Chapter 12:
E-Marketing Communication: Owned Media
Learning Objectives
E-Marketing Communication
Internet marketing is a powerful way to start and strengthen relationships with
customers. Marketing communication (MarCom) tools that use technology to
provide convenience are important keys to capturing attention and winning long-
term customer relationships.
Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC)
IMC is a cross-functional process for planning, executing, and monitoring
brand communications designed to profitable acquire, retain, and grow
customers. IMC strategy starts with a thorough understanding of the target
stakeholders, the brand, its competition, and many other internal and
external factors
IMC Goals and Strategies
Marketers create marketing communication objectives based on overall
marketing goals and the desired effects within selected target markets.
Owned Media
Includes e-marketing media channels that are fully or partially controlled by the
organizations who create the lion’s share of the multimedia content. This means
that company owned media take place on someone else’s site, so there are more
rules and requirements.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is a strategy involving creating and publishing content on Web
sites and in social media. This is an interesting trend, in which companies are
organizing themselves as media publishers online. All owned media can be
considered content marketing. As with all IMC, companies need to understand
their goals and markets and decide whether their content needs to be entertaining,
educational or provide some utility. The most used owned media include:
Web Site
Marketing public relations (MPR) includes brand-related activities and
non-paid, third party media coverage to positively influence target
markets. MPR is the marketing department’s portion of PR directed to the
Web Site Landing Pages
Landing pages are closely related to Microsites because they are often
stand-alone Web pages. A landing page is a unique page that appears after
a user clicks on a link associated with a Web site. A/B testing is when
there are two versions of a Web page with similar content and images for
testing which performs better.
Mobile Sites
The rapid growth of mobile internet access has marketers scrambling to
create mobile versions of their Web sites.
Web Site Chat
Some companies provide real-time sales assistance online. Many
Blogs
Blogs (from the term Web logs) are Web sites where entries are listed in
reverse chronological order and readers can comment on any entry. There
were more than 181 million blogs at the end of 2011. There are many
Companies create spaces for consumers, prospects, and business
Podcasts
A podcast is a digital media file available for download online to
computers, music players, tablets or smartphones. Podcasts began with
purely audio files for the iPod and other MP3 players, but now users can
download video podcasts (“vidcasts” or “videocasts”) for use on many
types of receiving appliances.
E-Mail
E-mail remains the most important communication technique for building
Rules for Successful E-Mail Marketing
Use opt-in to build trust, check ISP filters to ensure e-mail reputation, use
professional email addresses, and make it easy to unsubscribe, use micro
segmentation, give receipts and use metrics to track success.
Spam
No online users like to receive unsolicited email. Sending spam is now
Text Messaging
Up to 160 characters of text sent by one user to another over the internet,
usually with a cell phone or smartphone. Marketers can build relationships
Sales Promotion Offers
Sales promotions are short-term incentives of gifts or money that facilitate the
movement of products from producer to end-user. Sales promotions may include
coupons, rebates, product sampling, and contests/sweepstakes are widely used on
the Internet.
Coupons
Experts predict that by the end of 2012, 92.5 million people will use
online coupons.
Sampling
Software companies may offer a free download of a demo version of their
software that usually expires in 30 to 60 days. After the demo expires, the
Online Games
Games can be played on consoles, PCs, and portable devices. Advergames
combine online advertising and gaming, featuring a company’s product.
Online Gifting
GroupCard’s application allows retailers to sell group gift cards on their
own Web sites and social networking pages. The customer who creates the
Branded Mobile Apps
Many companies create branded mobile applications and widgets that
QR Codes and Mobile Tags
QR codes are barcodes that appear as many black modules in a small
square white background. They are an extension of offline paid media that
engages internet users. The use of mobile tagging is growing, as well.
Location-Based Marketing
Location-based marketing is promotions that are pushed to mobile devices
Coordinating Internet and Traditional Media IMC Plans
Today, marketers face a mix of owned, paid, and earned media that can carry the
promotional tools of advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, public
relations, and personal selling. The guiding force for selecting appropriate
Search Engine Optimization
The process of maximizing the number of visitors to a Web or social
media site by ensuring that either: (1) the site name and links appear high
Owned Media Performance Metrics
With so many owned media choices that take a lot of participation effort, how can
a marketer know which are worth the investment? For company owned Web sites
and blogs, marketers use Web analytics, such as number of unique visitors, time
on each page, or conversion to sales. Social media metrics are different from
standard Web site metrics because users interact with branded media in many
different ways.
Sales Promotion Metrics
Marketers need to know how their sales promotions contribute to the
Chapter Summary
Integrated marketing communication (IMC) is a cross-functional process
for planning, executing, and monitoring brand communications with the goal of
profitably acquiring, retaining, and growing customers. When making decisions
about marketing communication tools, companies consider the results they would
like to achieve in moving consumers through the steps of awareness, interest,
desire, and action (AIDA model) or the steps of “think, feel, do” in the hierarchy
of effects model. Companies develop social media strategies and plan specific
tactics to increase consumer awareness, influence attitude, and encourage
behavior.
The five traditional marketing communication tools are advertising, public
relations, sales promotion, direct marketing, and personal selling. In planning
IMC campaigns, companies can now move beyond traditional tools and “1 to 1”
(one marketer, one recipient) and “1 to many” (one marketer, multiple recipients)
Among the most commonly used owned media are: company Web sites
(to provide information, entertain, build communities, and serve as a
communication channel with customers); blogs (to disseminate views, attract site
visitors, engage in conversations, and support expert standing); support forums
and communities (for customers and prospects to discuss topics of interest,
provide product ideas, or seek assistance); podcasts (to support brand-building);
e-mail (for building relationships and encouraging direct response); text
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of maximizing the
number of visitors to a Web site or social media site by landing the site name and
link high on search engine results (natural or organic search) or attracting clicks
Opening Vignette: Will it Blend?
Will it blend is the perfect example of how viral marketing can greatly enhance
I. E-Marketing Communication
Internet marketing is a powerful way to start and strengthen relationships with
customers, but e-marketers must be increasingly clever to design and deliver
brand messages that capture and hold audience attention.
A. Users are in control
2. Can impatiently click away when website don’t quickly deliver
B. Marketing communication
2. Provide keys to capturing attention
C. Integrated Marketing Communication
Integrated marketing communication (IMC) is a cross-functional process for
planning, executing, and monitoring brand communications designed to
profitably acquire, retain, and grow customers.
1. To create communication objectives based on overall
2. AIDA model
a. Awareness
3. Hierarchy of effects
a. Think
E. Traditional Marketing Communication Tools
1. Advertising
3. Sales promotion
5. Personal selling
F. Owned, Paid, and Earned Media
2. Paid: Properties owned by others who are paid by the
organization
3. Earned: individual conversations become the channel
II. Owned Media
A. primary goals:
2. Entice them to pass this content along to others
3. Exercise CRM (customer relationship management)
B. Marketers use all traditional IMC tools for owned media, except for
advertising
III. Content Marketing
A. Creating and publishing content on Web sites, social media
B. Companies become media publishers online
2. Accepting Google’s Ad Sense or other types of ads
E. Web Site
1. Serves as an electronic brochure
2. Advantages:
a. A low-cost alternative to paper brochures or press
releases
particular products
4. Microsites: Web sites designed for a narrow purpose
F. Web Site Landing Pages
2. Often stand-alone Web pages
4. A/B testing involves two versions of a Web page
G. Mobile Sites
H. Web Site Chat
1. Can provide real-time sales assistance online.
3. Rep can also push Web pages directly to the customer
I. Blogs
2. CEOs blog to put a personal face on their companies
4. Consider:
a. Which platform to use
b. Who will do the writing
J. Support Forums/Communities
1. Spaces for consumers, prospects, and business customers
2. Enables:
a. Discussion of topics of interest
3. For success, marketers should:
a. Observe
b. Recruit
c. Evaluate platforms
K. Podcasts
L. E-Mail
2. Offers the chance for real dialogue with individual customers
M. Permission Marketing: Opt-In, Opt-Out
1. Opt-in: users have voluntarily given permission to receive
N. Rules for Successful E-Mail Marketing
1. Use opt-in to build trust
3. Use professional email addresses
5. Use micro-segmentation
7. Use metrics to track success
O. Spam
2. Spammers harvest e-mail addresses from:
P. Privacy
1. Databases drive e-mail marketing
3. Send prospects e-mail, customized web pages, display ads, and
more
Q. Text Messaging
2. Usually with a cell phone or smartphone
it
4. To succeed, the messages should be:
a. short
b. personalized
R. Online Events
1. Online fashion shows
3. Workshops
IV. Sales Promotion Offers
Sales promotions are short-term incentives of gifts or money that facilitate the
movement of products from producer to end-user. Sales promotions may include
coupons, rebates, product sampling, and contests/sweepstakes are widely used on
the Internet.
A. Coupons Experts predict that by the end of 2012, 92.5 million
people will use online coupons.
B. Sampling
2. Short sample music clip
C. Contests, Sweepstakes
2. Contests require skill
3. Sweepstakes involve a drawing of pure chance
D. Virtual Worlds
1. Users take the form of avatars
3. Avatars can be used as promotional vehicles
E. Online Games
2. Advergames combine online advertising and gaming
F. Online Gifting
2. The customer can circulate it to many others
G. Branded Mobile Apps
1. These support social interactions and user contributions
H. QR Codes and Mobile Tags
2. They are an extension of offline paid media
I. Location-Based Marketing
1. Involves promotions pushed to mobile devices based on user
location
J. Social Networks
2. Based on the idea of six degrees of separation
V. Coordinating Internet and Traditional Media IMC Plans
Today, marketers face a mix of owned, paid, and earned media that can carry the
promotional tools of advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, public
becoming much more important and is more true to the well-accepted company
goal of customer-driven marketing.
A. Search Engine Optimization
1. The process of maximizing the number of visitors to a Web or
social media site by ensuring that either:
2. Natural Search a search marketing strategy involving
3. SEO principles for success
a. Spread fresh content all over the Web
b. Relevance and popularity
c. Optimize content
VI. Owned Media Performance Metrics
With so many owned media choices that take a lot of participation effort, how can
a marketer know which are worth the investment? For company-owned Web sites
A. Sales Promotion Metrics
1. Marketers need to know how their sales promotions contribute
to overall communication goals
B. Direct Marketing Metrics
2. Use direct tactics to build databases, measure customer