Integrated marketing communication (IMC) can be defined as the process used to unify

marketing communication elements, such as public relations, social media, audience

analytics, business development principles, and advertising, into a brand identity that
remains consistent across distinct media channels. It allows public and private
organizations and businesses to deliver an engaging and seamless consumer experience for
a product and/or service, and to optimize an organization’s image and relationship with
stakeholders. Professionals with a background in integrated marketing communications
might pursue employment throughout the marketing and communications industries, in
areas such as social media marketing, digital media, journalism, market research and
consulting, public relations, non-profit and government, entertainment, television and
radio, and other related fields.

Integrated marketing communication is a multi-disciplinary field that combines traditional and

new media practices. As its name suggests, integrated marketing communications is a holistic
marketing approach that considers marketing strategy within the larger context of an
organization’s aims and business development and maintenance needs. In other words, rather
than having marketing, advertising, public relations, social media, and consumer/audience
analytics be separate teams or efforts within an organization, integrated marketing
communications encourages the integration of these disciplines to create a more powerful and
concerted approach.

By using IMC theories and strategies, marketing specialists, public relations directors, brand
managers, digital media associates, social media marketers, and other media professionals can
create, execute, and track multi-channel advertising and communication messages that target and
influence specific audiences. IMC’s influence can be seen throughout modern society, in website
display advertisements, enterprise blogs, search engine optimization, newspaper editorials,
outdoor billboards, magazine advertisements, and more.

Setting Goals

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is an approach to brand communications where the

different modes work together to create a seamless experience for the customer. Customers are
presented with a similar tone and style that reinforce the brand’s core message. The ultimate goal
is to make all aspects of marketing communication– advertising, sales promotion, public
relations, direct marketing, personal selling, online communications and social media –work
together as a unified force, rather than in isolation. This synergy between different marketing
elements maximizes their cost effectiveness.
Integrated Marketing: Integrated marketing communications can be used to develop brand
awareness, increase consumer demand and change beliefs towards a product.

The cost effectiveness of mass media due to fragmentation has forced integrated marketing
communications to the forefront of modern marketing. As consumers spend more time online
and on mobile devices, the goal for marketing teams should be for all exposures of the brand to
tie together so they are more likely to be remembered. Increasingly the strategies of brands
cannot be understood by looking solely at their advertising. Instead they can be understood by
seeing how all aspects of their communications ecosystem work together and in particular how
communications are personalized for each customer and react in real time.

Common IMC Objectives

In addition to considering recent market, consumer and technological shifts, brands must assess
their marketing budget and target audience when setting IMC goals. An IMC strategy with a
budget of $2 million will be radically different in size, scope and reach than a marketing budget
of only $2,000. Thus, smaller businesses with tiny IMC budgets may rely heavily on social
media advertising and word-of-mouth networks to increase brand presence and generate new
leads, rather than more expensive television and billboard advertising.

Despite varying budgets, product features and benefits, and consumer behaviors, organizations
typically set and work towards the following goals when implementing IMC strategies:

 To develop brand awareness

 To increase consumer or business demand for a product category
 To change or influence customer beliefs or attitudes
 To enhance purchase actions
 To encourage repeat purchases
 To build customer traffic to physical stores, websites or other marketing channels
 To enhance firm/brand image
 To increase market share
 To increase sales
 To reinforce purchase decisions
IMC strategies may seek to achieve one, many or all of these objectives throughout the course of
a campaign. Once strategies have been implemented, they are not changed unless major new
events occur. Only changes in the marketplace, new competitive forces, or new promotional
opportunities should cause companies to alter strategies and reassess IMC goals.

Determining a Budget
Marketing budgets aid in the planning of operations by forcing managers to prioritize activities
and consider how conditions may change.

Learning Objectives

Explain how the components of IMC influence the allocation of funds for a marketing budget

Key Takeaways

Key Points

 Budgeting also helps coordinate the activities of the organization by compelling

managers to examine relationships between their own operation and those of other
departments.
 Two big budgeting decisions should be resolved up front: how shall marketing efforts be
funded, and who will benefit from the new program?
 Components of IMC include: the foundation, the corporate culture, the brand focus,
consumer experience, communications tools, promotional tools, and integration tools.

Key Terms

 brand: A name, symbol, logo, or other item used to distinguish a product, a service, or its
provider.

Determining a Budget

As with all business activities, marketing budgets help the planning of actual operations by
forcing managers to prioritize activities and consider how conditions might change. Marketing
also encourages managers to take steps now, so they can deal with problems before they arise. It
also helps coordinate the activities of the organization by compelling managers to examine
relationships between their own operation and those of other departments, which is a key
component of integrated marketing. The essential purposes of budgeting include:

 To control resources
 To communicate plans to various responsibility center managers
 To motivate managers to strive to achieve budget goals
 To evaluate the performance of managers
 To provide visibility into the company’s performance
Marketing plans are resource driven and they affect the budget. Therefore, two big budgeting
decisions should be resolved up front:

1. How shall these efforts be funded? For example, 70% will be reallocated through cost
reductions by consolidating programs and 30% will come from new funding.
2. Who will benefit from the new program? For example, 70% will advance the reputation
of the company and 30% will build “steeples” – the critical core themes that make a
difference, which are usually only built one at a time.

Integrated Marketing Communication Components

When determining a budget for an integrated marketing plan, it is important for managers to
understand the components of IMC in order to allocate funds properly. These include:

Integrated Marketing Budgets: When budgeting a marketing plan, it is important to allocate

funds appropriately to the different facets of integrated marketing.

 The foundation – This component is based on a strategic understanding of the product

and market. This includes changes in technology, buyer attitudes, and behavior, as well
as anticipated moves by competitors.
 The corporate culture – Increasingly brands are seen as indivisible from the vision,
capabilities, personality, and culture of the corporation.
 The brand focus – This is the logo, corporate identity, tagline, style, and core message of
the brand.
 Consumer experience – This includes the design of the product and its packaging, the
product experience (for instance in a retail store), and service.
  Communications tools – This includes all modes of advertising, direct marketing, and
online communications including social media.
 Promotional tools – This includes trade promotions; consumer promotions; personal
selling, database marketing, and customer relations management; public relations and
sponsorship programs.
 Integration tools – This is software that enables the tracking of customer behavior and
campaign effectiveness. This includes customer relationship management (CRM)
software, web analytics, marketing automation, and inbound marketing software.

Measuring Success
Continuous monitoring of performance against predetermined targets is essential in achieving
effective & efficient integrated marketing communications.

Learning Objectives

List the most important analyses used to measure marketing performance

Key Takeaways

Key Points

 It is important to put both quantities and timescales into marketing strategies.

 The most important elements of marketing performance include sales analysis, market
share analysis, expense analysis, and financial analysis.
 Indirect measures like market research, tracking lost business and tracking customer
complaints can also indicate the organization’s performance over a long period of time.

Key Terms

 segment share: market share in the specific, targeted segment.

 relative share: market share in relation to the market leaders.

Measuring Success

Measuring Success Of Marketing Efforts: It is important for marketing managers to constantly

evaluate the performance of their marketing efforts.

The final stage of any marketing planning process is to establish targets or standards so that
progress can be monitored. Accordingly, it is important to put both quantities and timescales into
marketing objectives and corresponding strategies. – for example, to capture 20 percent by value
of the market within two years.
Continuous monitoring of performance against predetermined targets is of utmost importance.
More important is the enforced discipline of a regular formal review. As with forecasts, the best
or most realistic planning cycle will revolve around a quarterly review. Best of all – at least in
terms of the quantifiable aspects of the plans – is a quarterly rolling review. This involves
planning one full year ahead each new quarter. While this absorbs more planning resources, it
also ensures that plans use the latest information. Moreover, both the plans and their
implementation tend to be more realistic.

The most important elements of marketing performance which are normally tracked include:

 Sales Analysis: Sophisticated organizations track sales in terms of “sales variance” – the
deviation from the target figures – which allows an immediate picture of deviations to
become evident.
 Market Share Analysis: Market share is an important metric to track. Though absolute
sales might grow in an expanding market, a firm’s share of the market can decrease,
which bodes ill for future sales when the market starts to drop. Market share is tracked
through parameters including overall market share, segment share, relative share, annual
fluctuation rate of market share, and the specific market sharing of customers.
 Expense Analysis: The key ratio to watch in this area is usually the “marketing expense
to sales ratio. ” This may be broken down into elements including advertising to sales and
sales administration to sales.
 Financial Analysis: In theory, the “bottom line” of all marketing activities should be net
profit. Key ratios include gross contribution to net profit, gross profit to return on
investment, and net contribution to profit on sales. There can be considerable benefit in
comparing these figures with those achieved by other organizations, especially those in
the same industry.

The above performance analyses concentrate on quantitative measures directly related to short-
term performance. However, there are a number of indirect measures tracking customer attitudes
which can also indicate the organization’s performance over a longer period of time. These
include market research, lost business and customer complaints.

The Growing Importance of Word of Mouth

Because of the increased role of sharing – or online “word of mouth” – the way many products
and services are marketed has changed.

Learning Objectives

Define the growing role of word-of-mouth in integrated marketing communications

Key Takeaways

Key Points
  Marketing was once seen as a one way relationship, with firms broadcasting their
offerings and value proposition.
 The goal of an organization is to create and maintain communication with its own
employees and customers.
 To understand new forms of word of mouth marketing involves knowing the right touch
points to use to reach consumers and understanding how and where they consume
different types of media.

Key Terms

 Regression analysis: a statistical technique for estimating the relationships among

variables.

The Growing Importance of Word of Mouth

The Internet has changed the way business is done. The variables of segmentation, targeting, and
positioning are addressed differently. Because of the increased role of sharing – or online “word
of mouth” – the way new products and services are marketed has changed, even though the aim
of business in bringing economic and social values remain the same. Indeed, the bottom line of
increasing revenue and profit are still the same. Marketing has evolved to include more
connectedness, due to the new characteristics brought in by the Internet. Marketing was once
seen as a one way relationship, with firms broadcasting their offerings and value proposition.
Now it is seen more as a conversation between marketers and customers.

Word Of Mouth Marketing: Social media sites that allow sharing have brought about a new
word of mouth form of marketing.
The starting point of the integrated marketing communications (IMC) process is the marketing
mix that includes different types of marketing, advertising, and sales efforts. Without a complete
IMC plan, there is no integration or harmony between client and customers. The goal of an
organization is to create and maintain communication with its own employees and customers.
Using outside-in thinking, integrated marketing communications is a data -driven approach that
focuses on identifying consumer insights and developing a strategy with the right online and
offline combination of channels to forge a stronger brand to consumer relationship. This involves
knowing the right touch points to use to reach consumers and understanding how and where they
consume different types of media. Regression analysis and customer lifetime value are key data
elements in this approach.

Several shifts in the advertising and media industry have caused IMC to develop into a primary
strategy for marketers:

 From media advertising to multiple forms of communication

 From mass media to more specialized media, which are centered on specific target
audiences
 From a manufacturer-dominated market to a retailer-dominated, consumer-controlled
market
 From general-focus advertising and marketing to data-based marketing
 From low agency accountability to greater agency accountability, particularly in
advertising
 From traditional compensation to performance-based compensation
 From limited Internet access to 24/7 Internet availability and access to goods and services

Moreover, this new “word of mouth” form of marketing can bring benefits to a company; such
as:

 It can create competitive advantages, boost sales and profits, while saving money, time,
and stress.
 IMC wraps communications around customers and helps them move through the various
stages of the buying process. The organization simultaneously consolidates its image,
develops a dialogue, and nurtures its relationship with customers.
 This “relationship marketing” cements a bond of loyalty with customers which can
protect them from the inevitable onslaught of competition. The ability to keep a customer
for life is a powerful competitive advantage.
 IMC also increases profits through increased effectiveness.
 Carefully linked messages also help buyers by giving timely reminders, updated
information and special offers which, when presented in a planned sequence, help them
move comfortably through the stages of their buying process.
 IMC also makes messages more consistent and therefore more credible. This reduces risk
in the mind of the buyer which, in turn, shortens the search process and helps to dictate
the outcome of brand comparisons.
 Finally, IMC saves money as it eliminates duplication in areas such as graphics and
photography since they can be shared and used in say, advertising, exhibitions, and sales
literature.