In the previous three chapters, you learned about engaging consumers and communicating customer value through integrated marketing communication and about four elements of the marketing communications mix: advertising, publicity, personal selling, and sales promotion. In this chapter, we examine direct marketing and its fastest-growing form: digital marketing (online, social media, and mobile marketing). Today, spurred by the surge in internet usage and buying as well as rapid advances in digital technologies—from smartphones, tablets, and other digital devices to the spate of online mobile and social media—direct marketing has undergone a dramatic transformation. As you read this chapter, remember that although direct and digital marketing are presented as separate tools, they must be carefully integrated with each other and with other elements of the promotion and marketing mixes.

Let’s start by looking at Amazon, a company that markets only directly and digitally. In little more than 20 years, Amazon has blossomed from an obscure dot-com upstart into one of the most powerful names on the internet. According to one survey, an amazing 40 percent of people turn to Amazon.com first when searching for or buying products online. How has Amazon become such an ­incredibly successful direct and online marketer in such a short time? It’s all about creating customer engagement, value, and relationships through personal and satisfying online customer experiences. Few online marketers do that as well as Amazon.com.