Strategy in Direct and Interactive Marketing and Integrated Marketing Communications

Continuing advances in database management and communication technologies have greatly accelerated the ability of marketing to become more direct, highly focused, and increasingly interactive. Academic programs must be able to provide students with both the theoretical knowledge and the applied skills to meet the business expectations and provide students with distinctive and sustainable career advantages. Professionals in direct and interactive marketing (DIM) and integrated marketing communications (IMC) have worked to reach a profitable balance between science and art as well as technique and creativity. At its best, DIM in IMC combines the freedom to explore new worlds of creativity with the discipline of measured response. This paper offers an overview of direct and interactive marketing strategy concepts, presented in ways that encourage effective teaching and learning.