Putting Integrated Marketing

Communications to Work Today

By Matthew P. Gonring

he restructuring and re-engineering taking knowledge, skill and ability to function efficiently."

T place in organizations are not single events.

Rather, they are evolutionary processes re-
quiring managers to continually realign priorities
and resources with organizational goals. At the
(Miller & Rose, 1994)
Good Communication Affects Bottom Line
Public relations practitioners can take steps now
vortex of this development is the communications to make integration work on behalf of their client
function and process. By taking responsibility for or organization. The first is to bring management
positioning a primary corporate asset — the com- into the communications loop to demonstrate the
pany's reputation — public relations practitioners implications of good communication in general.
can assimilate an accountability that enables them For instance, it is crucial that management address
to become players. If, however, their primary con- potentially controversial issues — because, despite
cern is what this evolution means for their own companies' conditioned fear of in-depth reporting,
job and function security, then public reiations is candid communication pays off in more objective
not even in the game. coverage.
Playing the game means leading the evolution by Public relations brings this important element to
aligning communications where it can add the the integrated mix. By keeping its pulse on all in-
greatest value today. Yesterday's successes are not ternal and external stakeholders, public relations is
good enough to carry tomorrow's challenges. Value- able to balance public opinion and business strat-
added communications strives for two ideals: effi- egy. If public relations is to be fully integrated into
ciency and effectiveness. The way to achieve this is
by integrating the communications function into
a single planning system. Called integrated market-
ing communications, or IMC, this process creates true
accountability by maximizing resources and link-
ing communications activities directly to organ-
izational goals and the resulting bottom line.
Also driving the need for integration is the failure
of traditional mass communications to reach highly
fragmented, disenchanted audiences. IMC over-
comes this by working to influence the behavior
of target audiences over time. Traditional mass
communications influences these long-term be-
haviors only marginally. {Brody, 1994)
Thus, "given that there is a need for the public
relations, marketing and advertising functions to
become more aligned, practitioners in our increas-
ingly complex environment must possess the Matthew P. Gonring

FaM 1994 45
the organization, it must learn to counsel manage-
ment and to manage communication in a way
that shapes the opinions and hehavior of relevant
constituents.
Already, more business executives are beginning
to understand the interrelationships between pub-
lic relations, corporate image and sales. "CFOs and
investor relations executives are eager for media
coverage that builds public awareness of a com-
pany's fundamental strengths, value and values.
They realize even a small drop in sales can mean
a large drop in earnings." (Dilenschneider, 1992)
By building credibility for a company, public rela-
tions can help secure investors and lenders and
strengthen supplier/customer relationships.
Public relations' broad
perspective helps companies
to avoid myopic sales efforts
that fail to take customers
into consideration first.
Public relations' broad perspective helps compa-
nies to avoid myopic sales efforts that fail to take
customers into consideration first. Public relations
can work with marketing to guard against those
"big ideas" that just won't fly with the stakehold-
ers in a particular market.
Likewise, practitioners benefit by reviewing mar-
keting strategy, white papers and other research.
The result is a better understanding of the market
in which the company operates, which guides
public relations towards efforts that support busi-
ness objectives.
Understanding the IMC Process
Having established the importance of communi-
cation for their organizations, practitioners must
acquaint top management with the IMC process
itself. While the academic definitions of IMC con-
tinue to evolve, they share several elements in
common: The IMC process starts with the cus-
tomer or prospect and then works back to deter-
mine the forms and methods through which
persuasive communications programs should be
developed. Influencing or directly affecting behav-
ior is the ultimate goal. (Schultz, Jan. 1993)
IMC thus becomes a "new way of looking at the
whole, where once we only saw parts such as ad-
vertising, public relations, sales promotion, pur-
chasing, employee communications, and so forth.
It's realigning communications to look at it the
way the customer sees it — as a flow of informa-
46
tion from indistinguishable sources. (Schultz, Tan-
nenbaum & Lauterborn, 1994)
Real-world examples of IMC can be bench-
marked from organizations that have successfully
adopted the process. Examples include McDonald's,
IBM, Suzuki, Allen-Bradley and Financial Security
Assurance, among others. Trade associations, such
as the International Association of Business Com-
municators (IABC), frequently run seminars on
IMC, as do Northwestern University and other
schools currently pioneering the concept. Public
relations practitioners who have gained the ear of
management can then take the lead and put to-
gether proposals outlining the IMC process, its ad-
vantages and implementation. Such proposals
often include the following recommendations:
• Audit the pockets of communications-related
spending throughout the organization. Item-
ize the budgets and tasks and consolidate these
into a single budgeting process. Reassess all
communications expenditures hy product, pro-
motional tool, stage of life cycle and observed
effect. Use this as a basis for improving further
use of these tools.
• Create shared performance measures. Develop
systems to evaluate communications activities.
Since IMC attempts to change consumer
purchase behavior, this hehavior must be mea-
sured to ultimately demonstrate communica-
tions' impact on the bottom line. ROI can he
measured either by tracking a company's own
communications efforts or through syndicated
customer data.
• Use database development and issues man-
agement to understand your stakeholders.
Include customers, employees, investors, ven-
dors and all other stakeholders at every stage
of your communications plan.
• Identify all contact points for the company
and its products. Use this audit to determine
where communications can best be used to re-
inforce the company's messages. Measure com-
munications' ability to do so at each contact
point, whether it be your product packaging,
retail display, shareholder meeting or spokes-
person, etc. Work to ensure your communica-
tions efforts are occurring when, where and
how your customers want them.
• Analyze trends — internal and external —
that can affect your company's ability to
do business. Look for areas where communi-
cations can help the most. Determine the
strengths and weaknesses of each communica-
tions function. Develop a combination of pro-
motional tactics based on these strengths and
weaknesses. Use this mix to meet marketing
goals.
Public Relations Quarterly
L.
 • Create business and communication plans
for each local market. Integrate these into a
global communications strategy.
• Appoint a director responsible for the com-
pany's persuasive communications efforts.
This move encourages efficiency by centraliz-
ing planning and creating shared performance
measures.
• Create compatible themes, tones and quality
across all communications media. This con-
sistency achieves greater impact and prevents
the unnecessary duplication of work across
functions. When creating materials, consider
how they can be used for a range of audiences.
Make sure each carries your unique primary
message and key selling points.
• Hire only team players. Employees trained in
this new, integrated way of thinking will not
be locked into functional silos. Rather, they
thrive on group accountability and are open to
any new responsibility that enables them to
better meet the needs of customers.
• Link IMC with management processes, such
as participatory management. This produces
a fully integrated management effort aimed at
meeting corporate goals. An integrated strategy
should permit efficiency in each communica-
tion function contributing to the success of
the corporate mission.
Integration must be lived
and demonstrated by tbe
top person or persons in
tbe organization.
Barriers to Implementing IMC
The reality is that few organizations are able to
implement IMC except on a step-by-step basis.
And organizations will challenge each and every
one of the ideas proposed above. For this reason,
the support of top management is vital. "Inte-
gration cannot be accomplished by middle man-
agers or from those in the lower levels of the
organization. It must come from the top, and it
can't be just a memo or a directive. Integration
must be lived and demonstrated by the top person
or persons in the organization. There must be a
commitment from top management to integrate
and to remove the barriers which prevent integra-
tion." (Schultz, Aug. 1993)
Practitioners can play a key role by using their
internal and external "feelers" to identify potential
Fall 1994
barriers and propose solutions. Frequently, these
barriers include the following:
• Fear of change. The disciplines must over-
come their fear of ceding control to a single
planning system. Group performance measures
help to change current power structures.
Practitioners can play a key
role by using tbeir internal
and external 'feelers" to
identify potential barriers
and propose solutions.
• Hierarchical organizations. Integration de-
mands cross-training, a process hindered by
vertical structures. A first step can be to form
teams throughout the organization and create
an opportunity for cross-functional assign-
ments and advancement through acceptance
of greater responsibility. Collapsing the num-
ber of salary ranges also helps to flatten organi-
zational layers.
• Turf battles and functional silos. Each disci-
pline feels the need to protects its status — i.e.,
budget — and does not want to relinquish or
share accountabilities. However, a single bud-
geting process and shared performance mea-
sures are needed if communications is to meet
the larger goals of the organization. The focus
shifts to doing what is right for the customer.
This requires companies to give equal consid-
eration to all functional areas and to ensure
that each has an equal opportunity of being
selected for a particular campaign. This fact,
more than any other, preaches the need for
cross-functional training.
• Inside out communications planning. When
profit goals are set internally, the urge is to go
out and find customers to help meet these
goals. Learning to start with customers and
work backwards ensures an integrated commu-
nications program that can be linked to the
bottom line.
• Short-term planning. IMC is often synony-
mous with relationship marketing in that it works
to influence consumer behavior over time.
Short-term planning focused on new customer
acquisitions weakens a company's ability to
build a loyal customer base.
• Lack of database development. Marketing
technology exists to measure customer behav-
ior, but companies have been slow to adopt
it. Some industries struggle with database de-
47
 velopment more than others (e.g., packaged
goods). However, everyone can follow the lead
of financial services and direct mailers, many
of whom have become adept at identifying
segments and sending them targeted messages.
• Media fragmentation. Consumers are hard-to-
reach targets, which demands increased effi-
ciency from marketers and makes it more
difficult to justify mass media costs. Integrated
marketing communicators must continually
demonstrate how their mix of non-traditional
media creates more impact at less cost.
True Accountability
The above challenges are formidable, but they
also provide the opportunity for communications
to gain prominence and influence. Key to the IMC
process in any organization is top executive sup-
port and endorsement. It is this support that will
drive the organization toward centralized planning
and budgeting in its communications functions.
This single planning system creates true account-
ability by maximizing resources and linking com-
munications activities directly to organizational
goals and the resulting bottom line.
The drive for efficiency and effectiveness in an
organization is a never-ending pursuit. By aligning
the communications function where it can add
the greatest value, public relations practitioners
can ensure they are "in the game." Those public
relations practitioners who hold themselves
accountable to corporate assets become the key
players. nw
Congratulations to Denny Griswold
Fifty years ago this fall, Denny Griswold
founded the very first public relations periodical,
PR News newsletter. She was truly prescient in
showing the importance of independent pub-
lishing. As the association publication varied in
direction, quality and policy over the years,
Denny went straight down the track with un-
abashed belief in PR, while still standing firm on
ethical performance and outspoken when she
felt management blundered or practitioners were
less than upright.
Professional standards and goals in many
cases set by Denny have become benchmarks
for the rest of the independent PR publishers:
48
References
Brody, E, (Summer 1994) PR Is to Experience What Marketing
Is to Expectations, Public Relations Quarterly, p. 20.
Dilenschneider, R. (Summer 1992) Use Ingenuity in Media Re-
lations, Public Relations Quarterly, p. 13.
Miller, D. and Rose, P. (Spring 1994) Integrated Communica-
tions: A Look at Reality Instead of Theory, Public Relations
Quarterly, p. 15.
Schultz, D. (January 18, 1993) Integrated Marketing Communi-
cations: Maybe Definition is in the Point of View, Marketing
News, p. 1.
Schultz, D. (Aug. 16, 1993) Four Basic Rules Lay Groundwork
for Integration, Marketing News, p. 5.
Schultz, D., Tannenbaum, S., and Lauterborn, R. (1994) The
New Marketing Paradigm: Integrated Marketing Communications,
p. xvii.
Matthew P. Gonring is vice president of corporate commu-
nications for USG Corp., Chicago, where he oversees all
internal and external communications, including marketing,
financial, investor and news media relations. Prior to joining
USG as director of public relations in 1988, Gonring spent
eight years in the airline industry, working in corporate com-
munications at United Airlines (UAL Corp.) and Northwest
Airlines. Gonring Is a graduate faculty member in the Inte-
grated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern
University, Evanston, III. He speaks and writes often on the
topic of IMC.
Kaarina Bergstrom contributed to this article. She is a
Master's candidate in the Integrated Marketing Commu-
nications program at Northwestern University, Evanston, HI.
USG, 125 S. Franklin St, Chicago, IL 60606, 312-606-4124.
Jack O'Dwyer's Newsletter; pr reporter's Charles
Prout, Robert Barbour, Patrick Jackson and Otto
Lerbinger; Public Relations Review''?, Ray Hiebert;
and Public Relations Quarterly (we're forty, by the
way).
Also, the Newsletter Publishers Association
recognized her contributions to the newsletter
field by naming her Publisher of the Year in 1984.
While Denny's no longer the publisher of
PR News, she is still active and able to see what
she has accomplished for the profession. We
congratulate her on her newsletter's fiftieth
anniversary!
—H.P.H.
Public Relations Quarterly