Integrated Marketing Communications Framework

This assignment delves into the crucial topic of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC). It examines the fundamental principles and components of IMC, highlighting its significance in today's dynamic marketing landscape. The text discusses various theoretical perspectives on IMC, explores its practical applications across different industries, and analyzes the challenges businesses face in implementing effective IMC strategies.

Integrated Marketing

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Making integrated marketing communication plan is very important for Institchu because
they are now becoming a significant player of their industry. Adopted internet adverting was a
good idea because they cannot bear the cost of huge charges which TV channels charge for an
advertisement of 30 seconds. Sales promotion could increase their cost of operations but it is
necessary for targeting large number of clients in a less time period. This company has adopted
an aggressive strategy so they may have to deal with various challenges which they are facing in
the recent scenario.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK ..............................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
RECOMMEDATIONS ...................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Marketing is a process where companies try to ascertain the needs of customers and then
deliver products & services according to their demand. In this procedure, managers have to do
market research and provide other facilities to buyers like after sale service etc. Integrated
marketing plan concentrate on synchronising all the branding (Yeshin, 2012). Various modes of
advertising focus on similar style in order to deliver ultimate message. Institchu is an Australian
company, they have online store where customers can order tailored suits. They have physical
outlets in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. In this report, an integrated making plan will be
formed with respect to chosen organisation. Communication objectives and STP will get covered
under this report. Some basic budget concepts will also become the part of this assignment.
Evaluation of campaign will be done at the end of this project. Feedbacks from employees and
founder will be taken regarding the integrated plan as well.
TASK
Sometimes, companies make different effective marketing plans which can easily
enhance sale and brand value of an organisation. But they fail to bring all the programs on a
single page and the result is unfavourable outcome. Integrated planning is essential for an
enterprise because it synchronises different plans and remove confusions from the mind of
customers. If two advertisement depicts different messages then people will fail to understand
the actual content which company is trying to explain, integrated marketing solve these issue and
increase brand value of an enterprise (Hede and Kellett, 2011). Institchu is a start-up, they are
working on an innovative idea. This firm is doing business of tailored suits. They are using latest
technology for stitching and receive most of their order through their online store. The have
captured significant amount of market share in short period of time and their performance is
getting better in every month.
Customers of this company can select size and designing of their cloths according to
their demand. They can chose the fabric among the vast variety which cited enterprise offer on
their store. Normally people complain that tailored cloths is created in months but Institchu has a
strict policy that they will delivered the order product in 3-4 weeks. They are provide service of
fixing the suit if it does not fit to the buyer. Cited organisation only use modern and innovative
techniques of tailoring. The offer around 300 types of quality suits as well as shirt material
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(Chen, 2011). This enterprise want to deliver best service and product to their customers at a
competitive prices. Most of their clients are happy with them and they are giving order to various
cloth on regular basis. Normally young companies keep their focus on online business because
they think that using using will help them in grabbing good market share. They do not like to
open their physical store as it involve huge cost and the amount of risk is also very high. But
cited firm is focusing on both form of business and they are also planning to enter in USA. This
aggressive strategy is helping them in improving their performance and they are getting lot of
permanent customers in very less time. They main reason behind the success they have seen in
such a short time is their marketing strategy (Papasolomou and Melanthiou, 2012). They are
promoting their brand is an impressive way, but they still need to work hard to maintaining the
performance and increasing their overall profit. Below is the integrated marketing plan for
Institchu:
Objectives – Cited firm believe in aggressive expansive, their marketing campaign will
also be very bold. They will target 20% enhancement in the brand awareness in domestic market.
In USA, they will take baby steps and instead of focusing on physical outlets they should initial
their business with online stores. They are also planning to enter in Asian market. In present
business environment, people are not aware about the services which Institchu is providing to the
public. Most of the companies try to focus on the strategy of their competitors companies and
shift their focus from the customers. This tactic result in decrement in brand awareness, prime
focus on this programme will be present and potential clients (Ashley and Tuten, 2015).
One of the main objective of this plan is imparting knowledge in the market. People are
now aware about tailored clothes which are available online. This campaign will also try to
project an image of cited company. They are new in market so earning popular is a difficult task.
Attitude of an organisation should become main reason of their success, this plan will try to
change the position of Institchu in the clothing retail industry. Increasing demand of company’s
product by convincing people to buy them will be critical objective of this programme (Schlinke
and Crain, 2013). Enhancement in sale will be the prime area of focus of marketing
communication purpose.
Segments and target market –Company do not deal in informal cloths. They offer
different variety of suits, shirts and Jackets. Their main segment is formal clothing and they want
to keep their focus on this business. This section has seen constant growth in last two to three
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decades and most of the experts of this industry believe that this segment will see continuous
development in upcoming years because demand of formal cloths is enhancing in Asian market.
The main target of Institchu will be youth and working class people. Old age people do not
prefer online shopping because of various issues but young generation is open to these kind of
options. College students and customers living in villages can be considered as secondary target
of the company. An organisation who has clear programme regarding targeting and segmentation
can easily attain their objective because they keep their focus on particular areas and do not get
confuse with strategies of other players of this industry. All the advertisement and media
promotions will concentrate on one targets i.e. to convince youth for buying online suits and shirt
from Institchu. Sometime companies try to promote lot of brands and promote, people fail to
understand specialisation of their product and they ignore their selling effort (Fill and Turnbull,
2016). An organisation should always market their speciality because it can assist them in
forming a unique brand image.
Cloths like Apple, in mobile industry, has done same work. They always promote their
camera feature in their Iphone because they know that this is their USP. This does not mean that
other features of their product are bad or below par, their main aim is to buy a space in mind of
public by showing them something mesmerising for hundreds of time. Tom James Company is a
leading firm of tailored made clothes. Instead of concentrating on people of all the group, they
keep their focus on working class, customer’s satisfaction is their prime goal and it helped them
in attaining the position where they are present in current scenario. Promoting formal cloths and
targeting young generation would be significant part of this integrated marketing plan. All of
their advertisement will focus on these two areas.
Positioning strategy – Sometime companies make quality product and offer it at
attractive price but they fail to position it in correct segment. Correct positioning of cited firm's
brand can help them in rapid expansion of their business. They should market their products in
way that people think that it is the best which they can get at an affordable price (Jankovic,
2012). If customers feel their cloths made by this company is expensive then they will not buy it.
And if they think that their products are very expensive and they are only targeting rich class
then cited firm may choose large number of economic class buyers. Their marketing strategy will
convince customer that shopping from their store is a win-win situation for both sides. If
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positioning of Institchu brand is right then they can do an effective planning for their expansion
in other continents like America and Asia.
In upcoming years they will be enter in these region so if they do correct positioning on
their brand in existing market then it will help them at the time of entering other economies.
When a new company starts their operations in new marketplace, people tend to check their
background and past performance (Vernuccio and Ceccotti, 2015). Wedding cloths in another
segment where they must keep their concentration. If they shape their advertising in a form
which appeal marrying couple two buy clothes from their store then they can easily attain their
target of enhancing brand awareness by 20%. In clothing market, customers basically seek two
areas relating to a product, first is quality of fabric that is used in creation of cloths and its price.
Everyone want best quality which is available in the market at affordable value. Customers also
understand that better product mean more price. Cited firm will depict people that they can offer
them their needs because they are using modern and innovative technology of tailoring which is
the prime reason that their cost of production is low. Buying this kind of position in customers
mind will provide stability to the organisation in long run because, in clothing industry, people
do not like to change their brand.
Communication strategy mix – Integrated marketing plan can assist Institchu in
increasing their brand awareness. Below are some modes which they can use for attaining their
objectives:
Advertising – T.V advertisement is an expensive option but it will play crucial role in
spreading awareness about the brand. Large number of customers can be targeted by choosing
this option (Barker, 2013). But in this changing era, people have started giving more time to
internet rather than television. So instead of spending money on TV ads, company can opt for
internet advertising. Their main target is youth and they are more active on various social
networking websites like Facebook, Instagram etc. Sponsoring programme of Netflix can be
great choice. Print media is also not a bad option but most of the instead of giving advertisements
on newspapers, company should buy space in famous fashion magazines. By using this
promotional tool, they can easily attain their objectives (Yang, Kim and Yoo, 2013).
Cited firm is in initial stage of their business, they cannot bear huge amount of cost which
T.V channels charge some seconds of advertisement. Beside this expenditure they also have to
spend money on production of content which they are going to advertise. Internet in present in
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every country, but T.V channels have a limited reach. Cited company will use social media for
promoting their brand because it will reduce their promotional cost. Organisations like Tom
James Company have deep pockets so they can easily spend huge sum on television adds but
cited firm has to manage their funds in a proper way (Purvis, 2016). They have a clear segment
to exploit and targets are also fixed. Advertisements will play significant role in effective
positioning of brand.
Sales promotion – Cited firm is offering 50% discount on the alteration of cloths. If
people want some changes in their suits or shirts then this company only ask for the half amount
of actual price. In upcoming time, if they will start giving 100% off alternations then this will
increase their brand awareness. Companies who make customer satisfaction their main objective
can easily run a successful business. They do not have to spend huge sum on improving or
projecting their image because various offers keep attracting buyers for a long period of time.
Offering discount at initial stage of business can help cited firm in grabbing more market share
but in upcoming time they have to stop these offers otherwise it will make a negative impact on
the business of company.
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Illustration 1: Integrated Marketing Communication

(Source: Integrated Marketing Communications, 2008)
Public relations – It is important to make more and more permanent customers because
they are main component of mouth publicity. Sending greeting cards on various occasions and
providing good after sale service to buyers will pay crucial role in making strong relations with
customers (Wu, Kirkole and Huang, 2016). This will enhance brand awareness and the targets of
20% growth can be attained in an effective manner. People like company who listen to them,
they want to buy products from an organisation who understand the demand of customers and
make products accordingly. By focusing on needs of every single buyer, cited firm can maintain
their good relation for most of their clients.
Integrated marketing communication plan have a single, all the above tools will focus on
the ultimate objective of the company i.e. increase brand awareness by 20%. Institchu is a new
organisation they need continuous promotion so their name can remain on the tongue of buyers.
The advertisement will focus on proving quality cloths at affordable price but their main message
is great customer’s satisfaction which cited firm is ready to provide. The discount offers will be
another way of promoting brand, customers like to talk about companies who provide service
below the market price (Integrated Marketing Communications, 2008). Making a long term
relation with buyers will provide stability in business operations of the company.
Cited firm will go for internet marketing because their main aim is youth and they are
more active on internet compare Television. Doing advertisement on newspaper will be a
wastage of money because young generation do not like read newspapers and working class do
not have time for it. Both use various mobile applications or news websites for reading different
activities that is happening in this world (Kitchen and Burgmann, 2015). Some companies
advertise their brand of holdings, they paste big picture of their brand. This form of promotion is
of no use to Institchu as it involve huge cost and targets limited number of people.
“Creative idea” - Customers are not aware about the innovation that is happening in
clothing sector, by explaining them the technology which, cited firm is using, Institchu can
attractive large number of customers. People want cloth of their choice at an affordable rate, this
enterprise has to deliver a message that they can fulfil this demand of the customers. Buyers can
choose fabrics according to their choice, the decision relating to designing and size is also in
service user’s hand. The message is to “get what to want”. In this era, people do not like to
comprise, when they pay money for a product they expect desired quality and better service.
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There are many companies who are trying to provide greater customers satisfaction but
their stitching and operation cost is high. They run physical stores which is the main reason that
they fail to offer products at a low price. Cited firm need to make people understand that the
reason behind their quality clothing is the innovative technology which they are using in
stitching process (Castronovo and Huang, 2012). They do not have much physical outlets so they
can offer their products at a low cost. Once people get this message they will start trusting this
brand and its awareness will also enhance.
Evaluation metrics – Before the research, company had limited buyers because most of
the people were unaware about this enterprise. There was an important segment of customers
who had heard about organisation but they were hesitating to place an order as they do not had
any idea about the fabrics which are used in the formation of cloths. After completion of this
campaign, potential customer become permanent buyer of cited firm. Large number of people
who were not interested in placing online order are not sending queries about manufacturing
process and deliver system. This is a huge success for cited company because most of the new
buyers are either working class people or college students. They were firm's main target now
their contribution in revenue is continuously increasing.
This company was also trying to enhance their brand awareness in past, but they were
failing to use right communication tools and their market position was about incorrect. After
spending money on internet marketing, Institchu earned attention of young generation. They fail
to promote their brand in new market like Asia and USA but they achieved impressive response
from domestic region. This outcome was expected because cited organisation did not take much
interest in promoting their products outside of the country (Schultz, Patti and Kitchen, 2013).
They had aggressive marketing strategy before this campaign but after implementing integrated
marketing plan they have synchronised all of their efforts in a positive and single direction. They
were committing some mistakes in past but this new planning helped them in figuring out
various flaws and they are kept their focus on right areas. Buying space in the brain of customers
is not an easy task, organisation has to put company's message in the mind of buyers by using
more than one approach. Prior to this campaign they were only focusing on internet advertising
but after combine effort of sales promotion and public relation they attaining their target of
enhancement in 20% brand awareness.
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Profit cannot show the success but the amount of investment which company is receiving
on continuous can depict actual result. When cited firm adopted integrated marketing
communication plan and try to focus on their brand awareness then they successfully gained
attention of many investors (Blakeman, 2014). This result in a six figure investment their
valuation reached 3 million dollar. It is difficult to measure the growth in brand awareness as its
impact on profit cannot be directly connected to the revenue of company.
Feedback – Taking reviews from the people who are going to implement integrated
marketing communication plan is important because their correct execution is significant for
increasing aware of cited company's brand. Employees of the firm raised a crucial issue that if
the demand will sharply rise then they will fail to deliver products on right time because they
have limited number of workers and machinery. Finance department was concerned about 100%
discount scheme as it will hamper profit of the organisation. Institchu is not an old player of this
sector, they are still trying to raise funds by knocking the door of angel investors, if enterprise
will spend too much money on sales promotion and advertise then they may get significant
number of customer in upcoming time but their financial position will get weak in present
scenario.
Marketing wing of this company appreciated the plan but they think that connecting with
every single customer is a very difficult task. Number of service users are continuously
increasing, if they try to give importance to every buyer then it will involve huge amount of
money. They also raised the point of enhancement in labour force, when business of a company
expand in short period of time then they have to deal with various difficulties. Founder of
Institchu thought that overall this plan was good but it fail address their expansion plan in other
nations. They have always adopted and aggressive approach so they are ready to spend more
money on internet advertisements and sales promotion. Their discount offer was attractive but
they can only keep this scheme for couple of months as it can increase cost of the business.
Founder also gave views about the concerns of employees, management of cited
company is planning to double their employee strength if they accept this integrated marketing
communication plan. They do not want their customers to wait for months for an order. There
were some people in the enterprise who were not agree with the target of firm. According to their
logic, company should also target small children and retired people. Designing team gave an
importance feedback that people ask for different kind of patterns, management has to reduce
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some options, if number of clients will enhance, in order to deliver the cloths on promised time.
Their concern is realistic but it is not good for overall growth of the enterprise.
Cost of plan
Cost Amount in Australian dollar
Advertisement 10000
Creative message 1000
Plans formation and research 1200
Sales promotion 400
Total 12600
CONCLUSION
From above report, it can be concluded that integrated marketing communication plan is
necessary for improving brand awareness of a company. If they make a single goal and
channelize all of their efforts in right path then they can attain their objectives in an effective
manner. T.V advertising is an expensive mode of communication so cited company will use
internet because it targets more people and enterprise can afford it.
RECOMMEDATIONS
Institchu should keep their focus on their domestic market for next couple of years
because if they will try to expand their business in short time period then they can lose some of
their major clients. They should also stop giving discount in the region where they have strong
sale, this may reduce some burden on financial statements of the company. Instead of projecting
their image as a discount giving company, they should keep public attention on the quality which
they are offering and the innovation which they are using for tailored suits and shirts.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Yeshin, T. (2012). Integrated marketing communications. Routledge.
Blakeman, R. (2014). Integrated marketing communication: creative strategy from idea to
implementation. Rowman & Littlefield.
Schultz, D., Patti, C. H. & Kitchen, P. J. (2013). The evolution of integrated marketing
communications: The customer-driven marketplace. Routledge.
Castronovo, C. & Huang, L. (2012). Social media in an alternative marketing communication
model. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness. 6(1). 117.
Kitchen, P. J., & Burgmann, I. (2015). Integrated marketing communication: Making it work at a
strategic level. Journal of Business Strategy. 36(4). 34-39.
Wu, C., Kirkole, S. and Huang, Y., 2016. Environmental Protection: Essentials/Antecedents of
Digital Book Adoption. Theoretical Economics Letters. 6(05). p.1115.
Purvis, J., 2016. Human Resources Marketing and Recruiting: Essentials of Digital Recruiting.
Handbook of Human Resources Management. pp.53-71.
Barker, R. (2013). Strategic integrated communication: An alternative perspective of integrated
marketing communication?. Communicatio. 39(1). 102-121.
Vernuccio, M. & Ceccotti, F. (2015). Strategic and organisational challenges in the integrated
marketing communication paradigm shift: A holistic vision. European Management
Journal. 33(6). 438-449.
Jankovic, M. (2012). Integrated Marketing Communications and Brand Identity Development.
Management (1820-0222), (63).
Fill, C. & Turnbull, S. L. (2016). Marketing communications: brands, experiences and
participation.
Schlinke, J. & Crain, S. (2013). Social media from an integrated marketing and compliance
perspective. Journal of Financial Service Professionals. 67(2).
Papasolomou, I. & Melanthiou, Y. (2012). Social media: Marketing public relations’ new best
friend. Journal of Promotion Management. 18(3). 319-328.
Chen, C. W. (2011). Integrated marketing communications and new product performance in
international markets. Journal of Global Marketing. 24(5). 397-416.
Hede, A. M. & Kellett, P. (2011). Marketing communications for special events: analysing
managerial practice, consumer perceptions and preferences. European Journal of
Marketing. 45(6). 987-1004.
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Ashley, C. & Tuten, T. (2015). Creative strategies in social media marketing: An exploratory
study of branded social content and consumer engagement. Psychology & Marketing.
32(1). 15-27.
Yang, B., Kim, Y. & Yoo, C. (2013). The integrated mobile advertising model: The effects of
technology-and emotion-based evaluations. Journal of Business Research. 66(9). 1345-
1352.
Online
Integrated Marketing Communications. 2008. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.mbaskool.com/business-concepts/marketing-and-strategy-terms/10937-
integrated-marketing-communications.html>. [Accessed on 6th October 2017].
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