The place is the promotion. The emerging role of selling places and spaces
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7433/s93.2014.10Keywords:
marketing, communication, distribution, storeAbstract
Purpose of the paper: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the strategic and integrated use of communication and distribution.
Methodology: The selection of case studies and the analytical procedure rest on grounded theory methodology.
Findings: The analysis of three case studies shows a gradual shift in consumer goods industries from traditional marketing communication to in-store marketing, including digital stores. The success of the companies that have experienced the integrated communication and distribution strategy seems to rely on leveraging on distribution channels as means of communication and not only of selling.
Research limits: This contribution has limitations. In particular, we relied on a qualitative analysis based on three case studies, so we can only support an analytical generalization of our findings.
Practical implications: The analysed companies have developed strong brand value and a proactive approach to innovation, changing traditional market rules and applying an innovative integration between communication and distribution. They have been able to create a new distribution and communication model based on the intersection between the following three marketing drivers: ambient (store), people and the web.
Originality of the paper: The investment and financial consequences are discussed.
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