Advance Search

Brand contact integration in the Ethiopian beer market: An internal IMC view of the market interface

An internal IMC view of the market interface

Samson Mekonnen
University of South Africa
George Angelopulo
University of South Africa
Keywords:
Copyright and Licensing:

Copyright (c) 2022 George Angelopulo

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Share:

How to Cite

Brand contact integration in the Ethiopian beer market: An internal IMC view of the market interface. (2022). Communicare: Journal for Communication Studies in Africa, 41(1), 25-34. https://doi.org/10.36615/jcsa.v41i1.1393
  • Articles
  • Submited: August 5, 2022
  • Published: August 5, 2022

Abstract

This paper assesses Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) and brand contact integration in three areas that have received insufficient research attention. The study was conducted in a region that has received little research coverage (Ethiopia), a low involvement product sector (brewing) and from the theoretical perspective of the Nordic School. Following a series of in-depth
interviews and an inductive content analysis, we find that the brewer’s messaging is similar to the international norm, differing only in emphasis and application. Publicity and personal promotion are emphasised, product quality receives great attention, the company concentrates on a narrowly defined service interface, and a strong market-back strategy is evident in its communications. The Nordic School model of brand contact integration offers a heuristic prism for the assessment of communication integration, and we conclude that IMC principles are firmly embedded in the marketing communication practice of the Ethiopian brewer, but with characteristics that are specific to its unique market conditions.

PDF
PDF

Article Metrics Graph

Article Views | PDF Downloads
Chart Graph | Range Graph

References

  1. Barbour, R.S. (2018). Quality of data collection. In Flick, U. (ed.) Qualitative data collection, 217-231. London. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526416070.n14
  2. Burgmann, I. (2007). Integrated marketing communications: Implementation and application issues in consumer-focused companies. Doctoral thesis. Hull: Hull University Business School.
  3. Creswell, J.W. & Creswell, J.D. (2018). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach, 5th ed. Los Angeles.
  4. Creswell, J.W. & Poth, C.N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Los Angeles.
  5. Delgado-Ballester, E., Navarro, A., & Sicilia, M. (2012). Revitalising brands through communication messages: The role of brand familiarity. European Journal of Marketing, 46(1/2): 31–51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/03090561211189220
  6. Duncan, T.R. (2002). IMC: Using advertising and promotion to build brands. New York: McGraw-Hill.
  7. Duncan, T.R. & Moriarty, S.E. (1997). Driving brand value. New York: McGraw-Hill.
  8. Edvardsson, B., Tornvoll, B., & Gruber, T. (2011). Expanding understanding of service exchange and value co-creation: A social construction approach. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, (39):327-339. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-010-0200-y
  9. Finne, Å. & Grönroos, C. (2017). Communication-in-use: customer-integrated marketing communication. European Journal of Marketing, 51(3):445-463. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-08-2015-0553
  10. Flick, U. (2018a). Designing qualitative research, 2nd ed. London.
  11. Flick, U. (ed.). (2018b). Qualitative data collection. London.
  12. Flick, U. (2018c). Triangulation in data collection. In Flick, U. (ed.) Qualitative data collection, 527-545. London. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526416070.n34
  13. Grönroos, C. (2020). Viewpoint: service marketing research priorities. Journal of Services Marketing, 34(3):291-298. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-08-2019-0306
  14. Grönroos, C. (2015). Service management and marketing: managing the service profit logic. Hershey PA: John Wiley & Sons.
  15. Grönroos, C., von Koskull, C., & Gummerus, J. (2015). The essence of the Nordic School. In Gummerus, J. & von Koskull, C. (eds.) Nordic School: Service marketing and management for the future, 29-32. Helsinki: Hanken School of Economics.
  16. Gummerus, J. & von Koskull, C. (eds.). (2015). The Nordic School – service marketing and management for the future. Helsinki: Hanken School of Economics.
  17. Heinonen, K., Strandvik, T., & Voima, P. (2013). Customer dominant value formation in service. European Business Review, 25(2):104-123. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/09555341311302639
  18. Keller, K.L. (2016). Unlocking the power of integrated marketing communications: How integrated is your IMC program? Journal of Advertising, 45(3):286-301. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2016.1204967
  19. Kennedy, B.L. & Thornberg, R. (2018). Deduction, induction, and abduction. In Flick, U. (ed.) Qualitative data collection, 49-65. London. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526416070.n4
  20. Kitchen, P.J. & Burgmann, I. (2015). Integrated marketing communication: Making it work at a strategic level. Journal of Business Strategy, 36(4):34-39. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JBS-05-2014-0052
  21. Kitchen, P.J. & Schultz, D. (2009). IMC: New horizon/false dawn for a marketplace in turmoil. Journal of Marketing Communications, 15(2/3):197-204. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13527260903003793
  22. Kliatchko, J. (2008). Revisiting the IMC construct. International Journal of Advertising, 27(1):133-160. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2008.11073043
  23. Kliatchko, J. & Schultz, D.E. (2014). Twenty years of IMC: A study of CEO and CMO perspectives in the Asia-Pacific region. International Journal of Advertising, 33(2):373-390. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2501/IJA-33-2-373-390
  24. Maison, D. (2019). Qualitative marketing research: Understanding consumer behaviour. New York: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429467028
  25. Mutesi. (2019). The Evolution of Ethiopia’s beer industry. https://mutesi.net/business/the-evolution-of-ethiopias-beer-industry/2019/04/
  26. Percy, L. (2008). Strategic integrated marketing communications. Burlington: Elsevier. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780080878294
  27. Schultz, D.E. (2010). New, newer, newest: evolving stages of IMC. Journal of Integrated Marketing Communications, 14(1):14-22.
  28. Šerić, M. (2016). Content analysis of the empirical research on IMC from 2000 to 2015. Journal of Marketing Communications, 24(7):647-685. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2016.1184708
  29. Shimp, T.A. (2007). Integrated marketing promotions in advertising and promotion, 7th ed. Mason OH: Thompson South-Western.
  30. Shimp, T.A. & Andrews, J.C. (2013). Advertising, promotion, and other aspects of integrated marketing communications, 9th ed. Mason OH: Cengage Learning, South-Western.
  31. Silverman, D. (2017). Doing qualitative research. London.
  32. Smith, J.A. (ed.). (2015). Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. London.
  33. Whitehouse, D. (2019). Vasari’s fundraising highlights potential of Ethiopia’s drinks market. Available from:
  34. https://www.theafricareport.com/14745/vasaris-fundraising-highlights-potential-of-ethiopias-drinks-market/
  35. Zabkar, V., Mumel, D., & Vanita, N. (2015). Is management involvement in integrated marketing communications reasonable? In Bušljeta Banks, I., De Pelsmacker, P., & Okazaki, S. (eds.) Advances in advertising research, 283-294. Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-08132-4_20
How to Cite
Brand contact integration in the Ethiopian beer market: An internal IMC view of the market interface. (2022). Communicare: Journal for Communication Studies in Africa, 41(1), 25-34. https://doi.org/10.36615/jcsa.v41i1.1393

Send mail to Author

Send Cancel

Similar Articles

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Custom technologies based on your needs

  • ORCID
  • Crossref
  • PubMed
    • Clarivate