Module 1
Fundamentals of Integrated Marketing
Communications and its Elements
Definition of IMC
➔ Integrated Marketing Communication
is a “strategic business process used to
plan, develop, execute and evaluate a
series of coordinated, measurable,
persuasive brand communication
programs over a period of time with
consumers, customers, prospects, as
well as other targeted and relevant
external or internal audiences”
IMC Categories:
➔ Advertising
➔ Sales Promotions
➔ Brand Visibility
➔ Public Relations
Advertising
➢ Communication with the users of a
product or service.
➢ Advertisements are messages paid for
by those who send them and are
intended to inform or influence people
who receive them.
➢ Primary purpose is creating and
delivering “persuasive messages” that
influence perception and behaviour.
➢ All about brands or companies, but can
also include services, locations, causes,
or important topics.
The purpose of Advertising
➔ Advertising has three primary
objectives; to inform, to persuade and
to remind.
1. Informative Advertising
➢ Create awareness of brands, products,
services and ideas
➢ Announce new products and programs
and can educate people about the
attributes and benefits of new or
established products.
2. Persuasive Advertising
➢ Convince customers that a company’s
services or products are the best, and it
works to alter perceptions and enhance
the image of a company or product. Its
goal is to influence consumers to take
action and switch brands, try a new
product, or remain loyal to a current
brand.
3. Reminder Advertising
➢ Reminds people about the need for a
product or service, or the features and
benefits it will provide when they
purchase.
Sales Promotion
➢ Marketing strategy where the product
is promoted using short-term attractive
initiatives to stimulate its demand and
increase its sales.
This strategy is usually brought to use in
the following case
➔ To introduce new products
➔ Sell out existing inventories
➔ Attract more customers
➔ To lift sales temporarily
Objective of Sales Promotion
➔ To create market for new products
➔ To remain competitive
➔ To gain dealers trust
➔ To take products to new markets
➔ Increase Brand Awareness
Sales Promotion Examples:
➔ Black Friday Sale
➔ Buy One Get One
➔ Referral Bonuses
➔ Coupons
➔ Flash-sales
Brand Visibility
➢ Defined as the frequency at which
people see your brand in search results,
on social media, or other various
platforms.
Brand Visibility Strategies:
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 ➔ Define your brand’s functionality
➔ Interact more online
➔ Build a strong digital presence
➔ Use SEO to the fullest
Public Relations
➢ Variety of activities conducted by a
company to promote and protect the
image of the company, its products and
policies in the eyes of the public.
➢ The function of public relations is to
develop, maintain, protect, and
improve the perception of a brand,
company, organization or individual
among a diverse group of separate
audiences.
Public Relations Functions
➔ Inform and Communicate
➔ Shape and Enhance image
➔ Recruit and Develop business
➔ Launch new product or innovations
➔ Generate and collect feedback
➔ Cope with crisis
Industry Structure: Advertisers
➔ IMC Industry can be divided into major
parts. Each performs a different
function, but all are needed. No one can
do it alone, that is why the entire
process of planning, implementing and
measuring IMC activities requires
teamwork and cooperation.
Advertisers
➢ Center of the process and the people
that control the money, but the industry
structure also includes agencies,
suppliers and the media.
➢ The advertisers always select the
agency, suppliers and media that will
be part of the development of approved
programs, activities, materials and
plans for IMC.
➢ Who is an advertiser? In reality,
anyone who has the money to spend on
national, regional or local media.
Certainly, larger corporations
automatically qualify. Smaller
businesses, organizations and even
individuals are brand advertisers.
Here are the five primary ones
➔ Consumer
➔ Business-to-business (or B2B)
➔ Government
➔ Non-profit
➔ Advocacy
Consumer Advertisers
➢ Persuasive messages targeted at
selected groups of people who can
purchase products or services at retail
locations, or online, are approved,
controlled, and managed by
advertisers.
➢ While there are thousands of different
industries and market segments
involved, the advertising is focused on
brand image and user benefits for
individual buyers.
B2B Advertisers
➢ Concentrate on selling to companies,
not consumers.
➢ This is also called industrial
advertising because it involves the
advertising of components, raw
materials and equipment to businesses
that are manufacturing other products
and services.
➢ Another part of it is trade advertising.
This specifically targets wholesalers
and retailers that are potential buyers
for the B2B advertiser’s products and
services.
Government Advertisers
➢ This is based on reaching an exclusive
audience; government. While it is
similar to B2B advertising and
consumer advertising, government
advertisers design their messages to
convey confidence in their
departments, services, and image.
Non-Profit Advertisers
➢ This include: Charities, educational
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 institutions, hospitals, and cultural
organizations. Charities have the
largest budgets. And finally, other
important non-profit advertisers
include the thousands of local cultural
and arts organizations.
Advocacy Advertisers
➢ Influence or modify existing attitudes
and beliefs of individuals and groups
by either stimulating an immediate
action or precipitation a long-term
change in behavior.
Industry Structure: Agencies
Agencies
➢ Frequently associated with advertising,
but it can be used for any company that
provides IMC services. It includes the
following;
➔ Full-service
➔ Creative focus
➔ Media buying
➔ Promotional
➔ Public relations
➔ Digital marketing
➔ Branding
➔ Industry specialist
Full-service Agencies
➢ Offering a complete spectrum of IMC
services.
➢ Clients are usually large corporations
with millions of dollars to spend on
advertising.
➢ Sophisticated and knowledgeable, but
usually charge high prices to justify
their reputation for success.
Creative focus Agencies
➢ Specializes only in the graphics
illustrations, and copywriting for
advertising and other IMC materials.
➢ As the name implies, these agencies are
hired for what they do best.
➢ No research. No media. No planning.
➢ But they have plenty of imagination
and come up with amazing ideas
instantaneously.
➢ A creative focus agency could be one
person, a group of talented people with
creative skills, or an organized
company with management.
Media buying services
➢ Use its analytical abilities to
recommend the most cost-efficient
combination of programs,
publications and content channels for
clients.
➢ It does not create any advertisements,
or promotions, like the previous
category.
➢ This type of agency focuses on the
demographic profiles of brands and
potential buyers.
Promotional Agency
➢ Develops IMC programs that motivate
consumers and businesses to respond to
incentives and special offers.
➢ The agency searches among hundred or
promotional products and recommends
the right prices item for the client.
➢ They also produce creative materials
for sales promotion programs in both
printed and digital forms.
Public Relations Agency
➢ Distributing press releases, interacting
with representatives of mass media and
managing a client’s image, these
agencies can provide other valuable
services that complement and support
advertising and sales promotion
programs.
Digital Marketing Agency
➢ Emerged as the most recent category of
agency.
➢ Composed of a mixture of tech-
oriented individuals and creative
advertising professionals.
➢ Do everything from building websites
and improving SEO ranking to
organizing and managing social media
campaigns, as well creating mobile
apps, bidding for keywords or using
Google Analytics.
Branding Agency
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 ➢ Hired to assist a corporation,
organization or individual develop a
name, logo, visual appearance and
psychological image for a new product
or service. The agency has completed
its assignment after participating in a
successful launch.
Industry Specialist
➢ Concentrate on a single area of
business or market expertise.
➢ Agencies always enjoy a very strong
advantage against competitors because
of in-depth knowledge of a particular
industry.
➢ No need for clients to educate them and
no time or energy is wasted in
preparing the most relevant and
appropriate IMC programs.
Demographic Agency
➢ Concentrates on a particular lifestyle,
age, group or gender.
Mid-size corporations
➢ Advertising or promotion agency,
called “in-house” or internal company
agencies.
➢ Focusing on the writing, designing and
producing of creative materials,
especially brochures, direct mail
pieces, catalogs, and newspaper
advertisement.
IMC Planning Process:
➔ IMC is a complex process that involves
a sequential completion of twelve
different activities.
➔ Include: Marketing Assessment,
budget formulation, research
activities, strategic decisions.
➔ The amount of time needed to finalize
a plan depends on the size of a
company, the brands involved, and
management approach.
➔ The completion of an IMC Plan is
followed by implementation,
adjustments, and reactions to changing
opportunities and challenges.
Marketing Input
➢ Meeting between multiple departments
that are responsible for brand
management, sales, functions and IMC.
➢ After the initial meeting, the agency is
provided with information about the
company, brand, competitors, market
share, and industry, including
confidential reports and analysis.
Budget Formulation
➢ The Marketing Department allocates a
predetermined amount of money to
IMC.
➢ Those budgets are fixed, non-
negotiable and permanent.
➢ The challenge is predicting the results
obtained from a comprehensive IMC
plan.
Research Activities
➢ The IMC planning process always
begins with a review of the available
research.
➢ Agencies like to manage a research
project that will be used for advertising
or sales promotions.
➢ Expertise in communication and
consumer perceptions is valuable for
guidance and interpretation.
➢ Marketing research more effectively
describes the realities of a dynamic
business environment and consumer
purchasing patterns.
Strategic Decisions
➢ Next part of the IMC planning process
is formulating strategic directions.
➢ Not just a single one, but a series of
strategies.
➢ There are always separate strategies
made for each of the IMC categories, as
well as overlapping strategies.
➢ It is important for both the agency and
the advertiser to evaluate proposals and
recommendations based on
maintaining the focus and purpose of
strategic decisions.
Agency Meetings
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 ➢ This begins with basic concepts and
ideas, then progresses into examples.
As the number of details and questions
increases, so will the frequency and
length of the agency meetings. Keeping
track of the decisions is part of the
planning process, but often there are
circumstances that require a quick
change in direction, or the selection of
a better alternative.

Recommendations
➢ The result is a collaborative effort
between an agency and the advertiser.
It consists of a written document,
supported by supplemental information
and files, along with well organized
and concise PowerPoint presentations.

Revisions and approvals

➢ After the presentation of the IMC Plan,
revisions begin. This is a relatively
short, but often very frustrating,
activity. The agency can only make
recommendations. In large companies,
approvals can take exceptionally long
periods of time. The IMC Plan might
have to be reviewed by multiple levels
of management, slowly moving up the
hierarchy ranks towards the top
executives.

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 Module 2
Focusing on Digital Media Websites
➢ A website (also written as web site) is a
collection of web page and related
content that is identified by a
common domain name and published
on at least one web server. Notable
examples
are wikipedia.org, google.com,
and amazon.com.
➢ All publicly accessible websites
collectively constitute the World Wide
Web. There are also private websites
that can only be accessed on a private
network, such as a company's internal
website for its employees.

Brandsites or Brand websites

Traditional and Digital Media
Traditional Media
➢ Advertising is only a one-way from
communication, pushing brand
messages to potential buyers without
any method of feedback or response.
Digital media
- Two-way form of communication with
multiple methods of response.
➢ Epicenter of digital marketing. The
brand site is the hub, the centralized
point, and the beginning location for
customer engagement and interaction.
A brand website is the place where
people initially discover and learn most
of a company, its philosophy and
products. does not change often, but its
permanence and depth reflects the
image and personality of its product
positioning.
Social Media
➢ Social media is an inescapable part of
everyday life. Every IMC Plan should
include social media. But not the kind
you are familiar with. Each social
media platform has a “business”
version. It appears to be the same, but
the publisher is a brand or company,
and not an individual. It is not the best
media, but in today’s world, an
essential one.

Social Media Myths

Digital Media Categories: ➢ There are several myths about social
media that continue to be
➔ Websites misunderstood. While most of them are
➔ Bransites important for social sharing, they do
➔ Social Media not apply to the business model used by
➔ Email Marketing digital marketers and advertising to
➔ Digital Print promote their brand.
➔ Streaming Video
Here are five of the most popular myths.
➔ Mobile apps
1. It is free

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 2. It reaches everyone Streaming Video
3. It is easy to use ➢ Streaming is not just pre-recorded
4. It is very effective video, but also live transmission. This
5. It is good advertising technology has existed for several
years, but had to wait for the bandwidth
to increase enough to handle the
massive amounts of digital data
involved in the process. It uses the
same type of signal as cable television,
but the content moves through the
internet.

Email Marketing
➢ The standard form of email marketing
consists of an attention-getting
headline combined with a persuasive
message or promotional offer. Great
headlines get the emails opened by
those receiving them. A more
sophisticated version has images or
photos appearing on the viewing page.

Digital Print
➢ Digital Printing has two separate parts:
electronically reproduced pages for
physical materials such as magazines,
catalogs, or owner’s manuals, and
digital content that is original with
exclusive online distribution.

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 MODULE 1 QUIZ B) Customer
C) Manufacturer
Question 1 D) competitor
A marketing firm, AdMax, needs to devise
an IMC strategy for its new client entering Question 7
the market for wafers and snacks, AdMax's Advertising is usually paid by the
first task then is to Advertiser

A) decode the message it wants to convey Question 8

to the consumers
B) identify the target members of the
audience and their wants
C) put out ads in the print and electronic
media for maximum reach
D) keep the IMC limited to advertising on
TV, radio, and newspapers.
Retail giant Target has an internal creative
department that handles the design of its
weekly circulars, direct mail pieces, in store
displays, promotions and other marketing
materials. This is an example of an
In-House Agency

Question 2 Question 9
The IMC approach calls for a centralized Adverting is usually paid for by the
messaging function so that everything a
company says and does communicates a A) audience
common theme and positioning. B) media
C) agency
A) True D) advertiser
B) False E) target

Question 3 Question 10
Advertising begins with the agency An e-mail from Amazon.com offers free
shipping on your next purchase of more
A) True than $35. This is an example of Sales
B) False- Advertiser Promotion

Question 4 Question 11
Which major promotion category makes IMC requires that all of a brand's
use of displays, discounts, coupons, and communication media
demonstrations? Sales Promotion A) deliver consistent message
B) reach the same audience
Question 5 C) seek long term objectives
It is typical for large companies to have only D) utilize in store display
one advertising agency working for them.
Question 12
A) True- known as the agency-of- The term "Integrated Marketing
record. Communications includes all the major
B) False types of

Question 6 A) marketing communications

IMC starts with profiling the B) sales promotions
A) wholesaler

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 C) traditional marketing Question 18
communications Integrated marketing communication (IMC)
D) advertising means that ads can now be customized to
individual consumers
Question 13
Paid persuasive communication that uses A) True
mass and interactive media to reach broad B) False
audiences to connect an Identified sponsor
with a target audience is known as Question 19
Advertisements Too much advertising and not enough
Question 14 promotion can diminish a brand's future
Public Relations is a management value.
function that evaluates public attitudes
identify the policies and procedures of an A) True
individual or organization with the public B) False
interest and executes a program of action
to earn public understanding and Question 20
acceptance. Sales promotions are designed to

Question 15 A) create brand awareness

Creative Focus Agencies specializes B) influence customer attitudes
only in the graphics, illustrations, and C) stimulate immediate sales of a
copywriting for advertising and other IMC product
materials D) reduce manufacturing costs

Question 16
The goal of IMC is to affect the behavior of
the targeted audience
A) True
B) False
Question 17
Della's is a clothing retailer that targets
teenage gets it runs coordinated promoters
for its catalogs, website, and retail outlets.
It uses the same models in its catalog and
print ads as well as on its website, Del's
works to make sure its public relations
activities and sales promotions harmonize
with its advertising in all venues. From this
information you can infer that Dena's is
using
Integrated Marketing Communication
MODULE 2 QUIZ
Question 1
Twitter has limited message size, It has
140 characters per post, It can include a
message or links on your website as it is
free and also free for the advertisements.
Question 2
All of the methods used to measure
Internet and digital media activities are
accurate.
A) True
B) False
Question 3
When major corporations first began to
conduct business on the internet, they put
of websites primarily for creating a strong
brand image.

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 A) True maintain a two-way dialogue
B) False directly with end users.
C) It is an exclusive forum for
Question 4 professionals and entrepreneurs to
Digital media are media controlled and has build their networks.
a limited content. D) it enables sharing updates,
news, and opinions, as well as
A) True monitoring popular news stories
B) False and tracking growing trends

Question 5 Question 10
Thought-sharing sites, like blogs, are not Kenneth receives a mail offering a software
effective in providing customer education. program that helps in filing taxes online at
a discounted price. This is an example of
A) True Sales promotion It shows that the internet
B) False and direct marketing can complement each
other.
Question 6
Organizations that build digital media Question 11
products rely on multi-skilled teams and Which of the following is least popular as a
manage those teams with business marketing tool?
processes designed to enhance their
efficiency and effectiveness. A) Blogs
A) True B) Photo sites
B) False C) Video-sharing sites
D) Social network sites
Question 7
One of the difficulties traditional marketers Question 12
have experienced is that of creating a Social media is a collective term for
brand image on the Internet. websites and applications which focus on
communication, community- based input,
A) True interaction, content-sharing and
B) False collaboration.

Question 8 Question 13
Traditional Media Any form of mass Advertising through which of the following
communication available before the advent media is likely to be most expensive?
of digital media.
A) Television
Question 9 B) Facebook page
Which of the following is true of Facebook? C) YouTube channel
D) Corporate website
A) It allows companies to broadcast
from their own channel, that is, a Question 14
site that contains content relevant Some of the most popular content on
only to the company's own products Pinterest includes fashion, food, decor,
B) It is a corporate blog designed to wedding, workout and DIY-related pins.
allow marketing managers to

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Question 15 cats that are available for adoption, how
Which of the following is primarily a they are cared for at the shelter, and to spot
professional networking site? light various volunteer efforts. This is an
example of how the Internet can be used
A) Pinterest as a tool for
B) Facebook
C) Linkedin Public Relation

Question 16
Naomi has a consulting firm. She wants to
use her website to provide details about her
company's profile and to answer FAQs
Naomi's primary objective while designing
her website is to
Question 20
The Internet serves as the most effective
tool for creating awareness of an
organization and its products, especially in
the case of large companies.

A) allow customer sampling A) True

B) disseminate information B) False
C) build a brand image
D) handle objections

Question 17
ABC Company conducted a sweepstakes
in which people could enter to win a brand
new car. To enter the sweepstakes,
consumers had to visit the company's
website Which of the promotional mix
elements did the company use on the
internet? Sales Promotion

Question 18
Which of the following is true of social
media?
A) It is typically not used by firms as a
marketing medium
B) there are numerous ways for
consumers to access social
media
C) It can be accessed only using
specific Internet protocols
D) It is a type of content aggregator

Question 19
Cats Nation is a non-profit organization that
provides shelter and care for abandoned
cats and kittens, Cats Nation uses its
website to display information about the

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 Module 3
Brand Research and Consumer Insights
Importance of Research
➔ Research gives marketers exactly what
is needed to connect brands with
individuals and IMC programs with
target audiences.
Identifying problem and opportunities in
the market
➔ It helps in identifying new market
opportunities for existing and new
products. It provides information on
market share, nature of competition,
customer satisfaction levels, sales
performances and channel of
distribution.
For Effective Communication Mix
➔ Marketing research uses promotional
research to study media mix,
advertising effectiveness and
integrated communication tools.
Research on such aspects will help in
promoting effectively a company’s
product in the market.
Determining consumer needs and wants
➔ Marketing research helps in collecting
information on consumers from
structured distribution research and
helps in making marketing customer
oriented.
Categories of Marketing Research
There are three primary categories of marketing
research;
➔ Industry
➔ Product
➔ Consumer
Each category provides us with valuable
information to make effective management
decisions especially for IMC.
Marketing Research
Industry Research
➢ Gather facts about the size of the
market, number of the competitors,
leading brands and details about recent
trends or challenges that are emerging.
➢ Industry research also includes
information about new product
developments, technological
applications for productivity, and
executive profiles.
Product Research
➢ Gets into the physical characteristics
and composition of a product or
service.
➢ It is a kind of x-ray examination of the
contents, ingredients, design,
construction, and functionality.
Consumer Research
➢ Form of marketing research for IMC
planning.
➢ Provides valuable data about existing
customers and potential buyers, as well
as insights into their actions and
behavior.
➢ Consumer research also enables
company executives, small business
owners, and entrepreneurs to discover
new marketing opportunities with
innovative strategies.
Secondary Information Research:
➔ Includes hundreds of thousands of
different documents, publications, and
reference sources.
➔ Most can easily be obtained online but
many charge for their usage.
➔ The secondary research categories
include: government documents,
industry associations, syndicated
reports, business publications,
academic journals, and consulting
company analyses.
Government Documents
➢ The government is the single biggest
source of secondary research
information.
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 ➢ It is offered free, or at a very nominal
cost compared to research information
that is used by advertising agencies and
corporations is obtained from the Dept.
of Census, Dept. of Commerce, or the
Dept. of Agriculture.
Industry Association
➢ Every industry has a professional
association that requires membership
to receive its services. While its most
significant function is to lobby for laws
and regulations that are favorable for
the association’s membership. The
association frequently hires
independent research companies, using
its own employees, to conduct studies
on topics of interest.
Business Publications
➢ include sales promotion, new product
introductions, technological
developments, and a variety of feature
stories. Each online source or magazine
has several editions during the year that
provide a summary of the leading
companies, brands and executives.
There are publications for the travel,
tourism, banking, and restaurant
industries, plus media that is even
focused on the channels of
distributions.
Academic Journals
➢ While academic journals are often
theoretical and limited in their
applications, these publications can
still provide a broad framework and
better understanding of industry
problems and challenges. These
academic papers are particularly useful
when the information is relevant,
recent, and comprehensive.
Library Archives
➢ The last stop on the research train.
Libraries in large metropolitan cities,
public universities and private
institutes where an enormous amount
of printed and digital information is
stored. While most of the publications
and reports can be accessed online,
there are many expensive reference
books and proprietary documents that
can be viewed during a physical visit.
Primary Insight Research
➔ There are many techniques used to
collect primary marketing research
information, but the most popular ones
are: focus groups, personal interviews,
and survey research. This trio provides
a balanced perspective of consumers’
attitudes, beliefs, and opinions on
product categories and specific brands.
The information needs of the company,
or agency, will limit the amount of time
and money allocated to primary
research, since the “true value” of the
information cannot be determined until
after the research is concluded or
interpreted.
Focus groups
➢ is to share individual beliefs and
attitudes about brands and product
usage, a well organized set of questions
must be prepared in advance. The best
approach is to begin the discussion
with a few general questions, and later,
move into more specific and focused
topics. A focus group lasts for one to
two hours, which gives everyone
plenty of time to talk and share their
thoughts. It is the responsibility of the
moderator of the group to move
steadily through the topics and
questions without spending
unnecessary time.
Personal Interviews
➢ Talking directly to a customer or
prospective buyer is the single most
effective way to get a realistic
perspective of any marketing
environment. The problem is the cost
and time involved. It can be very
expensive to find and recruit people for
an interview and even more expensive
to hire a professional research
interviewer. The process of asking
people questions can be a challenge,
especially when you do not want to
influence their answers. The
interviewer has to do more listening
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 than talking and always be alert for advertiser’s brand.
opportunities to learn more.

Survey Research
➢ Online technology makes this one of
the fastest, easiest, and least expensive
methods of collecting a small, but
sufficient, amount of data about
customers and potential buyers. It all
begins with a questionnaire, but that is
more complex than you think. The
problem is the amount of time that
people are willing to spend completing
the questionnaire. It has been
conducted using paper forms, mailed to
a pre-screened list of people with large
sample sizes.

Applying Research to IMC Planning

➔ The foundation of marketing research

for IMC can be condensed into five
simple but essential words: who, what,
why, where and when? The primary
and secondary demographic data
collected and analyzed from consumer
research is strategically applied for
both preliminary media and creative
planning.

Creative Brand Messages

➢ The reason for a consumer purchasing
it is the basis of insight research. That
is why focus groups, personal
interviews, and projective techniques
are used to get inside the mind of a
consumer. Anything that helps to get
the messages across to the target
audience is a valuable discovery.

Media Delivery methods

➢ Psychographics provide one of the
most useful pieces of information for
making media decisions. This
segmentation factor identifies the
target audience profile for a potential
buyer based on attitudes, lifestyle,
personality, and other behavioral
characteristics. The media that is
finally selected targets the people who
are most likely to purchase the

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