Marketing Communications

E-MARKETING TOOLS 487

error process is undertaken, oft en heavily infl uenced and stimulated by whichever tactic the

Internet or advertising agency is trying to sell to the brand manager. Because this calls for

the development of an overall framework that allows marketers to categorise the diff erent

digital marketing tactics, InSites Consulting has developed such a framework, on which the

following is based.^10

Basically, the e-marketer can focus on four specifi c marketing goals when turning to

digital tools:

z Generating brand awareness : putting or reinforcing the brand in the evoked set (i.e. the set

of brands that is considered when the need or desire for the product or service arises) of

consumers. In line with most research and cases found on this subject, stimulating brand

awareness is ideally achieved via online advertising, content sponsorship, advergames and

viral and social media marketing.

z Shaping brand image and brand attitudes : defi ning, reinforcing or changing the set of asso-

ciations that diff erentiate the brand from competing products and improve consumers’

knowledge and judgement about a brand. According to the literature on the subject, shaping

brand attitude is best achieved by brand sites, online advertising, anchor deals, e-mail

marketing, mobile marketing, online contests and peer-to-peer games.

z Generating trial : attracting new buyers to the brand by attracting brand-switchers (i.e.

consumers of competing brands) or consumers who have never tried the product category

before. Trial stimulation implies an increase in the brand penetration rate in a certain market.

Mobile marketing, e-mail marketing, online contests, e-couponing and e-sampling are the

best online marketing instruments to attain this objective.

z Creating loyalty : infl uencing consumers’ buying behaviour in the sense of increasing the

number of satisfi ed and committed buyers. Striving for customer loyalty is also a cost-saving

strategy as research indicates that the cost of attracting new customers can be as much as

six times greater than the cost of retaining customers. E-mail marketing, brand websites,

virtual communities and certain e-rewarding games and online loyalty promotions con-

tribute to the objective of generating and sustaining brand loyalty.

Generating traffi c to a website or social media page is oft en emphasised in publications but

is not actually a marketing communications end-goal, except for e-commerce sites for which

traffi c is essential. Of course it is important to engage customers by the e-marketing actions

that a company undertakes but, in the end, site traffi c will have to lead to one of the four

objectives defi ned above. Th is is also the case for increasing market and consumer knowledge

through employing e-direct marketing and database programs. In the next section each type

of e-marketing tactic is described and illustrated with examples.

E-marketing tools

Marketers have a large number of diff erent e-marketing communications tools at their

disposal. In this section, we describe each instrument of the e-communications mix. Th e

multimedia capabilities of the Net allow advertisers to use content, graphics, movement,

audio and video. Almost every traditional communications tool has an online twin, e.g.

e-coupons or online contests and seminars. Since almost every Internet user has his or her

own e-mail address and social profi le, marketers can build a direct communications line with

customers and prospects at lower costs than traditional direct marketing. Th e huge success of

mobile telecommunications and the increasing penetration of smart phones in Europe are

opening new opportunities for companies to use wireless advertising and apps to reach their

target groups.

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