Online Marketing Communications Research Articles

Conceptualizing ephemerality in online marketing communication for consumers and firms

PurposeConsumers send billions of messages with high ephemerality each day, yet the effects of this type of communication are relatively unknown. Online ephemeral communication refers to sending and receiving information with a predetermined, finite lifespan in computer-mediated environments. The purpose of this paper is to conceptually understand online marketing communications with high ephemerality relative to messages with low ephemerality within a consumer’s goal system.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is an attempt to conceptually understand how high ephemerality differs from low ephemerality, particularly as online ephemeral communication has emerged and is widely used by consumers and firms. Goal systems theory is applied to understand how ephemerality is a means for consumers to reach their communication goals.FindingsConsumers are more likely to use messages with high ephemerality to impress with narrowly relevant content, regulate emotions, build social relationships, persuade others through peripheral cues and protect privacy, but messages with high ephemerality are less likely to help consumers manage their impression, acquire or share useful information or present strong arguments. It is also proposed that messages with high ephemerality can help marketers increase interest through frequent peripheral cues, including fun and friendly content, drive sales by creating a sense of urgency and increase loyalty, but are less likely to increase awareness, build interest through flattering or informative content or drive sales through transactional messages.Research limitations/implicationsThis study primarily advances the goal systems literature by introducing ephemerality. The defining feature of ephemerality, lifespan, also has research implications for studies of word-of-mouth marketing. The propositions in this study are ready for empirical investigation as to when consumers and firms choose to send messages with low or high ephemerality.Practical implicationsFirms need to understand how consumers are using messages sent with low and high ephemerality in order for firms to best move consumers through the sales funnel.Originality/valueTo the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first paper to differentiate messages with low and high ephemerality, identify the presence and effects of ephemerality in offline and online communication and explain how and why sending messages with low or high ephemerality can help consumers and firms reach their communication goals. There is only one other paper in marketing on ephemerality in online marketing communications and no other conceptual work.

DEVELOPMENT OF ONLINE MARKETING COMMUNICATION MODEL OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS FOR FARMERS.

The purpose of this research studies a foundation for the Development of an online marketing communication model for organic agricultural products for farmers. The sampling groups are 343 organic agricultural product customers in Bangkok and In-depth interviews with ten experts. This study used combined methods of Quantitative research and Qualitative research. The research found that the communication model of organic agricultural products for farmers consisted of 1. The farmers have to know about information technology and marketing, be honest with themselves and consumers, be ethical, and produce good quality products. 2. Contents should be used and straightforward for consumers. 3. Online communication channels should be easy to use, fast, and inexpensive. 4. The ECommerce process consists of information searching, purchasing, payment, and shipment, which have to be easy to use and fast. 5. Consumers and stakeholders consider food safety and clean knowledge about organic agriculture. 6. Re-action of consumers or stakeholders after receiving information that presents satisfaction in the relationship between sellers and customers. The problem with online marketing communication in organic agricultural products of farmers is farmers' need for knowledge in information technology, online communication channels, marketing and branding, creative idea, or content. Consumers trust online marketing communications, which are high-level.

Leveraging the Characteristics of Location-Based Communication in Online Marketing

Contemporary online marketing communications are increasingly integrated with modern technologies and innovative solutions. Locationbased technologies are one of the approaches that help a business target customers precisely based on their geographic location. Eventually, a number of benefits can be obtained by integrating location-based technologies into marketing strategies. However, it requires a high level of professionalism and may be followed by various complications and risks. Nevertheless, location-oriented marketing can be regarded as one of the most efficient approaches in today’s marketing communications. Therefore, it is necessary to research it theoretically, study practical cases and make relevant conclusions. It will allow businesses to improve their decisions concerning various marketing activities: audience segmentation, precise targeting, collecting and processing analytical data, and planning large-scale marketing campaigns. In this process, customer data privacy is one of the most important issues, which is a separate, complex object of research. Therefore, this paper focuses on reviewing characteristics, opportunities, consumer behavior traits, and benefits of location-based communication in the marketing context. The final parts of the paper provide an overall analysis of the issue and a list of recommendations as a conclusion.

Emojis to conversion on social media

AbstractEmojis have become popular in online marketing communications. Marketers use emojis to humanize brand voice and elicit an emotional response from target audiences. However, little is known about how emojis are perceived and what kind of reactions they evoke. Therefore, this study aims to verify whether exposure to emojis leads to an increased intention to purchase and whether the use of emojis impacts campaign effectiveness in a real‐life environment. In a theory build‐up process, we draw upon the Dual Coding Theory and emotional contagion concept and develop seven hypotheses. We performed two data collection studies to test the hypothesized relations. The first study is based on a questionnaire (N = 318), while the second is based on experimental design in a real‐life business environment. Surprisingly, we found that using emojis had a negative effect on purchase intention, while the effect was positive when mediated by positive affect. Emojis increased the effectiveness of marketing campaigns for hedonic products and strongly impacted the return on advertising spent. The findings of this study have both theoretical and practical implications in the observed domains, particularly about the type of products emojis are most effective in promoting, gender differences, and real‐life consumer behaviour. This is the first study to use an experimental design in a real‐life scenario to capture the role of emojis on campaign effectiveness and decipher the differences between genders and their perceptions of emojis. Theoretical and practical implications together with future prospects are discussed.

Emojis to Conversion on Social Media: Insights into Online Consumer Engagement and Reactions

Emojis have become popular in online marketing communications. Marketers use emojis to humanize brand voice and elicit an emotional response from target audiences. However, little is known about how emojis are perceived and what kind of reactions they evoke. The aim of this study was to examine whether exposure to emojis leads to an increased intention to purchase, and whether the use of emojis impacts campaign effectiveness. Surprisingly, it found that the use of emojis had a negative effect on purchase intention, while the effect was positive when mediated by positive affect. Emojis increased the effectiveness of marketing campaigns for hedonic products and had a strong impact on the return on advertising spend. The findings of this study have both theoretical and practical implications in the observed domains, particularly in relation to the type of products emojis are most effective in promoting, gender differences, and real-life consumer behavior.

ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS AND THEIR ROLE IN BUSINESS SALES

Of particular interest to business are the latest and fastest growing online marketing communications, also known as Internet marketing, web marketing, interactive marketing or online marketing. From the variety of names it is clear that there is no single position on the issue of the definition and features of this communication channel. A company can promote a new logo, product or overall campaign through multiple channels - print media, television, web and social networks. The idea of the marketing mix is that the content that is submitted to each of them is different and in line with the requirements of the specific channel, but all direct users to the same point, namely - the product or service. The purpose of the article is to present a systematization of online marketing communications and to justify the need for their use in modern business. The research methods are based on the complex use of induction, deduction, comparison, analysis, classification, consultation methods, etc. The results of the research can be used to identify the priority activities in online sales and in the development of company online strategies for business expansion and entry into international markets. The conclusions of the present study are a prerequisite and opportunities for subsequent analysis of the application of online communications in business.

WHAT WE REMEMBER FROM SOCIAL MEDIA. MEMORY OF ADVERTISEMENTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITES – A RESEARCH IN THE PARADIGM OF BACKWARD FRAMING

For many years human memory and its character has been the area of research interests of neurologists, psychologists and psychiatrists. Importantly, proper understanding of how our memory works is an issue that is significant from cognitive point of view and also for promotion and advertising specialists. In order to achieve the objectives of marketing communications – informational, persuasive and competitive objectives – an advertising addressee has to rightly read, remember and recall an advertisement in the phase of making the purchase decision. This process is exposed to endogenous and exogenous noises and distortions. One of the most intriguing types of memory errors is a situation, where previous experience is distorted by the information coming later on (retroactive interference). This phenomenon is being researched in the paradigm of backward framing. Works on this type of memory distortions were pioneered by Braun with co-researchers (e.g. Braun, Zaltman, 1997; Braun-LaTour, LaTour, 2005). In Poland, research on the impact of emotions on the evaluation and memory of advertisements were conducted i.a. by. A. Grochowska and A. Falkowski (2008). The source literature cites many examples of research on traditional advertising carried out in the paradigm of backward framing (i.a.. Kamins, Marks 1987; C. Hu, S. Cole, 2016, Falkowski 2017). However, there is a cognitive gap in case of this type of research being carried out in the internet environment. In case of online marketing communications, one should particularly note the promotional activities carried out on social media websites. Such communication, whose share in the market grows year by year, is characterized by certain specificity. It may be of great importance for memory and evaluation of advertisements published by that channel. In particular, they include: displaying advertisements in the form of “suggested posts”, which are additionally recommended by friends, interlarding promotional contents in memories and updates of friends displayed in news feed. The main purpose of the research being presented herein is checking how recommendations of friends and famous persons affect memory and evaluation of advertisements and how memory and evaluation of advertisements is distorted under the impact of the information coming afterwards. 102 respondents from Poland took part in the pilot research. The results indicate that there is a relationship between the contents presented on Fan Page and the subsequent product evaluation: the respondents who read comments and opinions of other internet users evaluated a non-existing product better than those who saw only an informational page. Article visualizations:

Social Media Marketing and Brand Loyalty among Generation Y

Social media marketing is important for marketers to build and maintain brand loyalty among customers. Marketers create their own brand community through online brand interactions on social networking that are complicated and unpredictable to enhance brand loyalty. This study aims to determine the influence of social media marketing on brand loyalty among Generation Y consumers. Data were collected through structured questionnaires with a sample of 102 respondents among customers aged between 20 to 40 years old. The data were analysed using SPSS software where statistical analysis such as central tendency and regression methods were done. The results of this study confirmed that online marketing communications such as E-WOM is significant on brand loyalty together with online communities. Online advertisement is significant but has negative relationship with brand loyalty. This research provides insights for marketers to reach emerging younger generations faster and more efficiently in promoting their product and brand. Hence, promotion activities towards Gen Y consumers could be achieved using social media platforms.

The impact of ethical ideologies on the judgment of online marketing communications ethics in the tourism market

The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between ethical ideologies and the judgment of online marketing communications ethics in the tourism market. The aim of the research is also to establish a relationship between the judgement of online communications ethics and behavioural intentions. The paper is based on empirical research conducted using the scenario method and survey method. The Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ) was used to measure ethical ideology along two dimensions, relativism and idealism. Five scenarios were designed, describing potentially ethically ambiguous situations. A relationship was established between ethical ideologies and ethical judgements of online marketing communications. The study proved that respondents who scored higher on the idealism scale have more rigid criteria with regard to online communications ethics and were better at recognising ethically ambiguous situations. A relationship between the ethical judgements of the described situations and behavioural intention was also established. Although topics relating to online communications on the tourism market are extensively researched, there are few studies dealing with ethical judgement of such communications. The special contribution of this paper is in the fact that research includes students of tourism and hospitality who will, in the near future, find themselves in situations where they will need to make, and take moral responsibility for, decisions regarding communications in the tourism market. Therefore, this research contributes both to theory and practice.

Gender roles and online marketing communications in real estate markets

Motivation: The real estate market has attracted a lot of public interest due to its significant economic role. Changes are, however, going to abound in the nearest future as a result of difficulties in accessing housing loans and amendments to the building construction laws, amongst others. This will call for even greater involvements of tenderers in the marketing communication process. Gender-related differences in the purchasing decision making process is growing in significance and should be reflected in marketing communications. Aim: The aim of the article is to identify contemporary activities undertaken in marketing communications in the real estate market. Specifically, greater attention is paid to the gender roles of both — suppliers and customers. Another objective is to analyse the use of one of the most significant tools of marketing communications namely, the internet in the real estate market. The study involved the use of literature analysis and criticism, web content analysis provided by vendors of real estate as well as telephone interviews with representatives of both property developers and real estate agents. Results: Online marketing are the most important means of communication in real estate markets. The websites of real estate agents and property developers vary a lot. Real estate vendors, very often, make use of social media in their marketing communications. One of the most common trend is to make use of images instead of texts in marketing communications, thus creating new possibilities of communication. Very few property developers and real estate agents exploit the knowledge of gender-related differences in the reception of marketing messages. Only few communication activities take cognisance of gender roles. The need to focus marketing communications in real estate on young customers has necessitated the engagement of new media sources in communication activities. This desire for a better adaptation of offers to consumer needs, calls for the use of new technologies such as mobile applications that are augmented by reality or virtual reality.

Factors affecting family firms’ communication behaviour: a cross-cultural study

This study explores heterogeneity in family firms’ communication behaviour across cultures. The authors propose that variations in the background of family firms, including culture, industry, public or private status, and age, influence their propensity to reference their family identity on their corporate web communications. Websites have become an increasingly important medium of marketing communications in today’s interconnected world. Yet, limited research has been done to understand firms’ web communication behaviour. Based on a study of 432 family firms from 41 countries across the world, this research empirically demonstrates that family firms which are from collectivist cultures and publicly traded are significantly less likely to reference their family identity in online marketing communications compared to their counterparts. In addition, the research shows that there is an inverted-U curvilinear relationship between a family firm’s age and the likelihood of referencing their family background. Contributions and implications of the research and findings are discussed.

Exploring the effectiveness of consumer creativity in online marketing communications

Purpose – This research aims to investigate effect of consumer creativity on their evaluations of brands. Consumers’ creative participation is often used by online retailers as a promotional tool nowadays. The authors propose that consumer creativity exerts a positive impact on brand attitudes by affecting their attitudes toward the creative activity itself. Furthermore, consumer creativity moderates the effect of consumers’ perceived level of fit on their acceptance of brand extensions, such that creative consumers will show a higher level of acceptance of distant brand extensions. Design/methodology/approach – The authors test their hypotheses in three laboratory experiments. Study 1 examines the effect of consumer creativity on brand evaluations. Study 2 explores the moderating effect of consumer creativity on perceived level of fit on acceptance of brand extensions. Study 3 replicates the authors findings in Studies 1 and 2 using a better representative sample and a different type of creative task. Findings – Study 1 finds that consumer creativity results in a positive attitude toward brand; this effect is mediated by attitude toward the creative activity. Study 2 shows that creativity leads to a greater level of brand acceptance when the brand extension has a low fit with the focal brand. Study 3 further provides evidence of proposed effects using a different type of creative task with a more representative sample. Research limitations/implications – In the experiments, this study examined three types of online creative marketing communication activities. Future research could examine other types of consumer creative activities so as to enhance the generalizability of the findings. Practical implications – Our results provide important implications for firms that intend to exploit the promises of online creativity-themed marketing communications. First, because consumers’ attitudes toward the focal brand hinge on their attitudes toward the creative activity, it is important that firms design their creativity-themed activities carefully, so that they are attractive to the users. Second, firms can exploit the creativity edge by launching new brand extensions that target creative consumers. This effect is even more pronounced when the brand extension exhibits a low fit with the focal brand. These guidelines suggest that firms’ investments in online creativity-themed marketing communications can pay off in terms of improved consumers’ attitudes toward the firms’ brands and brand extensions. Originality/value – This research makes several theoretical contributions. First, the authors explore the important role of creativity in the context of brand attitudes and brand extensions. This study adds to extant consumer creativity literature by documenting the consequences of consumer creativity in terms of positive outcomes for firms. Second, by examining the mediating effect of attitude toward the creativity task, the authors broaden the scope of attitude-toward-the-site and attitude-toward-the-sponsorship-event research to the online marketing communications setting. Third, by showing that consumer creativity can facilitate the acceptance of distant brand extensions, this study also enriches extant brand extension literature.

Uncovering the Online Marketing Mix Communication for Health Care Services

Abstract Any marketplace, nowadays, is made out of a crowded environment of businesses which provide almost the same services. New organizations enter the market on a daily basis without knowing they will survive. The help for organizations to distinguish their services from the ones offered by their competition comes in the shape of one “P”, marketing communications. Communication is the most visible and audible component of the marketing mix, which used wisely, may bring many advantages. Further, organizations include descriptive elements in their communication messages such as the nature of their activities, the benefits consumers would have and other elements which help consumers “tangibilize” the services provided. Many businesses moved from the offline environment to the online, becoming more consumer oriented. For an organization to both succeed and survive, it is essential to find the balance, the ideal mix between the services it offers in the real world and its online communications. For example, in health care services consumers are “hooked” by traditional communication tools, experience the service and afterwards use the internet to deliver indirect feedback on their lived experiences. The aim of this paper is to shed light upon the online marketing communications mix applied in health care services.

The Impact of Social Media Marketing Medium toward Purchase Intention and Brand Loyalty among Generation Y

Social media has become the modus operandi of the 21st century. Building on the foundation of Web 2.0, social media applications have facilitated unprecedented growth in human interaction in modern times. This study attempts to study the impact of social media marketing medium toward brand loyalty and purchase intention in Generation Y. Surveys are conducted randomly and questionnaire distributed to undergraduate students of Malaysian universities. Two Hundred questionnaires were distributed with 75 percent response rate. Two propositions and three hypotheses were developed and tested using mean and regression analysis. The result indicated that the online marketing communications, specifically, E- WOM, online communities and online advertisement are effective in promoting brand loyalty and product purchase intention through company website and social media platforms. These finding indicate to marketing managers that social media marketing medium has become an important marketing tool to reach emerging younger generation consumers. It also indicates that cyber world play an important role in modern marketing, enabling marketers to reach customers faster and more efficiently. This research provides a guideline for global brand players in considering applying social media marketing activities to promote their product, and brand.

How Can Marketing Academics Serve Marketing Practice? The New Marketing DNA as a Model for Marketing Education

This article seeks to address how marketing academics can best serve marketing practice through marketing education. It is contended that, where technology is driving marketing in practice, it is afforded significantly less attention in both theory and education. Thus, the marketing graduates being produced from universities are often lacking in the skills that 21st-century marketers require. Where the focus of the article is on marketing education, a broad analysis of the content of marketing textbooks and degree programs is presented and an “old Marketing DNA” presented. The study also adopted an inductive approach to data collection where the aim was to investigate the exact nature, constituency, and role of marketing in organizations. Qualitative in-depth interviews were undertaken with senior marketing managers and executives in U.K. organizations. Findings are organized into the areas of customer-led marketing, value-driven strategic marketing, channels, data-driven marketing, and online and off-line integrated marketing communications. The article concludes that there is a disconnect between marketing education and marketing practice and goes some way to recommending what the response of marketing academia should be through the “new Marketing DNA.” This article aims to inspire a holistic response from marketing educators to bring their practice more in line with what is actually being practiced by marketing practitioners in the 21st century.

Online Marketing Communications

ABSTRACTTo explore gender differences in Internet advertising, this study analyzes gender in relation to interactivity. Specifically, assessments of commercial Web sites help clarify the role of gender for online consumer behavior, its effect on interactivity and advertising effectiveness, and the implications for online marketing communications. This exploration relies on dimensions of consumers’ online behavior and consumers’ beliefs about the interactive communication environment in relation to three types of features: human-to-human, human-to-computer, and human-to-content. The investigation of gender differences in Internet advertising uses both computer observations with screen-capturing software and a survey. The study subjects are college-aged students, or Generation Y, a group of consumers who tend to go online in great numbers, have considerable spending power, and are computer savvy.

Exploring web language orientation in emerging markets: The case of Serbia and the Ukraine

This paper looks at the issue of language selection in international online communications. Traditionally, online communications have primarily been written in English, and justified by the fact that English is the ‘language of commerce’. This assumption ignores the issue that local language use in international online communications could lead to better firm performance in international markets. While English may be appropriate in some circumstances, the effectiveness of online marketing communications may also be compromised. This issue is particularly relevant today as the number of non-English web users has surpassed the number of English-speaking web users, and as web penetration in developing markets continues to expand. While online user preference for English vis-à-vis a native language may vary by country, this paper argues that language selection for online communications must be given more serious consideration by multinationals in developing effective communication strategies, and that English should not automatically be considered the language of choice. The issue of language preference was investigated via an empirical study of web user preferences in two emerging markets: Serbia and the Ukraine. Seven psychographic scales were selected from the literature on the basis of their likelihood in differentiating between types of internet usage. The results suggest that country-by-country orientations are likely to vary — even within a region — and that these differences must be considered by international firms in devising effective internet communications.

SMS/MMS: A Rising Star in Online Marketing Communications?

ABSTRACT As the field of online marketing communications (OMC) matures, the importance of some activities deteriorates while others become more important. Of the newer activities especially short message service (SMS) and multimedia messaging service (MMS) communications via mobile telephones seem to provide interesting opportunities. To foresee whether this activity will become more important in the future, a survey among a sample of Danish companies (n = 273) and advertising and communication agencies (n = 129) was carried out. A discrepancy between importance in present OMC and demand at the agencies supports that SMS/MMS marketing will grow in importance. In addition, online sponsorships and online sales promotion will become more important.

Characteristics of B2B adoption and planning of online marketing communications

This paper addresses the issue of whether there is a need for better online marketing communication planning and prioritisation methods, particularly for B2B companies. It describes the result of an empirical study among larger Danish companies. The work looks at differences between B2C and B2B companies, regarding the importance of offline and online marcom disciplines, online spending and usage of methods for online communication prioritisation. The paper concludes that due to high online spending, a less specialised priority of online disciplines and very limited usage of existing methods, B2B companies need to be on the lookout for new systematic methods for online communication planning.

Online Marketing Communications: Need for a New Typology for IMC?

ABSTRACT Online marketing communications (OMC) have either been an implicit part of the traditional communication disciplines or added as one, single discipline without much discussion about their role in integrated marketing communications (IMC). In this article, we first state a case why online communications are distinguished by more than their use of a new medium–the internet, and that online communications should, accordingly, not be integrated into the traditional disciplines. Subsequently, we discuss whether OMC tools can be contained in one, single discipline or if they are so varied that they need multiple disciplines. The discussion is rooted in a consideration of a range of online communication tools. As a result of this consideration we propose that OMC should be treated as a separate line of communication disciplines, and consequently we propose a new typology for OMC.