Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction
Pepsi, announced some time back that it was scrapping its familiar
red, white, and blue design and switching to a radical new electric
blue package and logo design, the reason being that Pepsi's image,
particularly in international markets, had been losing something in
translation.
Gone are the days when a company determined where, when, and
how it sells its product. Integrated marketing communications (IMC)
is a customer-centric, data-driven method of communicating with
consumers. Nestle, IBM, Microsoft, Apple computers, Nike and many
other companies have adopted this IMC approach.
Definitions of IMC
One may miss out on some of the contact points where the customer
awaits for communications, and when he does not find it, he
abnegates the brand.
One may reach different contact points but different
communications speak differently, the customer gets confused as to
what he should associate with brand.
Thus the first aspect creates awareness and the second aspect creates
and maintains loyalty.
While definitions differ, the practice of IMC involves the same success
factors and helps organizations build and deepen relationships with
their many stakeholders. The following conditions should be
considered “necessary” but not sufficient conditions of IMC practice:
The first thing to note is that although all the instruments normally
play the same tune, they are not interchangeable; they make different
noises. When each plays alone, the melody will be recognizable. But if
one thinks a piano playing Rule Britannia is the same as a trumpet
playing Rule Britannia, he’s tone deaf. Very few consumers are tone
deaf. They will recognize that the underlying messages being
conveyed, say, by public relations and sponsorship, are identical, but
the tone will be entirely different. The form in which a message (or
melody) is conveyed is nearly as important as its content, sometimes
more important.
But, third, it does not always mean they must play exactly the same
tune. There are many occasions when they should be playing in
counterpoint. On their own, it may not be apparent they are playing
the same melody at all. Each may be exploiting its own virtuosity,
instead of echoing the others.
• The second critical factor is the consistency of the theme across all
elements in the campaign. Logically, consistency is best achieved
through the use of a single source responsible for defining the role of
each element, creating the theme, and coordinating the timely
implementation of the campaign. However, consistency is where
most companies who believe they are already integrating their
marketing efforts usually fall short.
In keeping with the above trends, there are Five power concepts that
go in IMC and make the communications efficient and effective.
Levels of Integration
There exist various levels at which such integration can take place.
The following table details each of such stages.
The next step following is the designing of the creative which rests
on the creative / advertising agency. Nowadays increasingly most of
the advertising agencies handle the entire account of a brand single
handedly (even including the consumer researches for media and
advertising).
The creative here is designed for all the communications whether the
tangibles or the intangibles e.g. packaging, print ads, TV ads,
interstitial etc. This also includes the coordination of the events and
PR based on a one-voice platform.
The final step in the process is the Implementation. This includes the
actual communication and the different activities communicating
about the brand like promotions and events etc.
There are many different models that guide the process of planning
an IMC campaign. One such model being discussed is the ‘Strategic
Planning Triangle’ proposed by advertising researchers Esther
Thorson and Jeri Moore in their book ‘Integrated Communication :
Synergy of Persuasive Voices’.
(c) The final apex of the planning triangle considers the various
persuasion tools that may be deployed in executing the campaign.
The mix of the various tools should depend on the objectives that are
set for the IMC campaign.
Collaboration between the agency and the client is the key to ensure
that the approval process proceeds in a timely fashion.
IMC can restrict creativity. No more wild and wacky sales promotions
unless they fit into the overall marketing communications strategy.
The joy of rampant creativity may be stifled, but the creative
challenge may be greater and ultimately more satisfying when
operating within a tighter, integrated, creative brief.
Add different time scales into a creative brief and you'll see Time
Horizons provide one more barrier to IMC. For example, image
advertising, designed to nurture the brand over the longer term, may
conflict with shorter term advertising or sales promotions designed to
boost quarterly sales. However the two objectives can be
accommodated within an overall IMC if carefully planned.
(5) Start with a Zero Budget. Start from scratch. Build a new
communications plan. Specify what you need to do in order to
achieve your objectives. In reality, the budget you get is often less
than you ideally need, so you may have to prioritize communications
activities accordingly.
(9) Share Artwork and Other Media. Consider how, say, advertising
imagery can be used in mail shots, exhibition stands, Christmas cards,
news releases and web sites.
Advertising
Direct Marketing
Direct marketing is much more than direct mail and mail order
catalogs. It involves a variety of activities, including database
management, direct selling, telemarketing, and direct response ads
through direct mail, the Internet, and various broadcast and print
media.
Sales Promotion
Public Relations
Personal Selling
Sales
Promotion Highly credible; Very believable; Many forms:
news stories, news features, events and
sponsorships, etc.; Reaches many prospects missed via other forms of
promotion; Dramatizes company or product; Often the most under
used element in the promotional mix; Relatively inexpensive (certainly
not 'free' as many people think there are costs involved)
Outdoor Advertising
Sponsorships
Roadshows
Broadcast Advertising
Outdoor Advertising
Sponsorships
Sponsorship is an increasingly
common form of promotional
activity is sponsorship. Sponsorship
in simple words is “Supporting an event, activity or organization by
providing money or other resources that is of value to the sponsored event.
This is usually in return for advertising space at the event or as part of the
publicity for the event.”
Road shows
Broadcast advertising is a
very popular advertising
medium that constitutes of
several branches like
television, radio or the
Internet. Television
advertisements have been
very popular ever since they have been introduced. The cost of
television advertising often depends on the duration of the
advertisement, the time of broadcast (prime time/peak time), and of
course the popularity of the television channel on which the
advertisement is going to be broadcasted. The radio might have lost
its charm owing to the new age media however the radio remains to
be the choice of small-scale advertisers.
Introduction
The final participants are those that provide collateral services, the
wide range of support functions used by advertisers, agencies, media
organizations, and specialized marketing communications firms.
These individuals and companies perform specialized functions the
other participants use in planning and executing advertising and
other promotional functions.
During the late 1980s and into the 90s, the advertising industry
underwent major changes as large agencies merged with or acquired
other agencies and support organizations to form large advertising
organizations, or superagencies. These superagencies were formed so
that agencies could provide clients with integrated marketing
communications services worldwide. Some advertisers became
disenchanted with the superagencies and moved to smaller agencies
that were flexible and more responsive. However, during the mid-90s
the agency business went through another wave of consolidation as a
number of medium-size agencies were acquired and became part of
large advertising organizations. Many of the mid-size agencies were
acquired by or forged alliances with larger agencies because their
clients wanted an agency with international communications
capabilities and their alignment with larger organizations gave them
access to a network of agencies around the world. For example,
TBWA and Chiat/Day merged and became part of the TBWA
Worldwide agency, which is part of the Omnicom Group, the world’s
largest agency holding company.
All businesses that reap huge revenues have a strong marketing arm.
A company prospers only if it knows how to effectively plan, manage,
create and handle different forms of promotion for its products and
services. However, sometimes, a company's own marketing arm is not
sufficient to reach out to its prospective consumers or customers. This
is where the services of advertisement agencies come in. Focusing on
specialized marketing communications, advertisement agencies have
the expertise to come up with strategies on branding and sales for
their clients' present and future customers.
Probably the main reason outside agencies are used is that they
provide the client with the services of highly skilled individuals who
are specialists in their chosen fields. An advertising agency staff may
include artists, writers, media analysts, researchers, and others with
specific skills, knowledge, and experience who can help market the
client’s products or services. Many agencies specialize in a particular
type of business and use their knowledge of the industry to assist
their clients. For example, “Mentus Inc.” is an agency that specializes
in integrated marketing communications for the high-technology, e-
commerce, and bioscience industries. An outside agency can also
provide an objective viewpoint of the market and its business that is
not subject to internal company policies, biases, or other limitations.
The agency can draw on the broad range of experience it has gained
while working on a diverse set of marketing problems for various
clients. For example, an ad agency that is handling a travel-related
account may have individuals who have worked with airlines, cruise
ship companies, travel agencies, hotels, and other travel-related
industries. The agency may have experience in this area or may even
have previously worked on the advertising account of one of the
client’s competitors. Thus, the agency can provide the client with
insight into the industry (and, in some cases, the competition).
Even as new technologies and formats create new ways for marketers
to reach consumers, they are affecting the more traditional media.
Television, radio, magazines, and newspapers are becoming more
fragmented and reaching smaller and more selective audiences.
Companies are thus recognizing that they must change the ways they
market and promote their products and services. They can no longer
be tied to a specific communication tool (such as media advertising);
rather, they should use whatever contact methods offer the best way
of delivering the message to their target audiences. Ad agencies
continue to reposition themselves as offering more than just
advertising expertise; they strive to convince their clients that they can
manage all or any part of clients’ integrated communications needs.
Most advertising agencies recognize that their future success depends
on their ability to understand all areas of promotion and help their
clients develop and implement integrated marketing communications
programs.
During the late 1980’s many of the world’s largest advertising agencies
recognized that their clients were shifting more and more of their
promotional budgets away from traditional media advertising to other areas
of marketing communication such as direct marketing, public relations,
sales promotion, and event sponsorship. In response to this trend, many of
these agencies began acquiring companies that were specialists in these
areas and ended up turning them into profit-centered departments or
subsidiaries that often ended up battling one another for a piece of their
client’s promotional budget. While the agencies could point to these
specialists when touting their IMC capabilities, there was really little
emphasis on integrating the various communication functions.
During the 90’s, some agencies began taking steps to place more of an
emphasis on IMC by truly integrating it into all aspects of their operations.
For example, the Leo Burnett Agency brought in direct-marketing, sales
promotion, event marketing, and public relations professionals and
dispersed them throughout the agency. Burnetters were expected to interact
with clients not as advertising specialists who happened to know about
sales promotion, direct marketing, or public relations but as generalists able
to work with a variety of integrated marketing tools. Another agency that
embraced IMC was Fallon Mcelligott, which hired a president of integrated
marketing and expanded its capabilities in areas such as PR, events, and
interactive advertising. As we begin the new millennium, the shift toward
IMC is taking place at a number of major ad agencies that are recognizing
they must embrace a way of doing business that doesn’t always involve
advertising.
Also in the marketing mix was the release of two computer programs in
the month preceding the movie release, one of which was based on
the movie itself.
The Internet is one of the most recent ways that the entertainment
industry is working to close the loop in communicating with their
audiences. The Internet allows the entertainment industry to receive
first-hand feedback about products from its audiences, while building
relationships in the process.
Success Factors
Analyzing profitability.