MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Marketing and Communications

Marketing and Communications

Recognizing that the marketplace was changing and that advertising was fast losing its golden halo, ad agencies went on a merger and acquisition binge in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s in an attempt to offer their clients more than just advertising. Unfortunately, most of these marriages with public relations, sales promotion, and direct response agencies were based on a physical (i.e., financial) attraction, not on love and respect for their new partners' communication skills. The acquisitions were driven by the attempt to not lose the money that clients were transferring out of advertising into the other communication areas. In addition, these agencies had little understanding of the applied marketing communication concept.

Although most people agree that it is conceptually a good idea, there is still little agreement about what it truly means and even less agreement about "how to do it." And to make things even more confusing, both the concept and the process continue to evolve. (Lukovitz, K. 1992)

To help explain this concept and process, we first look at the two "parents" of AMC—changes in the marketplace and the growth in expertise of the various marketing communication functions. This is followed by a discussion of several AMC definitions that show how the focus has expanded from the consumer to all stakeholders. Two U.S. studies that document AMC's perceived value as well as the barriers to using AMC are then presented, followed by a discussion of the various levels of integration.

Some marketing communication practitioners contend that AMC is nothing new. They cite advertising agencies such as Leo Burnett, which has designed Kellogg packaging since the 1950s, put together the Pillsbury Bake-Off in the mid-1960s, and guided Marlboro and Virginia Slims into event sponsorships and direct marketing (e.g., the Marlboro Store) when, after the early 1970s, cigarettes were no longer allowed to be advertised on TV. They also argue that many small- and medium-sized agencies have traditionally handled public relations, sales promotion, and other marketing communications, in addition to advertising, for their clients whose budgets have not justified separate agencies for each communication function. (Levin, G. 1992)

It is true that some clients have long had their marketing communications centrally planned and executed; however, today's marketing arena has significantly changed since the 1960s and 1970s, requiring, we believe, a similar significant change in the strategic planning and execution of marketing communications. Although having marketing communications centrally controlled is an important element of AMC, this element alone is not enough to provide tourism organizations a competitive advantage in today's marketplace that is being shaped by the following trends. (Martin, D. 1992)

MARKETPLACE TRENDS THAT HAVE NECESSITATED NEW WAYS OF COMMUNICATING

The following trends and changes have been the primary factors' driving tourism organizations to adopt applied marketing communication. (Duncan, T., Caywood, C. L., & Newsom, D. A. 1993)

Decreasing message impact and credibility: Not only are consumers becoming more callous to commercial messages, the growing number of commercial messages makes it increasingly difficult for a single message ...