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An Introduction to Integrated
Marketing Communications

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2012 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All right reversed

 Learning Objectives
1.1 Analyze the marketing communication function and the growing
importance advertising and other promotional elements play in the
marketing programs of domestic and foreign companies.

1.2 Analyze the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC)

and consider how it has evolved.

1.3 Evaluate the reasons for the increasing importance of the IMC
perspective in planning and executing advertising and promotional
programs.
1.4 Analyze the various elements of the promotional mix and consider
their role in an IMC program.

1.5 Utilize the various types of contact points through which marketers
communicate with their target audiences.

1.6 Apply various marketing and promotional elements to communicate

effectively.
1.7 Apply the model of the IMC planning process and examine the steps
in developing a marketing communications program.
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 The Modern World of Marketing

• Rapidly changing media environment

• Mass media losing viewers, readers,
listeners
• Digital media targets narrow audience
• Consumers not content to be passive
message recipients
• Information now obtained from a myriad
of sources

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Volkswagen Strategy

Traditional Social Media

Mass
Media
Integrated
Marketing
Strategy
Sports Team
Point-of-Sale Sponsor
Kits

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 Punch Dub

• Entertaining, interactive information

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The Growth of Advertising and Promotion

• Integral part of social and economic

systems
• Carefully prepared messages delivered
to carefully targeted audiences
• Six-fold increase between 1980 and 2010
• New marketing channels
• Internet ads (banner ads, videos,
webisodes)
• Social media
• Mobile marketing

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 The Role of Marketing

Advertising & Nonprofit

Promotion Organizations

Inform customers of a Solicit donations

product or service
Offer intangible
Convince them of its social and
ability to satisfy their psychological
wants or needs satisfactions
Help develop and
sustain relationships

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 What is Marketing?
The activity, set of institutions, and processes
for…

•Creating, communicating, delivering, and

exchanging offerings that have…

•Value for customers, clients, partners, and

society at large

•The process of planning and executing the

conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution
of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges
that satisfy individual and organizational
objectives.
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 What is Value?

• Customer’s perception
of all the benefits of a
product or service
• Weighed against
costs of acquiring
and consuming it

• Benefits can be…

• Functional
• Experiential
• Psychological

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 The Marketing Mix

• The Four Ps
• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotion

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Contemporary IMC Approach

Sales Direct
Packaging
promotion response

Mass
Point of media
purchase advertising
Public
relations
Publicity

Interactive
marketing Direct
Special
marketing
events

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 IMC Definitions
• 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—for example, general advertising, direct
response, sales promotion, and public relations- and
combines these disciplines to provide clarity, consistency,
and maximum communications impact.
• Integrated marketing communications is a strategic
business process used to plan, develop, execute and
evaluate coordinated, measurable, brand communications
programs over time with consumers, customers,
prospects, employees, associates and other targeted
relevant external and internal audiences. The goal is to
generate both short-term financial returns and build long-
term brand and shareholder value.

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 Growing Importance of IMC
• Shift of marketing dollars from traditional media adv to other forms of
promotion as well as nontraditional media.
• Rapid growth of Internet and social media -changing the nature of how
companies do business and the ways they communicate with consumers.
• Shift in marketplace power from manufacturers to retailers. Due to
consolidation in the retail industry, small local retailers are being replaced
by large regional, national, and international chains that are using their
clout to demand promotional fees and allowances. Retailers are also and
using new technologies such as checkout scanners to assess the
effectiveness of manufacturers’ promotional programs which is prompting
many marketers to shift their focus to tools that can produce short term
results, such as sales promotion.
• Growth & development of database marketing which is prompting many
marketers to target consumers through a variety of direct-marketing
methods such as telemarketing, direct mail & direct response advertising.
• Demands for greater accountability from advertising agencies & changes
in the way agencies are compensated which are motivating agencies to
consider a variety of communication tools & less expensive alternatives to
mass media advertising.
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 Growing Importance of IMC

• Value of IMC
• Avoids duplication of marketing efforts
• Synergy among promotional tools
• More efficient and effective marketing

• Rapidly changing environment

• Consumer behavior
• Technology
• Media consumption behavior
• Proliferation of media
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 The Marketing Revolution

Shift from traditional media ads to other forms of

promotion/nontraditional media
Internet and social media changing how
companies interact with consumers
Power shift: manufacturers to retailers

Database marketing

Greater ad agency accountability

Changes in how ad agencies are compensated

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The Role of IMC in Branding

Image or
Performance
Associations

Name Brand Packaging

Identity

Logo Design

Symbols

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Building Brands in a Recession

Consumers

Spend less money

Carefully scrutinize purchases
Rethink brand loyalties
Willing to trade off or down
More price sensitive
More value conscious

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 Building Brands in a Recession

Companies

Reduce advertising budgets

Balance discounts/promos w/brand image
Must overcome consumer distrust
Change product marketing focus
Increase online social presence
Look for new ways to remain relevant

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 Test Your Knowledge

Why are marketers decreasing the use of mass media

advertising and increasing the use of integrated
marketing communications?
A) The mass market has become fragmented
B) New technologies gave consumers greater
control over the communication process
C) Use of the Internet and electronic commerce
is growing
D) Explosive growth in social networking
E) All of the above

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 The Promotional Mix

Interactive/
Direct
Advertising Internet
Marketing
Marketing

Publicity/
Sales Personal
Public
Promotion Selling
Relations

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 Advertising

• Any paid form of nonpersonal communication about an

organization, product, service, or idea by an identified
sponsor.

• About an organization, product,

service, or idea
• With an identified sponsor
• No immediate feedback from audience
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 Advertising
Advantages
• Cost-effective way for communicating, particularly with large
audiences
• Ability to create images and symbolic appeals and for
differentiating similar products and services
• Valuable tool for creating and maintaining brand equity
• Ability to strike responsive chord with audience through creative
advertising
• Opportunity to leverage popular advertising campaigns into
successful IMC programs which can generate support from
retailers and other trade members
• Ability to control the message (what, when and how something is
said and where it is delivered)

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 Advertising
Disadvantages:

• The cost of producing and placing ads can be very high,

particularly television commercials
• It can be difficult to determine the effectiveness of advertising
• There are credibility and image problems associated with
advertising
• The vast number of ads has created clutter problems and
consumers are not paying attention to much of the advertising
they see and/or hear

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 Non-Personal Media

• Mass media
• TV
• Radio
• Magazines
• Newspapers

• Benefits
• Cost effective
• Large audiences

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 Advertising Classifications

National

Retail / Local

Primary / Selective Demand

Consumers

Business-to-Business

Professional

Trade
Organizations
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 Forms of Direct Marketing

Direct
Direct Mail Catalogs
Response Ads

Telemarketing Direct Selling

Database Shopping Internet

Management Channels Sales

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 Direct Marketing
• Direct Marketing—a system of marketing by which organizations
communicate directly with target customers to generate a
response and/or a transaction. Direct marketing has not
traditionally been considered an element of the promotional mix.
However, because it has become such an integral part of the
integrated marketing communications program of many
organizations, this text views it as a component of the promotional
mix.
Advantages:
• changes in society (two-income households, greater use of credit)
have made consumers more receptive to the convenience of
direct-marketed products
• allows a company to be very selective and target its marketing
communications to specific customer segments
• messages can be customized to fit the needs of specific market
segments
• effectiveness of direct-marketing efforts are easier to assess than
other forms of promotion 1-27
 Direct Marketing
Dis-Advantages:
• Consumers and businesses are being bombarded with unsolicited
mail and phone calls which makes them less receptive to direct-
marketing
• Direct marketing has image problems
• Problems with clutter as their are too many direct-marketing
messages competing for consumers’ attention

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 Direct Response Advertising

• Encourages consumers to purchase

directly from the manufacturer

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Direct Response Advertising

Major Tools Forces for Change

Direct Mail Changing Lifestyles

Television Credit Cards

Magazines Toll-free Numbers
Internet Rapid Internet Growth

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 Interactive Marketing

• Interactive media
• Internet
• Kiosks
• Interactive television
• Cell phones
• Other mobile devices

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 Interactive/Internet Marketing
• Interactive media allow for a back-and-forth flow of information
whereby users can participate in and modify the content of the
information they receive in real time. The major interactive
medium is the Internet, which is a global collection of computer
networks linking both public and private computer systems. While
the most prevalent perspective on the Internet is that it is an
advertising medium, it is actually a medium that can be used to
for other elements of the promotional mix as well including sales
promotion, direct marketing, and public relations. The rapid
penetration of cell phones and smartphones (iPhones,
Blackberries) is leading to a rapid growth in mobile marketing
whereby marketing messages are sent directly to the devices.

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 Interactive/Internet Marketing
Advantages:
• The Internet can be used for a variety of integrated marketing
communication functions including advertising, direct marketing, sales
promotion, public relations and selling. The Internet is also the
foundation for social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter which
are becoming an integral part of many marketers IMC programs.
• Messages can be tailored to appeal to the specific interests and needs
of the target audience
• The interactive nature of the Internet leads to a higher degree of
customer involvement when customers are visiting a web site.
• The Internet makes it possible to provide customers with a great deal
of information regarding product and service descriptions and
specifications, purchase information and more. Information provided
by marketers can be updated and changed continually.
• The Internet has tremendous creative potential as a well-designed
web site can attract a great deal of attention and interest among
customers and be an effective way to generate interest in a company
as well as its various products and services.
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 Interactive/Internet Marketing
Dis-Advantages:
• The Internet is not yet a complete mass medium as about a
quarter of U.S. households do not have access to the Internet and
many do not have broadband access. In some countries this
percentage is much higher.
• There are problems with the Internet as an advertising medium as
many Internet users do not pay attention to banner ads and the
click-through rate on most is extremely low.
• There is a great deal of clutter on the Internet which makes it
difficult for advertising messages to be noticed and/or given
attention.

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 Interactive Marketing

• Internet activities
• Advertise products and services
• Link ads and websites to search engines
• Offer coupons, contests, sweepstakes
• Conduct direct marketing
• Do personal selling
• Conduct public relations activities
• Measure advertising and promotions

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 Sales Promotion

Marketing activities that provide

extra value or incentives to the…

Ultimate
Sales Force Consumer
Retailers

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 Sales Promotion
Marketing activities that provide extra value or incentive to the sales
force, distributors, or the ultimate consumer and can stimulate
immediate sales. Sales promotion is generally broken into two major
categories: consumer-oriented and trade-oriented activities.

Advantages:
• Provides extra incentive to consumer or middlemen to purchase or
stock and promote a brand
• Way of appealing to price sensitive consumer
• Way of generating extra interest in product or ads
• Effects can often be more directly measured than those of
advertising
• Can be used as a way of building or reinforcing brand equity

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 Sales Promotion
Disadvantages:
• Many companies are becoming too reliant on sales promotion and
focusing too much attention on short-run marketing planning and
performance
• Many forms of sales promotion do not help establish or reinforce
brand image and short-term sales gains are often achieved at the
expense of long-term brand equity
• Problems with sales promotion clutter as consumers are
bombarded with too many coupons, contests, sweepstakes and
other promotional offers
• Consumers may become over-reliant on sales promotion
incentives which can undermine the development of favorable
attitudes and brand loyalty.
• In some industries promotion wars may develop whereby
marketers sales promotion incentives extensively which results in
lower profit margins and makes it difficult to sell products at full
price
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 Consumer vs. Trade Promotions

Consumer- Couponing, sampling, premiums,

rebates, contests, sweepstakes, POP
oriented
materials

Encourages immediate purchases

Promotional/merchandising
allowances, price deals, sales
contests, trade shows
Trade-
oriented Wholesalers, distributors, retailers

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 Publicity/Public Relations
• Publicity—non-personal communications about an organization,
product, service, or idea that is not directly paid for nor run under
identified sponsorship.
• Public Relations—a management function which evaluates public
attitudes, identifies the public policies and procedures of an
individual or organization with the public interest, and executes a
program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance.

• Distinction: between publicity and public relations noting that

public relations generally has a broader objective than publicity, as
its purpose is to establish and maintain a positive image of the
company among its various publics. Publicity is an important
communications technique used in public relations; however other
tools may also be used.

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 Publicity/Public Relations
Advantages of Publicity:

• Credibility of publicity is usually higher than other forms of

marketing communication
• Low cost way of communicating
• Often has news value and generates word‑of‑mouth discussion
among consumers

Disadvantages of Publicity:
• Lack of control over what is said, when, where and how it is said
• Can be negative as well as positive

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 Publicity

A news story,
editorial, or High credibility and
announcement to low cost
a mass audience
Not directly paid for
or run under
identified sponsor

Is sometimes Not always under

unfavorable company control

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 Public Relations

• Management function
• Evaluates public attitudes
• Identifies items of public interest
• Executes a program of action to earn
public understanding and acceptance

• Primary objectives
• Establish and maintain a positive image
of the company among various publics

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 Public Relations

• Uses publicity and

other tools
• Special publications
• Community activities
• Fund-raising events
• Sponsorships
• Public affairs
activities

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 Personal Selling

• Person-to-person communication
• A seller attempts to assist and/or
persuade prospective buyers to make a
purchase or act on an idea
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 Personal Selling
Personal Selling: direct person‑to‑person communication whereby a
seller attempts to assist and/or persuade prospective buyers to
purchase a company’s product or service or act on an idea.

Advantages:
• Direct contact between buyer and seller allows for more
communication flexibility
• Can tailor and adapt message to specific needs or situation of the
customer
• Allows for more immediate and direct feedback
• Promotional efforts can be targeted to specific markets and
customers who are best prospects

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 Personal Selling
Dis-Advantages:

• High cost per contact ($155 to $300, depending on the industry)

• Expensive way to reach large audiences
• Difficult to have consistent and uniform message delivered to all
customers

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IMC Audience Contact Tools

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Touch Points: Control vs. Impact

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 IMC Planning Model
Review of marketing plan
Promotional program situation analysis
Analysis of the communications process

Budget determination

Develop integrated marketing communications programs

Sales PR/ Personal Direct Internet/

Advertising
promotion publicity selling marketing interactive

Advertising Sales PR/ Personal Direct Internet/

promotion publicity selling marketing interactive
objectives objectives objectives objectives objectives objectives

Message Sales PR/ Personal Direct Internet/

promotion publicity selling marketing interactive
strategy strategy strategy strategy strategy strategy

Integrate and implement marketing communications strategies

Monitor, evaluate and control IMC Program
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 Elements of a Marketing Plan

Detailed situation analysis

Specific marketing objectives

Marketing strategy and program

Program for implementing the strategy

Process for monitoring & evaluating performance

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Promotional Program Situational Analysis

Internal External

Firm’s promotional Customer analysis

organization/capabilities
Competitive analysis
Review of previous
Environmental analysis
programs and results
Assess firm/brand
image
Assess strengths and
weaknesses of product
or service

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 Analysis of Communications Process
• Communication decisions
• Source and message
• Communication channels
• Media mix
• Costs
• Marketing goals
• Communication objectives
Determining how the company can effectively communicate
with customers in the target market. An important part of this
stage of the IMC planning process is developing communication
objectives which refer to what the firm seeks to accomplish
with its promotional program.
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 Budget Determination

• What will the promotional program cost?

• How will the money be allocated?

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Developing the IMC Program

IMC Strategies

Creative Media

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 Developing the IMC Program
• Most involved and detailed part of the promotional planning
process occurs at this stage as decisions have to be made
regarding the role and importance of each IMC tool and their
coordination with one another. Each IMC tool has its own set of
objectives, budget, messaging and media strategy.
These include:
• Advertising message and media strategy and tactics
• Direct marketing message and media strategy and tactics
• Interactive/Internet Marketing message and media strategy and
tactics
• Sales promotion message and media strategy and tactics
• Public relations/publicity strategy and tactics
• Personal selling – sales strategy and tactics

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Monitoring/Evaluating & Control of IMC Program
• The final stage of the IMC planning process involves monitoring,
evaluating and controlling the promotional program. At this stage,
the marketing should be gathering feedback concerning how well
the IMC program is working and whether it is meeting its
objectives. It is important to note that information regarding the
results achieved by the IMC program is used in subsequent IMC
planning and strategy development.

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Monitoring, Evaluation, Control

Basic Goals

Determine how well the program

is doing, and why
Problem correction
Continual management feedback
Input for future promotions/strategies

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