Integrated Marketing Communications

An activity/process for
creating, communicating
What is Marketing?
and delivering value to the
customers

Quick Recap What is Marketing Mix?

A set of tools to market a
product  The 4 P’s

Just as we have marketing

mix to market the product,
What is marketing we have a set of tools to
communication mix? promote the product called
the communication mix/
promotion mix
Recap - Communication process
Successful marketing communications by HUL
Communication Process
• Communication is transmitting, receiving and processing information.
• Communication plays a key role in advertising / marketing program
• Sender in marketing is the brand/company
• Encoding is the verbal and non-verbal cues
• Messages travel to the audience through various transmission devices
(channels or media)
• Decoding occurs when the message reaches one or more of the receivers'
senses
• Feedback takes the form of receiver's response in the form of purchases,
inquiries, complaints, store visits, website visits etc.
• Noise consists of anything that distorts the message. Most commonly clutter.
Encoding and Decoding issues
IMC – Definition
IMC is the coordination and integration of all marketing communication
tools, avenues, and sources within a company into a seamless program
that maximizes the impact on consumers and other end-users at a
minimal cost.

IMC 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, advertising,
sales promotion, public relations and combines these disciplines to
provide clarity, consistency and maximum communications impact
Marketing communication tools/ promotion tools

• A marketing communication manager can choose from various tools

like advertising, sales promotion, publicity, personal selling, direct
marketing, special events etc.

• High-control and low control messages

• Owned media, paid media and earned media
• Above-the-line (promotional activities in mass media) and below-the-
line (non-media communication), Also through the line (A news paper
ad directing the consumers to a local sampling event or contest)
 Components of Promotion (tools)

Product Price Promotion Distribution

Advertising Sales Promotion Personal Selling

Direct
Database Sponsor-ship E-Active Alternative Public
Response Social Media
Marketing Marketing Marketing Marketing Relations
Marketing
 • Advertising – Any paid form of presentation and promotion of
ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. Even in
current times the best way to reach a great number of
audiences. Advertising can be used to create favorable brand
associations.
Weakness – Expensive, high clutter, high noise level
The Marketing • Sales promotion – A variety of short-term incentives to
encourage trial or purchase of a product or service. Leads to
Communication immediate results. Easy to measure results. Less expensive
than advertising. Gets the consumers and trade excited.
s/ promotion Weakness – Makes consumers deal prone. Dilutes brand
Mix equity
• Personal Selling - Face-to-face interaction with one or more
prospective purchasers for the purpose of making
presentations, answering questions, and procuring orders.
Highly targeted and interactive. Effective for building
relationships. Most effective for certain product types that
require demonstration.
Weakness – Expensive, unsuitable for large audience
 • Direct Marketing – One to one approach that uses media to
produce an enquiry. Direct mail, mail order catalogues, direct
response television, telemarketing, Multi-level marketing,
database marketing are some of the types. It offers the
convenience of product delivery at home. Easy to measure
response.
Weakness – Expensive, not suitable for larger audience
The Marketing • Public Relations – When organizations systematically plan
and distribute information to manage its image and the nature
Communication of publicity it receives. Can create goodwill, Reaches wide
s/ promotion audience
Weakness – Hidden costs, difficult to measure, does not
Mix directly impact sales, not entirely controllable
• Digital / E-active - (Internet/ Interactive) Marketing, Social
Media- Direct, low cost, measurable, bi-directional,
personalized, highly targeted, updated
Weakness – Expensive, unsuitable for large audience
 • Sponsorship – Builds brand association, earns good will, brings
dedicated audience in a less cluttered environment.
Weakness – Expensive, may not be measurable, does not
have direct impact on sales.
• Alternative Marketing
The Marketing Point – of – purchase / Point –of – sale activations

Communication (catches the impulse buyer, reaches only small audience)

s/ promotion Packaging – Catches the consumers eye at the ready to buy stage
Mix
Product placement – In-film branding

Event Marketing - Events and Experiences – Company sponsored

activities and programs designed to create daily or special brand-related
interactions

Trade shows
Experiential Directional Sound –

Marketing
Heineken Inner voice
 British Airways – Integrating Magic of flying
digital billboard and website page campaign
Getting a message across to the teenagers…
Evolution of IMC
• For many years, until the 80’s, promotion was dominated by mass media
advertising
• All other promotional and communication tools were being used as auxiliary
services – almost on a per-project basis
• advertising, sales promotions, branding, events, public relations, etc. were
treated as separate activities and budgets were made separately for the
programs.
• From 80’s onward companies started taking a broader perspective of a strategic
integration of all communication tools
IMC
The “big picture” approach to
planning marketing and promotion
programs – leading to a total
communication strategy
Consumers’ perceptions of
brands/firms – result of a synthesis
of messages they receive from
various media ads, price, package
design, direct-marketing, publicity,
sales promotions, web-sites, pop
displays, retail storerooms etc.
Current Trends in Marketing Communication
1. Emerging need for accountability
Advertisement agencies are expected to generate “tangible results”. Money must be spent wisely
Coupon programs, contests, rebates, ad. programs … all should yield measurable gains, brand awareness, or
customer loyalty

2. Major changes in the “tasks” performed by key players in advertising

Brand or Product Managers (Client), Account Executive (sell and manage promotional campaigns), Account
Manager(overall strategic plan), Creatives (those who develop actual advertisements), Account Planners
(contribute to making the campaign) – New partnership is being forged between all these executives.

3. Emergence of Alternative Media

Mass media losing viewers, listeners, readers. Digital media narrower, but more active engagement.
Need for IMC / Value of IMC
• Rapidly changing media environment. Advances in technology.
• Mass media fragmentation. In the light of sophisticated and cluttered market
conditions, firms try to be “heard”
• Age of mass marketing is over, increase in micro-marketing
• Changes in channel power – Market dynamics shifting the power from
manufacturers to retailers, retailers to consumers, consumers back to
manufacturers and retailers and so on.
• Increase in global competition- For example mobile phone market
• Increase in brand parity (consumers believe that products have near identical
benefits)
• Emphasis on consumer engagement
Marketing planning process (it is the starting
point for IMC)
SWOT Analysis Integrated
Situational
And Problem Marketing
Analysis
Identification Objectives

IMC campaign Budgeting

Re-positioning
of Marlboro
Topics to study
in IMC
•Starts from IMC planning
process and goes right up
to Evaluation of the
program

1. IMC foundation
2. Advertising tools
3. IMC media tools
4. Promotional tools
5. Integration tools