Integrated marketing communications

           WEDNESDAY, 18 September

  (DCSA2014062) BILKIS NUHU KOKROKO  DIP 2B                 

During the 1980s, many companies began taking a broader perspective of marketing communication and seeing the need for a more strategic integration of their promotional tools.

The decade was characterized by the rapid development of areas such as sales promotion, direct marketing, and public relations, which began challenging advertising’s role as the dominant form of marketing communication. 

These firms began moving toward the process of integrated marketing communications (IMC), which involves coordinating the various promotional elements and other marketing activities that communicate with a firm’s customers.

Integrated marketing communications  was hence designed 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.

There are other levels of integration such as Horizontal, Vertical, Internal, External and Data integration. Here is how they help to strengthen Integrated Communications. 

Horizontal Integration occurs across the marketing mix and across business functions - for example, production, finance, distribution and communications should work together and be conscious that their decisions and actions send messages to customers.

While different departments such as sales, direct mail and advertising can help each other through Data Integration. This requires a marketing information system which collects and shares relevant data across different departments. 

Vertical Integration means marketing and communications objectives must support the higher level corporate objectives and corporate missions. 

Meanwhile Internal Integration requires internal marketing - keeping all staff informed and motivated about any new developments from new advertisements, to new corporate identities, new service standards, new strategic partners and so on. 

External Integration, on the other hand, requires external partners such as advertising and PR agencies to work closely together to deliver a single seamless solution - a cohesive message - an integrated message. 

The promotions mix consists of:  Advertising Sales, Promotions (including consumer and trade promotions) Personal selling activities, Public Relations, Publicity.

A company’s marketing communication will depend on the choice of variables in the Promotion mix because for marketing communication to be very effective, all this should work together in your marketing mix. 

Often, decisions on one element will influence the choices available in others. Selecting an effective mix for your market will take time and effort, but these will pay off as you satisfy customers and create a profitable business.

The worksheets that follow will help you construct your marketing plans. Once you have a good marketing mix the right product at the right price, offered in the right place and promoted in the right way you will need to continue to stay on top of market changes and adopt your marketing mix as necessary. 

Marketing is a part of your venture that will never end.

References

www.multimediamarketing.com

Advertising guide by the Indiana University of Journalism and authored by

Beth wood.