Integrated Marketing Communication in the cities--Taking Popular Tourist Cities as Examples
In the theory of integrated marketing communication, the most important point of content integration is to establish an overall consistent and prominent brand identity so that consumers can distinguish the brand from competing brands. Resource integration is about exploring consumer contact and considering how to reach them more effectively.
Integrated marketing theory is also applicable to the marketing of tourism in cities. The key in this process is to use the tourist as the guide and focus. Cities need to create a better impression in the minds of consumers and establish a strong long-term connection between the city brand and them. Consumers are not just the recipients of brand marketing, but also participate in the brand construction through experiential interactions.
Taking Zibo, Harbin, and Quanzhou as examples of recent popular travel cities on the Internet, their successes have much in common from a media marketing perspective.
Firstly, they have made their city characteristics into specific “goods.” The hot topics of “Zibo barbecue” and “Quanzhou hairpin” focused on a unique activity in the city; Harbin's initial hot topic was slightly different from the other two. While the topic of “Small southern potatoes.” describes tourists, it is set against the backdrop of winter as a selling point for the city, and the core is still northern characteristics.
After the appearance of the initial hot topic, the mass media first used the matrix media to publicize it. In the process of tourists' participation, the posters on the popular social media platforms also changed from PGC to UGC.The superimposed effect of high-quality individuals creates a high level of communication for the topic, finally realizing the participation of all people in the co-creation of the topic.
After that, it is necessary to switch from single-focused merchandise to multi-scenario integration, focusing on organic integration with other features of the city. This stage is the key to the long-term effect of city marketing.When “Tianshui Spicy Hot Pot” gained attention, the city did not diversify the single hot spot. Therefore, it only became a hot topic for a short period of time, with no subsequent long-tail effect.Zibo combines eating and playing in the tourism strategy, and skillfully guides tourists to other special cultural experiences, such as “Badaju” and “Boshan Liuli”.The integration of independent popular goods with other attractions and cultures creates a unique city brand image and prolongs the consumer's sense of freshness. The first focus on the difference between the north and south experience marketing, and then introduced the Harbin ice sculpture, enhance the impression of the city brand.
The marketing strategy aims to increase the city's reputation and have a sustainable impact on the tourism industry. After the event, there is a need to establish an emotional bond between the city and the tourists, and to maintain the relationship between the city and the consumers. Zibo follows the “Hospitable Shandong”, the whole city's impression is targeted as warm and generous. Now Zibo is still a recommended choice for cheap trips on the Xiaohongshu. Harbin always appears in the winter travel recommendations on Xiaohongshu.
Nowadays city marketing should make good use of new media and establish a multi-channel communication platform. Cities should continue to combine and utilize various characteristic resources to deepen the image in consumers' mind. However, due to the unpredictability and uniqueness of hot topics, each city's marketing strategy is different and cannot be copied completely.
This essay insightfully highlights the importance of integrated marketing communication in city tourism, emphasizing consistent branding and experiential interactions. By focusing on unique cultural elements, cities like Zibo, Harbin, and Quanzhou have transformed distinct local features into captivating "goods" that resonate with tourists. The transition from single-focused attractions to multi-scenario integrations in these cities enhances their brand image and prolongs tourist engagement. The essay also underscores the role of social media in evolving from professional-generated content to user-generated content, which drives participatory co-creation. The need for emotional bonds and multi-channel engagement reflects the dynamic, sustainable strategies essential in today’s competitive tourism landscape.
ReplyDeleteThis essay explores the essential role of integrated marketing communications not only from the perspective of products but also from a city. It illustrates the multi-disciplinary use of IMC and multimedia matrix, as well as the generalizability of particular strategy using. About the essay,I was impressed by the bringing out of the idea that moving from single product to multi-scene integration, which is a common urban marketing strategy. This reminds me of an old fashion style of city marketing case.
ReplyDeleteWhen you think of the word “cyberpunk” or “the magical fog city”, you will generally think of the city of Chongqing, China. Because of efforts on marketing in the early days, Chongqing was teased as “the first city of influencer”. However, because of these marketing activities, by the 2023, the value added of Chongqing's cultural industry and tourism industry had both exceeded 120 billion yuan. So how did Chongqing walk on this path?
Firstly, topography is one of the most important factors that cannot be missed.Generally speaking, mountainous terrain will inhibit the development of one city, as it is not conducive and it will be expensive to urban construction. However, tourism agency of Chongqing utilized this characterastic and shaped its mountainous terrain into a rare cityscape. The huge difference in elevation and the integration of the city construction and the mountains provide the foundation for the creation of a cyberpunk city. As a result, tourists have shifted their focus to how to make a perfect picture while touring. Meanwhile, the WeChat steps counts shows up to 20000 have become the a great source for tourists to show off.
In addition to linking Chongqing's natural cityscape to a cyberpunk style, the marketing of one city cannot leave the widespread of multimedia matrix. Chongqing is spreading itself with the marketing method of running a corporate. Philip Kotler once said that a country can be run with as much care as a business. Chongqing government and tourism agencies also grasp the social media where young people are actively outputing Chongqing image in popular social media. And they also don't forget to work with various types of KOL to promote Chongqing's humanities and geographic landscapes, such as photography KOLs, outdoor KOLs, delicacy KOLs, etc.
Therefore basically, the city marketing is the process of creating an association, linking the subject to an image and making the rest of the factors infinitely closer to that image as well. Being able to implant a new connection(awareness) into the consciousness of the consumers, that's what marketing is all about, and also the foundation for building a brand.