TITLE:
The Role of Technology in the Marketing Communications Industry: An Exploratory Study of the Impact of North American Influence on Local Business in Trinidad and Tobago
AUTHORS:
Prahalad Sooknanan, Karen Crichlow
KEYWORDS:
Internet, e-Marketing, ICT, Global Marketing, Local Business, North American Influence
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Journalism and Communication,
Vol.2 No.3,
August
20,
2014
ABSTRACT: New communication technologies such as the Internet are causing sweeping changes within the global marketing communications industry. Therefore, the implications of e-marketing for business in Trinidad and Tobago are profound as seen in a national plan to address this need. This study examines the efforts of local businesses and consumers to get on the e-marketing bandwagon already commonplace in the U.S. Two surveys were conducted among local businesses and local consumers to determine their readiness and/or success. In spite of governmental efforts to expand Internet capabilities, lethargy and lack of access still plague local businesses. This contrasts with local consumers who are more receptive to e-marketing expressing an increasing demand for online information. It is therefore imperative for the T&T government to address the deficiencies in its ICT plan so that local businesses and consumers can catch up with the rest of the world before the gap widens to a point where it becomes impossible to do so.