Standards Development

Scope

(Please see the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1, Annex C, Clause C.4.3)

Standardization in the field of terminology, requirements, guidance, practices, tools and methods for organizations and professionals conducting digital marketing.

Excluded: Digital marketing activities that will lead to E-commerce transactions and relevant work within the scopes of the following committees:

ISO/IEC JTC 1 (Information technology)

ISO/TC154 (Processes, data elements and documents in commerce, industry and administration)

ISO/TC 207 (Environmental management)

ISO/TC 225 (Market, opinion and social research)

ISO/TC 307 (Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies)

ISO/TC 321 (Transaction assurance in E-commerce)

ISO/TC 324 (Sharing economy)

Note: In parallel, the proposed TC works in cooperation with existing committees on subjects that may support digital marketing.

Purpose

   (Please see the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1, Annex C, Clause C.4.13)

- Marketing is about identifying and meeting human and social needs in a way that harmonizes with    the goals of the organization 1, which is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers and clients, partners, and society at large. Marketing permeates all aspects of the society. Specifically, marketing typically involves 10 different domains, which also can be seen as the target of marketing, that are goods, services, events, experiences, persons, places, properties, organizations, information, and ideas. Marketing can  be  executed  through  various  methods,  including  traditional  marketing  and  digital  marketing.  Traditional  marketing encompasses methods such as print ads, television commercials, and direct mail, which have been widely used for decades.

- On the other hand, digital Marketing is a type of marketing that involves using new media or digital technology to achieve marketing and business goals. It is perceived as innovative communication and interaction with the target group through digital  channels,  using  technology  to  promote  goods,  services,  events,  experiences,  persons,  places,  properties, organizations, information, and ideas to build brand reputation, acquire customers, boost sales, and achieve other marketing objectives (including community building and engagement, partnership development, etc.).

- Obviously, digital marketing is a horizontal concept that can be applied to all sectors of all industries, all organizations (e.g., enterprises, government, charity organizations, and other NGOs), and all scenarios (online and offline), and all steps (Figure 1).

- What is marketed through digital marketing is not limited to goods and services. The purpose of digital marketing is not limited to transactions or revenue growth. For example, destination management organizations (DMOs) can use digital marketing to promote destinations, politicians can use digital marketing during elections or online affirmative action campaigns, and all the ISO TCs use digital marketing to communicate and engage with stakeholders.

- Digital marketing can help online and offline organizations achieve both marketing and business goals. For example, brick-and-mortar stores and restaurants are using digital marketing to promote their organizations and services, but transactions and consumption take place offline. Therefore, digital marketing can facilitate offline transactions and offline business without transactions that are not covered by e-commerce.

- According to Prof.Philip Kotler’s 5A model 2, this is by creating awareness for your brand (Aware),  appealing to customers' curiosity (Appeal), assisting them in their research process (Ask), encouraging action (Act), and building advocacy and loyalty (Advocate). This model can be seen as the journey or phase of digital marketing. At the Phase of “ACT”, individuals may take actions visiting, voting, attending, buying, commenting, etc. It is no doubt that the transaction in E-commerce exists in the "ACT" phase of the 5A Model, but only as one type of the actions attributable to online buying.

Please see draft for Figure 1 Prof. Philip Kotler's 5A Model

Digital marketing and e-commerce related occupations, as classified by the European Skills, Competences, Qualifications, and Occupations (ESCO), highlight distinct roles and focuses. Digital marketing professionals concentrate on using digital channels to communicate and engage with audiences, utilizing creative and strategic methods to enhance brand visibility and user engagement through content creation across various platforms like social media and SEO. In contrast, e-commerce professionals are tasked with facilitating online transactions, managing e-commerce platforms, and optimizing the online shopping experience to streamline the buying and selling processes. Their roles encompass the technical and operational aspects required to support online sales, including logistics and supply chain management. While both career paths require a robust understanding of digital tools, their core objectives differ significantly: digital marketing aims to build relationships and brand awareness, whereas e-commerce focuses on sales conversion and operational efficiency.

Digital marketing can be classified according to channel, target, content form, technology, etc. Each type under the category generates new demands for standardization as the world grows and develops:

- From the perspective of channels, digital marketing includes various communication channels, such as search engine marketing (SEM), social media marketing, email marketing, content marketing, mobile application marketing, etc. Each channel has unique characteristics and advantages. Therefore, corresponding standards are needed to standardize and optimize marketing practices.From the perspective of the goals, digital marketing can develop strategies for different goals, including brand building, sales  promotion,  customer  relationship  management,  etc.  Other  marketing  objectives  require  different  guidance standards to ensure the expected results are achieved and maximize the maximum return on investment.

- From the perspective of content form, digital marketing includes various forms such as text content, images, videos, interactive experiences, etc. Different types of content need to meet specific standards to ensure user experience, content quality, and compliance.

- From the perspective of the technology involved in digital marketing, such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, etc., corresponding standards are needed to guide their application and ensure the rational use of technology and data security.

Digital marketing offers benefits over traditional marketing, such as lower cost, higher ROI, measurability, personalization, and they are profoundly different in their communication style and impact on consumers. Digital marketing makes it easier for consumers to obtain information about products, services, and brands with convenient access, thereby enhancing their decision-making ability. For business, international trade and economic connectivity through digital channels promote market globalization, and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) could have a better chance to compete with large enterprises. Digital marketing creates new jobs in the operation and management of digital marketing, digital marketers are currently one of the main groups of freelancers internationally, followed by software developers, professional designers, and copywriters. Digital marketing makes it easier for individuals to build personal brands and become opinion leaders.

Digital marketing has not only achieved success at the business level but also plays a leading role in social development and sustainability, contributing to building a more sustainable, inclusive, and prosperous future society through information dissemination, awareness advocacy, and industry self-development. In this way, digital marketing contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goals 1, 4, 5, 8 12 and 13, as follows:

- Eradicating Poverty. Digital marketing raises awareness about poverty through digital channels, attracting attention, support, and assistance, and promoting efforts to reduce and eliminate poverty, protecting vulnerable groups. Digital marketing offers low cost of marketing to remote areas and therefore encourages entrepreneurship to eliminate poverty. (Support  Goal 1 No poverty)

- Developing  Talent  and  Industry.  The  rapid  growth  of  digital  marketing  creates  quality  employment  opportunities worldwide and enhances digital skills and education, laying a foundation for achieving Goals 4 (Quality education) and Goal 8 (Decent work and economic growth).

- Promoting  Gender  Equality.  Digital  marketing  challenges  gender  stereotypes,  urging  society  to  address  gender differences and discrimination. It fosters new perspectives and motivation for gender equality and ensures equal opportunities in professional selection within the industry ( Support Goal 5 Gender equality).

- Encouraging Responsible Consumption and Production. Digital marketing does not generate many waste or toxic substances directly. By emphasizing sustainable consumption and production concepts and raising awareness of reduction and recycling, it encourages responsible consumption patterns ( Support Goal 12 Responsible Consumption and Production).

- Advancing Climate Action. Through digital channels, digital marketing raises awareness about climate change issues, mobilizes support for climate initiatives, as well as promotes efforts to reduce carbon footprints through reducing hard copy material waste ( Support Goal 13 Climate Action).

Digital marketing has a profound impact on businesses, consumers, practitioners, governments, and society and raises a series of challenges and issues that need to be addressed. International standards would improve the efficiency of resource use,  accelerate  industrial  expansion  and  integration,  harmonize  classification  and  relevant  definitions  and  address  the interchangeable, cross-platform challenges. Marketing as important as human resource, finance and operation are the four basic function of organizations requires standardization. However, ISO/IWA 41:2023 Guidelines for live streaming marketing service remains as the only marketing related ISO standards currently, we need more engagement in the future.

The aim of this proposed TC is to provide standards for terminology, requirements, guidance, practices, tools, and methods for organizations and professionals conducting digital marketing. The proposed TC will contribute to:

- Provide unified guidance for the joint development of the global digital marketing industry and promote business connectivity among countries.

- Regulate the behavior of digital marketing practitioners, avoid inappropriate behavior such as misuse of data and dissemination of false information, and improve the overall ethical level of the industry.

- Improve the overall quality level of the digital marketing industry,and reduce low-quality, fraudulent, and harmful practices, thereby enhancing the reputation and sustainability of the entire industry.

- Encourage  competition  and  innovation  in  the  digital  marketing  industry,  provide  clear  rules  and  frameworks  for organizations, and drive their development towards higher quality standards.

- Help consumers, businesses, and other stakeholders to participate more confidently in digital marketing while adapting to and adopting new technologies by creating a trusted digital marketing ecosystem.