Digital and Mobile Marketing

Technology and tools of digital marketing. Understanding people through digital anthropology. Digital customers. Digital marketing and the digital economy. Digital marketing strategy and planning. Website design and development. Customer experience strategy (CX strategy). Customer journey mapping. Online and mobile shopping. Typology of digital promotion media and techniques. Social media marketing. Digital transformation and innovation in digital marketing – AI-driven marketing (chatbots), programmatic marketing/advertising, neuromarketing (eye tracking), the sharing economy model, the crowdsourcing/crowdfunding model, the gamification model, price comparison websites, Internet of Things (IoT). Search engine optimization. Metrics and data analysis. Mobile commerce today. In-app experiences and advertising. Mobile devices for marketing. Key characteristics of mobile marketing. Technology: the main features of mobile devices. Mobile marketing tools: forms of advertising.

The course “Digital Marketing in Tourism” aims to introduce students to the fundamental concepts and principles of digital marketing and to present their application in the contemporary business environment, with emphasis on linking theory with practice. Indicatively, the course covers topics such as direct marketing (traditional and digital), online marketing (websites, online advertising, email marketing, online video, and viral marketing), social media marketing (use, advantages, and management), and mobile marketing. Finally, the course includes case studies and international examples from the tourism and hospitality sector, as well as from other sectors.

Learning objectives:

• To provide students with the necessary theoretical background in the field of Digital Marketing and enable them to understand its key concepts, principles, and issues.
• To enable students to recognize the important role of Digital Marketing, with emphasis on linking theory with practice.
• To familiarize students with the practical application of Digital Marketing principles through the analysis of business strategies and practices.
• To enable students to understand the importance of Digital Marketing in the tourism and hospitality sector.

The course covers fundamental theories and models of information behavior, the identification of information needs and motivations for information seeking, the formation of preferences among different information sources and channels, as well as the management of barriers encountered during the information search process. The course also includes user research methods for studying information behavior, as well as contemporary analytical approaches such as the specialization of Wilson’s model for information seeking within specific socio-economic roles.

The course content is summarized as follows:

Week 1: Introduction to students and definition of the course framework – Digital Marketing in Tourism and its importance

Week 2: Introduction and basic concepts of Digital Marketing

Week 3: Connected customers and digital subcultures

Week 4: The new customer journey

Week 5: Case study / Assignment support seminar

Week 6: First presentation of group assignments (storyboards)

Week 7: Guest speaker presentation

Week 8: Productivity measurement indicators and industry archetypes

Week 9: Case study / Assignment support seminar

Week 10: Human-centered marketing

Week 11: Content marketing

Week 12: Final presentation of group assignments

Week 13: Course summary / Assignment support seminar

- Recommended Bibliography:

Dash, G., Kiefer, K., & Paul, J. (2021). Marketing-to-Millennials: Marketing 4.0, customer satisfaction and purchase intention. Journal of Business Research, 122, 608–620.
Kartajaya, H., Kotler, P., & Setiawan, I. (2016). Marketing 4.0: Moving from Traditional to Digital. John Wiley & Sons.
Munar, A. M., & Jacobsen, J. K. S. (2014). Motivations for sharing tourism experiences through social media. Tourism Management, 43, 46–54.
Jansson, A. (2018). Rethinking post-tourism in the age of social media. Annals of Tourism Research, 69, 101–110.
Sharma, A., Sharma, S., & Chaudhary, M. (2020). Are small travel agencies ready for digital marketing? Views of travel agency managers. Tourism Management, 79, 104078.
Stienmetz, J. L., Ferrer-Rosell, B., & Massimo, D. (2022). Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2022: Proceedings of the ENTER 2022 eTourism Conference, January 11–14, 2022.
Wörndl, W., Koo, C., & Stienmetz, J. L. (eds.) (2021). Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2021: Proceedings of the ENTER 2021 eTourism Conference, January 19–22, 2021. Springer Nature.
Zeng, B., & Gerritsen, R. (2014). What do we know about social media in tourism? A review. Tourism Management Perspectives, 10, 27–36.

- Relevant Scientific Journals:

Current Issues in Tourism
Annals of Tourism Research
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management
Journal of Travel Research
Tourism Management
Journal of Destination Marketing & Management

• Independent work
• Teamwork
• Search, analysis, and synthesis of data and information using appropriate technologies
• Demonstration of social, professional, and ethical responsibility and sensitivity to gender issues
• Critical thinking and self-reflection
• Work in an interdisciplinary environment
• Generation of new research ideas
• Promotion of free, creative, and inductive thinking

• Support of teaching and the learning process through the asynchronous e-learning platform Open Courses (document repository, user groups, online course assignments, file sharing, etc.) and the Zoom platform for synchronous teaching and communication with students.
• Use of the Turnitin text-matching software for similarity checking during the preparation and assessment of assignments and course exercises.
• Use of digital databases and indexing/search systems for the retrieval of scientific information through HEAL-Link.

I. Preparation of a group written assignment (70%)

II. Presentation of the group assignment (30%)

Support and guidance for the group assignment will be provided to students throughout the semester, both in written form and orally during lectures.