Integrated Marketing Communications Essay

Definition: Integrated Marketing Communication Definition: IMC is a concept of marketing communications planning that recognizes the added value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communications disciplines – for example, general advertising, direct response, sales promotion, and public relations – and combines these disciplines to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum communications impact by The American Association of Advertising Agencies (the 4A’s) The Emergence of IMC The Market revolution forcing a movement towards IMC: †¢ †¢ A shift of marketing dollars from media advertising to other forms of promotion, particularly consumer and trade oriented sales promotions A movement away from relying on advertising-focused approaches, which emphasize mass media such as television and national magazines, to solve communication problems A shift in marketplace power from the manufacturer to the retailer The rapid growth and development of database marketing Demands for greater accountability from advertising agencies and changes in the way agencies are compensated The rapid growth of the Internet, which is changing the very nature of how companies do business and the ways they communicate and interact with consumers †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ The Role of Marketing Communication Marketing communication performs several functions for consumers: †¢ Consumers are told how the product is used, by what kind of person, and where and when †¢ Consumers learn about who makes the product and what the company and the brand stand for †¢ It allows companies to link their brands to other people, places, events, brands, experiences, feelings, and things †¢ It also contributed to brand equity by establishing the brand in memory and crafting a brand image Marketing communication contributes specifically to brand equity in the following ways: †¢ By creating awareness of the brand †¢ Linking the right associations to the brand image in the consumer’s memory †¢ Eliciting positive brand judgments or feelings †¢ Facilitating a stronger consumer-brand connection Marketing Communication Forms Marketing communication consists of 6 major modes of communication: Advertising: Any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor Sales Promotion: A variety of short-term incentives to encourage trial or purchase of a product or a service Events and Experiences: Company sponsored activities and programs designed to create daily or special brandrelated interactions Public relations and publicity A variety of programs designed to promote or protect a company’s image or its individual products Direct marketing: Use of mail, telephone, fax, e-mail, or internet to communicate directly with or solicit response or dialogue from specific customers or prospects Personal selling: Face-to-face interaction with one or more prospective purchasers for the purpose of making presentations, answering questions, and procuring orders Advertising Sales Promotion Events