Integrated Marketing Communication

Advertising and Promotion in a Digital World

Jerome M. Juska

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000485684
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Advertising
• Index: Business

Now in its second edition, this textbook explores the continuing transformation of advertising, sales promotion, and public relations functions within the marketing discipline. The content focuses on emerging new technologies, as well as established digital and legacy media, as the reader is guided through the process of developing and implementing a comprehensive Integrated Marketing Communication plan for companies, organizations, and brands.

Clear, concise, and practical, the book takes the reader through consumer, market, and competitive research; creative conceptualization; market segmentation, identification of a target audience, and brand positioning; as well as strategic decisions involving the timing, placement, and intensity of advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and brand visibility. The new edition emphasizes the importance of social media, website development, search engine optimization, mobile marketing, brand promotion events, and retail store connectivity. Updated to include more digital content with detailed international examples, this new edition adds four new chapters including Integrated Marketing Communication objectives, budgets, and metrics, legacy media planning, business-to-business marketing strategies, and innovative technologies with topics such as artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, synthetic media, virtual reality, and voice marketing.

Upper-level undergraduate and postgraduate students will appreciate this lucid, up-to-date text, as will business professionals in executive education and certificate programs. Experiential learning is provided with chapter assignments and a continuity case study woven into the textbook.

The second edition is also accompanied by robust online resources, including PowerPoint slides, chapter videos, lecture notes, classroom exercises, digital flash cards, test banks, an instructor resource book, and interactive templates for preparing an Integrated Marketing Communication Plan.

Chapter 1 Artificial IntelligenceAnother Digital Transformation for the Future of Marketing

DOI: 10.4324/9780367443382-1

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the significance of artificial intelligence for marketing communication
2. Explore the emerging new technologies for advertising, promotion, and public relations
3. Imagine the possibilities of voice-only product purchasing and synthetic media
4. Investigate the potential of facial recognition and virtual reality for social media
5. Consider the impact of multiple Internet systems and global brand channels

Introduction

While the future is always filled with new innovations, artificial intelligence is promising to accelerate that trend and to inject even more disruptive business models and digital media transformations. So, what is the emerging technological environment for Integrated Marketing Communication? And, how will it influence the way brands and companies interact with existing customers and potential buyers? This chapter begins with a discussion of artificial intelligence and then moves into an exploration of the most important new technologies shaping the future.

In this chapter, we will briefly explore several of the most influential emerging technologies. Most of these technologies are still evolving with plenty of obstacles, problems, and challenges. Some might fail. And no doubt, many more will be added. New approaches, innovations, and companies will appear with amazing successes and disastrous collapses. But that isn’t so important. The critical challenge for corporations, small business owners, and entrepreneurs is to learn how to incorporate these technologies into advertising, promotion, public relations, and brand communication. It might be a lot to ask, but why not? There are only three ways to get ready for the future: avoid it, create it, or quickly adapt to it. So, let’s get started!

What Is Artificial Intelligence?

We are beginning this textbook by imagining the world of tomorrow. That is the only way to really understand what could be happening next. By anticipating, expecting, projecting, and wondering, managers and companies become more prepared for change and even more ready to adapt when it arrives. If we maintain a flexible, open-minded, and visionary perspective, then our world becomes less frightening and more predictable. As we progress deeper into the 21st century, a multitude of innovative technologies will emerge. They are already beginning to happen. Some are disruptive, while others are just improvements over previous systems. Still, technology influences our world, how we live, and especially, how we communicate with others.

During the past 20 years, digital media have transformed everything. Remember, only 10 years ago, there was no such thing as an iPhone or an Android system. And, just look at what has happened since the appearance of that super smartphone, which was really a computer, a phone, and the essential center of our daily life in disguise. Now, we are at the beginning of a much more dramatic and encompassing phenomenon: artificial intelligence. This word is relatively new in our vocabulary with a meaning that is perceived differently by many people. To some, it is about faster and more powerful computers, cloud storage capabilities, and advanced software programs. But to others, artificial intelligence is when machines can think and act like humans.

Definition of Artificial Intelligence

There are plenty of textbooks, lectures, videos, and white papers on artificial intelligence, along with a long history of science fiction books, television programs, and movies about the topic. The most relevant example is 2001: A Space Odyssey, where the visionary director Stanley Kubrick introduced HAL. Without needing to give a spoiler alert, HAL was a sophisticated computer that assisted the crew of a space ship as it was making its initial journey to Mars. The HAL computer performed a variety of operation functions and complex tasks, which included the ability to think independently and make critical decisions for the astronauts. Ironically, this first-class movie was made way back in 1968, but finally on August 6, 2012 for NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) succeed in placing a remote-controlled vehicle the size of car, called Curiosity, on the surface of Mars.

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, has an ambitious plan to get human to Mars by 2026. The vehicle that will transport them to the Red Planet is the SpaceX Starship, the largest rocket ever constructed at nearly 400 feet high or 120 meters high, was put into orbital flight during 2021. Ultimately, Musk plans to schedule multiple flights and even create a Mars Colony with its own rules, government, and culture. But then, who can doubt the man who successfully created the Tesla electric automobile?

So, what is artificial intelligence, and why is it important to marketing communication? Let’s begin with an original, non-technical definition. Artificial intelligence is “the interaction of computer hardware, software, systems, processes, and interfaces that replicate human functions, behavior, abilities, and communication.” As shown in Figure 1.1, artificial intelligence has multiple connecting points and interaction pathways with humans. As a result, artificial intelligence is already performing many complex tasks and activities, such as facial recognition, speech simulation, mood detection, physical mobility, and yes, even independent decision-making.

Figure 1.1 Interacting with Artificial Intelligence

Threats to Privacy

On a more philosophical level, artificial intelligence is also a threat. First, our privacy is no longer as free and unrestricted as in previous years. Cameras are everywhere. They are located in stores, office buildings, street corners, parking lots, restaurants, and even in our own homes. Plus, nearly everyone is walking, talking, or looking into a small camera in their smartphone. Second, data about you, and everyone else, is continually being collected, analyzed, stored, and in some cases, illegally shared with others. And many times, this personal data is sold to third parties without controls or restrictions. This includes the search results from our computers, the products and services we purchase, the pets we own, the photos we share on social media, and probably even the things we did last summer. And finally, intelligent machines in the form of autonomous robots are replacing humans at an alarming rate. No one is exempt. Nothing is impossible. Machines that think can quickly and efficiently complete physical work, solve the most complex mathematical problems, design a building, and even predict our behavior. The advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence will continue to be discussed with greater intensity and concern. Yet, humans created all the hardware, software, systems, processes, and interfaces for artificial intelligence. Is it possible that machines will eventually become inorganic duplicates of humans? It’s more than just a science fiction story. It just might be a future reality.

Human and Machine Communication

The interaction between machines and humans involves a classical model of the two-way flow of communication. It’s pretty simple. There is the sender and the receiver. No need for a quiz on this topic. The sender, or receiver, can be a computer, smartphone, digital appliance, virtual assistant, digital avatar, or physical robot. Surprisingly, every type of machine speaks the same type of language: binary. It is amazingly simple but profoundly complex. It is the language that every computer and electronic device knows and understands with the proper programming and software instructions. There are only two numbers involved: zero and one. What magic and power are bestowed on these numbers! But, we are just learning how to become more fluent in the language of artificial intelligence.

Let’s take it one step further. What happens when the communication is a continuous flow involving nanoseconds? Or, how can data be processed when it is being created faster than it can be absorbed? Let’s look at the process this way. The machine–human interaction has four basic parts: questions, refinements, recommendations, and commands. Ironically, the action can be initiated in any one of the four parts. A single question can lead to a refinement or a command. A recommendation can lead to a question, then a refinement, and finally, a command. Or, a concise command can be provided by a human at any time. For example, you ask Siri a question, and you immediately get a specific answer. If you are not satisfied with the response, the question is revised, and you proceed to ask Siri once again. Another example is a command asking Alexa to play some jazz music, but Alexa might respond by offering specific information involving an the artist, style, or specific title.

Data-Driven Marketing

We are also experiencing an increase in data-driven marketing. This can be anything from predictive analytics to programmatic media buying. The foundation of this process is displayed in Figure 1.2. This is a simplification of the activity, but it does provide a framework. These are the four pillars of data-driven marketing: acquisition, classification, delegation, and interaction. The acquisition of data is really a combination of the production or generation of data along with a simultaneous ability to retain large volumes of data. The Apple iPhone, which was introduced way back in 2007, was the initial force behind the accelerating curve of data. The iPhone has continued to evolve and every year offers new features, options, and models. The capability to share photos and videos contributed to the data explosion. And, there was also the ability to share and distribute user-generated video content on YouTube. The final ingredient was the growth of cloud computing, especially Amazon Web Services (AWS), which has silently dominated the market for storage of data with millions of interconnected servers and complex data networks.

Figure 1.2 Phases of Data-Driven Marketing

The other phases of data-driven marketing are most frequently associated with the decision sciences, along with knowledge management, while marketing is dependent on management information systems. That is where classification and delegation originate, especially when there is any interaction between humans and machines. Social media is the primary data-generating activity involved with consumer communication, while brand marketing focuses on increasing website traffic.

In the next 10 years, our personal communication with artificial intelligence will dramatically change. It will be faster and more complex but will gradually blend into a more natural style. The millions of algorithms that digital scientists and engineers will be creating will go much further, probably well beyond our comprehension. Machines will sense, understand, and react to our moods, our behavior, and even our thoughts. This concept should be no surprise to anyone in the field of marketing communication, since we have all viewed many different visions of the future from movies, films, television programs, digital media, streaming content, and video games. Our journey to the future has begun; now we just have to get there.

Marketing Technology’s Digital Landscape

There is an unprecedented number of new technologies restructuring the digital marketing landscape. They have emerged from entrepreneurs, small businesses, and large corporations. They could have been developed most anywhere in the world. While you are aware of some, others will be completely new to you. It is difficult to determine which will succeed or fail, or which will have the applications of greatest impact involving advertising, promotion, and public relations.

Figure lists 12 technologies that will provide you with a visual perspective of the future digital landscape for marketing and Integrated Marketing Communications. The fascinating technologies that have been selected include facial recognition, interactive voice commerce, synthetic media, social virtual and artificial reality, holographic television, retail store beacons, personal identity chips, proximity marketing, programmatic media, and finally, the alternative Internet.

Figure 1.3 Marketing Technology’s Future Landscape

This chapter will concentrate on the three most important applications of artificial intelligence for Integrated Marketing Communication: facial recognition, voice commerce, and synthetic media. These technologies are expanding so rapidly that it is nearly impossible to keep up to date. So, what you are reading right now has already changed. And by the time you finish this textbook, there will be another series of improvements, enhancements, and practical applications.

Facial Recognition

Have you ever watched Tom Cruise in the science fiction movie Minority Report? There was a great scene when his character, walking through a large transportation center, was continually being confronted by video screens promoting different consumer brands. The facial recognition system was not only identifying him but using his first name in every simulated commercial. Not a good situation when you are trying to hide from everyone who has been chasing you.

The most powerful, yet controversial, technology of the 21st century is now facial recognition. However, many companies and organizations have already developed and effectively utilized facial recognition software in their market products and services. While praised for its ability to provide safety and security, this aspect of artificial intelligence has also been criticized for its intrusiveness. Often, facial recognition is associated with discrimination or exclusion. This is a perplexing situation for management and marketing communication. Do consumers have the right to privacy? And, is there an obligation to inform people that facial recognition is being used for business purposes? That is a philosophical, ethical, and cultural debate that is beyond the scope and purpose of this textbook. But, it is a very serious and important issue for a global society.

Definition of Facial Recognition

Let’s start with a more complete definition of facial recognition: “a biometric software application that identifies, verifies, classifies, compares, and stores digital data about a person’s facial features, contours, and individual characteristics using complex algorithms.” If you have a recent model of an Apple iPhone or Samsung, then you are experiencing facial recognition each and every day. Recognizing and validating your identity is always required to physically activate your mobile device. But, have yo...