There is an information surplus in the marketplace today and finding marketing resources that are both effective and affordable is difficult. As quantity and price has lost its competitive power and quality and symbolic meaning has become increasingly important, storytelling as a marketing mean can be one concept to apply, especially in the service sector. The hospitality industry is one of the largest service sectors, facing fierce competition. Many hotels have a story to share and storytelling is today a buzzword in the industry, but it has not received much attention in the academic world. Therefore, little is known about storytelling from a business administration perspective, more specifically marketing communication, which is our field of interest in this thesis. The purpose of this thesis is to study and analyze storytelling and how it is used as marketing communication in the Swedish hospitality industry. To fulfill our purpose, a qualitative study with an inductive approach was chosen as suitable. Primary data was gathered through interviews with managers from nine different hotels, which all work actively with storytelling. Theories regarding service marketing, marketing communications, and storytelling helped us to collect appropriate empirical data and also to structure the analysis. Storytelling in the hospitality industry is an identity or an image, and the purpose of using storytelling is to be remembered and to mediate a feeling. As a concept, it requires attributes and a certain level of truth is important to remain trustworthy. Furthermore, storytelling facilitates the communication process between the hotels and their customers and it often strengthens customers’ attitudes towards the hotel. Both private and business customers are attracted by stories, but it is easier to communicate the story to large groups during a conference. It is however difficult to mediate the whole concept through marketing communication tools as it is too compound. Storytelling facilitates an integrated marketing communication as it becomes an image and word of mouth is increased due to that people talk about the unexpected.

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Kaohsiung, developed from many heavy industries, was described as a cultural desert. The Kaohsiung City Government has tried to change the image and to build a civilised city in the recent years by drawing up new policies, including transportation, arts, tourism, film and television. The triumphs of the trendy drama "Black and White" and the film "NO PUEDO VIVIR SIN TI," which won prizes from Golden Bell Award and Golden Horse Award individually, became successful city marketing strategies promoting Kaohsiung through the film and television industry. In order to encourage the cinema culture industry, Information Bureau of Kaohsiung City Governmenat found Kaohsiung Film Archive and held Kaohsiung Film Festival. The goals of this festival are not only to proclaim the art and culture, but also to enhance audiences¡¦ chances to watch different kinds of movies. This study is focused on how to apply the communicate tools to reach these audience and what the strategies to choose. By using "2009 Kaohsiung Film Festival" as a case, this study exam it¡¦s marketing strategy with the theory of integrated marketing communication. Some in-depth interviews are conducted to collect crucial information. The purposes of this study include: (1) to understand the current situation and promotion results of Kaohsiung Film Festival; (2) to analyze "2009 Kaohsiung Film Festival" with integrated marketing communication. After the analysis, it will also provide some suggestions to the festival.

This thesis gains an insight into advertising and integrated marketing communications with an exploration of the relationships between advertisers and consumers at the meso level of interface between the two groups. As an initial investigation into advertising and integrated marketing communications and its relationships to consumers’ behaviour, the inquiry develops by exploring an alternative lineage of interpretive consumer research. The two areas of focus emerging from the literature review are the concepts of manufacturing consent (Herman and Chomsky, 2002) as the macro advertiser/sender level of behaviour and the concept of motivational behaviour research (Tadajewski, 2006) as the micro consumer/receiver level of behaviour. The study utilises a mixed methods research design to explore the interface between advertisers and consumers. From the analysis of the commonalites and variances within the data, a mapping of behaviour between the two groups presented a new and unexpected set of interactions. Interactions that reflect the Foundation Premises within the work of Vargo and Lush (2008) by developing an emergent conceptual model.

A melhoria contínua do posicionamento competitivo é, atualmente, um dos grandes desafios das empresas inseridas no dinâmico mercado global. Nesse cenário, considera-se que a interação dos vários setores da organização contribui para o aumento da sua capacidade de conhecer as nuances que afetam sua cadeia de distribuição. Além disso, compreende-se que a comunicação é um elemento vital para a empresa se fazer entender pelos seus públicos e que a comunicação integrada de marketing (CIM) possui uma valiosa ferramenta a força de vendas que necessita ser estimulada pelos gestores a utilizar outras ferramentas da CIM, a fim de prestar serviços diferenciados aos canais de distribuição. O objetivo é analisar a gestão da venda no processo de CIM, identificando como a força de vendas contribui para a melhoria do posicionamento competitivo no trade. Para alcançá-lo, foram analisados a geração de valor para o cliente; a administração estratégica e a de vendas; a vantagem competitiva e o modelo de posicionamento competitivo; o mercado empresarial e seu comportamento de compra; a CIM; o relacionamento com o cliente e o pós-venda. Ao final da fundamentação teórica, propôs-se uma sistematização da interação da venda com a CIM, na qual se procurou alinhar as atividades da equipe de vendas com o intuito de maximizar o seu atendimento aos diversos tipos de clientes. Ainda para a consecução do objetivo, foi realizada uma pesquisa de campo com a utilização do método de estudo de caso. A empresa pesquisada foi escolhida em razão de sua relevante participação no segmento em que atua. Também foram realizadas entrevistas com gerentes, vendedores e consultores de campo da empresa selecionada e com gerentes e compradores dos canais de distribuição e a análise delas foi muito valiosa para a elaboração da sistematização da interação da venda com a CIM. Esse novo olhar em direção ao pleno atendimento das exigências do trade no segmento de empresas de saúde animal pode vir a ser uma das ferramentas importantes para a obtenção de um posicionamento competitivo mais sólido. / Continuous improvement of competitive positioning is currently one of the great challenges of companies incorporated in the dynamic global marketplace. In this scenario, it is considered that the interaction of various sectors of the organization contributes to its increased ability to understand their distribution chain. Furthermore, the communication is a vital element for the company to make themselves understood by their audiences and the integrated marketing communications (IMC) has a valuable tool - the sales force - which must be supported by managers to use other tools of the IMC in order to provide differentiated services to distribution channels. The objective of this study is to analyze the process of selling and IMC, identifying how the sales force helps to improve the competitive position in the trade. To achieve this, was analyzed the generation of customer value, strategic management and sales, competitive advantage and competitive positioning model, the enterprise market and their buying behavior, the IMC, the customer relationship and after sale. At the end of the theoretical foundation, it was proposed a systematization of the interaction of IMC with the sale, in which he sought to align the activities of the sales team in order to maximize its service to different types of customers. Even to achieve the goal, was performed a field survey using the method of case study. The company analyzed was chosen because of his outstanding participation in the segment in which it operates. Were also conducted interviews with sales managers and their sales force of the company and with channels managers and the buyers of these channels of distribution. This analysis was very valuable to the development of systematic interaction with the sale management and the IMC. This new look towards full compliance with the requirements of trade in the sector of animal health companies might be one of important tools to achieve a stronger competitive position.

Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Curtis Matthews / Integrated marketing communications strategies are being utilized more and more by practitioners who wish to reach their audiences in different ways at different times. However, the omnipresence that results from these multi-channel campaigns presents a new challenge for marketers, as their message and channel sequences may or may not be experienced in the order intended. Past literature has shown that both message order and channel sequence do matter. However, existing literature has not examined intended message sequences where the first channel “teases” the more comprehensive information available in the second channel. Therefore, the aim of this study was to bridge some of the gaps in past research by exploring message content order effects and channel sequence effects across intentional sequences for both high- and low-involvement product categories through the lens of the Elaboration Likelihood Model. A 2 (message content order: tease-to-answer versus answer-to-tease) by 2 (medium sequence: print-to-online versus online-to-print) by 2 (product involvement: high- versus low-involvement) mixed factorial experimental design was conducted to explore how message content order, channel sequence, and product involvement level affected evaluations of brand and message, as well as perceived behavioral intent. The findings indicated that message content order had significant influence over brand and message evaluation, with the tease-to-answer order producing the highest evaluations of brand and message. The findings also indicated that the online-to-print sequence was only effective for increasing behavioral intent under high-involvement conditions. Implications for marketing practitioners and future research are discussed.

When planning to implement a marketing tool such as Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) into ones company, marketers need to know what IMC means or is perceived to be in their environment. The definition of IMC is shown in the background chapter of this study and more definitions are stated in the theoretical frame chapter as well. Months of research lead to the conduction of a study, that is to test the perception of IMC in the Swedish market by sampling and sending questionnaires to Swedish marketers. Five Hypotheses were formed to test if each factor has a positive or negative relation with IMC. A questionnaire was formulated that tested all of the five main success factors (customer focus, targeted communication, customer-brand relationship, synergy and communication channels) in relation to IMC and how the Swedish marketers perceived each one of the factor’s connection to IMC. The marketers were chosen due to the fact that they would know most about IMC since it’s within the field of marketing.  It was found that Swedish marketers support 2 out of the 5 hypotheses. This means that the results showed that Swedish marketers perceive that there is a positive relationship between both channels of communication and IMC, and customer brand relationship and IMC, while targeted communication, customer focus and synergy were denied to be as positively related to IMC. This study would be of great help to a Swedish company trying to implement IMC because it gives directions to the Swedish perception of it, thereby making it more clear to know exactly what they are implementing, which help them find out in what way they should implement IMC, in order to avoid failures that could be very expensive.

Abstract This dissertation aims to examine the theoretical and empirical foundations of the mobile marketing phenomenon. While numerous studies have yielded important insights into this topic, the existing mobile marketing literature appears to be inconsistent and somewhat fragmented. With the help of two action research projects, interviews of mobile marketing practitioners, and an online survey, this study aims to contribute to our understanding of the nature of mobile marketing communications in consumer markets. This thesis consists of an introductory section and five papers. The first paper evaluates the current state of mobile marketing research based on a review and an analysis of extant literature that focuses on mobile (or wireless) applications aimed at marketing or advertising. Various definitions of mobile marketing are evaluated and a more technologically-agnostic definition is provided. The second paper presents a framework of the mobile marketing communications environment that delineates how mobile marketing should be integrated into a company's integrated marketing communications strategy. A comprehensive overview of divergent mobile marketing activities is provided, along with representative examples derived from popular press. In addition, a detailed description of mobile marketing campaign planning and its implementation process is provided. The third paper provides a conceptual model of the relationships between interactive integrated marketing communications and database management in a mobile context. The results from empirical research suggest that consumers are willing to participate in Short Message Service (SMS) marketing in a retailing context. The fourth and fifth papers utilize data collected by means of an online survey (n = 4,062) and examine the factors associated with consumers' intention to receive mobile advertising messages and responses to SMS direct-response campaigns. The results suggest that consumers' intention to receive mobile advertising messages is related to the relevance of the message, permission to receive mobile advertising messages, the benefits of receiving the message and the privacy of personal data. In addition, the results suggest that women and men differ significantly in their responses to SMS call-to-action campaigns, consumers aged 36–45 years are most likely to respond to SMS call-to-action in a TV program and participate in SMS sweepstakes and other competitions, and that employment status has a substantial impact on consumers' SMS campaign activity. Overall, this thesis provides a conceptual and theoretical foundation intended to guide research efforts focused on mobile media and to aid practitioners in their quest to achieve mobile marketing success.

本論文由寬頻影音網站脈絡出發，並以整合行銷傳播理論視野切入，透過hiChannel北京奧運轉播的個案研究，析論利益關係者（stakeholders）、內容（content）、通路（channels）、資料庫行銷（database marketing）和結果（results）等研究者歸納的整合行銷傳播重要面向。 首先就利益關係者而言，除兼論本個案行銷傳播目標，並將其區分內、外部二類。hiChannel內部利益關係者，包括負責統籌協調新媒體平臺的中華電信奧運專案辦公室（OPO）、實際落實規劃執行的數據通信分公司（HiNet）、內容整合商愛爾達科技（ELTA），和銷售廣告的中華黃頁（hiPage）；外部利益關係者，則納入協助規劃執行「奧運特派員」活動的凱絡媒體、廣告主、目標閱聽眾、媒體，和三網聯播合作夥伴PChome與MSN。本論文發現，跨部門組織OPO確實賦予hiChannel適切定位，也使本個案發揮良好整合角色。 其次，研究者在內容面向共檢視行銷團隊的「可控制」（controlled）和「不可控制」（uncontrolled）二類訊息；但主要側重前者。透過業者深度訪談，及內容分析主要網站規劃、網路廣告等針對廣告主和閱聽眾的行銷傳播素材、各階段報紙報導和公關稿（press release），發現不論hiChannel的「全頻道、全賽事、免費收視」整體訴求，及特派員活動強調的「hiChannel陪你看奧運 聊運動」訊息主軸，大致均能符合執行和策略一致等整合意涵。 而在通路面向，則綜整本個案各階段側重的行銷傳播工具組合及其考量，其中奧運期間強調的網路社群操作，即和特派員活動連結；整體而言，個案確實掌握各行銷傳播工具優勢，並能透過不同組合運用，初步發揮互補的整合效果。 另本論文將資料庫行銷的概念區分為特定和廣義二者。其中特定定義，主要指結合直效行銷或關係管理的資料庫行銷；至於廣義則指，只要能運用資料庫而有助後續行銷傳播計畫的擬定、執行。研究發現，本論文個案因奧運議題知名度和目標閱聽眾均甚廣等特性，從而並無特定資料庫行銷運用的必要；僅初步透過資料庫掌握收視輪廓和族群，並據此訴求廣告主或調整策略。研究者認為，資料庫行銷不僅和產業特性、資料可得等執行的軟硬體基礎條件有關，更重要的似乎還是企業對資料庫行銷的認知，甚至運用的必要性等層面。 最後，本論文結合個案行銷傳播目標和各分析章節內容，並扣連學者提出的稽核、障礙和層級概念，共同檢視hiChannel北京奧運轉播的結果面向。研究者發現，本個案實具備良好的整合行銷傳播內涵，並至少符合較低層次的整合層級。 / This study aims to explore how the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is applied to broadcast Beijing Olympic Games on hiChannel. The author, adopting case study methodology, tries to elucidate the context of webcasters and five significant pillars of IMC. These five distinct attributes are as follows: stakeholders, content, channels, database marketing and results. 9 depth interviews are conducted to understand how hiChannel planed and used the perspectives of five pillars of IMC. Also, via content analysis, all campaigning messages of on-line activities, the print media and press release are analyzed. The major concepts of each pillar of IMC are re-examined in this case study. The findings show that the team of hiChannel informs the controlled messages such as,“free to watch all channels, all games of Beijing Olympics” and “to watch and chat about all games of Beijing Olympics at the same time” to not only advertisers but target audience. Besides, the author finds that the team in order to accomplish the commercials, website page views and other what hiChannel desired in this case study, they conveyed both executional also strategic consistency through each channels, across all tools in substance, before and during the period of Beijing Olympic Games. Last but not least, the author also finds that because Olympic Games are renowned, and tend to attract broad target audience, there is no need for the application of database marketing. Moreover, this case study also leads us to rethink the use of database marketing and other four pillars of IMC according to industry characteristics and other qualifications.

Brand awareness and its establishment among consumers has been a central theme in previous research on marketing as it is proven to indirectly induce purchase. It is thus seen as crucial for marketers to establish brand awareness. However, a research gap is apparent in regard to creating brand awareness among Generation Z. More specifically, this study focuses on which communication channel that is best suited for establishing brand awareness for this generational cohort. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explicitly analyse the linkage between these variables and provide a guideline for companies targeting Generation Z. To obtain a deeper understanding, previous research has been reviewed and an extensive data collection has been conducted including two methods; interviews and a survey to obtain empirical evidence and valuable insights. The qualitative data was of main focus with the quantitative data gave more of an overview. By combining and evaluating the empirical findings in relation to previous research and theory we could identify patterns and relationships that eventually led to the conclusion and final results of this thesis. The initial results concluded from this study underlined the importance of brand awareness since it was the first step for the purpose of inducing purchases. In addition, the results also highlight the importance of building upon brand awareness to establish brand liking as it will provide for the increase of purchase intention. For establishing brand awareness when targeting Generation Z, Instagram is a means of preference and should be considered as part of a mix of various communication channels in using integrated marketing communications.