Integrated communications and integration of the communications industry: dynamics of concepts and processes in the scientific, educational and market space
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47475/2070-0695-2026-59-1-49-58Keywords:
integration, differentiation, marketing communications (MC), integrated marketing communications (IMC), integrated communications (IC), discipline curricula (DC), communications industry (CI), communication sciencesAbstract
It is well known that in the global and domestic political and socioeconomic space, there is a permanent competition between the phenomena of globalization (unification, integration) and differentiation (separation, delimitation, specialization). This same competition is also evident in the case of communication tools designed to ensure the creation of certain socio-governmental structures in each of these spaces. Concepts that can be used to trace the dynamics of these processes in the communications sphere include "marketing communications" (MC), "integrated marketing communications" (IMC), and "integrated communications" (IC). The purpose of this article is to present and prove the hypothesis that the emergence of new communication tools initially leads to their unification into a common complex to achieve a synergistic effect, and then again leads to their fragmentation into specialized formats. Moreover, both processes correspond to market trends, are recurring, and can be perceived as a certain cyclicality. Similar processes occur with specialists, departments, and companies in the communications industry. They initially emerge as new professional formations, then coalesce into local groups, from which larger associations emerge, ultimately culminating in formations that best meet new challenges.
The first part of the article documents the development of scholarly interpretations, with the trend toward the transition from intercommunication to integrated marketing communications (IMC) and then to information communications (IC) in the late 20th and 21st centuries. Based on an analysis of the curricula of Russian universities, the results of which are presented in the second part of the article, the current state of educational practices in the development of IC-related disciplines is described. The third part examines the dynamics and innovations of integration processes in the Russian communications industry from 1991 to 2025. The author's vision for the development prospects of IC in education and research is presented.
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