Integrated Marketing Communications

Dr Omar Merlo
o.merlo@jbs.cam.ac.uk
Course schedule, topics and readings

Session Topic Indicative content Case Study

Lecture 1 Fundamentals of Defining marketing and IMC Pets.com

Customer value and customer relevancy in communications
13 March IMC The marketing mix and IMC
2 pm The fundamental tools of IMC and touch points
Lecture 2 The IMC Situation analysis Swatch
The consumer decision making process
17 March planning process Segmentation, targeting and positioning
7 pm
(Part 1) Jaka Levstek guest lecture
Lecture 3 The IMC Establishing communications objectives Old Spice
The communications process
20 March planning process Establishing distinctiveness
2 pm
(Part 2) Konstantin Theile guest lecture
Lecture 4 The IMC Creative strategy Mountain Dew
Media selection
24 March programme and Traditional marketing communications
7 pm
creativity Selecting creative output in IMC

Lecture 5 Digital Digital and online communications Molson

Non-traditional marketing
27 March marketing Dealing with customer apathy
2 pm Social media marketing

Lecture 6 Global marketing Global advertising and promotion Harmonie Water

IMC across borders
31 March communications Jaka Levstek guest lecture
7 pm

Lecture 7 Final
8 May
presentations
2 pm

2
The IMC programme

• Developing the IMC programme involves:

(a) Deciding the role and importance of each promotional-mix element

(b) Deciding on the key aspects of the communications approach:

1. Creative strategy: Determining the basic appeal and message to be

conveyed to target audience.

2. Media strategy: Determining which communication channels to use to deliver

the message.

3
Creative strategy

• Determines what the message will say or communicate: What is the big idea at the
heart of the story you want to tell?

• Influences the creative tactics: How will the message strategy be executed?

• Creativity in advertising: The ability to generate fresh, unique, and appropriate ideas
that can be used as solutions to communication problems. Has two main determinants:
1. Divergence
2. Relevance

4
Advertising creativity: 1. Divergence

• The extent to which an ad contains elements that are novel, different, or unusual.
• May be achieved through:
1. Originality

2. Flexibility

3. Elaboration

4. Synthesis

5. Artistic value

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Advertising creativity: 2. Relevance

• The extent to which elements of an ad are meaningful, useful, or valuable to the

consumer.
• May be achieved through:
1. Ad-to-consumer relevance—Ad contains execution elements that are meaningful
to consumers.

2. Brand-to-consumer relevance—Advertised brand of product or service is of

personal interest to consumers.

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Advertising creativity

• Studies of advertising creativity show that:

• Creativity impacts consumers’ responses across various stages of response

hierarchy.
• It draws more attention to the advertised brand, higher levels of recall, greater
motivation to process the information, and deeper levels of processing.
• Divergence is achieved through novelty/originality and/or elaboration is particularly
important.

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Building brand equity through IMC

Customer-based brand equity has two key elements:

Strong,
High level of
favourable, and
awareness and
unique brand
familiarity
associations

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Branding relies on story-telling through IMC
Consider this example…

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Telling a powerful and consistent story
Brand archetypes

• When telling a story, relying on a pattern we are all familiar with, or a

mental image present in the collective unconscious (an archetype) can
simplify story-telling.
• Brand archetypes can help you tell your story in a form that everyone
recognises.
• The most effective stories are forged best by identifying solidly with just
one archetype.

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Telling a powerful and consistent story
The brand archetypes framework

Compelled to create Seeks purity, goodness

and innovate and happiness

Takes control, Helps people to

creates order understand their world

Helps and protects Explores and

from harm discovers

OK as they are, Rebels and breaks

connects with others the rules

Has a god time but

conveys serious Transforms situations
message

Finds and gives love Acts courageously to

and sensual pleasure put things right

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Brand archetypes
Examples

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Telling the story in the IMC programme
The language of brand archetypes

The brand and

the archetype it
evokes should Create, innovate, vision,
Purity, goodness,
determine your invent, inspire, dream,
fantasy, experiment,
happiness, simple, trust,
honesty, rebirth,
story telling, the unconventional, beauty,
aesthetic
perfectionist, naïve, mystic
content of your Control, order, authority, Knowledge, wisdom,
power, substance, expert, truth, think,
message, the impressive, organiser, understand, interpret,
language and responsible, boss progress, mentor, teach

images you use, Care, help, protect, Discover, seek, wander,

etc. comfort, nurture, parent,
support, affection,
find out, adventure,
individual, pioneer,
empathy, commitment, freedom, risk, fearless,
friendly, concern. curious, experience

Rule breaker, rebel,

Connect, belong, friend,
revolutionary, disrupt,
down to earth, functional,
destroy, outrageous,
wholesome, realist, team
radical, unconventional,
spirit, unpretentious
outsider

Live for the moment, Vision, transform, change,

impulsive, entertain, win-win, charisma,
playful, clever, outrageous, miracles, makes dreams
light-hearted, fun. come true

Courage, challenge,
Partner, intimate, harmony,
competition, strong, powerful,
pleasure, intimacy, beautiful,
determination, prevail,
relationship, attractive,
persevere, warrior,
passion, gratitude, friendship
turnaround

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The importance of keeping IMC focused and consistent

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Examples of brand archetypes
Personal brand reinvention

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15
The brand equity pyramid
A framework to build brand equity

4. RELATIONSHIPS

RESONANCE What about you & me?

EMOTIONAL ROUTE
RATIONAL ROUTE

3. RESPONSE
JUDGMENTS FEELINGS What about you?

2. MEANING
PERFORMANCE IMAGERY What are you?

1. IDENTITY
SALIENCE
Who are you?

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1. Identity
Salience dimensions

• There are two key elements:

1. Depth of brand awareness

• Ease of recognition and recall

2. Breadth of brand awareness

• Consumptions situations

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2. Meaning
Performance dimensions

• Primary characteristics & supplementary features

• Product reliability, durability, and serviceability
• Service effectiveness, efficiency, and empathy
• Style and design
• Price

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2. Meaning
Imagery dimensions

• The second type of brand meaning is concerned primarily with:

– User profiles

– Purchase & usage situations

– Personality and values

– History, heritage, & experiences

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The brand equity pyramid
Response dimensions

4. RELATIONSHIPS

RESONANCE What about you & me?

3. RESPONSE
JUDGMENTS FEELINGS What about you?

2. MEANING
PERFORMANCE IMAGERY What are you?

1. IDENTITY
SALIENCE
Who are you?

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3. Response
Judgment dimensions

• Personal opinions and evaluations of the brand based on the

following factors:

– Brand quality
– Brand credibility
– Brand consideration
– Brand superiority

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3. Response
Feelings dimensions

• The emotional responses and reactions to the brand, which may involve
the following factors:

– Warmth

– Fun

– Excitement

– Security

– Social approval

– Self-respect

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The brand equity pyramid
Relationship dimensions

4. RELATIONSHIPS

RESONANCE What about you & me?

3. RESPONSE
JUDGMENTS FEELINGS What about you?

2. MEANING
PERFORMANCE IMAGERY What are you?

1. IDENTITY
SALIENCE
Who are you?

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4. Brand relationships dimensions
Resonance

• The ultimate relationship and level of identification that the

customer has with the brand.

– Behavioral loyalty
– Attitudinal attachment
– Sense of community
– Active engagement

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The brand equity pyramid
Identifying branding objectives
Brand managers should aim
to develop…

…intense, active
loyalty
RESONANCE

…positive,
accessible
JUDGMENTS FEELINGS reactions

…points of parity
and difference
PERFORMANCE IMAGERY

…deep and broad

SALIENCE brand awareness

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Designing the creative message
The ELM and the Transformational/Informational models of advertising

Low involvement purchases

Positive purchase motivation

Negative appeals

Peripheral Transformational

Route to persuasion Positive appeals

Central Informational

High involvement purchases

Negative purchase motivation

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27
Evaluating brand communications
How do we assess creative output?

• What decision criteria do you think are important in evaluating a

brand’s advertising?

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Evaluating Brand Communications
The Mountain Dew case study

• What decision criteria do you think are important in evaluating a

brand’s advertising?
• Evaluate the following ads:
1. Dew or Die
2. Cheetah
3. Labor of Love
4. Mock Opera
5. Showstopper
• Which ad do you think is best? Propose only one ad for screening
during the Super Bowl

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