Understanding Integrated Marketing Communication: Concepts, Definitions and Dimensions

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Understanding integrated marketing communication: Concepts, deﬁnitions and

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Citation: Nadube, P. M. (2018). Understanding integrated marketing communication: Concepts, definitions and
dimensions. International Journal of Innovations in Economic and Management Science, 8(2), 1-15.
UNDERSTANDING INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS (IMC):

CONCEPT, DEFINITIONS AND DIMENSIONS
Paul M. Nadube Ph.D

Department of Marketing, Faculty of Management Sciences,
Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
pnadube@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this conceptual paper is to provide clarity about the concept of integrated marketing
communications (IMC) to enhance its understanding and relevance. It explores the conceptual
development of integrated marketing communications (IMC), examines the various definitions given by its
proponents and scholars and ultimately, identify its strategic and tactical dimensions that outline its
primary values and philosophy.
Keywords: IMC, Concept, Dimensions
INTRODUCTION
The marketing of products and services and the ways in which communication takes place with
customers and consumers in advanced industrial nations has changed tremendously over time.
Technological revolutions and innovations such as the Internet and mobile phones now affect
millions of people, who were almost unheard of several decades ago. Control over information
has apparently shifted from the hands of manufacturers to the hands or minds of consumers.
Consequently, marketers have had to change the ways they conduct their marketing
communication activities toward a more desirable, focused, holistic customer-oriented and
customer-controlled process. This process is referred to as Integrated Marketing
Communications (IMC). It is abbreviated and perhaps more recognisable form (IMC). Its genesis
can be traced directly to early academic work at the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern
University, led by Professor Don Schultz in the early 1990s. The recession in the USA toward
the end of the 1980s continuing into the 1990s, media fragmentation and expansion and
massively accelerated technological developments, together with budgetary constraints, drove
the corporate and marketing need to consider more integrated approaches and has, some over
twenty years later, brought about significant changes in marketing communications practices in
companies around the world. Specifically, this paper provides a review of related literature on
IMC; starting with the evolution and background of IMC, the concept and philosophy of IMC,
IMC as a process, and the dimensions of IMC.
The Evolution of IMC

During the 1980s, many companies came to see the need for more of a strategic integration of
their promotional tools to enhance effectiveness and efficiency. These firms began moving
toward the process of integrated marketing communications (IMC), which involves at the basic
level, coordinating the various promotional elements and other marketing activities that
communicate with a firm’s customers. As marketers embraced the concept of integrated
marketing communications, they began asking their ad agencies to coordinate the use of a variety
of promotional tools rather than relying primarily on media advertising. Companies also began to
look beyond traditional advertising agencies and use other types of promotional specialists to
develop and implement various components of their promotional plans. Many agencies
responded to the call for synergy among the promotional tools by acquiring public relation (PR),
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sales promotion, advertising and direct-marketing companies and peddling themselves as IMC
agencies that offer one-stop shopping for all their clients’ promotional needs. Some agencies
became involved in non advertising areas to gain control over their clients’ promotional
programs and budgets and struggled to offer any real value beyond creating advertising.
However, the advertising industry soon recognized that IMC was more than just a trend. Several
terms such as new advertising, orchestration, and seamless communication were used to describe
the concept of integration. A task force from the American Association of Advertising Agencies
(the “4As”) developed one of the first definitions of integrated marketing communications; it
defined IMC as:
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
(Schultz, 1993:4).
The 4As’ definition focuses on the process of uniting all forms of promotion to achieve
maximum communication impact. However, scholars advocate a broader perspective that
considers all sources of brand or company contact that a customer or prospect has with a product
or service (Schultz, 1996). Schultz and others noted that the process of integrated marketing
communications calls for a “big-picture” approach to planning marketing and promotion
programs and coordinating the various communication functions. It requires that firms develop a
total marketing communications strategy that recognizes how all of a firm’s marketing activities,
not just promotion, communicate with its customers. This is because consumers’ perceptions of a
company and/or its various brands are a synthesis of the bundle of messages they receive or
contacts they have, such as media advertisements, price, package design, direct-marketing
efforts, publicity, sales promotions, websites, point-of-purchase displays, and even the type of
store where a product or service is sold. The integrated marketing communications approach
seeks to have a company’s entire marketing and promotional activities project a consistent,
unified image to the marketplace. It calls for a centralized messaging function so that everything
a company says and does communicates a common theme and positioning (everything has
communication dimension).
Many companies have adopted this broader perspective of IMC. They see it as a way to
coordinate and manage their marketing communications programs to ensure that they give
customers a consistent message about the company and/or its brands. These companies, sees the
IMC approach as representing an improvement over the traditional method of treating the
various marketing and communications elements as separate activities. However, as marketers
become more sophisticated in their understanding of IMC, they recognize that it offers more than
just ideas for coordinating all elements of the marketing and communications programs. The
IMC approach helps companies identify the most appropriate and effective methods for
communicating and building relationships with their customers as well as other stakeholders
such as employees, suppliers, investors, interest groups, and the general public.
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Duncan and Moriarty (1997) argued that IMC is one of the “new-generation” marketing
approaches being used by companies to better focus their efforts in acquiring, retaining, and
developing relationships with customers and other stakeholders. They developed a
communication-based marketing model that emphasizes the importance of managing all
corporate or brand communications, as they collectively create, maintain, or weaken the
customer and stakeholder relationships that drive brand value. They noted messages can
originate at three levels—corporate, marketing, and marketing communications—since all of a
company’s corporate activities, marketing-mix activities, and marketing communications efforts
have communication dimensions and play a role in attracting and keeping customers.
At the corporate level, various aspects of a firm’s business practices and philosophies, such as its
mission, hiring practices, philanthropies, corporate culture, and ways of responding to inquiries,
all have dimensions that communicate with customers and other stakeholders and affect
relationships. For example, Belema oil is a company that is rated very high in social
responsibility and is perceived as a very good corporate citizen in its dealings with communities,
employees, and the environment. Belema oi capitalizes on its image as a socially responsible
company by supporting various causes as well as community events.
At the marketing level, as was mentioned earlier, companies send messages to customers and
other stakeholders through all aspects of their marketing mixes, not just promotion. Consumers
make inferences about a product on the basis of elements such as its design, appearance,
performance, pricing, service support, and where and how it is distributed. For example, a high
price may symbolize quality to customers, as may the shape or design of a product, its
packaging, its brand name, or the image of the stores in which it is sold. Some companies use
classic design and a distinctive brand name as well as a high price to their high-status products.
This upscale image is enhanced by the company’s strategy of distributing their products only
through very reputable channels
At the marketing communications level, Duncan and Moriarty (1998) noted that all messages
should be delivered and received on a platform of executional and strategic consistency in order
to create coherent perceptions among customers and other stakeholders. This requires the
integration of the various marketing communication’s messages and the functions of various
promotional facilitators such as ad agencies, public relations firms, sales promotion specialists,
package design firms, direct-response specialists, and interactive agencies. The goal is to
communicate with one voice, look, and image across all the marketing communications
functions and to identify and position the company and/or the brand in a consistent manner.
Many companies are realizing that communicating effectively with customers and other
stakeholders involves more than traditional marketing communications tools. Many marketers, as
well as advertising agencies, are embracing the IMC approach and adopting total communication
solutions to create and sustain relationships between companies or brands and their customers.
Some academics and practitioners have questioned whether the IMC movement is just another
management fad. However, the IMC approach is proving to be a permanent change that offers
significant value to marketers in the rapidly changing communications environment they are
facing in the new millennium.
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As a customer centred process, integrated marketing communication unites everything that helps
a company to promote its business and position its product in the market. An integrated
marketing communication program must be continuous and strategic oriented. Some early
scholarly attempts appeared in academic literature (Dyer, 1982; coulson-thomas, 1983 &
Schultz, 1996). Integrated marketing communications began to be practiced and became a hot
topic throughout (Caywood et.al. 1991; Mile & Rose, 1994; Kitchen & Schultz, 1999). Caywood
(1997) suggest that background for the emergence of integrated marketing communications is
from three areas first, from corporate or client side an increasing competition and higher risk in
markets brought by merging and acquisitions have been required to meet the consumer changing
needs more successfully through new marketing strategies. Second, from media and market side
weakening the traditional trends of advertising and marketing, due to exposure of information
technology has increased the search for more effective and cost-efficient methods in
communications among marketers. Third, from the consumer as ongoing changes in his lifestyle
have made advertisers to developed more elaborate and quicker response communication
formats.
Today’s business environment demands a well-managed and equally planned relational customer
data-base, a focused and customer-oriented approach to customers and clients, and a
psychological-driven prospecting approach to Sales. Reich (1998) insists that marketers should
combine proven marketing techniques with new integrated marketing communication methods to
ensure success. It begins with the product development and includes packaging, pricing,
distribution channels, channel management, customer relationship management, total quality
management etc. it involves the multidimensional, interactive, customer driven, continuously
measured communication that connects the brand or product and the customer (Lauterborn,
2003). The allocation of communication budget, away from mass media and traditional
advertising has obviously promoted integrated marketing communication in recognition and
effective marketing.
IMC has come a long way from being conceptualized as the coordination of communication
tools for a brand (Krugman et al. 1994) to a more strategic conceptualization (Duncan 2002;
Percy et al., 2001 & Schultz 2004a). As Carlson, et al (2003) note, the initial conceptualizations
of IMC were somewhat blurred and led to the adoption of different approaches to creating
messages. Even after a decade of research in the IMC area, differences still exist among
researchers as to the conceptualization of IMC. For example, Cornelissen and Lock (2000)
claimed IMC to be a “management fashion” rather than a theoretical concept. In reply, Schultz
and Kitchen (2000) argued that IMC is an emerging paradigm whose progression as a concept
and discipline is entirely appropriate and in accordance with scientific theory. Recently, Gould
(2004) noted that though IMC remains a controversial theoretical concept, it could be a powerful
theoretical tool when viewed from a post structural paradigmatic perspective on theory.
Therefore, it can be inferred from the preceding discussion that IMC as a theoretical concept is
on the right path in terms of attracting and generating an informed, intellectual discourse from
various concerned researchers.
Apparently in just a short period, the concept of integrated marketing communication became a
watch-cry not only of marketing communications, but also an integral part of corporate
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communication strategies of many companies (Kitchen.et.al, 2004). It has increased

communication impact, made creative ties more effective and provides consistency in
communication. Integrated Marketing Communication has evolved over a period of time from
awareness level of integration to image level integration to functional integration to coordinated
integration to consumer-based integration to stakeholder-based integration to relationship
management integration (Panda, 2009). It is a promotional tool along with other marketing mix
components to gain advantage over competitors to reach highest level of consumer satisfaction
by knowing the right touch-points. It is a data driven approach using outside-in thinking focused
on identifying consumer insights using both on and off –line channel strategy to develop a
stronger brand-consumer relationship (Sisodia & Telrandhe 2010). Integrated marketing
communication is thus the voice of marketing creating brand awareness, deliver information,
educate the market and make a positive image of the company (Ul-Rehman & Ibrahim, 2011).
Definitions and Features of Integrated Marketing Communications

Since initial attempts to define IMC in the early 1990s, an abundance of definitions has emerged,
and have been discussed in detail in many recent papers (Duncan 2002; Gould 2004;
(Kitchen.et.al, 2004 & Kliatchko 2005). In Duncan’s representation, IMC is seen as a process for
managing the customer relationships that drive brand value. More specifically, it is a cross-
functional process for creating and nourishing profitable relationships with customers and other
stakeholders by strategically controlling or influencing all messages sent to these groups and
encouraging data driven, purposeful dialogue with them (Duncan, 2002).
As an indication of ongoing conceptual and theoretical development, a recent IMC white paper
suggested that IMC should (1) be more strategic than executional, (2) be more than just
advertising and sales promotion messages, (3) include two-way as well as one-way
communication, and (4) be results driven. This has led to a redefinition of IMC as “an on-going,
interactive, cross-functional process of brand communication planning, execution, and evaluation
that integrates all parties in the exchange process in order to maximize mutual satisfaction of
each other’s wants and needs” (Duncan & Mulhern, 2004: 9). This redefinition reflects a shift to
view the management of marketing communication more as an interweaving of processes that
cross traditional departmental boundaries, employing the knowledge and skills of specialists and
non-specialists alike (Cornelissen, 2001). From the 4As’ definition, IMC has become recognized
as the process of integrating all the elements of the promotional mix. While this may be
considered an adequate working definition, it fails to highlight a number of significant features
which IMC embraces. A range of definitions is presented in table 1. These definitions vary
considerably in terms of their complexity and, to some extent, their emphases. They capture the
essence and completeness of integrated marketing communications.
Table 1: Definitions of IMC.
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Authors Definitions
Duncan, 2002 IMC is a process for managing the customer relationships that drive
brand value. More specifically, it is a cross-functional process for
creating and nourishing profitable relationships with customers and
stakeholders by strategically controlling or influencing all messages
sent to these groups and encouraging data-drive, purposeful dialogue
with them.
Shimp, 2000 An organisation’s unified, coordinated effort to promote a brand

concept through the use of multiple communications channels to
deliver a clear, consistent and compelling message tools that ‘speak
with a single voice’.
Kotler et al., 1999 IMC is the concept under which a company carefully integrates and
coordinates its many communications channels to deliver a clear,
consistent and compelling message about the organisation and its
products.
Betts et al., 1995 IMC is the strategic choice of elements of marketing communications
which will effectively and economically influence transactions
between an organisation and its existing and potential customers,
clients and consumers.
Reported in Schultz, IMC is a concept of marketing communications planning that

1993 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 PR
– and combines these disciplines to provide clarity, consistency, and
maximum communications impact (American Association of
Advertising Agencies).
Source: (Pickton & Broderick, 2005)

Features of integrated marketing communications
• Clearly identified marketing communications objectives which are consistent with other
organizational objectives.
• Planned approach which covers the full extent of marketing communications activities in
a coherent and synergistic way.
• Range of target audiences – not confined just to customers or prospects nor just to imply
end customers but include all selected target audience groups. These may be any
specified ‘public’ or group of ‘publics’ – stakeholders (e.g. employees, shareholders,
suppliers), consumers, customers and influencers of customers and consumers, both trade
and domestic.
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• Management of all forms of contact which may form the basis of marketing
communications activity. This involves any relevant communication arising from contact
within the organisation and between the organisation and its publics.
• Effective management and integration of all promotional activities and people involved.
• Incorporate all product/brand (‘unitised’) and ‘corporate’ marketing communications
efforts.
• Range of promotional tools – all elements of the promotional mix including personal and
non-personal communications.
• Range of message – brand (corporate and products) propositions should be derived from
a single consistent strategy. This does not imply a single, standardized message. The
integrated marketing communications effort should ensure that all messages are
determined in such a way as to work to each other’s mutual benefit or at least minimize
incongruity.
• Range of media – any ‘vehicle’ able to transmit marketing communication messages and
not just mass media (Pickton & Broderick, 2005).
The following definition incorporates the salient features of IMC. It is a more extensive
definition than is typically given in most descriptions because it seeks to emphasise the variety of
complex aspects of integration identified by many authors. Importantly, it emphasises that
integrated marketing communications is much more than the integration of promotional or
marketing communications mix elements.
Integrated marketing communications is a process which involves the
management and organisation of all ‘agents’ in the analysis, planning,
implementation and control of all marketing communications contacts, media,
messages and promotional tools focused at selected target audiences in such
a way as to derive the greatest enhancement and coherence of marketing
communications effort in achieving predetermined product and corporate
marketing communications objectives ( Pickton & Broderick, 2005:8).
In its simplest form, IMC can be defined as the management process of integrating all marketing
communications activities across relevant audience points to achieve greater brand coherence.
The search for integration should not be taken to imply a uniformity of communications which
many authors seem to suggest. While creative treatments and messages should be mutually
consistent, this is not necessarily to prescribe a single treatment message or approach. A single,
common theme has much to commend but it is perfectly feasible to consider the integration of
disparate approaches and messages. IMC is also regarded by many as a management philosophy
to be incorporated into the organization’s approach to business (Cornelissen 2001 & Duncan
1998), whereas others regard it primarily as a process of campaign development connected to a
wider brand strategy (Nowak & Phelps 1994 & Percy 1997). The notion of IMC as a philosophy
or concept was evident as early as 1991 in the widely cited definition by the American
Association of Advertising Agencies (Caywood et al., 1991). Furthermore, Duncan and Everett,
when speaking of the experience in large U.S.-based organizations, suggested, “an organization
that has an IMC philosophy may or may not physically integrate into one department the people
responsible for the various marketing communication functions, although the trend is to do so”
(1993:31). IMC as a philosophy suggests that an organization may subscribe to the concept of
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integrating communication whereby the emphasis is on raising awareness of the benefits, and
hence intention, to integrate communication messages.
Establishing a positive and conscious attitude toward integration may build “esprit de corps”
with a flow-on effect on what is done and how it is done, that is, organizational artefacts and
values (Harris 1998). This may occur without necessarily physically integrating the functional
areas responsible for message creation and delivery (Duncan & Everett, 1993 & Stewart, 1996).
At its most basic, it may be a matter of directing internal staff and external service providers such
as advertising agencies to ensure that positioning strategy and communication consistency are
attained. In this sense, the guiding philosophy acknowledges the value of IMC, legitimizes the
language used, and sees coordinated and integrated communication processes as a desired
outcome.
DIMENSIONS OF IMC
Duncan and Mulhern (2004) noted that a common element to most of the recent definitions of
IMC is its representation as either a strategic or tactical process. It is commonly understood that
the strategic dimension of marketing management is the framework that provides guidance for
actions (tactics) to be taken, and at the same time, is shaped by the actions taken and the response
to such actions by competitors, customers, and other stakeholders. In a broad sense, strategic
focus emphasizes the proper identification of market opportunities as the basis for marketing
planning and growth, with the objective of achieving sustainable competitive advantage (Rust et
al., 2004). Tactical dimensions relate to the shorter-term activities to be used in implementing
those strategies to achieve planned marketing objectives. This division into strategic and tactical
dimensions is considered to be congruent with earlier classifications according to vertical and
horizontal integration (Cornelissen 2001 & Smith, 1996) and process and organizational levels
(Duncan & Moriarty 1998). Vertical integration requires that marketing and communication
objectives be aligned with higher-level corporate objectives and corporate missions, whereas
horizontal integration focuses on the marketing mix and coordination across business functions
such as production, finance, and distribution. All personnel in these functional areas are required
to work cooperatively and consistently, conscious that decisions made by any of them can send
messages that ultimately influence customers (Smith, 1996). This is also consistent with Petrison
and Wang’s (1996) proposition that IMC could be interpreted in two distinct ways: “planning
integration” and “executional integration.” Planning integration advocates that to maximize
efficiency and effectiveness, marketers need to coordinate all marketing activities to ensure that
they are in line with the overall strategy of the product and brand (vertical), whereas executional
integration is associated with consistency between communication messages (horizontal). It is
useful to point out that implementing integration of any kind is fraught with difficulty and
requires management to overcome many barriers in the process (Baker & Mitchell, 2000;
Duncan & Everett, 1993; Kitchen & Schultz, 1999; Pickton & Hartley, 1998 & Smith 1996).
The division between strategic and tactical dimensions is also reflected in Schultz’s (Schultz
1998 & Schultz & Schultz 1998) representation of integration as a continuum from lower-level
integration through to “absolute integration” involving a number of evolutionary phases:
Phase 1: Tactical coordination of messages that ensures consistent depiction of core values.
Phase 2: Redefining the scope of marketing communications to take an “outside-in”
approach, with all potential communication focused on consumers’ perceptions.
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Phase 3: Application of information technology to turn customer data into customer

knowledge
Phase 4: Strategic and financial integration for consistent monitoring of performance of
marketing communication efforts for return on investment.
A review of the contributions of various researchers has been undertaken to illuminate the
components of IMC that fall under the strategic versus tactical aspects of IMC. The significance
of this division is the recognition that IMC is a holistic process. While bringing the global or “big
picture” strategic aspects of IMC to the fore has been widely advocated, it is nonetheless still
critical to ensure that the day-to-day management of tactical aspects are not overlooked if an
effective IMC approach is to be implemented. While strategic-level IMC relates to affecting the
brand positioning strategy in a holistic sense, the tactical aspects of IMC primarily relate to the
planning and implementation of individual holistic campaigns that, over time, work to build and
reinforce brand positioning and contribute incrementally to building strong customer-based
brand equity. In essence, this should reflect best practice in developing and implementing
individual campaigns. This section of the paper focuses on both the strategic and tactical aspects
of IMC.
IMC is seen as a planning process that evaluates the strategic and synergistic role of a variety of
communication disciplines and considers how best to integrate them across the firm (Zahay et al.
2004). Furthermore, IMC plays a strategic role in managing the intangible side of business by
assisting in crafting relationships with customers and other stakeholders to create positive
perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours toward brands (Duncan & Moriarty 1997 & Keller 2001).
Marketing literature is inundated with the thoughts and contributions of scholars in devising
approaches to assessing IMC. The Duncan-Moriarty IMC miniaudit is a diagnostic tool designed
to help managers assess areas of integration strength and weakness. As Duncan (2005) states, the
audit is about the evaluation of IMC relationship-building practices; in examining organizational
structure and the extent of understanding of marketing communication objectives and strategies,
it measures the extent to which company-created brand messages are strategically consistent.
The basis for the Duncan-Moriarty IMC miniaudit is the premise that there are 10 brand
relationship drivers; these are divided into three categories. The first category relates to creating
and nourishing relationships, focusing on all stakeholders rather than just customers. Many
authors have put forward a view that IMC is about building relationships (Beard 1996; Duncan
& Moriarty 1998; Hutton 1996; Schultz et al., 2004), adopting a relational approach, and
building a bond between people with shared values, common objectives, mutual commitment,
and mutual trust. According to Zahay et al. (2004), firms engaged in relationship-marketing
activities designed to facilitate relational exchanges tend to view customers as valuable assets,
and adopt strategies to facilitate the strength of such relationships. In a broader sense, Duncan
and Moriarty (1998) suggest that everything organizations do and say sends a message, and that
these messages are received by a broad array of stakeholders. In many instances, these
stakeholders have multiple associations with the organization and receive a variety of messages;
these messages should be consistent. This relational focus has been facilitated in part through
advances in new media and computer technologies that enable more active listening (Zahay et
al., 2004).
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The second category of brand relationship drivers relates to process dimensions and includes
achieving strategic consistency, purposeful interactivity, mission marketing, and zero-based
planning. Duncan and Moriarty (1998) suggest that a process and system should be in place to
facilitate purposeful dialogue with stakeholders and to ensure that messages being received by
these stakeholders are strategically consistent and support the identity and reputation of the
brand. By endeavouring to influence these dimensions of communication by reducing and, at
best, eliminating conflicting messages, organizations can improve the opportunity to establish
clear brand positioning, to make their brand more distinct, and to cement profitable long-term
relationships with stakeholders. Underpinning the ability to be strategically consistent is a
planning process that enables effective determination of the communication mix elements that
can deliver messages in an effective way (Kliatchko 2005). Furthermore, the championing of the
mission statement of the organization internally and externally assists in calibrating expectations
regarding interaction with stakeholders and promotes consistency in both the thought and
behaviour of employees.
The final category relates to organizational drivers, including cross-functional management, core
competencies, data driven marketing, and working with an integrated agency. It has been argued
that an organization cannot be integrated externally without being integrated internally and that
integration presents a great challenge to the implementation of IMC (Duncan & Mulhern 2004).
Providing some similarity with Narver and Slater’s (1990) market orientation concept of inter-
functional coordination, this category of drivers considers the importance of cross-functional
cohesion, managerial competence in utilizing all available marketing communication tools,
internal marketing to optimize employee productivity and creativity, and the unbiased
commitment of resources across synergistic teams (Duncan & Moriarty 1998). Internal
marketing is also identified as a necessary process for facilitating cross-functional integration
(Cornelissen 2000; Duncan & Moriarty 1997).
In summary, Duncan and Moriarty (1997) offer a set of criteria that successful companies are
using to integrate their marketing communication activities. The criteria identified by Duncan
and Moriarty (1997) offer a valuable theoretical framework consisting of ten drivers. Although
this model was formulated more than a decade ago, it is still frequently used by academics and
professionals alike (Walt 2006, Niemann 2005; Kitchen 2005 & Duncan & Mulhern 2004). Each
of the ten drivers falls into one of three integration categories indentified earlier. The first
category, corporate focus, includes two drivers: (1) relationship management and (2) stakeholder
focus. The second category, institutional processes, includes four drivers: (1) the maintenance of
strategic consistency; (2) generation of purposeful dialogue; (3) marketing the corporate mission;
and (4) the implementation of zero-based planning. The third category, infrastructure, also
includes four drivers: (1) cross-functional planning; (2) the development of core competencies;
(3) database management; and (4) use of an integrated agency. According to Duncan and
Moriarty (1997) the integration that results from the implementation of these drivers includes
customer retention, interactional, ongoing communication, the expansion of marketing beyond
the marketing department to the whole organisation, and improved brand equity.
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Duncan and Moriarty are not alone in devising approaches to assessing IMC. Phelps & Johnson
(1996) identified a five-dimensional structure for IMC orientation and this was revised and
employed by Ewing, De Bussy, and Caruana (2000) using only four of the factors. More
recently, some authors have examined different approaches to IMC (Nadube, 2017). For
example, Cornelissen, Lock, and Gardner (2001) focus on a narrower interpretation of
integration and discuss the psychosocial benefits of increased integration, while Low (2000)
employs only a few items to measure IMC and proposes these be part of a larger measurement
instrument. A careful exploration of marketing literature on IMC led to the emerging of the most
prominent dimensions that form the foundation of IMC. These initial concepts, which seem to
outline the primary values and philosophy of the IMC phenomenon, are:
- Holistic business approach
- Brand integration
- Customer-centric
- Customer-conscious employees
- Contact synergy
- Message consistency
- Use of technology
- Financial accountability
- Stakeholder segmentation
- Sustainable success
Following the views and position of Duncan and Moriarty (1997), of the ten drivers of
integration, Mulder (2007) identified what he called the core components of integrated marketing
communications and argued that these concepts (above) outline the primary values of the IMC
phenomenon.
Reid, et al (2005), identified the strategic dimensions of IMC relate primarily to the quality,
comprehensiveness, and flexibility of the process of IMC planning and strategy development. In
this model, the parameters of IMC at the strategic level can be grouped under five broad
dimensions:
1. Market-Based Assets and Financial Expectations: It is imperative that IMC planning is
performance or outcome driven (Duncan & Moriarty 1997; Duncan & Mulhern 2004; Kitchen,
Brignall, & Li 2004; Low 2000; Schultz 1998; Schultz, Cole, & Bailey 2004 & Smith 1996). The
decisions made with regard to devising and effecting strategy need to be underpinned and shared
through clear and consistent linkages to building and maintaining brand equity and to financial
indicators of performance such as sales, market share, profit, and return on investment. The use
of improved data and measurement technologies are paramount in shaping IMC and facilitating
its acceptance by senior management.
2. Customer and Stakeholder Connectivity: IMC requires the adoption of an “outside-in”
approach that enhances customer connectivity and organizational responsiveness to change by
putting the customer first (Duncan & Moriarty 1997; Pickton & Hartley 1998; Schultz 1998 &
Smith 1996). More specifically, IMC planners and strategists require the existence, calibration,
and application of a marketing information system designed to elicit a clear understanding of
brand touch points effect a timely dialogue with customers and other key stakeholders, and
facilitate insights into competitive brand activity. The existence of a database calibrated to
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measure customer and stakeholder responsiveness of campaigns will also facilitate measurement
of performance.
3. Strategic Consistency: This dimension recognizes that all parts of the brand entity send a
message to customers and other stakeholders. The coordination of brand messages, from
whatever source, including other aspects of the marketing mix, coordination of customer-facing
staff, and, more broadly, contact with the organization, must be consistent to protect brand image
(Duncan & Moriarty 1997). Achieving strategic consistency has also been likened to central
coordination of IMC programs (Cornelissen 2001; Duncan & Moriarty 1997; Eagle & Kitchen
2000; Low 2000 & Pickton & Hartley 1998). Enabling strategic consistency requires the use of
meetings and other planning mechanisms that facilitate linkages between marketing and brand
strategy and IMC strategy, and also the use of mechanisms to ensure that the brand has the best
opportunity for achieving one voice/one look across all elements of the marketing mix (Duncan
& Moriarty 1997; Eagle & Kitchen 2000; Schultz 1998 & Smith 1996). The issue of consistency
should also extend to cover the design and implementation of campaigns over time (Duncan &
Moriarty 1997; Eagle & Kitchen 2000 & Phelps & Johnson 1996).
4. Cross-Functional Integration: It has been argued that an organization cannot be integrated
externally without being integrated internally (Duncan & Mulhern 2004). Cross-functional
integration is built on focused internal marketing processes and provides the foundation for
effective IMC planning and reporting (Conduit & Mavondo 2001; Cornelissen 2001 & Duncan
& Moriarty 1997). Top management needs to be involved to drive the process (Duncan &
Mulhern 2004), and there needs to be a willingness to change policies that inhibit the
implementation of IMC (Phelps & Johnson 1996; Smith 1996).
5. Resource Commitment: In order for IMC to be performed effectively, there must be adequate
resource provision, including time, funds, and skilled and knowledgeable personnel (Duncan &
Moriarty 1997; Eagle & Kitchen 2000 & Smith 1996). Resource commitment can also be a
useful mechanism for signalling the legitimacy of behaviours and mental models consistent with
implementing IMC.
Nadube and Didia, (2017) argued that brand orientation is a dimension of IMC. They posit that
brand communication is more than a name, term, sign, symbol, or any other feature within the
context of IMC. Overton-de Klerk (1993) argued that a product or company becomes a brand
through communication. Communication is the means through which value is added to the
product or company, and the product or company is entrenched as a “symbol” within the mind of
the consumer. According to Schultz and Barnes (1999) “the brand has become a part of the
relationship between the marketing organisation and the consumer”. The brand represents the
bond between the buyer and the seller and is a relationship that only the consumer can create.
Ratnatunga and Ewing (2005) outlined the potential role of IMC in enhancing brand equity.
These authors provided a new construct called “brand capability” to indicate what one can
actually achieve with the brand as asset. A brand, according to the global branding consultant
Interbrand Schechter, is the promise of an experience (Moriarty et al. 1995). A powerful brand
enhances awareness, differentiates the organisation and commands a premium in today’s highly
competitive marketplace (Agundu & Nadube, 2016). Overton-de Klerk (1993) is of the opinion
that a strong brand image can establish a “fund of goodwill” or “brand equity” from which future
12
benefits can be reaped and further suggested that goodwill or brand equity is often equated in the
industry with the term “communication stock”.
Urde (1999) presents Brand Orientation as another brand building model that focuses on brands
as strategic resources. Brand Orientation is an approach in which the processes of the
organization revolve around the creation, development, and protection of brand identity in an
ongoing interaction with target customers with the aim of achieving lasting competitive
advantages in the form of brands. Urde, (1999) argued that brand orientation focuses on
developing brands in a more active and deliberate manner, starting with the brand identity as a
strategic platform. It can be said that as a consequence of this orientation the brand becomes a
total response to customer needs and wants (Nadube, 2010). This should be, however, considered
carefully given that “what is demanded by customers at any given moment is not necessarily the
same as that which will strengthen the brand as a strategic resource” (Urde, 1999). Following
this reasoning, the wants and needs of customers are not ignored, but they are not allowed to
unilaterally steer the development of the brand and determine its identity.
CONCLUSION
In today's environment marketers are forced to use a number of communication tools to reach
target audiences. Successful marketing communications requires the use of various instruments,
through which they share a unique message to targeted audiences (Markwick & Fill, 1997). A
prerequisite for effective marketing communications is the consistency of sender’s messages
through various channels of communication. Lamons (2003) emphasizes the importance of
integration, not only the communication of messages, but all marketing communications in order
to achieve the greatest possible synergy. Also, Kitchen and Schultz (2003) state that it is not
enough to integrate all communication activities at the level of individual product or service, but
we need to integrate the entire communication of an organization, increase the need for greater
strategic integration of all instruments of marketing communication.
We have witnessed a relatively high prevalence of integrated marketing communication

approach in the field of marketing. It also noticed the amount of published theoretical work as
well as the prevalence of the concept in advertising and other agencies. Nevertheless, the scope
of integrated marketing communication is still seen as a new field. This type of view is
addressing the question of the conceptual definition of the field of integrated marketing
communication. Thus, we cannot avoid issues that are somehow constant companion of this
theoretical field; essentially a question of whether this is really a new concept or is it
paraphrasing only for old ideas in the field of marketing communication. This controversy is
based on the doubt about the theoretical basis for integrated marketing communications and this
paper clears the controversies and the conceptual mix-up about IMC
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Understanding integrated marketing communication: Concepts, deﬁnitions and

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Paul Meeting Nadube

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UNDERSTANDING INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS (IMC):

Paul M. Nadube Ph.D

The Evolution of IMC

communication strategies of many companies (Kitchen.et.al, 2004). It has increased

Definitions and Features of Integrated Marketing Communications

Shimp, 2000 An organisation’s unified, coordinated effort to promote a brand

Reported in Schultz, IMC is a concept of marketing communications planning that

Source: (Pickton & Broderick, 2005)

Phase 3: Application of information technology to turn customer data into customer

We have witnessed a relatively high prevalence of integrated marketing communication

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