Digital Persuasive Communication
Table of Contents
1. The Digital Advertising Landscape ............................................................................................ 3
1.1. Evolution of digital marketing .......................................................................................... 4
1.2. Digital marketing through time......................................................................................... 5
1.3. Recent evolutions ..........................................................................................................10
1.4. AR & VR .......................................................................................................................11
1.5. AI ................................................................................................................................12
1.6. Capability to be measured ..............................................................................................20
1.7. Regulations (see class of Marketing Ethiek).......................................................................24
1.8. Customer engagement ...................................................................................................27
1.9. Willingsness to accept technology ...................................................................................28
2. Digital Marketing Strategy ......................................................................................................32
2.1. Defining a Digital Marketing Strategy ...............................................................................32
2.2. Audit & Situation analysis ...............................................................................................39
2.2.1. Internal factors: Organization review (micro-analysis) ................................................41
2.2.2. Customer insights..................................................................................................42
2.2.3. Who are our customers (segmentation)?..................................................................44
2.2.4. Customer journey..................................................................................................47
2.2.5. External factors .....................................................................................................54
2.2.6. Macro-environment analysis...................................................................................54
2.2.7. Stakeholders .........................................................................................................56
2.2.8. Competitor review.................................................................................................58
2.3. Strategy .......................................................................................................................62
2.4. Building the digital marketing plan...................................................................................71
2.4.1. Evaluation: Metrics & Analytics ...............................................................................78
3. The Digital Marketing Toolbox ................................................................................................84
3.1. Email ...........................................................................................................................91
3.2. Websites ......................................................................................................................98
3.3. Podcasts..................................................................................................................... 103
3.4. Social media ............................................................................................................... 106
3.5. The honeycomb model (Kietzmann et al., 2011) .............................................................. 110
3.6. Types of social media marketing (paid vs. organic) ........................................................... 114
3.6.1. Paid social media marketing.................................................................................. 115
3.6.2. Organic social media marketing............................................................................. 117
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,4. Influencer Marketing (Guest lecture: Klara Verzele & Marijke De Veirman)................................ 119
4.1. Part 1 (Guest lecture: Klara Verzele) ............................................................................... 119
4.1.1. How not to fail in influencer marketing .................................................................. 120
4.1.2. Influencers vs. content creators............................................................................. 121
4.1.3. Influencer marketing in practice ............................................................................ 121
4.1.4. Trends and opportunities in 2025 .......................................................................... 126
4.2. Deel 2 (Guest lecture: Marijke De Veirman) .................................................................... 127
4.2.1. Key points from the slides .................................................................................... 127
4.2.2. SMI Barometer.................................................................................................... 128
5. SEO & Analytics (Guest lecture: Tina Van der Heyden) ............................................................. 129
5.1. SEO............................................................................................................................ 129
5.2. Analytics .................................................................................................................... 145
6. Online advertising (Guest lecture: Celine Barremaecker) ......................................................... 148
6.1. Part 1: Online advertising channels + target audiences ..................................................... 148
6.1.1. Online advertising channels and their strengths ...................................................... 148
6.1.2. Defining target audiences ..................................................................................... 153
6.2. Part 2: Develop online advertising strategy ..................................................................... 155
6.2.1. Building funnels .................................................................................................. 155
6.2.2. How to create a campaign plan ............................................................................. 155
6.2.3. Analyzes and reports ........................................................................................... 156
6.2.4. Budgeting ........................................................................................................... 160
6.3. Part 3: A dive into the advertising channels..................................................................... 161
7. Generative AI in Marketing (Guest lecture: Geert Van Boven) .................................................. 162
7.1. How do machines learn? .............................................................................................. 164
7.2. Large Language Models (LLM’s) ..................................................................................... 166
7.3. Tone of voice: How to make ChatGPT sound like you want ................................................ 169
7.4. Form: How to make ChatGPT produce the right output .................................................... 171
7.5. Prompt tips................................................................................................................. 172
7.6. AI & images ................................................................................................................ 175
7.7. Real life examples ........................................................................................................ 177
7.8. Prompt....................................................................................................................... 179
7.9. Key players ................................................................................................................. 180
7.10. Audio: TTS and SST ...................................................................................................... 183
7.11. Video ......................................................................................................................... 184
8. Gen AI @ DPG Media (Guest lecture: Valerie De Naeyer) ......................................................... 185
8.1. AI .............................................................................................................................. 185
8.2. DPG Media & Generative AI applications ........................................................................ 193
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, 1. The Digital Advertising Landscape
Defining ‘digital marketing’
“Any marketing methods conducted through electronic devices which
utilize some form of a computer. This includes online marketing efforts
conducted on the internet.” (American Marketing Association)”
Defining ‘digital advertising’
… advertising that employs digital technology (hardware, soft-ware, and communication
technologies) in the execution of marketing plans (Boddu et al., 2022).
It has revolutionized how brands interact with consumers, offering precise targeting, measurable
results, and the ability to reach global audiences.
From Print to Pixels: why brands are moving to digital?
Traditional media TV, radio and print ads still have a place but are
limited in reach and targeting capabilities
Digital revolution The rise of the internet has dramatically shifted ad spending towards
digital due to its flexibility, measurable impact and reach
Why digital advertising matters: key advantages
• Precise targeting: advertisers can use detailed user data to craft personalized ads
• Interactive & engaging: digital ads allow for real-time user interaction (e.g. comments, clicks,
shares)
• Data-driven: instant feedback through analytics, leading to higher ROI → measurable results
• Cost-effectiveness: compared to traditional media, digital ads are scalable, making them
accessible to businesses of all sizes
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, 1.1. Evolution of digital marketing
Starting from a visionary quote
“In the future, there will be computers everywhere and we will not notice their
presence. They will just be there, seamlessly integrated into the world at large”
Concept of “calm computing” and “ubiquitous computing”
Mark Weiser (head of the Computer Science Laboratory at the Xerox Palo Alto
Research Center) (1952 –1999)
Ubiquitous computing (= pervasive computing)
= a concept that refers to a world where technology seamlessly integrates into our environment and
everyday objects making it invisible to users
➔ Informs, interacts without being intrusive
➔ VB: video shoes1
Internet of Things (IOT)
= refers to a network of physical devices, vehicles, appliances and other
physical objects that are embedded with sensors, software and network
connectivity, allowing them to collect and share data
Digital disruption
= major marketplace changes of sector transformation following the application of technology
• 1995: Amazon disrupted the traditional book-selling market
• 1997: Netflix disrupted the traditional video-hire market
• 2008: Airbnb disrupted the accommodation sector
• 2009: Uber disrupted taxi services
Reshaping financing models/ad system content platforms (e.g. streaming services, podcasting)
“ a cheaper, ad-supported Netflix tier” – as the company tries to stem the loss of more than 1 million
subscribers in 2022
1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=39&v=MsiP7Hy61_4&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F
%2Fhubblecontent.osi.office.net%2F&source_ve_path=MzY4 NDIsMzY4NDIsMjM4NTE
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,1.2. Digital marketing through time
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,Email marketing (1970s)
• First unsolicited bulk commercial email by Gary Thuerk (marketing representative for Digital
Equipment Corporation (DEC), a major American computer company
• “On May 3, 1978, Thuerk composed an email advertising an open house for DEC's latest
computer systems and sent it to 393 recipients. The message was addressed to every user
with an ARPANET account on the West Coast of the United States, an unprecedented move
that shocked the community.
• Response to Thuerk's email was … negative BUT The open house generated a significant
amount of interest, with attendees purchasing more than $12 million worth of computer
equipment,
• => The birth of SPAM
https://yourstory.com/2023/05/origin-email-spam-digital-communication
First clickable display ad (1994)
“First (claimed) clickable web ad was a banner advertisement for AT&T on HotWired.com in 1994”
→ 44% CTR
“Part of AT&T’s larger “You Will” campaign, which included a series of television commercials
featuring predicted scenes from an internet-enabled future—in many cases quite accurately.”
Pop-up ads (1997)
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,The rise of Search Advertising & Programmatic Advertising
• Search engine marketing (SEM)
• Introducing the pay for placement (P4P) and introducing the pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
models
• Introduction Google Adwords/Google Ads
o Google wanted to create a sponsored search experience that generated revenue
without compromising the quality and relevancy of search results.
o Creation of quality score: determines placement of ad in combination with bidding
o Quality score is still used today
• Video: “How does Google Ads works?” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV4DCdyLNgU)
o As an advertiser, you pay Google each time someone clicks on your website
o You can target by key words, device, location, …
o You need to split test your ad-copy
o The better your click-through-rate is, the lower Google will charge you per click (= the
funnel)
(Hyper-) Targetted ads & Programmatic advertising
Targetted ads in social media
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,Programmatic advertising2
• SSP (Supply side platform) → publishers: websites, apps
• DSP (demand side platform) → advertisers: brands
Native advertising (2010+)
• … is paid advertising that matches the look, feel, and function of the media it appears on
(Definition Native Advertising Institute)
• … the use of paid ads that fit seamlessly into the media where they appear.
They blend in to match the content so that they don’t disrupt the viewer’s experience. In this way,
advertisers can post content that hooks viewers’ attention by not being an obvious ad (Hubspot,
2023)
2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPVMGM0oEKQ
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,Social media ads (2010+)
Characteristics
• Integrated
• Interactive
• Personalized
• New goals
Influencer marketing
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, 1.3. Recent evolutions
Hype or revolution? → Hype Cycle3
The Gartner Hype Cycle is a chart that visualises the life cycle of emerging technologies. This chart
shows five phases:
I. Innovation Trigger: A new technology generates a lot of media attention and interest.
II. Peak of Inflated Expectations: Expectations surrounding the technology are high, but often
unrealistic.
III. Trough of Disillusionment: The technology does not meet the high expectations and interest
declines.
IV. Slope of Enlightenment: The technology is further developed and the benefits become
clearer.
V. Plateau of Productivity: The technology becomes mainstream and is widely adopted.
The Hype Cycle helps to estimate which stage a technology is in and to create realistic expectations.
3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB1RDz9jaj0
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