Senior Project Research Paper: Interactive Media Marketing

Alexandra Webb

Mrs. Corbett

AP Lit 4th Pd.

November 17, 2011

Senior Project Research Paper: Interactive Media Marketing

The Internet has become an everyday tool for people around the world for work, school,

or social purposes, but aside from this constant utilization, “as the Web has matured…a larger

portion of it-and a larger portion of its use-has related to commercial purposes” (McAllister 506).

Now, the Internet is not only a place to get on Facebook or chat friends but instead, is a medium

through which various products can be marketed. Currently, the Web “presents the opportunity

to efficiently reach audiences in the ways most relevant to them and at unprecedented speeds”

(Mendenhall). This ability to advertise and communicate with various individuals

simultaneously and in great quantity has revolutionized the marketing realm. With this

innovative development, though, come certain questions: Where did this new form of marketing

come from, what is its importance today, and will it even be relevant in the years to come?

Fortunately, all of these questions have answers. Interactive media marketing has numerous

facets that make up its formative past, its significant present, and its imminent future.

To begin with, interactive media marketing’s past has been influential in what it is today.

As a contrast to recent times, “before 1980, most campaigns of consumer persuasion relied

primarily on traditional advertising in a few media” (McAllister 507). Campaigns before 1980

did not use many forms of technology to advertise products. They would employ the use of

VCR’s or televisions, but not to a great extent. In 1994, this miniscule use of media

advertisement began to advance and had “developments in two-way communication through

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TVs, telephones, and computers."(Williamson 71). Companies were now able to add marketing

strategies which allowed for communication with customers and more personal interaction with

potential clients. Correspondingly, people had the opportunity to see multiple products through

different mediums than they were able to before. Less than a decade after this development,

“…more than half of US households had Internet connections, and well over two-thirds were

using a computer at home, work, or school” (McAllister 506). It became possible to target

specific audiences effectively and allowed for a whole new way to advertise a good. Also, the

people had access to these advertisements at any time on any given day. The true effect of this

new marketing medium can be seen through the comparison of sales in 1995 and 2004 taking

into account both direct marketing, which is non-media advertisement, and interactive media

marketing. In 1995, direct marketing brought in sales of 2.7 billion dollars, and interactive

media marketing brought in 3 billion dollars. In 2004, direct marketing caused 28.1 billion

dollars in sales and interactive media marketing had an astounding 110 billion dollars in sales

(McManus 16). In 1995, there is not much of a difference between direct marketing and

interactive media marketing, but in 2004, there is an 81.9 billion dollar gap, showing the

dominance of digital over traditional advertisements. Also, the difference between interactive

media marketing sales in 1995 and 2004 conveys the astronomical growth of technology and

reliance on the digital world to sell goods. In general, the past of interactive media marketing

shows advancement in the way companies advertise their products, and exposes the rise of

technology, specifically computers, in modern society.

To pursue the topic further, interactive media marketing, at the moment, is different from

past strategies and is vital for the current economic situation. The Internet, the quintessential

digital marketing medium, has three aspects that differentiate it from previous years and

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advertising strategies. For one thing, “its digital nature means that users can send, retrieve,

transform, and store the material that moves across it” (McAllister 506). Basically, there are

multiple uses for the Web, all of which are connected. For example, a person’s emails can be

taken by a firm for marketing research, or a firm can email a person to market a product. This

ability to have access to such material and information allows for the communication necessary

for advertisement and product sales. Another aspect of the Web is its “two-way, interactive

nature means that senders and receivers can respond to one another in an ongoing fashion”

(McAllister 506). A constant interaction allows for continuous sales and marketing. The people

are always able to see the products and buy the ones they want, and the firms are always able to

put out more advertisements to new customers. A final aspect that differentiates the present

Internet from the past marketing is “its ability to function through sophisticated computer

software and hardware means users’ activities can be tracked, sorted, and predicted through

increasingly intelligent agents” (McAllister 506). The Web gives companies the chance to target

a specific audience for a specific product on a much larger and more efficient scale than before

interactive media marketing was available. Firms can target a website catered to teens with

make-up ads, or a pregnancy chat room with baby clothes ads. They are able to be more

discriminating, and therefore, attract their targeted audience. In general, the Web and,

subsequently, interactive media marketing allows for a more specific and efficient way to

advertise to the masses.

To continue with the present importance of interactive media marketing, the Internet has

allowed digital advertisement to become the normal medium through which firms promote their

goods. As stated in the Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, “…the exponential growth

of the Internet and the continuous development of its broadband distribution systems have

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changed the rules of competition in many media industries that were already being transformed

by the arrival of more competitors, such as multi-channel video programmers, and the

introduction of new technologies, such as digital television” (Chan-Olmsted 641). In other

words, interactive media marketing changed, for what seems permanently, the way in which

goods are marketed. Instead of being seen primarily in newspapers and other publications,

advertisements are online. Also, this development from traditional to digital marketing has

affected companies’ avenues for ads. For example, newspapers are being published online now

because “the digital newspaper can replicate the printed newspaper in content and organization

and be made to look like a traditional paper, but at the same time it can offer interactive

multimedia content tailored to the individual consumer in a manner radically different from that

of traditional newspapers” (Palmer 33). Interactive media marketing gives the consumer a

whole different experience. It makes them be more involved and allows them to get more

information in a more timely fashion. As Interactive Editor Bradley Johnson said, “Internet

advertising is now part of mainstream media” ("Ad Age adds multicultural page, interactive

data." 4). The Internet is how people now communicate and transfer information. Consequently,

interactive media marketing is the way companies now advertise. Overall, the Internet

transformed marketing from paper to computers.

Moreover, interactive media marketing is a crucial strategy for the current economic

crisis most companies face. In this recession, most companies are asking, “So what are

[companies] supposed to do? [Because] right now it feels like everything is in decline, but there

is a force that is continuing to grow in popularity, influence, and reach; namely, digital media. At

no time has the vital role digital media can play in driving efficiencies and engaging customers

been more relevant” (Mendenhall). Companies are losing money fast and subsequently, going

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into debt until they are forced to close. They are not able to spend money advertising in the

traditional sense, so they turn to interactive media marketing. Basically, “marketers are rushing

to move more money and effort into digital and social media, hoping to pick up where traditional

media may be falling short” (“Marketers work to bridge digital divide” 1). Traditional marketing

techniques are not efficient enough for the economic crisis. Companies cannot afford to spend

so much money on ad campaigns, so they turn to the Internet and digital marketing to “pick up

the slack.” It is essential for companies to market goods virtually because “at a time when

marketing budgets are under enormous pressure, companies can turn to the digital world to

recession-proof their brands through networks they own and control” (Mendenhall). It does not

cost as much money to build a webpage or upload an ad to the Internet as it does to print multiple

ads and have to manually distribute each one. Interactive media marketing allows a company to

put ads online and sell their product without spending exorbitant fees on traditional marketing

strategies. For instance, there was a company who, in one month, had five million page views,

10,000 posts, and 400,000 searches. As they put it, “As [the company rides] out the recession,

forums that [allows the company] to tap customer insight in a more cost-efficient manor will be

critical to [the company’s] success” (Mendenhall). The company was able to use interactive

media marketing as a more efficient alternative in advertisements. They were able to cut costs

and save their business while still making sales. It is evident that interactive media marketing is

not only more effective and cost efficient, but it is also “recession-proof.”

The final facet that makes up interactive media marketing is its future. According to the

experts, “At current growth rates, every man, woman and child in the world will have a home

page within four years” (Yarmis 22). Such a prediction means that more people will have use

and access to computers in the future. Inevitably, there will be more interactive media marketing

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because the Internet is where the consumers are located. Also, a recent study showed that from

the present to ten years in the future, there will be a 46% increase in personal computer use

(McManus 16). Again, this must mean that interactive media marketing will grow due to the fact

that the use of the Internet and potential customers will grow, thus prompting more digital ads

from firms. Additionally, “a recent report by analyst firm Gartner predicts that digital strategies

like social and mobile marketing will influence at least 80 percent of consumers’ discretionary

spending by 2015” (Farb 16). Not only will interactive media marketing be more prevalent in

the future, but it will also be more influential than traditional strategies. People will be more

influenced by digital ads, making interactive media marketing play an even more significant role

in society. Upon study of this information, it is clear that interactive media marketing will

continue to grow and will have an even more important place in the marketing realm than ever

before.

Taking all facets into account, interactive media marketing has gone through many stages

since its conception and will continue to go on in society and the marketing world. Digital

advertising has become the most effective and efficient way to promote a product. It developed

from virtual non-existence, to significance, and finally to future dependence. As Chan-Olmsted

once stated in Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, “…the trends toward brand

management and using the Internet as a marketing communication channel are likely to continue

as we migrate to the world of digital media.” Interactive media marketing continues to grow,

and it will only continue to grow.

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Works Cited for Senior Project Research Paper: Interactive Media Marketing

“Ad Age adds multicultural page, interactive data.” Advertising Age 19 July 1999: 4. Academic

Search Complete. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. <http://proxygsu-

sche.galileo.usg.edu/?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/

login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=2051434&site=ehost-live>.

Chan-Olmsted, Sylvia M. “Branding and Internet Marketing in the Age of Digital Media.”

Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 46.4 (2002): 641. Academic Search

Complete. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. <http://proxygsu-

sche.galileo.usg.edu/?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=8

735531&site=ehost-live>.

Farb, Brittany. “The Digital Age of Marketing.” CRM Magazine July 2011: 16. Academic Search

Complete. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. <http://proxygsu-



“Marketers Work to Bridge the Digital Divide.” Advertising Age 11 Apr. 2011: 1-8. Academic

Search Complete. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. http://proxygsu-


login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=59915282&site=ehost-live

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McAllister, Matthew P., and Joseph Turow. “New Media and the Commercial Sphere: Two

Intersecting Trends, Five Categories of Concern.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic

Media 46.4 (2002): 505-515. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Oct. 2011.

<http://proxygsu-



McManus, John. “Cyber reality may byte, but it sure beats oblivion.” Brandweek 14 Mar. 1994:

16. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. <http://proxygsu-



Mendenhall, Michael. “The Digital Revolution Comes to Marketing: Identifying Consumer

Ecosystems.” American Association of Advertising Agencies. New Orleans, Louisiana. 4

Mar. 2009. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. <http://proxygsu-



Palmer, Jonathan W., and Lars Bo Eriksen. “Digital Newspapers Explore Marketing on the

Internet.” Communications of the ACM 42.9 (1999): 33-40. Academic Search Complete.

Web. 15 Nov. 2011. <http://proxygsu-sche.galileo.usg.edu/

login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=11951049&site=

ehost-live>.

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Williamson, Debra Aho. “Early Internet days perilous.” Advertising Age 28 Mar. 2005: 71-88.

Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. <http://proxygsu-



Yarmis, Jonathan, and Iain Woolward. “Boom or bust?” Brandweek 29 May 1995: 22. Academic

Search Complete. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. <http://proxygsu-



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