Distributed Multimedia: an edge to future marketing strategy

Edited version of a paper presented at the Eighth Biennial World Marketing Congress, June 24–27, 1997, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Marketing departments anywhere in the world today are quickly recognizing that information technology, and the Internet to be precise, provides an effective marketing strategy due to its potential capability of exposure to millions of people (who are potential customers) around the clock. The ability of the Internet to send product information and announcements, communicate with the press, and solicit feedback from customers, has made it a welcomed marketing tool. Multimedia, with its capability of integrating text, graphics, images, sound, video and animation has improved the situation, in that information can be sent and received not only in text form. Adding networks to multimedia will produce what is termed distributed multimedia. This paper highlights the conceptual framework of how distributed multimedia can be adopted as the future marketing strategy for companies of the future in Malaysia.