Mobile Marketing and Innovation: Saviours for Tourism During the Pandemic

Even though mobile marketing is acknowledged as one of the most personal and effective approaches to marketing, research on mobile marketing during times of crisis is limited. Following the COVID-19 outbreak, mobile marketing blossomed to capture customers’ attention, providing an opportunity to study how mobile marketing may assist companies in overcoming the crisis and uncertainty. The current study attempts to investigate the impact of the crisis on mobile marketing and how innovation helps companies apply mobile marketing in the crisis through an analysis of mobile marketing content and strategies before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, using three cases from the tourism industry in China. According to the findings, mobile marketing is an effective marketing strategy in times of crisis and uncertainty since it offers companies an effective communication channel with customers and brings marketing benefits. Furthermore, innovation enables companies to respond rapidly to crises and supports their post-crisis recovery. Further, customer value co-creation was attainable during lockdowns based on mobile marketing and innovation integration. These findings have practical implications for businesses that strive to recover and grow after the crisis.