Online Marketing Communications: Need for a New Typology for IMC?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Online marketing communications (OMC) have either been an implicit part of the traditional communication disciplines or added as one, single discipline without much discussion about their role in integrated marketing communications (IMC). In this article, we first state a case why online communications are distinguished by more than their use of a new medium–the internet, and that online communications should, accordingly, not be integrated into the traditional disciplines. Subsequently, we discuss whether OMC tools can be contained in one, single discipline or if they are so varied that they need multiple disciplines. The discussion is rooted in a consideration of a range of online communication tools. As a result of this consideration we propose that OMC should be treated as a separate line of communication disciplines, and consequently we propose a new typology for OMC.