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Integrated Marketing
Communications for Tourism
Objective: Introducing and defining marketing
communications for tourism and hospitality.
What is Marketing?
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Marketing is the management of creating and
exchanging products and value in order to satisfy
the needs and wants of the target markets.
The goal of marketing is to satisfy customers at
a profit.
Marketing Management
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Marketing management is the analysis, planning,
implementation, and control of programs to create
exchanges with target buyers to achieve
organizational objectives. In a way, marketing
management is demand - customer management.
A company’s demand comes from two groups: new
customers and repeat customers. Marketing
management deals with finding ways (1) to attract
new customers and create transactions with them
and also (2) to retain current customers and build
lasting customer relationships.
The Marketing Process
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Marketing process is the process of ;
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2.
3.
4.
analyzing marketing opportunities
selecting target markets
developing the marketing mix
managing the marketing effort (marketing
mix).
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Target consumers stand in the center of this
process. The company;
identifies the total market
 divides it into smaller segments
 selects the most promising segments
 focuses on serving and satisfying these segments
by designing marketing mix factors under the
control of the company - product, price, place,
and promotion
 analyzes, plans, implements, and controls to put
the marketing mix into action which are required
to adapt to the marketing environment
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Target Consumers
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In order to be successful, the companies must
understand the needs and wants of the consumers
to satisfy them. But it is impossible to satisfy all
consumers in a given market. Because, there are too
many different types of consumers with too many
different types of needs. That is why, companies
must; (1) divide up the total market, (2) choose the
best segments, and (3) design strategies to attract
and keep these segments better than the
competitors. This process involves three steps:
market segmentation, market targeting, and market
positioning.
Market Segmentation:
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Dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers
with different needs, characteristics, or behavior
(e.g. sex, age, income level…) who might require
separate products or marketing mixes is called
market segmentation.
After segmenting the market, the company must
determine which segments offer the best
opportunity for achieving company objectives
(making profit).
Market Targeting:
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Evaluating each market segment’s attractiveness and
then selecting one or more segments to enter is
called market targeting.
A company should target segments in which it can
generate the greatest customer value and keep it in
the long-run.
There are three alternatives in market targeting. A
company may decide to serve  only one segment
(because of its limited resources),  several related
segments or  all market segments.
Market Positioning:
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After a company has decided which market
segments to enter, it must decide what positions it
wants to occupy in those segments. A product’s
position is the place that the product occupies in
consumer’s minds relative to competitors.
If a product is seen exactly the same as other
products on the market, consumers have no reason
to buy it. That is way, companies differentiate their
products through positioning to offer more value to
the consumers. E.g. Mercedes “engineered like no
other car in the world”
Developing The Marketing Mix
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Once the company has decided on its overall
marketing strategy, it should plan its activities by
using the controllable marketing tools, in other
words, the marketing mix.
Marketing mix is the controllable marketing tools
(known as the 4Ps) - product, price, place, and
promotion - that the company use to achieve its
objectives.
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Product; means the “goods-and-service” combination
the company offers to the target market.
Price; is the amount of money that consumers have
to pay to obtain the product.
Place; includes company activities with the
intermediaries that make the product available to
target consumers. The intermediaries keep an
inventory of the products, shows them to potential
buyers, negotiate prices, close sales and give service
after sales.
Promotion; means activities that communicate the
product and persuade target customers to buy it.
Developing Effective
Communications
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It is not enough to develop a good product, price it
attractively and make it available to target customers.
Companies also must communicate with their customers
to market their products.
A company’s total marketing communication program is
called the promotion mix which consists of (1)
advertising, (2) personal selling, (3) sales promotion, (4)
public relations and (5) direct marketing.
Promotional techniques are used;
 to make prospective customers aware of
products in order to sharpen the attractiveness
and stimulate demand,
 they provide information to help customers
decide
 generally provide incentives to purchase.
Integrated Marketing
Communications
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Companies need to carefully integrate and
coordinate the promotion mix to deliver a clear,
consistent, and compelling messages about their
organizations and products.
The marketing communications environment is
changing. Mass markets have fragmented, as a
result mass marketing is not a solution anymore.
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Conflicting messages sent from different sources
can confuse consumers regarding the company
and brand image, therefore should be avoided.
The Web alone is not enough to build brands.
Although, the Web can enhance relationships
between the company and the consumers, it has
limited potential to create brand awareness.
It is better to blend the traditional methods with
the new ways of communications.
Nature of Each Promotional Tool
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Advertising; any paid form of nonpersonal presentation
by an identified sponsor.
Personal selling; personal presentation by a firm’s sales
force.
Sales Promotion; short-term incentives to encourage
sales.
Public Relations; building good relationships with
various publics by obtaining favorable publicity.
Direct marketing; direct communications with
individuals to obtain an immediate response.
Advertising
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Advertising is any paid form of nonpersonal
presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services
by an identified sponsor.
Major media types are;
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newspapers
television
direct mail
radio
magazines
outdoor
Advantages
 low cost per contact
 ability to reach customers where and when
salespersons cannot
 great scope of creative versatility and dramatization
of messages
 ability to create images that salespersons cannot “institutional advertising” is a form of advertising
done to create a favourable image of an
organization.
 nonthreatening nature of nonpersonal presentation
 potential to repeat message several times
prestige and impressiveness of mass-media
advertising
Disadvantages
 inability to “close” sales
 advertising “clutter”
 customer’s ability to ignore advertising messages
 difficulty getting immediate response or action
 difficulty measuring advertising effectiveness
 relatively high “waste” factor
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Profiles of Major Media Types
Newspapers: reach many people but have limited
opportunity to reach market segments , have short
life time, do not have reproduction quality.
 Magazines: have many advantages over newspapers
like having high-quality reproduction, color
availability, prestige, audience selectivity, and long
life. However, cost more, prepared in a long time,
and reduce an advertiser’s ability to repeat ads.
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Radio: can reach an entire area, specific target
markets by matching the radio station and time
with the property’s target market. However, if
not repeated, they have shot life span.
 Television: television’s main advantage over radio
is that it combines sight with sound. TV
commercials can show friendly company staff.
Gets high attention, and remembered as a result.
Commercials can run many times daily and reach
many people, and can reach specific audiences by
selecting the correct TV shows. However, they
are very expensive.
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Outdoor Advertising: billboards along highways
or in and around large cities are used to remind
and attract potential guests about the product.
They must be bold, dynamic and graphic so that
passersby can get the message at a glance. They
have large circulation, broad reach and low cost
but have limited message length.
 Direct Mail: involves the mailing of the
advertising message in brochures, coupons or
other formats. It is especially used by clubs, and
banks for credit card holders and members. It
allows audience selectivity, can be personalized,
and easily measured but have high cost of
developing and mailing.
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Sales Promotion
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Sales promotions are short-term incentives to to
make an immediate purchase or sales of a
product or service.
Advertising offers reasons to buy a product or
service, sales promotion offers reasons to buy
now.
Advantages
 generating immediate purchase in a large extent
 ability to provide quick feedback
 ability to add excitement to a service or product
 flexible timing
 efficiency
Disadvantages
 short-term benefits
 ineffective in building long-term loyalty for
company or “brand”
 inability to be used on its own in the long term
without other promotional mix elements
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often misused for just short-term benefits
Profiles of Major Sales Promotions
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Consumer-Promotion Tools
Couponing: attract potential guests with a special
offer such as a free night’s lodging after a special
number of credits. They can be given out
personally, included in direct mail advertising or
printed in newspapers and magazines. They can
increase off-season business with other sales
promotions such as bonus offers or discounting.
 Product Sampling: introduces new products to
the guests, some are free, most effective to
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introduce a product but most expensive as well,
determines whether guests like a new product
and encourages them to order the item.
 Contests: give consumers a chance to win
something such as cash, trips, goods by luck or
through extra effort, can increase sales, should be
cost effective - increased sales should offset the
cost of contest promotions and prizes. E.g.
Coca-Cola New Year’s prize (a BMW) will be one
of the customers who sent the correct amount
of Coca-Cola lid.
 Packages: offer consumers savings off the regula
price of a product, have discount price to attract
new guests and increase sales. E.g. a
holiday package including lodging, transportation,
and food and beverage with a
reasonable
price.
 Premiums: they are given to guests who pay the
regular prices for certain products or services.
E.g. an upgraded room might be provided or free
movie tickets for the restaurant guests. Pizza
Hut’s free drinks when a large pizza is ordered.
Or when a customer buys one shampoo, he gets
the third one free.
 Gifts or Gift Certificates: free gifts or cash offers,
are used by chains or exclusive properties to
increase sales. E.g. key chains, T-Shirts…
Discounting: straight reduction from the list price
of a product during a stated period of time, are
used to attract more guests and increase total
sales. E.g. one dinner on the menu might be
reduced to 50%. Benetton reduces its prices by
20% during the low season.
 Bonus Offers: the consumer buys a product or
service at the regular price and then receives a
bonus, generally directed to the regular users, E.g.
guest buys three dinners at a regular price and the
fourth one becomes free. Or when the customer
uses his credit card, each time he gets credits, and
when he reaches a certain credit
point, he is entitled to get free gifts such as
toasters, hair dryers...
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Trade-Promotion Tools
Discounting: straight reduction from the list price
on purchases during a stated period of time,
encourages dealers to buy in quantity or to carry
a new item; dealers can use the discount for
immediate profit, for advertising, or for price
reductions to their customers.
 Allowance: promotional money paid by
manufacturers to retailers who agree to help
promote the manufacturer’s products in some
way. E.g. an advertising allowance compensates
retailers for advertising the
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product. A display allowance compensates them
for using special displays.
 Free goods or push money: cash or gifts to
dealers or their sales force to “push” the
manufacturer’s goods.
 Specialty advertising items: they carry the
company’s name, such as pens, pencils, calendars,
paperweights, memo pads, ashtrays...
Public Relations
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Building good relations with the company’s
various public’s by obtaining favourable
publicity, building up a good “corporate image”
and handling or heading off unfavourable
rumors, stories and events.
Advantages
 low cost
 effective because they are not seen as commercial
messages
 credibility
 prestige and impressiveness of mass-media coverage
 added excitement and dramatization
 maintenance of “public” presence
Disadvantage
 difficult to arrange consistently
 lack of control
Major Public Relations Tools
News: PR people find or create favourable news
about the company and its products or people.
Sometimes news stories occur naturally, and
sometimes the PR person suggests events or
activities (e.g. X conference, Miss World…) that
would create news.
 Speeches: company executives answer the questions
from the media or give talks at trade associations or
sales meetings.
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Special events: ranging from news conferences,
receptions, press tours (fam trips), grand
openings… to reach and interest target publics.
 Written materials: include press release, annual
reports, brochures, articles, company newsletters,
magazines… to reach and influence the target
markets.
 Audiovisual materials: such as films, video- and
audiocassettes…
 Corporate-identity materials: help to create a
corporate identity that the public immediately
recognizes such as logos, stationery, brochures,
signs, business forms, business cards, buildings,
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uniforms, company cars and trucks become
marketing tools when they are attractive,
distinctive, and memorable.
 Public-service activities: companies can also
improve their goodwill by contributing money
and time to public-service activities. E.g. giving
donations to street children.
Personal Selling
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Personal selling involves oral conversations. These
are held, either by telephone or face-to-face,
between salespersons and prospective customers.
The people who do the selling go by many names:
salespeople, sales representatives, account
executives, sales consultants, sales engineers, agents,
district managers, and marketing representatives.
The major roles of the sales force are (1)
representing the company to customers, (2)
representing customers to the company, (3)
producing customer satisfaction and company
profits.
Advantages
 ability to close sales
 ability to hold the customer’s attention
 immediate feedback and two-way communications
 presentations tailored to individual needs
 ability to target customers precisely
 ability to cultivate relationships
 ability to get immediate action
Disadvantages
 high cost per contact
 inability to reach some customers as effectively
The Changing Face of Marketing
Communications
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Two major factors are changing the face of today’s
marketing communications.
First, as mass markets have fragmented, companies
are shifting away from mass marketing. Now, they
are developing focused marketing programs
designed to build closer relationships with
customers in more narrowly defined micromarkets.
Second, the improvements in computer and
information technology helps marketers to reach
smaller customer segments more effectively.
Direct Marketing
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Direct marketing is the new way of marketing
communications. Here, the company markets through
various advertising media that interact directly with
consumers, generally encouraging the consumer to
make a direct response. In other words, direct
marketing consists of direct communications with
carefully targeted consumers to obtain an immediate
response.
There are four major forms of direct marketing are;
direct-mail and catalog marketing; involves
mailing of letters, ads, samples, foldouts… sent
to potential customers on mailing lists. The
mailing lists are developed from customer lists or
obtained from mailing-list houses. Catalog
marketing involves selling through catalogs that
are mailed to a select list customers or made
available in stores.
 telemarketing; using the telephone to sell directly
to consumers. Outbound telephone marketing is
used directly to consumers and businesses.
Inbound too-free 800 numbers are used to
receive orders from television and radio ads,
direct mail, or catalogs.
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television marketing; takes two major forms. The
first is direct-response advertising where
marketers air television spots, often 60 to 120
seconds long, that persuasively describe a product
and give customers a toll-free number for
ordering. Home shopping channels is another
form of television direct marketing which are
television programs or entire channels dedicated
to selling gods and services.
 online computer shopping: is conducted through
interactive online computer systems which link
consumers with sellers electronically. Consumers
use a home computer to hook into the system
through cable or telephone lines.
Marketing Communications Characteristics in
Tourism and Hospitality
Nature and
Characteristics of
Services
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Intangibility
Inseparability
Heterogeneity
Perishability
Service Intangibility
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means that unlike physical products, services cannot be
seen, tasted, felt, heard or smelled before they are
bought.
Buyers look for “signals” or “tangible evidences” like
the place, people, price, equipment and information
about the service in order to reduce uncertainty caused
by intangibility before they pay the price. E.g. the
cleanliness of the restaurant, employee uniforms of the
hotel.
Because of intanbigle nature of services, as far as
their communication strategies are concerned,
organizations have the following three key aims;
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Brand identity
Positioning of the brand
Creating demand
In addition, hospitality firms must;
 communicate the intangible benefits of the
service,
 be specific about the distinct features and
characteristics of the services and provide
concrete details,
 provide key information about the evidence that
creates “trust”,
 take consumers through the exact steps of the
experience.
Service Inseparability
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means that services cannot be separated from their
both (1) providers and (2) other customers.
If a service employee provides the service, then the
employee is part of the service. E.g. the food in the
restaurant may be outstanding, but if the service person
is rude, customers will downrate the overall service of
the restaurant.
the other customers affect the service outcome as well.
E.g. a couple may choose a restaurant but if a group of
loud customers is seated next to them, the couple will
be disappointed.
Therefore, in marketing communications,
organizations must;
 emphasize the people and quality of service.
Heterogeneity
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means that the quality of services depends on who
provides them, plus, when, where, and how they are
provided. E.g. within a given hotel chain, one reception
desk agent may be cheerful and efficient one day but
would be unpleasant and slow the other day.
Service providers’ service quality depends on his energy
and his frame of mind at the time of each customer
encounter.
Fluctuating demand makes it difficult to deliver
consistent services during periods of peak demand.
Heterogeneity or lack of consistency is the major cause
of customer disappointment in the industry.
Due to heterogeneity, companies must pay
attention to the following in creating their
marketing messages;
 highlighted role of people
 experiential and emotional nature of messages
 timing and process issues
 quality of service delivery and products
 tangible features and benefits
 pricing strategies, promotions and discounting
 standards and guarantees
Service Perishability
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means that services cannot be stored for later sale or
use. E.g. if a 100 room hotel can sell only 40 rooms
today, selling the remaining 60 is gone forever.
If service providers are to maximize revenue, they must
manage capacity and demand. E.g. hotels charge lower
rates in the off-season to attract more guests;
restaurants hire part-time employees to serve during
peak periods; tour operators and airline companies have
last-minute sales.
Service perishability is a serious problem when demand
fluctuates.
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This factor puts a special emphasis on pricesetting in marketing. “Yield management”
Regarding marketing communications,
companies must;
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Consider using sales promotions and discounting.
Useful Links and Sources
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McCabe, S. (2009). Marketing Communications in
Tourism and Hospitality: Concepts, Strategies and
Cases. Butterworth-Heinemann: Oxford.
Kotler, P.; Bowen, J. and Makens, J. Marketing for
Hospitality and Tourism (5th ed.). Prentice Hall New
Jersey. (2011)
Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. Principles of Marketing.
(14th ed.) Prentice Hall Int. Inc., New Jersey. (2011)
Middleton, V.T.C. (2004) Marketing in Travel and
Tourism (3rd ed). Elsevier. Oxford.
http://www.tourism.bilkent.edu.tr/~eda