Awareness and usage of digital marketing in Serbia

Abstract

With the rapid development of new technologies and the propensity of today's online shoppers towards the digitalised media, integrating digital marketing into the strategic marketing function and business goals has become a challenge. Managing today's marketing function requires a constant review of new digital opportunities which, if successful, lead towards operational transformation into e-business. Compared to the global trends, due to the unfavourable demographic and economic conditions, media investments in Serbia still favour the traditional channels, although recent national studies show that Serbian consumers are increasingly shifting to digital channels, using the internet throughout their purchase journey. The objective of this article was to explore the state of digital marketing within the business marketing function of the leading advertisers, based on the research question: Has digital marketing in Serbia become an integral part of the strategic marketing function in its organisational, functional and budgetary terms? The findings suggest that in Serbia, similar to the global trends, trust in both traditional and digital marketing performance measurement remains an issue, as does the ability to develop digital talents and to overcome the drag of legacy technologies. The leading domestic advertisers strive to achieve a deeper integration of their digital marketing activities into the strategic marketing function, and to foster the support of senior executives to the digital transformation of the entire business, starting with marketing and sales.