Integrated Marketing Communication tools

Written by Kannan Balaram

What are IMC tools?

The Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) approach believes that a company must leave no chance for error, no patience for miscommunication, and no time for confusion. (Picton and Broderick 2005). IMC tools refer to integrating various marketing tools such as advertising, online marketing, public relation activities, direct marketing, sales campaigns to promote brands so that similar message reaches a wider audience. In this respect, (Kliatchko 2005) opined that value added services need not start and end in only advertising messages and strategies. But now, in an expanded view of advertising, advertising agencies must positively evolve specific promotional mix to provide clarity, consistency and maximum communication impact.

Why are IMC tools needed? 

The marketing environment is becoming more highly competitive. The globalization and glamorous world of advertising is loosing out to integrated marketing communications (IMC) under which managers can combine approaches and allow brands to speak with a single voice across all kind of formats. Campaigns may be run across country markets; need to coordinate quality, timing and costs.  Develop common themes or advertising messages (consistent image and positioning) with media mix could vary across country markets.  The promotions mix itself varies across country markets.  Push and pull strategies could be used concurrently in different country markets.

IMC tools' Strategy and Planning:

Models of communications planning generally tend to be based on the planning framework of situation analysis, objective setting, strategy development, budgeting, implementation and control. (Smith, P., Perry, C. and Pulford A 1997). Successful of IMC tools is depending on proper strategy and planning. According to (Belch and Belch 2003) IMC are capable of promoting marketers towards the development of alternative ways to communicate with target audience.

IMC tools' Finance:

Any communication campaign will be set within certain organizational constraints. These constraints will include the managerial style of the organization in terms of risk-taking, innovativeness and creative freedom and of course the willingness to commit financial resources. Many organization executives are craving for ways of minimizing cost of marketing communications with better results. They are not sure of the synergy effects, of the use of IMC (Fill 2006). Companies/Producers are using different promotional mixes without due consideration for the cost and appropriateness of the stage of product in its life cycle.

Basic IMC tools' model:

Basic IMC tools must address thorough understanding of the customer's needs, emotions, interests and activities are essential to ensure the accuracy and relevance of any message.

IMC = strategy + online + offline

STRATEGY means brand positioning, marketing communications strategy and planning, Internet marketing strategy, advertising campaigns.

ONLINE means Content marketing and web copywriting, Web content management/maintenance, Inbound marketing/conversion optimization, Search engine optimization (SEO) copywriting, Social media marketing.

OFFLINE means Public relations and corporate communications, Event planning (seminar marketing, networking events), Graphic design and creative production, Internal and external communications, Media buying and placement, Professional writing.

Example of IMC tools:

Focus on a clear marketing communications strategy. Have crystal clear communications objectives; clear positioning statements. Link core values into every communication. Ensure all communications add value to (instead of dilute) the brand or organisation. Exploit areas of sustainable competitive advantage. Think Customers First. Wrap communications around the customer's buying process. Identify the stages they go through before, during and after a purchase. Select communication tools which are right for each stage. Develop a sequence of communications activities which help the customer to move easily through each stage.

Also, as in a single business firm there are subsections which perform the same type of work but at more specified levels, integrated marketing communication examples should show how the relevant information from the subsections should be collected and relied to other subsections it is needed. For example, data from market research is needed by the marketing people to plan the marketing strategies while the data from the marketing subsection is need in the sales subsection to project sales, which is then relied to production people.

In reality, marketers have to select communications tools that are most suitable for the stage which the target audience has reached. For example, advertising may be very good at raising awareness or developing interest, while free samples and sales promotions may be the way to generate trial. This is just a glimpse into some of the theory.

(Source: from internet)

IMC tools should consider the importance of  4Ps and 7Ps.

4Ps = A memory aid for the marketing mix: product, price, promotion, place, (distribution).  7Ps = A memory aid for the services marketing mix: product, promotion, place, price, process, people and physical evidence.

Clever encoding also helps a message to cut through the clutter of other advertisements and distractions, what is called 'noise'. If successful, the audience will spot the message and then decode or interpret it correctly. The marketer then looks for 'feedback' such as coupons returned from mail shots, to see if the audience has decoded the message correctly. Communications are in fact multifaceted, multi-step and multi-directional.

Out result from competent IMC tools:

In a marketing mixture, integrated marketing communication such as like production, distribution, communication and finance should be designed to work in a way that they send messages to customers. Those are cost containment, increased communication between departments and agencies, customer satisfaction and increased sales of products and services.

The out come benefits of IMC tools, which move towards integrated marketing communications is one of the most significant marketing developments that occurred during the 1990s and this approach is growing daily as this new millennium continues to advance. (Belch and Belch 2003) believed that the IMC approach to marketing communication planning and strategy is being adopted by both large and small companies and has become popular among firms marketing consumer products and services as well as business-to-business marketers.

IMC Not just for domestic markets but across country markets. It can be integrated regionally or globally to convey the same idea to prospects by having consistency, integration and cohesiveness, marketers are able to maximize the impact of their communications tools. IMC Needs close collaboration between the firm and its agencies. The IMC movement is also being driven by changes in the ways companies market their products and services. A shift in marketing dollars from advertising to sales promotion, the rapid growth and development of database marketing, and the fragmentation of media markets are among the key changes taking place. Mr. Low G (Low 2000) opined that integrated marketing is simply a step further from IMC or the highest stage of IMC by focusing on conveying unified messages to customers via the correct blending of the promotional mix.

Written by Kannan Balaram

Reference:

Broderick, A. and Pickton, D. (2005): Integrated Marketing Communications, Edinburgh Gate Pearson Education.

Belch, G. & Belch, M. (2003): Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective. McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Fill, C. (2006): Marketing Communications Engagement, Strategies and Practices, Edinburgh Gate Pearson Education.

Kliatchko, J. (2005) “Towards a new definition of Integrated Marketing Communications – IMC, International Journal of Advertising, 24(1), pp. 7-34.

Low, G. (2000) “Correlates of integrated marketing communications”. Journal of Advertising Research, 40(1/2), pp. 27-39.

Smith, P., Perry, C. and Pulford, A. (1997) Strategic Marketing Communications. Kogan Page.