LECTURE 1

An Introduction to Integrated
Marketing Communications
 Learning Outcomes:
1) To understand the concept of integrated marketing
communications (IMC) and consider how it has evolved
2) To explain marketing communication function and the growing
importance of advertising and other promotional elements in the
marketing programmes of domestic and foreign companies
3) To discuss the various elements of the promotional mix and
consider their roles in an IMC program
4) To analyse how various marketing and promotional elements
could be coordinated to communicate to target audiences
effectively
5) To explain the steps in developing a marketing communications
programme
6) To explain concept and role of target marketing in an integrated
marketing communications programme
7) To apply the positioning and repositioning strategies
 What is ‘marketing mix’?
 How does marketing mix differ from
IMC mix?
 Marketing, Value & Marketing Mix

 What is ‘marketing’?
◦ Activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating
(product), communicating (promotion), delivering (place)
and exchanging offerings that have value (price) for
customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

 What is ‘value’?
◦ Customer’s perception of benefits of a product or service
against the costs of acquiring and consuming it.
◦ Benefits are functional, experiential, and/or psychological
◦ Costs include both monetary & non monetary

 Marketing Mix – 4Ps

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
(IMC)
Coordinate various promotional elements and other
marketing activities that communicate with a firm’s
customers

Recognizes the added value of a comprehensive plan that:

• Evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication

disciplines
• Combines the disciplines to provide clarity, consistency, and
maximum communications impact

Ensures all marketing and promotional activities project a

consistent, unified image
Elements of the IMC Mix
 Growing Importance of IMC
 Strategically integrates the various communications
functions
 Develops more efficient and effective marketing
communications programmes
 Changing environment:
• Evolution to micromarketing vs mass marketing
• Consumers’ unresponsiveness to traditional
advertising
• Changing rules of marketing due to the ongoing
revolution
 Helpsdevelop and sustain brand identity and equity
 Recognises the need for companies to connect with
consumers based on trust, transparency, and authenticity
 Marketing Communications Mix
Advertising
 Any paid form of non-personal
communication about an organization,
product, or service
 Identified sponsor
 Involves mass media
 Message is transmitted to large groups of
individuals
 No opportunity for immediate feedback
 Most cost-effective way to reach large
numbers of consumers
 Marketing Communications Mix
Direct Marketing
 Communicating directly with target customers to
generate a response and/or a transaction
 Involves database management, direct selling,
telemarketing, direct-response advertising
 Encourages the consumer to purchase directly
from the manufacturer – direct response
 Marketing Communications Mix
Digital/Internet Marketing
 Interactive media - allows users to
participate in & modify the form & content
of the information they receive in real
time
 Social media - Online means of
communication & interactions used to
create share & exchange content
 Mobile marketing - messages delivered
are specific to a consume's location or
consumption situation
 Advantages
• Interactive nature
• Capability to precisely measure the
effects of advertising & other forms of
promotion
 Marketing Communications Mix
Sales Promotion
• Marketing activities that provide extra value or incentives
to the sales force, distributors, ultimate consumer
• Aid in stimulating immediate sales categories
• Consumer-oriented & trade-oriented
• Increased emphasis due to:
o Declining brand loyalty
o Increased consumer sensitivity to promotional
deals
o Retailers’ demand for more trade promotion
support from companies
 Marketing Communications Mix
Publicity
 Non-personal communications regarding an
organization, product, service, or idea NOT
directly paid for or run under identified
sponsorship
 Advantage - High credibility and low cost
 Disadvantages - Not under the control of an
organisation & negative stories are highly
damaging

Public Relations
 When an organisation systematically plans &
distributes information in an attempt to manage
its image among its publics – under the control
of the organisation
 Goal - Establish and maintain a positive image
among various publics
Marketing Communications Mix
Personal Selling
 Person-to-person communication in which seller
attempts to assist and/or persuade prospective
buyers to:
 Purchase a company’s product
 Act on an idea
 Allows seller to tailor messages to the
customer’s specific needs or situation
 Involves immediate and precise feedback
 Contact or Touch Point
• Every opportunity a customer has to see or hear about a
company and/or its brands or have an encounter or
experience with it
• Categories
– Company created – planned marketing communication messages
created by company (Promotional mix & media)
– Intrinsic – interactions that occur with company or brand during the
process of buying or using the product/ service & not under the control
of the company.
– Unexpected – unanticipated references or info that a customer receives
beyond the control of company – from friends, family members etc.
– Customer-initiated – interactions when a customer contacts a
company both online or offline – inquiries or complaints.
IMC Audience Contact Tools
Types of Marketing Communication Media
Media is the communication tools/platforms/channels used to store and
deliver information or data

Paid-Owned-Earned (PEO) Media :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RiPrhAbPDc
 IMC Planning Model
Review of marketing plan

Analysis of promotional program situation and the communication process

Budget determination

Develop integrated marketing communications programs

Direct Digital/Internet Sales
Advertising PR/publicity Personal selling
marketing marketing promotion

Advertising Direct- Internet Sales PR/publicity Personal-selling

marketing marketing promotion objectives objectives
objectives objectives objectives objectives

Advertising Direct- Internet Sales PR/publicity Personal-selling

marketing marketing promotion strategy strategy
strategy strategy strategy strategy

Direct-
Advertising Internet Sales promotion PR/publicity
marketing Sales message
message & message & message & message &
message & strategy and
media strategy media strategy media strategy media strategy
media strategy sales tactics
& tactics & tactics & tactics & tactics
& tactics

Integrate and implement marketing communications strategies

Monitor, evaluate, and control IMC Program
 ACTIVITY 1:
 Share with the class some IMC activities
practiced by some brands you are familiar with.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYP9
AGtLvRg
 Marketing Plan
Internal Analysis External Analysis Analysis of Communication Process
 Assesses the firm  Focuses on characteristics of a Receiver’s response processes, Source,
and relevant areas firm’s customers, market message, and channel factors
involving the 4 P’s. segments, positioning Establishes communication goals and
strategies. objectives:
 Customer analysis, Competitive Marketing Objectives - Determine what is to be
analysis, Environmental accomplished by the overall marketing program
analysis in terms of sales, market share, or profitability
 Target Marketing Communication Objectives -Determine what
Monitoring, Evaluation  Develop marketing Programme the firm seeks to accomplish with its promotional
and Control program (Nature of the message to be
 Determining how communicated and Specific communication
well the programme effects to be achieved)
Developing IMC Programme
is meeting  Involves deciding the role and
communication importance of each promotional-
objectives & helping mix element
the firm accomplish  Aspects of an advertising
its overall marketing programme:
goals and objectives;  Creative strategy - Determining Budget Determination
 Evaluating  Set tentative marketing
the basic appeal and message to
promotional communications budget and
be conveyed to the target
programme audience Allocate tentative budget
results/effectiveness  Media strategy - Determining the
 Taking measures to
communication channels to use to
control and adjust deliver the message
promotional
strategies