A Comparative Study Of Traditional Mass Media, The Internet And Mobile Phones For Integrated Marketing Communications

Abstract

Integrated marketing communications is now experiencing one of the most interesting developments as most media for communicating with the target audience are gradually evolving.  The revenues of the traditional mass media with wide coverage such as over-the-air broadcast television and newspaper are dropping as advertising revenues for these mass media do not provide promising results as expected by the marketers.  The target audience of these mass media is drifting away to more segmented media such as cable and satellite television, special magazines and the Internet.  New communication technologies have broadened opportunities for the Internet and mobile phones to grow significantly during the past decades and have been utilized for marketing communication purposes.  This study intends to explore the characteristics of the traditional mass media, the Internet and mobile phones to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of their channel characteristics.  Then, using the Schramm’s Communication process model, we will analyze and compare the significant elements of communication process of the three types of media. The comparison will provide a better picture of the related factors in communication which can help us design the integrated marketing communication programs more effectively.  Finally, the implications for brand building and customer relations will be provided.   It is expected the study will provide an insight for marketers to understand what is evolving in the media world and to prepare them to respond to those changes.