There are different areas in the business world that continue to experience significant transformations in the way they operate due to the adoption and proliferation of different technologies in the societies across the globe. One of these areas is marketing. In reference to Ryan (2016), the emergence of different technologies continues to promote the evolution of the marketing field, thus altering the way businesses communicate with their existing and potential customers. Whereas technologies such as the radio and the television had a great impact on marketing, the emergence of digital market in the 21st century is poised to have a far greater impact on marketing than all the previous technologies. This is particularly the case considering the fact that the amount of time that people spend using different forms of digital technologies such as the internet and social media continues to rise (Stephen, 2016). For example, Stephen (2016) observes that in the United Kingdom, adults spent online close to 20.5 hours per week, with most of them spending this time on social media. Thus, this increasing exposure to social and digital media continues to fuel the growth of digital marketing because of the opportunities it provides to businesses across the globe.
由于全球社会对不同技术的采用和扩散，商业世界中的不同领域在运作方式上继续经历重大变革。其中一个领域是营销。参考Ryan（2016），不同技术的出现继续推动营销领域的发展，从而改变企业与其现有和潜在客户的沟通方式。尽管广播和电视等技术对营销产生了巨大影响，但21世纪数字市场的出现对营销的影响将远大于之前的所有技术。考虑到人们使用不同形式的数字技术（如互联网和社交媒体）的时间持续增长，情况尤其如此（Stephen，2016）。例如，Stephen（2016）观察到，在英国，成年人每周上网时间接近20.5小时，其中大多数人将这段时间花在社交媒体上。因此，越来越多的社交和数字媒体继续推动数字营销的增长，因为它为全球企业提供了机会。
The number of businesses that utilise digital marketing as a way to communicate with their existing and potential customers is rising rapidly. Among the brands that have increased their online presence as a way to market themselves and their products is the multinational retail fashion company, H&M Group. This company traces its history way back to 1947 and has since grown into a multinational retail company with nine unique brands namely H&M, Monki, COS, Weekday, H&M Home, Afound, Cheap Monday, & Other Stories, and ARKET. The company depends on its diverse brands to target and reach and reach diverse consumers in the markets in which it has established its operations. The success of this company is attributed to its marketing approach to different markets, and is considered one of the most successful retail clothing companies that rely on digital marketing to reach its target consumers. This study therefore explores the effectiveness of H&M’s digital marketing campaigns in its sales promotion activities.
利用数字营销与现有和潜在客户沟通的企业数量正在迅速增加。跨国零售时尚公司H&M Group是提高其在线知名度以推销自身及其产品的品牌之一。这家公司的历史可以追溯到1947年，后来发展成为一家跨国零售公司，拥有9个独特的品牌，即H&M、Monki、COS、Weekday、H&M Home、Afound、廉价星期一和其他故事以及ARKET。该公司依靠其多样化的品牌，在其建立业务的市场中瞄准并接触到不同的消费者。该公司的成功归功于其针对不同市场的营销方法，并被认为是依靠数字营销达到目标消费者的最成功的零售服装公司之一。因此，本研究探讨了H&M数字营销活动在其促销活动中的有效性。
1.2 Statement of the Problem 问题陈述
As mentioned above, digital marketing is fast gaining popularity and acceptance among markets as an effective way that businesses and organisations across the globe can rely upon to reach their target customers. In their analysis of digital marketing and why it matters in the modern world, Tiago and Veríssimo (2014) argue that businesses in the 21st century cannot ignore this form of marketing since the growth of online communities is fast changing the consumer behaviour, thus necessitating the adoption of new marketing approaches. Similarly, despite the fast growth of digital marketing, there is little research that has been conducted to establish the effectiveness of this marketing approach, especially when considering the return on marketing investment metrics. Similarly, the inability to understand its effectiveness implies that most firms are yet to establish ways of enhancing their digital marketing campaigns in order to obtain optimum results in the digital market.
如上所述，数字营销作为一种有效的方式，正在迅速获得市场的欢迎和接受，全球的企业和组织都可以依靠这种方式来达到他们的目标客户。Tiago和Veríssimo（2014）在分析数字营销及其在现代世界的重要性时指出，21世纪的企业不能忽视这种营销形式，因为在线社区的增长正在快速改变消费者行为，因此必须采用新的营销方法。类似地，尽管数字营销发展迅速，但很少有研究证明这种营销方法的有效性，特别是在考虑营销投资回报指标时。同样，无法理解其有效性意味着大多数公司还没有建立增强其数字营销活动的方法，以便在数字市场中获得更佳效果。