies and their marketers communicate with customers. The CIMC model provides guidelines for planning marketing communication. Originality/value The customer-driven communication-in-use concept and the CIMC model challenge traditional inside-out approaches to planning and implementing marketing communication.

In the evolving realm of digital marketing, digital integrated marketing communication (IMC) has emerged as a critical factor in building and maintaining brand equity for sustainable tourism destinations. This research examines the impact of digital IMC consistency and interactivity on establishing destination brand equity, while exploring the interconnections among its various dimensions. Grounded in both empirical and theoretical frameworks, this study collected data via an online questionnaire administered to 435 users of online travel agencies, which was analyzed through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results demonstrate that customer-perceived digital IMC (consistency and interactivity) exerts a significant positive influence on destination brand equity, uncovering the intricate dynamics among destination awareness, image, perceived quality, and loyalty. Notably, destination loyalty is influenced by destination awareness through destination image and perceived destination quality, with destination image having a more significant impact than perceived destination quality. This research is significant in constructing knowledge of IMC in the digital tourism marketing paradigm, shedding light on how the consistency and interactivity of online communication affect various consumer brand equity outcomes. Additionally, it provides valuable insights into digital tourism practices and sustainable development, enriching the discourse regarding how digital IMC enhances destination brand equity.

This research investigated the interplay between customer orientation and integrated marketing communication (IMC) in the context of small and medium-sized service enterprises (SMEs) operating in Brazil. Purpose of the study: To examine the mediating effect of IMC on the relationship between customer orientation and financial performance in SMEs within the Brazilian service sector. Methodology: A quantitative survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire, which included scales for the studied constructs and was directed at owners or marketing managers of the mentioned SMEs. A total of 181 valid responses were collected. Data analysis was performed using SPSS, and Structural Equation Modeling was conducted with SmartPLS to test the research hypotheses. Main results: A partial influence of IMC on the relationship between customer orientation and financial performance was identified. This indicates that customer-oriented companies that effectively utilize IMC tend to achieve better outcomes in financial indicators. Theoretical/methodological contributions: By revealing a direct relationship not previously identified between two significant marketing constructs, the study aims to contribute to research methodologies in management, highlighting the importance of employing quantitative methods in strategic marketing. Additionally, it seeks to provide practical contributions to management and corporate practices in service-oriented SMEs. Relevance/originality: The research integrates customer orientation and IMC constructs into a single quantitative model to verify their mutual influences.

Purpose - 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. Design/methodology/approach - Depth interviews were conducted with eight senior services marketing executives to identify the impact of SM on marketing communications planning, implementation and measurement. Findings - 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. Practical implications - 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. Originality/value - 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.

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.

This paper aims to explore the effect of integrated marketing communication (IMC) on marketing performance in hospitality industry. From firm-wide approach, IMC is viewed more broadly with its integration throughout the organization, not only integration of mass media elements to produce a consistent message. This approach has improved IMC measurements, but many studies have neglected the roles of controlling of the IMC process, the difference in the impacts of IMC on marketing performance between chain hotels and independent hotels has not been examined and evaluated. This paper completes measurement scales and evaluates the effects of IMC on marketing performance in the hospitality industry by using primary data collected from 198 managers of various levels from 4-to-5-star hotels in Hanoi - the capital of Vietnam, including chain hotels and independent hotels. The research findings reveal IMC factors that have an effect on overall marketing performance (including sales-related performance and brand-related performance) and the difference in their effect on 2 groups of hotels.Specifically, with chain hotels, 5 factors affecting the marketing performance in declining order are interactivity, controlling, consistent communication, planning and organizational infrastructure while with independent hotels, the factors with effects in declining order are controlling, planning, consistent communication, interactivity and organizational infrastructure. The study provides some recommendations regarding the IMC process to improve the sales-related performance and brand-related performance of chain hotels and independent hotels.

PurposeAligning corporate communications through different information sources is a great challenge for marketers, especially those operating in the tourism sector, which has been harshly affected by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This paper provides a deep analysis of the implementation of seven basic principles of the integrated marketing communications (IMC) paradigm in a crisis situation.Design/methodology/approachIn-depth interviews with tourism and hospitality service providers were conducted in the fourth quarter of 2021 in Croatia, a destination that showed remarkable results in terms of the number of international tourist arrivals during the pandemic.FindingsMost firms successfully transitioned from tactical to strategic IMC implementation. Some problems were reported in the coordination of communication tools and channels. Whereas the use of digital technology was enhanced, database management did not receive sufficient attention. Message clarity represented the greatest challenge, while consumer-centric communication was the most neglected principle. Relationship building was pursued mainly through B2B rather than B2C communication, whereas brand equity development pursued through communication mix mostly focused on increases in awareness, perceived quality and attitudinal loyalty.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is qualitative in nature and provides opinions on IMC adoption from the managerial perspective only.Practical implicationsThis paper provides guidelines for the successful integration of marketing communications (marcom) in an extremely ambiguous and uncertain environment.Originality/valueThe contribution of this work lies in the proposal of a new refined and expanded theoretical framework of IMC principles and numerous marcom strategies for operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, thus providing relevant implications for academia and industry.

Background Healthcare establishments portray themselves to their patient populations using many communicative mechanisms. Perhaps the first avenues that come to mind are the outward conveyances of the marketing communications mix, including advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing. But other prominent communicators also exist, including the people employed by healthcare institutions, the places in which services are delivered, and the brands that represent given establishments. This wide variety of communicative mechanisms is somewhat of a mixed blessing, affording myriad options, but also necessitating extra care and attention in developing associated marketing communications. Discussion Now more than ever, health and medical establishments have at their disposal communications options capable of addressing most any conveyance want or need. The marketing communications mix, once somewhat limited due to industry tradition, is now fully accessible and widely used in the health services industry, providing immense opportunities to connect with patients. Options for signage, building designs, servicescape amenities, employee uniforms, and the like also are teeming, providing myriad avenues for making positive impressions. But burgeoning options while beneficial also intensify obligations for ensuring that marketing communications are properly integrated, with this particular article describing this imperative need and its implications for communicative success in the healthcare industry. Conclusions By integrating marketing communications, health and medical providers are able to create synergies between and among selected conveyance mechanisms, amplifying performance and increasing the likelihood of reaching communicative goals. Achieving such cohesion requires devoted planning in an effort to coordinate verbal and visual manifestations to express desired imagery and appeals to target audiences. As extensive benefits are derived from integrated marketing communications, healthcare establishments should consider associated pursuits to be a strategic priority.