The way we communicate with consumers has undergone a dramatic shift. Gone are the days when a single billboard or newspaper ad could effectively reach your target audience. Today’s consumers are bombarded with information across a multitude of channels, both online and offline.
This is where the approaches to marketing communication diverge: the traditional and the convergent. Let’s understand both in detail:
Traditional Approach to Marketing Communication
Traditional marketing communication refers to using one or a few channels to reach customers, such as television, radio, billboards, print ads, or direct mail.
The messaging in traditional marketing communication tends to be one-way and focused on promoting a product or service to a broad audience.
The traditional approach assumes that the individual is responsible for each element of the communication process. This means that they are responsible for generating each message, deciding which messages are produced in which form and at which time, deciding which message should be shown to whom, and how to use the channels and media to communicate this message
Convergent Marketing Communication
Convergent marketing communication refers to using various marketing channels to promote a consistent message and achieve a common goal. In this approach, different marketing channels, such as advertising, public relations, sales promotions, direct marketing, and personal selling, are integrated and coordinated to deliver a unified message to the target audience.
The idea behind convergent marketing communication is to create a cohesive and comprehensive marketing strategy that utilises multiple channels to reach potential customers and create a more lasting impact. By coordinating the messaging and branding across all channels, convergent marketing communication ensures that the audience receives a consistent message regardless of the medium they engage with.
Convergent marketing communication is particularly useful in today’s world, where consumers are bombarded with messages from various sources. By using a variety of channels to deliver a cohesive message, convergent marketing communication ensures that the target audience is more likely to receive and act upon the message.
Convergent marketing communication means combining media is increasingly meaningful and targeted ways. These new media mixes are becoming more prominent because consumers can choose which ones they prefer. They also offer advertisers new opportunities to capture attention and hold it.
Explain how customers take a central and empowered role within convergent marketing.
Customers have a significant and empowered role in convergent marketing, characterised by customer empowerment. The marketing process is made easier and simpler in this kind of setting since it incorporates several sorts of media coming together in a single gadget that is easy to use. Customers are at the heart of convergence marketing because they can interact directly with businesses and marketers via a multitude of platforms.
Close proximity engagement with clients aids marketers in generating new and inventive ideas, which is a defining aspect of the convergent marketing technique in certain respects. Companies are increasingly turning to convergence as a successful business strategy, allowing them to exercise more influence on their customers while encouraging them to participate even more actively in the process.
List the impact of convergence on the traditional siloed industry.
In most cases, the impact of convergence has been significant in the traditional siloed industry. Competitive differentiation across the business becomes even more evident due to confluence on the technological front.
Furthermore, due to the convergence effect, it is possible to notice significant improvements in the efficiency of corporate organisations. As a result of convergence, more business innovation occurs in the conventional siloed sector, which is one of the most significant benefits of convergence, particularly in the present tech-savvy business world.
Identify the current key technologies and distributed services that impact convergent solutions
As far as convergent solutions are concerned, they primarily include fixed-line and mobile technologies. Several recent instances of new convergent services can be mentioned: video on demand, integrated products and bundles, internet usage for voice and video telephony, location-oriented services, fixed-mobile convergence, mobile-to-mobile convergence, etc.
It is known that convergent technologies can integrate the fixed-line with mobile in order to ensure delivering convergent solutions. Therefore convergent technologies include IP Multimedia Subsystem, Voice call continually, Digital Video Broadcasting, IPTV, Voice over IP, Session Initiation Protocol and others.
List the type of experts and business networks appropriate to a convergent marketing solution
Convergent marketing solutions can be inclusive of different business networks as well as experts that are deemed appropriate as per situations. Network convergence can be mentioned as the effective as well as efficient coexistence of telephone, video and data communication within the framework of a single network.
This network convergence, popularly known as media convergence, focuses on integrating voice, video and data into a singular system about simplifying IT systems alongside providing many business benefits. A converged network often is found to be incorporating Ethernet and Fibre Channels traffic over a regular infrastructure.
In implementing a converged network, that specific network needs to be run over Converged Network Adapters known as CNAs, which provide support to Ethernet TCP/IP, iSCSI, and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE).
Legislation, regulation and organizational policy in the field of marketing communication
As far as relevant and current legislation, regulation and organizational policies to the marketing communication field are concerned, they vary with different nations and their characteristics.
In the case of Australia, the national law regarding the marketing field is Australia Consumer Law (ACL) which is applicable in the case of fair trading and the protection of customers also. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) promotes competition and fair trade in the business industry to ensure every party involved (i.e. companies, consumers and communities) benefits from the trading. Consumer protection is significant under Australian legislation and organization policies.
In addition, individual rights on account of personal data can also be counted under the legislative provision. Australian law concerning marketing communications looks after every single market field aspect – ranging from a supplier relationship to campaign planning by experts of marketing communications.
Conclusion
Convergent marketing communication emphasises the value of establishing long-term connections with clients more than traditional marketing communication, which frequently focuses on increasing sales and income. Convergent marketing communication helps to boost brand visibility, client loyalty, and, eventually revenues by engaging customers across a variety of media and communicating a consistent message.
