Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A Report On Integreted Marketing Communication With Special Refrence To Marketing. An In-Depth Study
A Report On Integreted Marketing Communication With Special Refrence To Marketing. An In-Depth Study
A REPORT ON INTEGRETED
MARKETING COMMUNICATION WITH
SPECIAL REFRENCE TO MARKETING.
An In-Depth Study
PROJECT BY:
MOHAMMED ATIQUE IDRISI
TYBMS (SEM V), 2010- 2011
Project Co-ordinator:
PROF. MAZHAR THAKUR
Submitted by:
MOHAMMED ATIQUE IDRISI
TYBMS [Semester V]
AKBAR PEERBHOY College of
Commerce and Economics.
Project Co-ordinator:
PROF; MAJHAR THAKUR
Submitted on : ____/____/20
Place: Mumbai.
Date:
Project Co-ordinator
PART I
Introduction 09
What Is Integrated Marketing Communication . 11
An Analogy The Symphony Orchestra .. 15
Components of IMC. 17
Factors contributing to IMC's rising prominence . 19
Heart Of IMC 5 Power Concepts .. 22
Levels of Integration .... 24
Consumer Psyche and Information Processing .. 27
CASE I
How the Entertainment Industry Capitalizes on IMC 30
Success Factors and Advantages of IMC .. 43
ANNEXURE A
IMC AUDIT FORM
ANNEXURE B
IMC IN GLOBAL ARENA
ANNEXURE C
QUESTIONNAIRE
BIBLIOGRAPHY
I M C
AN INTRODUCTION
Pepsi, announced some time back that it was scrapping its familiar red,
white, and blue design and switching to a radical new electric blue
package and logo design, the reason being that Pepsi's image, particularly
in international markets, had been losing something in translation.
In the marketplace of the 21st century ... the driving force is not a
company with products to sell but customers controlling what, where,
and how they want to buy. Thanks to the Internet, 24-hour toll-free
phone numbers, credit cards, and express delivery services, consumers
are accessing information on demand and seeking out the products and
services that interest them.
Gone are the days when a company determined where, when, and how it
sells its product. This new approach not only changes the way we make
our purchasing decisions, it also revolutionizes how companies market to
their customers. For most companies to win, they must replace outdated
mass-marketing tactics with a targeted, customer-focused approach.
Definition of IMC:
As per American Association of Advertising Agencies
'The concept of marketing communications planning that recognizes the
added value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic role 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'.
Thus the first aspect creates awareness and the second aspect creates
and maintains loyalty.
While definitions differ, the practice of IMC involves the same success
factors and helps organizations build and deepen relationships with their
many stakeholders. The following conditions should be considered
"necessary," but not sufficient conditions of IMC practice:
1. It must speak to all stakeholders with a "single," consistent voice.
2. It must assume the consumers' point of view.
3. Its strategic communications disciplines must be internally
integrated.
4. It must have a clear and consistent message that is more efficient
and effective than competing messages.
5. Its messages must cut through the increasingly cluttered
commercial landscape.
6. It must foster a two-way dialogue between consumers and itself.
7. It must build bonds that lead to long-term, consumer-to-brand
relationships.
8. It must not place excellent marketing ahead of corporate
reputation.
Thus in the IMC approach, the different communications are in the form
of arcs making up a 360-degree circle, at the center of which lies the
customer. With too much communication surrounding the customer he
The first thing to note is that although all the instruments normally play
the same tune, they are not interchangeable; they make different noises.
When each plays alone, the melody will be recognizable. But if you think a
piano playing Rule Britannia is the same as a trumpet playing Rule
Britannia, you are tone deaf. Very few consumers are tone deaf. They will
recognize that the underlying messages being conveyed, say, by public
relations and sponsorship, are identical, but the tone will be entirely
different. The form in which a message (or melody) is conveyed is nearly
as important as its content, sometimes more important.
But, third, it does not always mean they must play exactly the same tune.
There are many occasions when they should be playing in counterpoint.
On their own, it may not be apparent they are playing the same melody at
all. Each may be exploiting its own virtuosity, instead of echoing the
others.
Special events
There are TWO CRITICAL FACTORS that have the most influence on the
effectiveness of an Integrated Marketing campaign.
The second critical factor is the consistency of the theme across all
elements in the campaign. Logically, consistency is best achieved
through the use of a single source responsible for defining the role of
each element, creating the theme, and coordinating the timely
implementation of the campaign. However, consistency is where most
companies who believe they are already integrating their marketing
efforts usually fall short.
Not PRICE, but COST : Understand the consumer's cost to satisfy the
want or need. The product price may be only one part of the consumer's
cost structure. Often it's the cost of time to drive somewhere, the cost of
conscience of what you eat, and the cost of guilt for not treating the kids.
In keeping with the above trends, there are Five power concepts that go
in IMC and make the communications efficient and effective.
3. i.e. you need to be consistent at all the contact points and need to have
continuity such that all the roads of different media lead down the
same path to the brand. The beauty of your communications lies in
that the consumer gets the option only to decide how far to go and not
what different objective to go for.
There exist various levels at which such integration can take place. The
following table details each of such stages.
LEVEL I
Tactical Co-ordination To create one sight, one sound by
consolidating communications
planning. Often leads to attempts at
cross-functionality, where teams of
specialists from different areas of
expertise are formed to increase
synergy.
LEVEL II
Redefining the Scope of Marketing Rather than considering
LEVEL III
Application of IT The key ingredient here is the use of
databases to capture individual
transactions. This enables the firm to
market to groups of individuals
rather than the average customer at
the middle of the segment.
LEVEL IV
Consist of sensory and life experiences that can easily be identified and
transformed into a unified concept,
Have mental relationships to other categorized ideas, and
Fit into the categories and mental linkages that people have already
created for themselves.
In this way, Disney is always accessible to kids and their parents. Also,
the way in which Disney.com provides audience contact with all divisions
of the company helps to reinforce all that Disney has to offer its
customers. Kids and parents can click on any one of the departments and
send a message to them. Disney.com serves as a model of how companies
can expand their audiences experience with the franchise while helping
to strengthen the relationships built through those experiences in the
process.
Everything about the company must create the same experience for, and
give the same message to, its consumers. It is the application of these
marketing principles that demonstrates the entertainment industry as a
stellar case study in the field of integrated marketing communications
-----------********------------
PROCESS OF IMC
The agency on the other hand will help research the market, suggest
creative strategies, and produce IMC materials. Quite a few times the
agency does not have all the internal expertise necessary to develop and
manage every marketing tool. Often the agency is an expert with the
development & Placement of mass media advertising, and hence is often
criticized for their tendency to push mass media as the best form of
communication. When the marketers want other communication options,
they often hence turn to External facilitators to get the expertise they are
looking for. The hierarchy in this case is as shown on the next page.
Once the specialist agencies come into the picture, co-ordination and
integration of a marketing communications program becomes much more
complex. These various agencies view each other as competitors for the
clients dollars and will most likely champion their particular specialty.
Thus instead of ending up in coordination and integration, it created a
situation characterized by conflict and disintegration.
Marketing Organization
Marketing plan
Goals and objectives
Customer/ prospect
databases
Advertising Agency
Research
Creative strategies
Production
Message placement
Specialized marketing
communications
organizations
Media organizations
Event management firms
Web site designers
Sales promotion agencies
Direct marketing
agencies
Public relations firms
Customer
The promotional planner after reviewing all the information should see
how IMC fits into the marketing program and what are the objectives
set for IMC to achieve. (Thus the objective could either be only to
The next step following is the designing of the creative which rests on
the creative / advertising agency. Nowadays increasingly most of the
advertising agencies handle the entire account of a brand single handedly
(even including the consumer researches for media and advertising).
The creative here is designed for all the communications whether the
tangibles or the intangibles e.g. packaging, print ads, TV ads, interstitial
etc. This also includes the coordination of the events and PR based on a
one-voice platform.
The final step in the process is the Implementation. This includes the
actual communication and the different activities communicating about
the brand like promotions and events etc.
There are many different models that guide the process of planning an
(c) The final apex of the planning triangle considers the various
persuasion tools that may be deployed in executing the campaign. The
mix of the various tools should depend on the objectives that are set
for the IMC campaign.
Collaboration between the agency and the client is the key to ensure that
the approval process proceeds in a timely fashion.
Innovation has been the key to the growth of the Godrej group. It is this
spirit that has built Godrej and carried it for over a hundred years.
Existing in diverse industries ranging from cupboards to soaps, hair dyes
to edible oils, and packaged foods to refrigerators, the group in recent
years has forged several partnerships with international giants like
General Electric, Pillsbury, Fiskars and Sara Lee, bringing Godrej
membership in the Global village that will carry it forward into the 21st
century.
Godrej has always been a crusader for a better world with programs that
benefit endangered forests, wild life and mangroves. Every year the
Pirojsha Godrej Foundation dedicates funds towards promoting
education, housing, social upliftment, conservation, population
management and relief of natural calamities.
With a turnover of Rs. 470 crore, the company employs 950 persons and
has two modern manufacturing facilities at Malanpur (M.P.), and Silvassa
(U.T.). GCPL is India's largest marketer of Hair Colourants and Liquid
Detergents and the third largest marketer of toilet soaps.
GCPL is expected to have ROCE and RONW ratios comparable with the
best FMCG companies in India. It is a professionally managed company
Associate Companies include Godrej Industries Ltd., Godrej Sara Lee Ltd.,
Godrej Foods Ltd., Godrej Agrovet Ltd. and Godrej Properties and
Investments Ltd.
In todays arena where the messages need to make an effort to stand out
of the immense Clutter and where the messages are prone to different
interpretations in different contexts, use of Integrated Communications
reduces the risks associated with such loses.
The Mission for the FairGlow team - To work towards ensuring that the
brand maintains its market creator and leader status
The Product - FAIRGLOW is a high quality toilet soap with 76% TFM (total
fatty matter) and an excellent floral perfume. It is packaged in a polyester
(c) The stage of the Product Life Cycle in which the brand operates will also be
a factor in the formation of the communication mix.
(d) The Brand Philosophy, character A brand that symbolizes and associates
itself to Safety, Care, Environment etc. would lend itself easily to
collaborative advertising which may not be the case with all brands.
(e) Product Category is yet another actor. Some brands like Cinthol are
youthful in character and hence lend themselves to Events, Mass
(f) The Target group also plays an important role in the communication
mix definition. Thus a brand like FairGlow lends itself more to Events
promotion as compared to a family brand like All Care
(j) One of the most important parameters in the decision making would
Strategy Strategy
(Creatives)
Execution
Strategy
Agency of Record -
Specialists Events
Madison
etc.
Event
Creatives
Creative agency -
Mudra
Specialist outfits -
Outsourcing for Net advertising,
Certain areas of Direct Marketing
Strategy
etc.
Integrated Marketing Communications 60
The responsibility of coordination of all the brand building efforts rests
with the Brand Team, which is the Final authority on all components and
mixes adopted by the brand. While the Brand team has complete freedom
to execute strategies that are in keeping with their brand philosophy, they
also keep in mind the association of the brand with the Corporate Brand
Godrej and the synergy between the two brands. This ensures that no
brand lends a negative rub-off to the corporate brand and works within
its purview, enhancing it at the same time.
Two-way synergistic
relationship
The Indivudual brands
Godrej Brand (FairGlow, Cinthol etc.)
Each brand manager ensures that his brand philosophy lies well within or
is related to the overall Godrej philosophy of commitment to Quality and
well-being of the consumer. The senior management (Board of directors et
al) ensure that the vision of the company translates into brands that are
diverse and yet converge synergistically under the Godrej Brand.
-----------********------------
The IMC program can be integrated at several Stages. The company needs
to identify which level is it at currently, and what does it seek to achieve
in a specific campaign. The following table details the various stages and
explains them alongside.
1e. A value field of int ractions: A company exists within a value field
(rather than a linear value chain) of stakeholder interactions. Companies
communicate directly with customers and retailers at the same time
retailers are talking with customers and customers are talking among
themselves. The interactions among suppliers, distributors, and even
competitors can affect brand value.
Due to these concerns at times the firms not only hesitate to use the
services of the newly developed capabilities but in fact also delay the
implementation of the IMC program itself.
On the other hand opponents of such agencies say that the providers get
involved in political wrangling over budgets, do not communicate as often
and do not achieve synergy. They claim that the efforts by agencies to
control all aspects of the promotional program are nothing more than an
attempt to hold on to the business that might otherwise be lost to
competitors.
Who should do it
An IM audit should be done by an outside, objective team and should be a
census (not just a sample) of the managers of all departments impacting
on brand relationships. At the audit orientation meeting with top
management, the audit instruments are reviewed and customized to fit
the organization's structure and needs.
Audit Tools
The audit tools include three basic interviewing instruments, as well as a
variety of optional tools depending on the type of business and how in-
depth the organization wants the audit to be.
Interactivity. How far has the company moved into interactive, two-
way communication with customers?
The benefits of auditing the organization, and the processes that are
responsible for acquiring, retaining, and growing customer relationships,
can uncover major inefficiencies and integration gaps. These may include:
Case in Point: Procter & Gamble - The World's Great Consumer Products
Company
Procter & Gamble is considered by business scholars to be a world-class
marketing company. Like the Nike brand, Procter & Gamble possesses
some of the most recognizable brands in the world including: Tide
detergent, Crest toothpaste, Jiff peanut butter, Cover Girl cosmetics, and
Duncan Hines cake mix. It also has dominant market share with many of
its premier brands. For some time now P&G has been lauded for its
efforts in implementing the Integrated Marketing Communications. But is
Procter & Gamble a perfect IMC exemplar? If beginning with stakeholders
and speaking to them with one voice across all communications channels
is an important criterion of IMC, the answer must be "NO."
Companies like Nike and Procter & Gamble do an excellent job with the
marketing side of marketing communications without integrating their
public and employee relations functions and hence their corporate
reputations have suffered. IMC theory has given short shift to the
organizational barriers that often prevent companies from implementing
IMC completely or effectively.
(a)Organizational Barriers
Companies like Procter and Gamble have comprehensively or
effectively integrated their many communications functions seamlessly
or spoken to their stakeholders with one voice. They are very strong in
marketing, but remain weak in public relations, employee
communications, or both. The question remains, how do great
companies like these miss the IMC mark?
The fact is that many CEOs want commercials that get rave reviews
among their close circle of peers and notoriety from the public, no
matter what effect they have on consumers or the company's bottom
line. To minimize the influence of the CEO on company marketing is
nave, but to exclude the CEO in any substantive discussion of IMC
adoption and implementation is simply deficient theory building.
The above explanation offers adequate rationale for the corporate neglect
of IMC. The recommendations that flow from the analysis are:
There are series of necessary conditions that must be present for IMC to
be adopted effectively by a company. Based on these conditions, six
recommendations for optimal adoption of IMC are offered:
The CEO must voice direct support for adopting IMC, because without
this critical element, IMC efforts are doomed. Beware of companies
with strong marketing cultures, because issues like corporate
reputation will take a back seat to the provincialism of brand
management.
Ten years ago, the business world was not quite ready to embrace the
principles of IMC. But as the environment developed over the past decade,
IMC grew in stature because it makes good business sense, especially in
today's fast-moving economy. IMC and the four major new economy mega
trends - technology, intangibles, globalization, and the war for talent - are
made for each other.
In a business environment where all four mega trends effect the way we
go to market, following the IMC principles of knowing your customers,
building your brand and measuring effectiveness will put companies one
step ahead of the competition.
Seek ways to set yourself apart from your competition. Why are you
different? Why should people come to you instead of going to someone
else offering the same service or product?
Corporate Images (An IMC Provider) has developed a process called The
Integrated Marketing Audit - adapted from Tom Duncan and Sandra
Moriarity in Driving Brand Value - to evaluate an organization's internal
and external processes for developing communication strategies and
programs.
Once you've defined who you are and have set your sights on where you
want to go in the marketplace, how do you get your message to your
market and project an image that fits your company? And how do you say
it to all of your publics in a consistent voice?
Organizational Infrastructure
Never 1 2 3 4 5 Always
Never 1 2 3 4 5 Always
Never 1 2 3 4 5 Always
Never 1 2 3 4 5 Always
Interactivity
1. Our media plan is a strategic balance between mass media and
one-to-one media.
Never 1 2 3 4 5 Always
Never 1 2 3 4 5 Always
Mission Marketing
9. Our organization's mission is a key consideration in our
communication planning.
Never 1 2 3 4 5 Always
10. Our mission provides an additional reason for customers and other
key stakeholders to believe our messages and support our
company.
Never 1 2 3 4 5 Always
Strategic Consistency
12. We periodically review all our planned messages (e.g., advertising,
sales promotion, PR, packaging, direct marketing, events) to
determine the level of strategic positioning consistency.
Never 1 2 3 4 5 Always
Never 1 2 3 4 5 Always
14. We think carefully about the messages being sent by our pricing,
distribution, product performance, service operations, and others
beyond the control of the company.
Never 1 2 3 4 5 Always
Never 1 2 3 4 5 Always
Never 1 2 3 4 5 Always
Never 1 2 3 4 5 Always
18. Our company uses some type of tracking study to evaluate the
strength of our relationships with customers and other key
stakeholder groups.
Never 1 2 3 4 5 Always
Never 1 2 3 4 5 Always
Adapted from Tom Duncan and Sandra Moriarity in Driving Brand Value
(New York: McGraw-Hill 1997), p. 27-28.
3. What are the criteria adopted for selecting an agency to handle the
brand?
5. How is the process of integration carried out - through the brief given
to the agency, through common meetings across agencies or some
other method?
10. What factors play an important role in developing the IMC strategy
(PLC stage, Target etc.) and what variables (components) would they
influence?
11. Would you please compare the IMC campaigns of Fairglow, Godrej All
Care, Cinthol on the following parameters:
(a) Objectives
(b) Budgets
(c) Components
(d) Proportions of the components and allocations made to each of them
(e) Consumers perception of the Brand Image
(f) Sales and other parameters of evaluation
(g) Any other effects on Consumer Psyche
(h) Any other
12. How is the synergy between the Corporate Brand Godrej and all the
other consumer products brands achieved?
Online Resources
http://www.morse-balegno.com
http://www.tri-media.com
http://www.corporate-images.com
http://www.harcourtcollege.com
http://www.bi.no/users/fgl96053/imcmsc/imcplanning.htm
http://www.northernlight.com
http://spot.colorado.edu
http://www.medill.nwu.edu/imc
http://www.apqc.org
http://about.com
http://askjeeves.com