Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses
the Internet and online-based digital technologies such as desktop computers,
mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and
services. Its development during the 1990s and 2000s changed the way brands and
businesses use technology for marketing.
As digital platforms became increasingly incorporated
into marketing plans and everyday life, and as people increasingly used digital
devices instead of visiting physical shops, digital marketing campaigns have
become prevalent, employing combinations of search engine optimization, search
engine marketing, content marketing, influencer marketing, content automation,
campaign marketing, data-driven marketing, e-commerce marketing, social media
marketing, social media optimization, e-mail direct marketing, display
advertising, e-books, and optical disks and games have become commonplace.
Digital marketing extends to non-Internet channels that
provide digital media, such as television, mobile phones, callbacks, and
on-hold mobile ring tones. The extension to non-Internet channels
differentiates digital marketing from online marketing.
History
Digital marketing effectively began in 1990 when the
Archie search engine was created as an index for FTP sites. In the 1980s, the
storage capacity of computers was already big enough to store huge volumes of
customer information. Companies started choosing online techniques, such as
database marketing, rather than limited list broker. Databases allowed
companies to track customers' information more effectively, transforming the
relationship between buyer and seller.
In the 1990s, the term digital marketing was coined. With
the development of server/client architecture and the popularity of personal
computers, Customer Relationship Management applications became a significant
factor in marketing technology. Fierce competition forced vendors to include
more services into their software, for example, marketing, sales and service
applications.
Marketers were also able to own online customer data
through eCRM software after the Internet was born. This led to the first
clickable banner ad going live in 1994, which was the "You Will"
campaign by AT&T and over the first four months of it going live, 44% of
all people who saw it clicked on the ad.
In the 2000s, with increasing numbers of Internet users
and the birth of the iPhone, customers began searching for products and making
decisions about their needs online first, instead of consulting a salesperson,
which created a new problem for the marketing department of a company.
In addition, a survey in 2000 in the United Kingdom found
that most retailers had not registered their own domain address. These problems
encouraged marketers to find new ways to integrate digital technology into
market development.
In 2007, marketing automation was developed as a response
to the ever-evolving marketing climate. Marketing automation is the process by
which software is used to automate conventional marketing processes. Marketing
automation helped companies segment customers, launch multichannel marketing
campaigns, and provide personalized information for customers.,
Digital marketing became more sophisticated in the 2000s
and the 2010s,
when the proliferation of devices' capable of accessing
digital media led to sudden growth. Statistics produced in 2012 and 2013 showed
that digital marketing was still growing.
With the development of social media in the 2000s, such
as LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, consumers became highly dependent
on digital electronics in daily lives. Therefore, they expected a seamless user
experience across different channels for searching product's information. The
change of customer behavior improved the diversification of marketing
technology.
The term "Digital Marketing" was coined in the
1990's. Digital marketing was formally known as and referred to as 'online
marketing', 'internet marketing' or 'web marketing'. Worldwide digital
marketing has become the most common used term and took off in the business
industry, especially after the year 2013. But in other countries like Italy,
digital marketing is still known as web marketing.
Digital media growth was estimated at 4.5 trillion online
ads served annually with digital media spend at 48% growth in 2010. An
increasing portion of advertising stems from businesses employing Online
Behavioural Advertising to tailor advertising for internet users, but OBA
raises concern of consumer privacy and data protection.
Unlike traditional marketing techniques, which involve
direct, one-way messaging to consumers, nonlinear digital marketing strategies
are centered on reaching prospective customers across multiple online channels.
Combined with higher consumer knowledge and the demand
for more sophisticated consumer offerings, this change has forced many
businesses to rethink their outreach strategy and adopt or incorporate
omnichannel, nonlinear marketing techniques to maintain sufficient brand
exposure, engagement, and reach.
Nonlinear marketing strategies involve efforts to adapt
the advertising to different platforms, and to tailor the advertising to
different individual buyers rather than a large coherent audience. According to
a 2018 study, nearly 90% of online consumers in the United States researched
products and brands online before visiting the store or making a purchase.
The Global Web Index estimated that in 2018, a little
more than 50% of consumers researched products on social media. Businesses
often rely on individuals portraying their products in a positive light on
social media, and may adapt their marketing strategy to target people with
large social media followings in order to generate such comments. In this
manner, businesses can use consumers to advertise their products or services,
decreasing the cost for the company.
Brand awareness
One of the key objectives of modern digital marketing is
to raise brand awareness, the extent to which customers and the general public
are familiar with and recognize a particular brand.
Enhancing brand awareness is important in digital
marketing, and marketing in general, because of its impact on brand perception
and consumer decision-making. According to the 2015 essay, "Impact of
Brand on Consumer Behavior":
"Brand awareness, as one of the fundamental
dimensions of brand equity, is often considered to be a prerequisite of
consumers’ buying decision, as it represents the main factor for including a
brand in the consideration set. Brand awareness can also influence consumers’
perceived risk assessment and their confidence in the purchase decision, due to
familiarity with the brand and its characteristics."
Recent trends show that businesses and digital marketers
are prioritizing brand awareness, focusing more on their digital marketing
efforts on cultivating brand recognition and recall than in previous years.
This is evidenced by a 2019 Content Marketing Institute study, which found that
81% of digital marketers have worked on enhancing brand recognition over the
past year.
Another Content Marketing Institute survey revealed 89%
of B2B marketers now believe improving brand awareness to be more important
than efforts directed at increasing sales.
Increasing brand awareness is a focus of digital
marketing strategy for a number of reasons:
The growth of online shopping. A survey by Statista
projects 230.5 million people in the United States will use the internet to
shop, compare, and buy products by 2021, up from 209.6 million in 2016.
Research from business software firm Salesforce found 87% of people began
searches for products and brands on digital channels in 2018.
The role of digital interaction in customer behavior.
It’s estimated that 70% of all retail purchases made in the U.S. are influenced
to some degree by an interaction with a brand online.
The growing influence and role of brand awareness in
online consumer decision-making: 82% of online shoppers searching for services
give preference to brands they know of.
The use, convenience, and influence of social media. A
recent report by Hootsuite estimated there were more than 3.4 billion active
users on social media platforms, a 9% increase from 2018. A 2019 survey by The
Manifest states that 74% of social media users follow brands on social sites,
and 96% of people who follow businesses also engage with those brands on social
platforms.
According to Deloitte, one in three U.S. consumers are
influenced by social media when buying a product, while 47% of millennials
factor their interaction with a brand on social when making a purchase.
Online methods used to build brand awareness
Digital marketing strategies may include the use of one
or more online channels and techniques to increase brand awareness among
consumers.
Building brand awareness may involve such methods/tools
as:
Search engine optimization
Search engine optimization techniques may be used to
improve the visibility of business websites and brand-related content for
common industry-related search queries.
The importance of SEO to increase brand awareness is said
to correlate with the growing influence of search results and search features
like featured snippets, knowledge panels, and local SEO on customer behavior.
Search engine marketing
SEM, also known as PPC advertising, involves the purchase
of ad space in prominent, visible positions atop search results pages and
websites. Search ads have been shown to have a positive impact on brand
recognition, awareness and conversions.
33% of searchers who click on paid ads do so because they
directly respond to their particular search query.
Social media marketing
Social media marketing has the characteristics of being
in the marketing state and interacting with consumers all the time, emphasizing
content and interaction skills. The marketing process needs to be monitored,
analyzed, summarized and managed in real-time, and the marketing target needs
to be adjusted according to the real-time feedback from the market and
consumers.
70% of marketers list increasing brand awareness as their
number one goal for marketing on social media platforms. Facebook, Instagram,
Twitter, and YouTube are listed as the top platforms currently used by social
media marketing teams. As of 2021, LinkedIn has been added as one of the
most-used social media platforms by business leaders for its professional
networking capabilities.
Content marketing
56% of marketers believe personalization content –
brand-centered blogs, articles, social updates, videos, landing pages –
improves brand recall and engagement.
Developments and strategies
One of the major changes that occurred in traditional
marketing was the "emergence of digital marketing", this led to the
reinvention of marketing strategies in order to adapt to this major change in
traditional marketing.
As digital marketing is dependent on technology which is
ever-evolving and fast-changing, the same features should be expected from
digital marketing developments and strategies. This portion is an attempt to
qualify or segregate the notable highlights existing and being used as of press
time.
Segmentation: More focus has been placed on segmentation
within digital marketing, in order to target specific markets in both
business-to-business and business-to-consumer sectors.
Influencer marketing: Important nodes are identified
within related communities, known as influencers. This is becoming an important
concept in digital targeting. Influencers allow brands to take advantage of
social media and the large audiences available on many of these platforms. Such
Advertisements are based on site retargeting are customized based on each user
behavior and pattern.
Collaborative Environment: A
collaborative environment can be set up between the organization, the
technology service provider, and the digital agencies to optimize effort,
resource sharing, reusability and communications. Additionally, organizations
are inviting their customers to help them better understand how to service
them.
This source of data is called user-generated content.
Much of this is acquired via company websites where the organization invites
people to share ideas that are then evaluated by other users of the site.
The most popular ideas are evaluated and implemented in
some form. Using this method of acquiring data and developing new products can
foster the organization's relationship with its customer as well as spawn ideas
that would otherwise be overlooked. UGC is low-cost advertising as it is
directly from the consumers and can save advertising costs for the
organization.
Data-driven advertising: Users
generate a lot of data in every step they take on the path of customer journey
and brands can now use that data to activate their known audience with
data-driven programmatic media buying. Without exposing customers' privacy,
users' data can be collected from digital channels, brands can also collect
data from real-world customer interactions, such as brick and mortar stores
visits and from CRM and sales engines datasets.
Also known as people-based marketing or addressable
media, data-driven advertising is empowering brands to find their loyal
customers in their audience and deliver in real time a much more personal
communication, highly relevant to each customers' moment and actions.
An important consideration today while deciding on a
strategy is that the digital tools have democratized the promotional landscape.
Remarketing: Remarketing plays a major role
in digital marketing. This tactic allows marketers to publish targeted ads in
front of an interest category or a defined audience, generally called searchers
in web speak, they have either searched for particular products or services or
visited a website for some purpose.
Game advertising: Game
ads are advertisements that exist within computer or video games. One of the
most common examples of in-game advertising is billboards appearing in sports
games. In-game ads also might appear as brand-name products like guns, cars, or
clothing that exist as gaming status symbols.
Six principles for building online brand content:
·
Do not consider individuals as
consumers;
·
Have an editorial position;
·
Define an identity for the
brand;
·
Maintain a continuity of
contents;
·
Ensure a regular interaction
with audience;
·
Have a channel for events.
The new digital era has enabled brands to selectively
target their customers that may potentially be interested in their brand or
based on previous browsing interests. Businesses can now use social media to
select the age range, location, gender, and interests of whom they would like
their targeted post to be seen.
Furthermore, based on a customer's recent search history
they can be ‘followed’ on the internet so they see advertisements from similar
brands, products, and services, This allows businesses to target the specific
customers that they know and feel will most benefit from their product or
service, something that had limited capabilities up until the digital era.
Tourism marketing: Advanced
tourism, responsible and sustainable tourism, social media and online tourism
marketing, and geographic information systems. As a broader research field
matures and attracts more diverse and in-depth academic research
Ineffective forms of digital marketing
Digital marketing activity is still growing across the
world according to the headline global marketing index. A study published in
September 2018, found that global outlays on digital marketing tactics are
approaching $100 billion. Digital media continues to rapidly grow. While the
marketing budgets are expanding, traditional media is declining. Digital media
helps brands reach consumers to engage with their product or service in a
personalized way.
Five areas, which are outlined as current industry
practices that are often ineffective are prioritizing clicks, balancing search
and display, understanding mobiles, targeting, viewability, brand safety and
invalid traffic, and cross-platform measurement. Why these practices are
ineffective and some ways around making these aspects effective are discussed
surrounding the following points.
Prioritizing clicks
Prioritizing clicks refers to display click ads, although
advantageous by being ‘simple, fast and inexpensive’ rates for display ads in
2016 is only 0.10 percent in the United States. This means one in a thousand
click ads is relevant therefore having little effect. This displays that
marketing companies should not just use click ads to evaluate the effectiveness
of display advertisements.
Cross-platform measurement
The number of marketing channels continues to expand, as
measurement practices are growing in complexity. A cross-platform view must be
used to unify audience measurement and media planning. Market researchers need
to understand how the Omni-channel affects consumer's behavior, although when
advertisements are on a consumer's device this does not get measured.
Significant aspects to cross-platform measurement involve deduplication and
understanding that you have reached an incremental level with another platform,
rather than delivering more impressions against people that have previously
been reached.
Targeting, viewability, brand safety, and invalid traffic
Targeting, viewability, brand safety, and invalid traffic
all are aspects used by marketers to help advocate digital advertising. Cookies
are a form of digital advertising, which are tracking tools within desktop
devices, causing difficulty, with shortcomings including deletion by web
browsers, the inability to sort between multiple users of a device, inaccurate
estimates for unique visitors, overstating reach, understanding frequency,
problems with ad servers, which cannot distinguish between when cookies have
been deleted and when consumers have not previously been exposed to an ad.
Due to the inaccuracies influenced by cookies,
demographics in the target market are low and vary. Digital marketing is
facilitated by multiple Digital Marketing channels, as an advertiser one's core
objective is to find channels which result in maximum two-way communication and
a better overall ROI for the brand. There are multiple digital marketing
channels available namely:
# Affiliate marketing - Affiliate marketing is
perceived to not be considered a safe, reliable, and easy means of marketing
through online platforms. This is due to a lack of reliability in terms of
affiliates that can produce the demanded number of new customers. As a result
of this risk and bad affiliates, it leaves the brand prone to exploitation in
terms of claiming commission that isn't honestly acquired. Legal means may
offer some protection against this, yet there are limitations in recovering any
losses or investment.
Despite this, affiliate marketing allows the brand to
market towards smaller publishers and websites with smaller traffic. Brands
that choose to use this marketing often should beware of such risks involved
and look to associate with affiliates in which rules are laid down between the
parties involved to assure and minimize the risk involved.
#Display advertising - As the term implies, online
display advertising deals with showcasing promotional messages or ideas to the
consumer on the internet. This includes a wide range of advertisements like
advertising blogs, networks, interstitial ads, contextual data, ads on search
engines, classified or dynamic advertisements, etc. The method can target
specific audience tuning in from different types of locals to view a particular
advertisement, the variations can be found as the most productive element of
this method.
#Email marketing - Email marketing in comparison
to other forms of digital marketing is considered cheap. It is also a way to
rapidly communicate a message such as their value proposition to existing or
potential customers. Yet this channel of communication may be perceived by
recipients to be bothersome and irritating especially to new or potential
customers, therefore the success of email marketing is reliant on the language
and visual appeal applied.
In terms of visual appeal, there are indications that
using graphics/visuals that are relevant to the message which is attempting to
be sent, yet less visual graphics to be applied with initial emails are more
effective in-turn creating a relatively personal feel to the email. In terms of
language, the style is the main factor in determining how captivating the email
is. Using a casual tone invokes a warmer, gentler and more inviting feel to the
email, compared to a more formal tone.
#Search engine marketing - Search engine marketing
is a form of Internet marketing that involves the promotion of websites by
increasing their visibility in search engine results pages primarily through
paid advertising. SEM may incorporate Search engine optimization, which adjusts
or rewrites website content and site architecture to achieve a higher ranking
in search engine results pages to enhance pay per click listings.
#Social Media Marketing - The term 'Digital
Marketing' has a number of marketing facets as it supports different channels
used in and among these, comes the Social Media. When we use social media
channels to market a product or service, the strategy is called Social Media
Marketing. It is a procedure wherein strategies are made and executed to draw
in traffic for a website or to gain the attention of buyers over the web using
different social media platforms.
#Social networking service - A social networking
service is an online platform which people use to build social networks or
social relations with other people who share similar personal or career
interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections
#In-game advertising - In-Game advertising is
defined as the "inclusion of products or brands within a digital
game." The game allows brands or products to place ads within their game,
either in a subtle manner or in the form of an advertisement banner. There are
many factors that exist in whether brands are successful in the advertising of
their brand/product, these being:
Type of game, technical platform, 3-D and 4-D technology,
game genre, congruity of brand and game, prominence of advertising within the
game. Individual factors consist of attitudes towards placement advertisements,
game involvement, product involvement, flow, or entertainment.
The attitude towards the advertising also takes into
account not only the message shown but also the attitude towards the game.
Dependent on how enjoyable the game is will determine how the brand is
perceived, meaning if the game isn't very enjoyable the consumer may
subconsciously have a negative attitude towards the brand/product being
advertised.
In terms of Integrated Marketing Communication
"integration of advertising in digital games into the general advertising,
communication, and marketing strategy of the firm" Online Video
Advertising usually consists of three types: Pre-Roll advertisements which play
before the video is watched, Mid-Roll advertisements which play during the
video, or Post-Roll advertisements which play after the video is watched.
Post-roll advertisements were shown to have better brand
recognition in relation to the other types, where-as "ad-context
congruity/incongruity plays an important role in reinforcing ad
memorability". The main advantage of video advertising is that it disrupts
the viewing experience of the video and therefore there is a difficulty in
attempting to avoid them.
How a consumer interacts with online video advertising
can come down to three stages: Pre attention, attention, and behavioral
decision. These online advertisements give the brand/business options and
choices. These consist of length, position, adjacent video content which all
directly affect the effectiveness of the produced advertisement time, Sharing
videos creates six different outcomes: these being "pleasure, affection,
inclusion, escape, relaxation, and control".
#Content Marketing - This is an approach to
marketing that focuses on gaining and retaining customers by offering helpful
content to customers that improves the buying experience and creates brand
awareness. A brand may use this approach to hold a customer’s attention with
the goal of influencing potential purchase decisions.
#Sponsored Content - This utilises content created
and paid for by a brand to promote a specific product or service.
#Inbound Marketing- a market strategy that
involves using content as a means to attract customers to a brand or product.
Requires extensive research into the behaviors, interests, and habits of the
brand's target market.
#SMS Marketing: Although the popularity is
decreasing day by day, still SMS marketing plays huge role to bring new user,
provide direct updates, provide new offers etc.
#Push Notification: In this digital era, Push
Notification responsible for bringing new and abandoned customer through smart
segmentation. Many online brands are using this to provide personalised appeals
depending on the scenario of customer acquisition.
It is important for a firm to reach out to consumers and
create a two-way communication model, as digital marketing allows consumers to
give back feedback to the firm on a community-based site or straight directly
to the firm via email. Firms should seek this long-term communication
relationship by using multiple forms of channels and using promotional
strategies related to their target consumer as well as word-of-mouth marketing.
surpasses internet marketing and also possesses
alternatives choices without the internet needed
top in presenting beneficial ways and features that
reach, inform, engage, offer, and sell services and products to consumers
businesses can attain data that present target audiences
based on their age, location, interests, and education
low investment, the cost per lead is 61% less expensive
than traditional marketing
able to reach every mobile user, there are over 14
billion worldwide mobile devices and with a projection to grow to almost 18
billion by the year 2024
Self-regulation
The ICC Code has integrated rules that apply to marketing
communications using digital interactive media throughout the guidelines. There
is also an entirely updated section dealing with issues specific to digital
interactive media techniques and platforms. Code self-regulation on the use of
digital interactive media includes:
Clear and transparent mechanisms to enable consumers to
choose not to have their data collected for advertising or marketing purposes;
Clear indication that a social network site is commercial
and is under the control or influence of a marketer;
Limits are set so that marketers communicate directly
only when there are reasonable grounds to believe that the consumer has an
interest in what is being offered;
Respect for the rules and standards of acceptable
commercial behavior in social networks and the posting of marketing messages
only when the forum or site has clearly indicated its willingness to receive
them;
Special attention and protection for children.
·
Strategy
·
Planning
Digital marketing planning is a term used in marketing
management. It describes the first stage of forming a digital marketing
strategy for the wider digital marketing system. The difference between digital
and traditional marketing planning is that it uses digitally based
communication tools and technology such as Social, Web, Mobile, Scannable
Surface. Nevertheless, both are aligned with the vision, the mission of the
company and the overarching business strategy.
Stages of planning
Using Dr. Dave Chaffey's approach, the digital marketing
planning has three main stages: Opportunity, Strategy, and Action. He suggests
that any business looking to implement a successful digital marketing strategy
must structure their plan by looking at opportunity, strategy and action. This
generic strategic approach often has phases of situation review, goal setting,
strategy formulation, resource allocation and monitoring.
They can set SMART objectives by reviewing the current
benchmarks and key performance indicators of the company and competitors. It is
pertinent that the analytics used for the KPIs be customized to the type,
objectives, mission, and vision of the company.
Companies can scan for marketing and sales opportunities
by reviewing their own outreach as well as influencer outreach. This means they
have competitive advantage because they are able to analyse their co-marketers
influence and brand associations.
To seize the opportunity, the firm should summarize its
current customers' personas and purchase journey from this they are able to
deduce their digital marketing capability. This means they need to form a clear
picture of where they are currently and how many resources, they can allocate
for their digital marketing strategy i.e., labor, time, etc.
By summarizing the purchase journey, they can also
recognize gaps and growth for future marketing opportunities that will either
meet objectives or propose new objectives and increase profit.
Strategy
To create a planned digital strategy, the company must
review their digital proposition and communicate it using digital customer
targeting techniques. So, they must define online value proposition, this means
the company must express clearly what they are offering customers online e.g.,
brand positioning.
The company should also select target market segments and
personas and define digital targeting approaches.
After doing this effectively, it is important to review
the marketing mix for online options. The marketing mix comprises the 4Ps –
Product, Price, Promotion, and Place. Some academics have added three
additional elements to the traditional 4Ps of marketing Process, Place, and
Physical appearance making it 7Ps of marketing.
Action
The third and final stage requires the firm to set a
budget and management systems. These must be measurable touchpoints, such as
the audience reached across all digital platforms. Furthermore, marketers must
ensure the budget and management systems are integrating the paid, owned, and
earned media of the company. The Action and final stage of planning also
requires the company to set in place measurable content creation e.g. oral,
visual or written online media.
After confirming the digital marketing plan, a scheduled
format of digital communications should be encoded throughout the internal
operations of the company. This ensures that all platforms used fall in line
and complement each other for the succeeding stages of digital marketing
strategy.
Understanding the market
One way marketers can reach out to consumers and
understand their thought process is through what is called an empathy map. An
empathy map is a four-step process. The first step is through asking questions
that the consumer would be thinking in their demographic. The second step is to
describe the feelings that the consumer may be having. The third step is to
think about what the consumer would say in their situation.
The final step is to imagine what the consumer will try
to do based on the other three steps. This map is so marketing teams can put
themselves in their target demographics shoes. Web Analytics are also a very
important way to understand consumers. They show the habits that people have
online for each website. One particular form of these analytics is predictive
analytics which helps marketers figure out what route consumers are on.
This uses the information gathered from other analytics
and then creates different predictions of what people will do so that companies
can strategize on what to do next, according to the people's trends.
Consumer behavior: the
habits or attitudes of a consumer that influences the buying process of a
product or service. Consumer behavior impacts virtually every stage of the
buying process specifically in relation to digital environments and devices.
Can assist companies in predicting future behavior of customers.
Buyer persona: employing research of consumer
behavior regarding habits like brand awareness and buying behavior to profile
prospective customers. Nowadays, the sharing economy has had an unimagined
effect on many traditional elements including labor, industry, and distribution
system. The sharing economy is influencing the traditional marketing channels
by changing the nature of some specific concept including ownership, assets,
and recruitment.
Digital Marketing channels, however, consist of internet
systems that create, promote, and deliver products or services from producer to
consumer through digital networks. Increasing changes to marketing channels has
been a significant contributor to the expansion and growth of the sharing
economy.
Such changes to marketing channels has prompted
unprecedented and historic growth. In addition to this typical approach, the
built-in control, efficiency and low cost of digital marketing channels is an
essential features in the application of sharing economy.
Digital marketing channels within the sharing economy are
typically divided into three domains including, e-mail, social media, and
search engine marketing or SEM.
E-mail- a form of direct marketing
characterized as being informative, promotional, and often a means of customer
relationship management. Organizations can update the activity or promotion
information to the user by subscribing the newsletter mail that happened in
consuming. Success is reliant upon a company’s ability to access contact
information from its past, present, and future clientele.
Social Media- Social media has the
capability to reach a larger audience in a shorter time frame than traditional
marketing channels. This makes social media a powerful tool for consumer
engagement and the dissemination of information.
Search Engine Marketing or SEM-
Requires more specialized knowledge of the technology embedded in online
platforms. This marketing strategy requires long-term commitment and dedication
to the ongoing improvement of a company’s digital presence.
Other emerging digital marketing channels, particularly
branded mobile apps, have excelled in the sharing economy. Branded mobile apps
are created specifically to initiate engagement between customers and the
company. This engagement is typically facilitated through entertainment,
information, or market transaction.