SYBMS: INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION

BHAVYA KOTHARI
ROLL NO. 246
ELECTIVE: MARKETING
Reasons for growth of IMC
Marketing is regarded as a fundamental and crucial business activity because, while other
operations add costs to the company's treasuries, marketing is the operation that adds money
to the company's treasury. Starting with the simple goal of making goods more appealing to
the end-user, it has evolved into a field of study that provides comprehensive knowledge of
tools and strategies that combine several distinct but interrelated aspects such as public
relations, social media, audience analytics, business development principles, and advertising
to create a well-rounded marketing plan for a product or business in which every aspect is
taken into account toward making a profit.
Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is a multi-disciplinary subject in which
conventional and current media methods are used to improve the efforts of individual
marketing tasks undertaken by managers and staff in many departments. This unified branch
of marketing assists a variety of marketing professionals, including marketing specialists,
public relations directors, brand managers, digital media associates, social media marketers,
and other media specialists, in developing multi-faceted promotion and communication
content for target audiences. Many businesses also use IMC as a tool to create marketing and
sales strategies that are targeted to the needs of current and future clients. This software has
played a significant role in modern times, and it has benefited all brands in the form of
increased profits.
As IMC combines all of the essential functions of marketing into one branch and allows
personnel from various departments to come together and launch a full-fledged plan, from
product development to marketing, a wider range of businesses have embraced it because it
reduces costs and improves profitability.

Tools of IMC

1. Advertising: It has long been regarded as the most recognised and time-proven
method of communicating a brand's products, ideas, messages, or aims. Although it is
more expensive than other forms of marketing, its benefits outweigh its drawbacks
because it reaches a larger audience and can expand its reach through various tools
such as print, posters, TV commercials, radio, and the internet, which houses the
world's largest collection of ideas and information. While a company may gain the
most advantage by using all of these methods at the same time, it is up to the brand to
choose the one that is most suited for it and put it into action.
2. Direct Marketing: Some organisations reckon that rather than launching countrywide
marketing campaigns or targeting a global audience which involves high costs, it is
better to estimate the demographics of a specific segment of the population the
company is looking forward to cater to and curate marketing and communication
campaigns exclusively for that segment. Its methods include telemarketing, EDM
marketing, brochures and online ads which are shown to a person if his choice of
content matches what the company is selling. 

3. Digital/Internet Marketing: The most prevalent in recent times, Digital/Internet

marketing have come to be the go-to IMC tools as businesses realise web’s potential
in expanding their operations and market share. Almost every now and then, we
chance upon interactive advertising campaigns shown on blogs, social media sites or
as videos to persuade audience to purchase their products. Several tools such as
Electronic Direct Mail (EDM), Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), blogs,
sponsorships, etc. are used to leverage the doles of internet marketing. Several brands
make use of digital marketing by advertising their products in collaboration with an
event.
4. Sales Promotion: This field has become really diverse today as it focuses on
increasing sales with immediate effect. However, things change when sales promotion
is viewed from the angle of Integrated Marketing Communication. It consists of two
bronchioles namely, consumer-oriented and trade-oriented. In the former, the focus is
to entice the existing consumers by launching offers which are hard to be oblivious to
and also on new customers who are anticipated to sample the seller’s product. In the
latter, the brand’s competitors are targeted and attempts are made to increase their
sales while lowering the sales of the opponents. 

5. Publicity/Public Relations: Publicity is the fifth tool of IMC which encompasses a

company’s efforts to maintain a favourable impression in the minds and hearts of the
consumers so that it can continuously build relationships with more and more people.
While some publicity is brought to focus by media which can be positive or negative,
many times marques pay a huge sum of money to branding agencies which radiate
light on the better and radical practices adopted by the company. Establishing
verifiability is the company’s most vital goal here and this could be either through
community interaction, transparency or allaying serious problems faced by the
masses. 
Reasons for growth of IMC

It’s almost palpable to imagine the margin that would be lost out in sales and profits if the
function of Integrated Marketing Communication is absent in any organisation. As it
combines all the aspects of marketing communication into a wholesome branch of
knowledge leaving nothing untapped, it has witnessed prosperity and a gargantuan
number people use it today.

1. It plays an integral role in communicating brand message to a larger audience:

Time-bound and relevant communication is key to the success of an organisation, the
effort of the marketing team and the product itself. By synergising the various tools, it
has the ability to let the product reach its audience and maximise returns from it. For
example, when LG launches a new product, he makes use of advertising, sales
promotion, digital marketing techniques and direct marketing so that the product has
enormous reach, finds its target segment and brings revenue rapidly to the company.

2. High brand awareness at minimal cost:

There’s a common aphorism, “People buy what they see.” This is even more rampant
in a nation like India where demonstration effect and brand’s attempts towards luring
them to purchase their products are high. If IMC is used efficiently, it will lead to
generation of high brand recognition at relatively lesser costs. Digital Marketing
makes use of online media where the cost is much lesser in relation to the returns
obtained from it. Advertising can also be controlled as per the marketer’s needs to
keep the costs low. Moreover, direct marketing and publicity also do not involve high
costs for execution. Hence, through IMC, all marketing tools can be utilised
effectively without piling up exorbitant costs.

3. Creation and maintenance of new customers possible:

For the maintenance of customers, it is important for every company to take consumer
feedback into consideration. This will make sure the customers it has already attracted
are retained over a long period of time as it continuously strives to adopt practices and
improve products to the customer’s requirements. 
As all the important marketing functions are consolidated through all tools of IMC, a
unified message will be experienced by the customers which is going to make them
taste its products and become a new consumer. In modern times of intense
 competition, all mediums of marketing communication are exploited to have
maximum gain. All sorts of marketing channels such as TV, radio, banners,
hoardings, etc. are used to develop dedication for the brand.

4. Saves time:
A lot goes into deciding which marketing tool would be best suited to market a
particular product depending on the country, population, consumer ideology and
culture, cost, etc. However, integrated marketing communication eschews such
thinking as it brings a perfect blend of all the tools with a unified message so that
buyers of all ilk are targeted and communicated about it according to such factors
while keeping the cost low contemporaneously. It is of paramount significance to
prepare customised plans for each ambit of the population especially when a product
is launching in the entire country or going global. For example, Samsung
smartphones, Hyundai and Toyota cars, mobile networks, e-commerce websites such
as Amazon.com and other businesses where e-tailing is the primary form of carrying
out transactions. Therefore, IMC has become a really important function and has seen
the growth it deserved. 

5. Evolving environment:
The marketers of products have now realised that the market is now oriented more
towards the consumers than the manufacturers of products. Gone are the days when a
single advertisement campaign was used to promote the products and services for
mass communication. It has been found that rather than focussing on the entire
market, it is better to focus on a specific segment of the population for whom the
product is meant.

6. Influence of social networking sites:  

In the last decade specially, a storm of social networking sites such as Instagram,
LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have allowed promoters of products to
seize the opportunity by advertising their products and ideas through communicating
these on such platforms. Since such websites witness a lot of traffic, it is valuable for
the marketers to invest in advertising here. Such influx of social networking sites is
also a reason responsible for the growth of IMC. 

Conclusion:
Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) has come to be a crucial and new
approach in deciding marketing and communication strategies for the consumers. Its
utility enhanced by offering a comprehensive set of tools for efficient marketing
communication is what makes it so desirable and the reason why it has gained a lot of
importance lately. It is all-pervasive as it is required by all organisations- big or small,
Trading or Manufacturing and Governmental, Social or Private. Its tools are used to
carry out a diverse array of tasks and since these provide a complete overview of the
entire marketing plan for a company and a product, it is why IMC is prognosed to
acquire even greater significance in the coming years. 
BIBLOGRAPHY
 
http://www.thebalancesmb.com
http://www.feedough.com
http://www.managementstudyguide.com
courses.lumenlearning.com
http://www.sparkinteract.com.au
online.purdue.edu
http://www.mastersincommunications.com