IMC (Integrated Marketing Communication) tools used by MICROMAX

Advertising is the one of the biggest tool to development of integrated marketing communication. So the Micromax uses IMC tools to promote the product and build the strong image of the brand in the consumers mind. Integrated Marketing Communication ( IMC) is the practice of unifying all marketing communication tools so the send a consist, persuasive massage promoting company goals. With a 360 degree advertising and marketing strategy sketched out, the company has an optimistic outlook for the telecom consumer space. Currently present in more than 40,000 stores across the country, the company plans to have an aggressive market incursion to reach out to its customers through 70,000 operational stores in the coming year The following tools of IMC are being used by Micromax: Events and experiences For marketing of its products the company is riding on two enduring Indian obsessions sports and filmsto build its brand. Following up on its association with the popular Twenty20 cricket Indian Premier League (IPL), Micromax, a brand that is less than three years old, has become the title sponsor of almost all tournaments and series of which India is a part, including the recently concluded Asia Cup, the forthcoming India-Sri Lanka Test series and the India-New Zealand-Sri Lanka tri-series in August. The objective behind the cricket roadblock, as such behavior is termed in advertising, is to drive brand awareness and recall. The company believes that while cricket may boost a brand instantly, viewers may still not remember the brand after the match or the tournament. Even if consumers remember a series, they may not remember the advertisers. Thats when they thought of a roadblock and decided to sponsor all cricketing properties post IPL. Bollywood is also a major platform for the brand, which is targeting consumers between 18 and 27 years. Bollywoods most bankable star Akshay Kumar was signed on as the brand ambassador six months ago. More recently, his wife Twinkle Khanna was engaged to promote Micromaxs bling phone that comes with Swarovski crystals and a vanity mirror. To push its association with films, the firm also sponsored the IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) Awards held in Sri Lanka, where Micromax recently launched its phones. The brand is now ready to enter Bangladesh and West Asia. Advertising

Broadcast media micromax use television to broadcast their advertisements. Apart from using cricket, films, celebrity micromax also advertise through news papers. They also utilize hoarding and bill boards to advertise their products. Prime site recently kicked off a month-long campaign for Micromax mobile phones in Delhi, executed mostly through hoardings. Going further, this promotion will be extended to the other regions of northern India as well. On the brief and objective of the campaign. The city of launch was Delhi to start with, and post which we did the launch in Patna and Jaipur. Indore is next in line. There are more cities where the campaign will be launched in the near future for which we would be briefed accordingly. All the Medias used by micromax are very carefully selected as to reach its target audience and through each medium the innovative aspect of the product is portrayed. Marketing mix consist of four important variables of marketing, i.e. 4Ps-Product, Price, Promotion and Place. Apart from the traditional 4Ps, there are also other variables, i.e. Packaging, Posting, and Pace. Advertising is an element of promotion. However, it not only assists in promoting the product, but also affects the other variables of marketing mix. This can be explained as follows: 1. Advertising and Product: A product is normally a set of physical elements, such as quality, shape, size, colour and other features. The product may be of very high quality .At times, the product is so designed that it requires careful handling and operations. Buyers must be informed and educated on the various aspects of the product. This can be effectively done through advertising. Thus, advertising plays the role of information and education. 2. Advertising and Price: The price is the exchange value of the product. A marketer may bring out a very high quality product with additional features as compared to competitors. In such a case, price would be definitely high. But buyers may not be willing to pay a high price would be definitely high. But buyers may not be willing to pay a high price. Here comes advertising. Advertising can convince buyers regarding the superiority of the brand and thus its value for money. This can be done by associating the product with prestigious people, situations, or events. Alternatively when a firm offers a low price products the job of advertising needs to stress the price advantage by using hard hitting copy. It is not just enough to convince, but it is desirable to persuade the buyer. Thus advertising plays the role of conviction and persuasion. 3. Advertising and Place: Place refers to physical distribution and the stores where the goods are available Marketer should see to it that the goods are available at the

convenient place and that too at the right time when the buyers need it. To facilitate effective distribution and expansion of market, advertising is of great significance. Thus advertising do help in effective distribution and market expansion. 4. Advertising and Promotion: Promotion consists of advertising, publicity, personal selling and sales promotion technique. Businessmen today have to face a lot of competition. Every seller needs effective promotion to survive and succeed in this competitive business world. Advertising can play a significant role to put forward the claim of seller, and to counter the claims of competitor. Through effective advertising, sellers can face competition and also help to develop brand image and brand loyalty. 5. Advertising and Pace: Pace refers to the speed in marketing decisions and actions. It involves among other things the launch of new products or brand variations at greater speed than before. As and when new brands are launched, advertising plays an important role of informing, educating and persuading the customers to buy the product. 6. Advertising and Packaging: The main purpose of packaging is protection of the product during transit, and preservation of quality and quantity. Now a days, marketers take lot of efforts to develop and design attractive packages as they carry advertising value. A creatively design package attract the attention of the customers. It also carries an assurance of quality and creates confidence in the minds of customers to buy the product. 7. Advertising and Positioning: Product positioning aims at creating and maintaining a distinct image of the brands in the minds of the customers. Through advertising the marketer can convey the positioning of the brand and accordingly can influence the buying decision of the target audience.

WHAT IS ADVERTISING?
The word advertising originates from Latin word advertise, which means to turn to. The dictionary meaning of the term is to give public notice or to give publicity. Advertising may be defined as the process of buying sponsor-identified media space or time in order to promote a product or an idea. It is perhaps the most visible of all the elements in the promotion mix and is therefore subject to much criticism from consumer groups. It is also subjected to government regulation. The American Marketing Association, Chicago, has defined advertising as any paid form of non-personal presentation or promotion of ideas, goods or services, by an identified sponsor. Advertising is not just 30 seconds of entertainment during the Super Bowl or the announcement of the new deals from the cheesy car dealer down the street. Advertising is big businessan industry with extraordinary cultural and economic impact. It has the power to create brand awareness and loyalty and to stimulate demand. In its most profound form, it can turn mere products into meaningful brands and important

possessions and turn the most mundane object into a cultural icon. Advertising can be offensive or memorable, the center of controversy or the topic of conversation. In its simplest form, advertising is a method of one-way communication between an advertiser and the consumer. An advertisement is persuasive in nature and sends an intended message through a designated medium (radio, television, the Internet). However, in receiving a message, consumers do not always interpret the message as the advertiser intended. Successful advertising sales results in satisfied customers and revenue growth for the company. Definition 1. Advertising is a paid form and hence is commercial in nature. Publicity is not paid for by the sponsor. Advertising is a paid form of publicity. Thus any sponsored communication designed to influence buyer behavior is advertising. 2. Advertising is non-personal. Whatever the form of advertisement (visual, spoken or written), it is directed at a mass audience and not directly at the individual as in personal selling. 3. Advertisements are identified with their sponsoring authority, which is not always the case with publicity.