Integrated marketing communications

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is the application of consistent brand messaging across both traditional and non-traditional marketing channels and using different promotional methods to reinforce each other.

History

The first definition for integrated marketing communication came from the American Association of Advertising Agencies (also 4A's) in 1989, defining IMC as "an approach to achieving the objectives of a marketing campaign through a well-coordinated use of different promotional methods that are intended to reinforce each other. "[1] The 4A's definition of IMC recognizes the strategic roles of various communication disciplines (advertising, public relations, sales promotions, etc.) to provide clarity, consistency, and increased impact when combined within a comprehensive communications plan. Basically, it is the application of consistent brand messaging across both traditional and non-traditional marketing channels.

The Journal of Integrated Marketing Communication from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University refers to IMC as "a strategic marketing process specifically designed to ensure that all messaging and communication strategies are unified across all channels and are centered around the customer. "[2] IMC is used practically to allow one medium's weakness to be offset by another medium's strength, with elements synergized to support each other and create greater impact.[3]

From the West Virginia University Reed College of Media The American Marketing Association defines Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) as “a planning process designed to assure that all brand contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product, service, or organization are relevant to that person and consistent over time.”[4] Gronstedt broadens the definition to include communications with stakeholders, such as opinion leaders, government agencies, media, financial community, and employees.[5]

A more contemporary definition states, "True IMC is the development of marketing strategies and creative campaigns that weave together multiple marketing disciplines (paid advertising, public relations, promotion, owned assets, and social media) that are selected and then executed to suit the particular goals of the brand. "[6] Instead of simply using various media to help tell a brand's overall story, with IMC the marketing leverages each communication channel's intrinsic strengths to achieve a greater impact together than each channel could achieve individually. It requires the marketer to understand each medium's limitation, including the audience's ability/willingness to absorb messaging from that medium. This understanding is integrated into a campaign's strategic plan from the very beginning of planning - so that the brand no longer simply speaks with consistency, but speaks with planned efficacy.[6] This concept inherently provides added benefits that include: a singular/synchronized brand voice and experience, cost efficiencies generated through creativity and production, and opportunities for added value and bonus.

Shifts That Enabled IMC

Fundamental shifts in how companies market to consumers have made Integrated Marketing Communications possible.

The shift...

From Traditional Marketing to Digital/Interactive Marketing
From Mass Media to Specialized Media
From Low Accountability in Marketing Spend to High Accountability in Marketing Spend
From Limited Connectivity to Pervasive Connectedness [7]

Components of integrated marketing communications

IMC weaves diverse aspects of business and marketing together. These include:

The organization's vision and mission
Attitudes and behaviors of employees & partners
Communication within the company
Consumer
Cost
Convenience
Communication
Broadcasting/mass advertising: broadcasts, print, internet advertising, radio, television commercials
Outdoor advertising: billboards, street furniture, stadiums, rest areas, subway advertising, taxis, transit
Online advertising: mobile advertising, email ads, banner ads, search engine result pages, blogs, newsletters, online classified ads, media ads
E-commerce
Search engine optimization (SEO)
Search engine marketing (SEM)
Mobile Marketing
Email marketing
Content marketing
Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google +, Foursquare, Pinterest, YouTube, Wikipedia, Instagram)
Sales materials (sell sheets, brochures, presentations)
Installation, customer help, returns & repairs, billing
Special events, interviews, conference speeches, industry awards, press conferences, testimonials, news releases, publicity stunts, community involvement, charity involvement & events
Contests, coupons, product samples (freebies), premiums, prizes, rebates, special events
Booths, product demonstrations
Donations, volunteering, charitable actions

When these diverse aspects of business and marketing are weaved together properly an effective campaign can be achieved. Effective campaigns are demonstrated on the Integrated Brands showcase which recognizes brands that are innovative, strategic and successfully growing their sales.[8] By effectively leveraging each communication channel greater impact can be achieved together than achieved individually.[6]

Origins

First defined by the American Association of Advertising Agencies in 1989, IMC was developed mainly to address the need for businesses to offer clients more than just standard advertising. The 4As originally coined the term the "new advertising, " however this title did not appropriately incorporate many other aspects included in the term "IMC" - most notably, those beyond traditional advertising process aside from simply advertising.[9]

Overall, an influx of new marketplace trends in the late 20th century spurred organizations to shift from the standard advertising approach to the IMC approach:

Model and stages

Similar to the definition of IMC, models of the IMC approach vary according to the source cited. Frequently, models stress the importance of blending various marketing tools to maximize the customer experience and value. IMC models also often emphasize the lack of a specific hierarchy of importance in the IMC stages: all components of the model play an equally important role and a company may or may not choose to immediately implement any or all of the integration strategies.[10]

Level 1: Tactical Coordination and Marketing Communications Initial IMC focus is on the tactical coordination of diverse marketing such as advertising, promotion, direct response, public relations, and special events. This level focuses on delivering “one sight, one sound” via marketing communication.[10]

Level 2: Redefining the Scope of Marketing Communication The organization begins to examine communications from the customer’s point of view. Marketing communication begins to give consideration to all sources of brand and company contact a customer has with the product or service. Management broadens the scope of communication activities to encompass and coordinate internal marketing employees, suppliers, and other business partners and align with the existing external communication programs.[10]

Level 3: Application of Information Technology An organization’s application of empirical data using information technology to provide a basis identity, value, and monitor the impact of integrated internal and external communication programs to key customer segments over time.[10]

Level 4: Financial and Strategic Integration The emphasis shifts to using the skills and data generated in the earlier stages to drive corporate strategic planning using customer information and insights. Organizations re-evaluate their financial information infrastructure.[10]

Importance of integrated marketing communications

Integration has become a widely used concept in marketing. Marketing theory that was established during the discipline’s formative years has been overtaken by the complexities of real-time, multimodal, multi directional communication.

Notes

  1. ↑ "integrated marketing communications (IMC)". Business Dictionary Online. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  2. ↑ "What is IMC?". Journal of Integrated Marketing Communication. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  3. ↑ Kitchen, et al 2004, p. 20
  4. ↑ "What is IMC?". The American Marketing Association. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  5. ↑ Gronstedt, Anders (2000). The Customer Century: Lessons from World Class Companies in Integrated Communications. Routledge (Taylor & Francis). ISBN 0415921996.
  6. 1 2 3 "It's Time to Redefine Integrated Marketing". Stirology. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  7. ↑ Griffith, Deb. "Crafting Successful Integrated Marketing Communications for Brands". Sproutloud. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  8. ↑ "Integrated Brands". Integrated Brands. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  9. ↑ Tom, Duncan; Caywood, Clarke (1996). "The Concept, Process and Evolution of Integrated Marketing Communication". In Esther, Thorson; Moore, Jeri. Integrated Communication: Synergy of Persuasive Voices. Psychology Press. p. 18.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Schultz, Don E.; Schultz, Heidi F. (1998). "Transitioning marketing communication into the twenty-first century". Journal of Marketing Communications 4 (1): 9–17. doi:10.1080/135272698345852.

References

See also

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