Beyond the world of packaged goods: assessing the relevance of integrated marketing communications for retail and consumer service marketing

Product and packaged goods marketers have responded to changing consumer and media environments by adopting integrated approaches to marketing communication. The value and utility of such approaches likely extend to a wide range of marketers, but there have been few published attempts to examine the viability of the integrated marketing communication concept in retail and service marketing. This study addresses this void by using a seven-stage model of integrated marketing communications to examine the media and message delivery practices of national and regional retailers and consumer service marketers. The results of a national mail survey found many of these marketers using such key integrated marketing communication elements as multiple media, databases, individual-level consumer information and behavioural response measures in their media and message delivery practices. Few, however, were using these elements in a strategic or coordinated fashion. Integrated approaches thus appear to have much value in retail and service marketing, particularly as a means for coordinating media and message delivery elements in a fashion that provides a way to link behavioural responses to media vehicles and advertising messages.     

The value of social presence in mobile communications

Texting via mobile devices is used as a primary means for day-to-day communications among an increasing number of consumers and, as a result of this trend, more companies are engaging with consumers and addressing service complaints using social media platforms, such as Facebook. This study addresses the use of two-way mobile texting via Facebook to resolve service complaints with applications from social presence theory. Research shows that marketers’ warm emotions are important in addressing service complaints, yet prior works mainly focus on the significance of human warmth in face-to-face contexts. Therefore, this study uses an experimental design to investigate the value of social presence in mobile texting as a means for providing service recovery. In triangulating the data, we use focus groups in confirmatory analysis. The findings show that social presence cues add human warmth to text messages with respect to two-way communication perceptions, control perceptions, responsiveness perceptions, satisfaction, attitudes, and repurchase intentions. The article concludes with a discussion of the importance of social presence cues in improving customers’ experiences and overall satisfaction.     

Stakeholder theory and internal marketing communications: a framework for analysing the influence of new media

Effective two‐way communication is widely viewed as an essential component of successful internal marketing strategies, yet little research has so far been conducted on the relative merits of different communication media in an internal marketing context. Since the mid‐1990s Internet technologies have revolutionized internal communications in many organizations. However, the impact of these new forms of electronic media on internal marketing communication remains relatively unexamined. This paper draws on stakeholder and communication theories to provide a framework for understanding the dimensions of effective internal marketing communications and presents the results of an empirical study on the relationship between these dimensions and the use of new media in the workplace.     

Encouraged,motivated and learning oriented for working creatively and successfully: a case of Korean workers in marketing communications

This study investigated and assessed organizational and motivational determinants in creative and successful marketing communications campaigns by analysing a sample of Korean workers. The study revealed the relative importance of organizational and motivational factors for campaign creativity and performance in marketing communications in Korean workplaces. The findings provide evidence that managerial encouragement is essential to Korean workers' intrinsic motivation for planning, learning orientation and creativity. The intrinsic motivation for planning in turn generally had a strong effect on their creativity, learning orientation and performance. Related implications are discussed for managers in marketing communications, where creativity may fall into the realm of the required aspects of the workers. From the findings it is implied that deliberately designed organizational means for enhancing creativity must be sought.     

Integrating public service and marketing differentiation: an analysis of the American Express Corporation’s “Charge Against Hunger” promotion program

Dating back to the 1980s, American Express (AMEX) has been a corporate leader in successfully applying cause-related marketing (CRM) to boost membership and credit card usage in troubled markets. During a downturn in the mid-1990s, AMEX and Share Our Strength (SOS), a nonprofit organization tackling the problem of hunger in the United States, formed a strategic alliance to create one of the best known and most highly touted CRM campaigns. AMEX implemented an innovative cause branding (CB) effort to convince its cardholders to “Charge Against Hunger” (CAH) by utilizing their AMEX credit cards more frequently during the holiday season. Over the 4-year life of the program, the issue of hunger in the United States was put somewhat higher on the public agenda as more than US $21 million were raised for SOS projects. This study assesses how AMEX’s public relations efforts contributed to the success of the CAH campaign.