An Introduction to Integrated Marketing Communications

Integrated marketing communication

IMC is Marketing

&

Promotional Mixes

Marketing Mix:

Product or Service Pricing Channels of Distribution Promotion Advertising Direct Marketing Interactive/internet marketing Sales Promotion Publicity/Public Relations Personal Selling

Promotional Mix:

Definition of Integrated Marketing Communications

Definition of Integrated Marketing Communications

A concept of marketing communications planning that recognizes the added value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication disciplines and combines these disciplines to provide clarity, consistency and maximum communications impact.

Definition of Integrated Marketing Communications

A marketing communications planning

concept that recognizes the value of a comprehensive plan. A plan that evaluates the strategic roles of several communications disciplines:
Media advertising Direct marketing Interactive/internet marketing Sales promotion Publicity/Public relations

Combines the disciplines to provide:

Clarity, Consistency Maximum communications impact

Reasons for the Growing Importance of IMC

Reasons for growing Importance

of IMC.

1.A very fundamental reason is that they recognized the value of strategically integrating the various communication functions rather than having them operate autonomously. The move also reflects an adaptation by marketers to a changing environment, particularly with respect to demographics, lifestyles, media use, and shopping patterns.

2.The IMC movement is also being driven by a marketing revolution that is changing the ways companies market their products and services. Major characteristics of this marketing revolution includes:..

A shifting of marketing dollars/rupees

from media advertising to other forms of promotion particularly trade-oriented sales promotion. A movement away from just relying only on advertising-it shifted more on focused approaches, which emphasize mass media to solve communication problems and more attention to smaller, targeted media alternatives. A shift in marketplace power from manufacturers to retailers.

Due to consolidation (merger) in the retail industry, small local retailers are being replaced by large regional, national, and international chains that are using their power to demand promotional fees and allowances. (Subway Macdonald) Retailers are also using new technologies which is prompting many marketers to shift their focus to promotional tools that can produce short term results, such as sales promotion.

The rapid growth and development of database marketing is prompting many marketers to target consumers through a variety of directmarketing methods such as telemarketing, direct mail and direct response advertising.

Demands for greater accountability from advertising agencies and changes in the way agencies are compensated which are motivating agencies to consider a variety of communication tools and less expensive alternatives to mass media advertising.

The rapid growth of the Internet is also changing the very nature of how companies do business and the ways they communicate and interact with consumers.

This marketing revolution is affecting everyone involved in the marketing and promotional process, it has had even greater impact on the changing role of traditional advertising agencies.

Many agencies have responded by acquiring public relations, sales promotion, direct marketing firms, and interactive agencies and publicize their capability to meet all of their clients IMC needs.

The Role of IMC in Branding Power of Different Brands

The Role of IMC in Branding

one of the major reasons for the growing importance of IMC is that it plays a major role in the process of developing and sustaining brand identity and equity.

What is Brand Identity and Brand Equity?

What is Brand identity ?

Brand identity is a combination of many factors including the name, logo, symbols, design, packaging, and performance of a product or service as well as the associations, attachment that come to mind when consumers think about a brand. It is the sum of all points of contact that consumers have with a brand which includes the various forms of Integrated Marketing Communication used by a company.

Brand Identity

Case let in Sodas and FedEx

Sodas FedEX

What is Brand Equity?

What is Brand Equity?

Brand equity is an intangible asset that depends on associations made by the consumer. There are at least three perspectives from which to view brand equity:

1.Financial - One way to measure brand equity is to determine the price premium that a brand commands over a generic product.

2.Brand extensions A successful brand can be used as a platform to launch related products. The benefits of brand extensions is leveraging of existing brand awareness and thus reducing advertising expenditures, and a the lower risk from consumers the perspective. (Nirma)

3.Consumer-based A strong brand increases the consumer's attitude strength toward the product associated with the brand. Attitude strength is built by experience with a product. This importance of actual experience by the customer implies that trial samples are more effective than advertising in the early stages of building a strong brand. The consumer's awareness and associations lead to perceived quality, inferred attributes (indirect features ), and eventually, brand loyalty.

The promotional mix The tools for IMC

The Role of Promotion Promotion is defined as the coordination of all seller-initiated ( retailer,manufacturer,vendor ) efforts to set up channels of information and persuasion to sell goods and services or promote an idea. Promotion is best viewed as the communication function of marketing by putting promotional mix together in IMC form and other marketing elements such as brand name, package design, price or retail outlets implicitly (completely) communicates with consumers.

In majority of the organizations communication with the Marketing takes place through a carefully planned and controlled promotional program which utilizes elements of the promotional mix.

The promotional mix is

defined as the basic tools or elements that are used to accomplish organizations objectives. Now Lets discuss role and function of each promotional mix element with its advantages and limitations.

Elements of Promotional Mix You have studied in detail

Advertising
Sales Promotion

Direct Marketing
Publicity/Public Relations

Personal Selling

Interactive/
Internet Marketing

PROMOTIONAL MANAGEMENT

Elements of Promotional Mix

Advertising Sales Promotion

Direct Marketing Publicity/Public Relations

Personal Selling

Interactive/ Internet Marketing

Promotional management

Promotional management should be defined as the process of coordinating the promotional mix elements to develop a controlled and integrated program of effective marketing communication. Promotional Management involves Various decision areas such as:

which promotional tools to use and how to combine them effectively

determining the size of and distributing the advertising and promotional budget (Allocation)
determining the influence of various factors on the promotional mix including the type of product, target market, decision process of the buyer, stage of the product life cycle, and channels of distribution

Promotional planning process

The promotional plan provides a framework for developing, implementing, and controlling an organizations integrated marketing communication program and activities.

The steps in the Integrated Marketing Communications Planning Model include:..

Integrated Marketing Communications Planning Model

Review of Marketing Plan

Promotional Program Situation Analysis

Analysis of the Communications Process

Budget Determination

Develop Integrated Marketing Communications Programs

Advertising Sales Promotion PR/ Publicity

Personal Direct Internet/ Selling Marketing Interactive

Sales PR/ Direct Internet/ Advertising Promotion Publicity Personal Marketing Interactive Selling Objectives Objectives Objectives Objectives Objectives Objectives

Sales Message Promotion Strategy Strategy

PR/ Publicity Strategy

Personal Direct Internet/ Selling Marketing Interactive Strategy Strategy Strategy

Integration & Implementation of Marketing Communications Strategies

Monitor, Evaluate & Control Promotional Program

IMC Planning Model.doc

Reviewing the Marketing Plan

Reviewing the Marketing Plan

Its the first step in IMC planning process to review the marketing plan and objectives. Before developing marketing plan marketers must understand where the company has been and what's its current position in the market, where it intends to go and how it plans to get there. All information should be contained in the marketing plan a written document that describes the overall marketing strategy and programs developed for a company, product or brand

Elements of Marketing plan

Marketing plans can take several forms but generally include five basic elements. 1.A detailed situation analysis 2. Specific marketing objectives 3. A marketing strategy and program that

includes selection of a target market and plans

for marketing mix elements 4. A program for implementing the marketing strategy 5. A process for monitoring and evaluating performance of Marketing Strategy Mast Drink

Situation Analysis

Situation Analysis Internal Factors

1 .Internal Factors Assessment of the firms organization of promotional programs , its inbuilt capacity and capabilities Review of the firms previous promotional programs Assessment of firms or brand image and implications for promotion Assessment of relative strengths and weaknesses of product/service (comparative studies from global and local market and position of their company.)

2.External Factors Customer analysis Competitive analysis Environmental analysis

Situation Analysis External Factors

Customer Analysis
Who buys our product or service? Who initiates and makes the decision to purchase and who influences the process? How is the purchase decision made? What features or criteria are important to customers? What are customers perceptions of and attitudes toward our company, product/service or brands? What factors influence the decision making process? (Antwrep,Blegium..catchup) Contact points where customers can be reached?

IMC Program Situation Analysis External Factors

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors Key Benefits and positioning used by competitors Our Position relative to competitors Size of competitors advertising/promotional budgets IMC strategies being used by competitors

IMC Program Situation Analysis External Factors

Environmental analysis

Technological Political/Legal Demographic Socio/Cultural Economic

Analysis of Communications Process

Analysis of Communications Process

Analyze response process of customers will go through in responding marketing communication. (tataneno SBI Registration) Analyze best combination of source, message and channel factors for communicating with target audience. (What is the message and what mix we need to use for maximum impact) Establish communication goals and objectives based on promotinal mix chosen.

Communications Objectives

Communication Objectives flow from marketing objectives. Whereas marketing objectives refer to overall marketing program and are outlined in terms of sales,profitabilty or market share goals, Objectives in terms of awareness to be created ,knowledge to be given, attitude and behavior to be changed, Identity ,image and brand to be built.(Its a long term planning)

What is the objective ?

Budget Determination
After the Communication objectives are determined ,attention turns to budget for IMC Program. Two questions comes to mind:
What will be the promotional program cost ? (Total) How will the money be allocated ?

Ideally the amount the firm needs to spend on promotion should be determined to achieve its objectives. Normally budget allocation is based on company's or brands sales revenue. BUT At IMC planning stage budget that we decide is Often tentative

Integrated Marketing Communications Planning Model

Review of Marketing Plan

Promotional Program Situation Analysis

Analysis of the Communications Process

Budget Determination

Develop Integrated Marketing Communications Programs

Advertising Sales Promotion PR/ Publicity

Personal Direct Internet/ Selling Marketing Interactive

Sales PR/ Direct Internet/ Advertising Promotion Publicity Personal Marketing Interactive Selling Objectives Objectives Objectives Objectives Objectives Objectives

Sales Message Promotion Strategy Strategy

PR/ Publicity Strategy

Personal Direct Internet/ Selling Marketing Interactive Strategy Strategy Strategy

Integration & Implementation of Marketing Communications Strategies

Monitor, Evaluate & Control Promotional Program

Develop Integrated Marketing Communications Program

Of
Promotional Mix selected Advertising Direct marketing Interactive/Internet Marketing Sales promotion Public relations/publicity Personal selling

After Developing .. Integrate and Implement Marketing Communications Strategies

Advertising Sales Promotion PR/ Publicity Personal Direct Internet/ Selling Marketing Interactive

Integrate and Implement Marketing Communications Strategies

Integrate promotional mix strategies. Create and produce ads. Purchase media time and space Design and implement direct marketing programs

 Design and implement sales promotion program Design and implement public relations/publicity programs Design and implement interactive/ internet marketing programs

Monitor, Evaluate and Control

Integrated Marketing Communications Program

Monitor, Evaluate and Control Integrated Marketing Communications Program

Evaluate promotional program results and Determine effectiveness

Take actions to control and adjust promotional programs Case.

Cadbury Manages Crisis with IMC