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Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
V. Developing the
Integrated Marketing
Communications Program
type fonts, and imagery as every other component,
including TV and print.
While the above list reflects the success experienced
by large companies with large communications
budgets, one shouldn’t be deceived into
thinking that integration is the domain of only
those with large expenditure capabilities. The issue
is not so much the amount of money spent but
how it is spent, and there are plenty of success stories
among smaller companies with less money but
good strategies. Crate & Barrel, Godiva, and
Sharper Image are just a few of the companies that
have enhanced their brands through effective merchandising
on the Web while still maintaining the
Defining the Internet
486
15. The Internet and
Interactive Media
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
selling component. Territory Ahead, akademiks,
and fubu have created strong brand images
among their target audiences with limited budgets
and a strong Internet premise.
The capability of the Internet to tie together
various elements of the IMC program may take
the medium back to the top again. Let’s just hope
that its lack of integration doesn’t take it back
down.
Sources: David A. Aaker, “Fast Brand Building in Slow-Growth
Markets,” strategy+business, Third Quarter 2002, pp. 48–57;
Mary Wagner, “Richard Blunck Has Kmart.com Ready for
Success—the Rest Is Up to Kmart,” Internet Retailer, September
2002, pp. 18–21; Mary Wagner, “On the Web, Merchandising
No Longer Follows Rules Developed in Other Channels,” Internet
Retailer, September 2002, pp. 22–25.
Anyone who has followed the Internet industry over the last decade has seen an amazing
series of events. Moving from a medium with almost no presence in the marketing environment
to one that was the center of attention, the Internet experienced a boom that
unfortunately became a bust. What some marketers thought would be the “be all and end
all” of communications has now become a puzzle waiting to be solved, as many marketers
have yet to discover what role the Internet will assume in their communications
program.
What the lead-in to this chapter illustrates, however, is that some companies have
apparently solved the puzzle and have effectively integrated the Internet into their marketing
communications programs. As you will see in this chapter, others have been successful
as well, particularly when they view the Internet as a component of the integrated
marketing communications program and not as the only tool required for success.
In this chapter we will discuss the Internet and interactive media, marketers’ objectives
for using these media, and ways to measure their effectiveness. As you will see, the
Internet and interactive media are valuable components of the integrated marketing communications
program and, like other components, are most effective when used in conjunction
with other program elements. We will begin our discussion with the Internet.
Before beginning our discussion, it may be useful to establish some
common ground. While all of us are familiar with the Internet, the degree
to which we are familiar varies. Understanding the material presented in
this chapter will be easier if you are familiar with the terms used in the discussion.
The Internet is a worldwide means of exchanging information and communicating
through a series of interconnected computers. It was started as a U.S. Defense Department
project, but it is now accessible to anyone with a computer and a modem. While
the most popular component of the Internet is the World Wide Web (WWW), there
are other features as well, as shown in Figure 15-1. For marketers, a number of these
features offer potential, but it is the Web that has developed as the commercial component.
For that reason, the following discussion will focus on using the Web as a communications
and sales tool. Before reading further, however, please take a few minutes
to examine Figure 15-2, to familiarize yourself with some of the terms that we will be
using. In reality, there are many more words that have been added to our language as a
result of the growth of the Internet (you can actually purchase a dictionary of Internet
terms), but space permits only a small inclusion here. Thus, we have stayed away from
the technical jargon, concentrating primarily on marketing communications terms. If
you are not familiar with terms like URL, backbone, browser, and so on, you may wish
to consult another source before continuing.