In the heyday of information technology, people utilize it to help them with anything, doing business included. Ferrel notes that there is a term for that – e-business, which means running traditional business and achieving its goals with the help of the Internet (403). In its turn, people use the Internet by the means of digital media, which are electronic media functioning by using digital codes (Ferrel 403). That is, when talking about digital media, one talks about media accessible through digital devices such as computers, PC tablets, smartphones, and other ones released recently.
Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses digital media to build a relationship with customers. It can be any type of digital media, from the Internet and mobile communication to interactive communication channels (Ferrel 403). To succeed, digital marketing, just like traditional business marketing, needs to implement strategies to create products wanted or needed by customers, rather than simply advancing a brand name or reducing online transactions costs (Ferrel 405). However, digital technology has had its specific impact on the way businesses are run – and on the type of business crimes pulled.
For one, a recent lawsuit filed against Google by a number of American attorneys general alleges that the company maintained control over the digital advertising market by fraud. The Guardian reports that Google appropriated the difference between the ad costs announced to advertisers and publishers and used this money to enlarge its digital monopoly. The new details about this case are continuing to appear while the public watches with interest to see how the technology giant will respond to the charges and deal with the lawsuit.
Works Cited
Bhuiyan, Johana. “Lawsuit Claims Facebook and Google CEOs Were Aware of Deal to Control Advertising Sales.” The Guardian, 2022.
Ferrell, O. C., et al. Business Foundations: A Changing World. 12th ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2019.