Integrated Marketing Communications

This document discusses the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC) and its importance in business. It analyzes a creative brief for Hush Puppies and provides recommendations for an appropriate IMC campaign. It also discusses how to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign. The document highlights the target audience, creative strategy, and various communication channels to be used in the campaign.

MK994: Integrated Marketing Communications
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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Analysis of the Creative Brief......................................................................................................4
Recommendations for an appropriate IMC campaign.................................................................5
Discussion of how to appropriately evaluate the campaign.........................................................8
Conclusions......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10
Appendix........................................................................................................................................13
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Introduction
If a marketer is asked for picking up the biggest, dynamic and exciting buzz phrase of the year,
then undoubtedly it would be integrated marketing. According to Grybs (2014), while some
people describe it as omni-channel marketing, multichannel attribution is preferred by a few
others. No matter whichever way it is perceived, integrated marketing all about working from a
particular point of view. Placing all eggs in one basket can reap numerous benefits for
entrepreneurs in terms of their businesses. Hence, integrated marketing is loved by business
person across the globe. According to Elizabeth, Peltier and Barger (2017), one can describe
integrated marketing as an approach that is holistic to plan communications giving a business the
prospective in deriving better outcomes from their campaigns besides reducing the costs
involved in marketing. Instead of depending upon individual marketing efforts such as print
advertising campaigns, opting for an integrated approach will make the best use of multiple
channels simultaneously that are available in today’s modern day business. According to Finne
and Grönroos (2017), it has been emphasized by market analysts that entrepreneurs intend for
providing clarity, consistency and maximum communications impact by making use of
integrating tools such as advertising, direct mail, social media, telemarketing and sales
promotion. Integrated marketing helps a business in ensuring that consistency is maintained with
its message across all media. This is because it has been observed that when a consistent
message is provided across different platforms, it is likely to increase the scope of the target
audiences in taking action in ways intended by a business. According to Dahl, Eagle and Low
(2015), integrated marketing when effectively used significantly contributes in optimizing
expenditure by helping businesses in placing right amount of capital towards the most effective
approaches for yielding best outputs. The key purpose of this report focuses on analyzing a
creative brief, recommendations for the IMC campaign and its evaluation. The study has been
conducted by taking creative brief for Hush Puppies
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Analysis of the Creative Brief
According to Repovienė (2017), behind any successful creative campaign there lies the immense
contribution of a creative brief outlining the vision of a business besides ensuring that everybody
is on the same page. The foundation of success for any marketing campaign is communication
that includes the creative brief. Right from the choice of the font in a print advertising to a
campaign’s overall theme, every single thing springs out from the creative brief thus, giving base
to a creative campaign. It has been observed that in the chosen creative brief of Hush Puppies,
which is a lifestyle brand providing men and women shoes, eyewear, watches and clothing
appropriate back ground information about the project has been provided. It has revealed the
history of the brand that is deeply rooted into innovation right from inventing the first truly
casual shoes for developing technologies making the shoes more comfortable in wearing,
lightweight and worry free. According to Ots and Nyilasy (2017), it further asserts how the brand
is continuously striving in evolving the world of Hush Puppies renowned comfort, bringing the
latest technological advancement available in the footwear industry to the customers. The design
of an advertising marketing campaign for Hush Puppies shoes provide a sense of immense
comfort and relaxation to the buyers as soon they wear it. This is the key highlight of the project.
The chosen creative brief of Hush Puppies is quite successful in identifying the correct business
opportunity, which revolves around the new campaign’s aim of increasing brand awareness and
market demand of its shoes. The objective of the campaign is perceived as improving the
awareness about the brand in between its target audience so that the demand of its products (read
shoes) eventually grows. According to Negoiţă, et al., (2018), the response that the campaign run
by Hush Puppies is seeking mainly revolves around its intention of ensuring that more and more
number of customers is aware about the brand and the different types of shoes it manufactures
and retails for delivering a comfortable and relaxed footwear experience. In my opinion for
meeting the business opportunity of enhancing brand awareness and demand the details given in
the project’s objective is sufficient. It has been observed that in the selected campaign of Hush
Puppies the target audience is well defined. In terms of who is the primary audience, what are the
demographics and psychographics. Through this campaign Hush Puppies intends of targeting
both male and female customers within the age group of 20-40 years belonging to Class A
(crucial for success in long-term these customers purchasing is based on service, quality, brand
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recognition, fact that business is established business and particularly by referral), Class B
(having major part of potential clients these types of customer apart from looking for the
qualities Class A look for also consider the price related with service and quality), and a portion
of Class C (purchase of these customers is first and foremost based on price and will go
wherever discounts are offered no matter what the brand is) types of customers. According to
Willems, Leroi-Werelds and Swinnen (2016), the target audience of Hush Puppies campaign are
in need of comfort, functionality and style. The message that the brand is trying to its target
audience is that by wearing the shoes will give the people a natural, authentic kind of a feeling
with a spirit that is young, free, simple and healthy.
Recommendations for an appropriate IMC campaign
For the chosen creative brief of Hush Puppies the creative strategy recommended is “Hush
Puppies! Where Life and Style Meets”. A 360-degree multimedia integration will be featuring in
the campaign that comprises of television commercial, radio, cinema, print, innovative outdoor,
events, promotions and digital platforms. According to Harmeling, et al., (2017), this campaign
will embark for Hush Puppies entire footwear range. The television commercial that be airing
across broadcast channels will be shot in an innovative way for capturing the slice-of-life
situations peoples’ lives by keeping an authentic focus on the footwear. A unique technique will
be used by the film for pursuing those moments of a real life by ensuring that the action showed
only from down the knee. The conditions that will be captured revolved around all aspects of a
life right from the nervous, the dramatic to the adventurous. It will also include students
vigorously looking at their examination results, employees in an office setup watching an
interesting football match; a ‘day out being enjoyed by a group of young girls; and retired people
enjoying a walk. According to Pui and Kung (2019), all the collections in their latest styles will
be featured in the film in an aspirational way. The film shot contemporarily and stitched together
using fast-paced music will reiterate the presence of brand Hush Puppies into the people’s lives,
cutting across the age barriers, which is a prerequisite taking into account its wide-ranging
portfolio. The emphasis of this new campaign will relatively focus on fashion and comfort,
which are perceived as the two most alluring attribute of Hush Puppies shoes. In addition, the
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campaign will also exult the youth of today’s free spiritedness, spontaneous behaviour and
vivacity. According to Cvitanović (2018), the campaign will prove to be yet another phenomenal
turning point in the journey of Hush Puppies to symbolize that shoes can also meet lifestyle, be
young, vibrant and yet comfortable. Moreover, the “knee down” treatment of the television
commercial for the campaign will be capturing how the gamut of shoes right from business
indoors to comfortable outdoors is literally covered by Hush Puppies wide line of shoes range.
(Source: Author-made)
According to Yanwu, et al., (2018), for implementing this strategy in the campaign the very first
step will revolve around conducting the basic market research even before starting to think about
where the advertising might be placed or what it would look like. This will be done by
questioning the existing customers why they choose Hush Puppies besides taking a closer look at
the needs and interests of the demographics targeted. This will be followed by budgeting and
goals setting where aims for the campaign will be outlined beforehand; since it is equally
significant in deciding what comprises of a fruitful integrated marketing campaign for the
business. The simplest metric can be the sales where the focus is on promoting the brand
awareness and increasing the market demand. Once the goals are set next step will involve
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different means of advertising for the campaign. According to Grainge and Johnson (2015),
choosing the websites, TV station, newspapers, radio stations, magazines or other advertising
venue in order to run the campaign is a pivotal decision. At this not only costs of the preferred
venues will be taken into account but whether or not they are reaching the demographic that has
been targeted will be analyzed. Next step involved in the implementation of the strategy is
choosing the creative’s with intent to plan, write, shoot and design every part of the campaign.
According to Shkurupskaya and Litovchenko (2016), for this the company can outsource a
suitable agency or freelancer for efficiently handling every aspect that are involved in creating
the campaign. This stage will be followed by designing and wording since during the process of
creation reviewing and signing off on the project’s different stages will be required. At this point,
it is important in ensuring that both the designers who are involved and Hush Puppies
representative are well aware of the expectations for timelines and progress checks. And the final
step is placing the campaign with the preferred advertising venue, which will be done once the
completed product is in hand. For instance, if the campaign is published on newspapers, it is
important to assure that the campaign is actually visible by seeing the sheets of pages that
contains the campaign.
For integrating the campaign across the various forms of communication and media it is
recommended that a strategic approach is taken in order to integrate communications and
interactive experiences with intend to target the defined audiences and people. This can be done
by establishing coordination amidst every facet of marketing of Hush Puppies. According to
Seyyed Amiri, et al., (2017), it will include of Paid media such as offline advertising, direct
marketing and online display and programmatic; Earned media mainly revolving around organic
search that is fuelled by content marketing, PR and online influencer outreach; and Owned media
such as social media, on-site user experience, customer service and direct messaging via
emailing and mobile. All these forms of communication and media will significantly contribute
in achieving continual messaging that will be personalized wherever possible by the channel
thus, presenting a consolidated and smooth consumer experience across their purchasing
lifecycle. By simultaneously makes the best use of the multiple channels like advertising, direct
mail, social media, telemarketing and sales promotion Hush Puppies campaign can integrated in
a way providing lucidity, regularity and maximal communications effect. According to Valos, et
al., (2016), for receiving better outcomes the integrated campaign will utilize the aforesaid tools
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of communication for reinforcing one another apart from improving the effectiveness of
marketing. With intent of raising brand awareness and demand advertising can be used in the
integrated campaign. In addition to this, the same information can be communicated in press
releases and feature articles thereby, reinforcing the messages that were conveyed through the
advertising. Meanwhile, direct mail or emails can be used for following up queries received from
the advertising or press campaigns for providing more information to the prospects. According to
Hänninen and Karjaluoto (2017), for converting those prospects into customers’ telemarketing
can be used for direct selling or arranging meetings for the sales team. Furthermore, an active
online presence of Hush Puppies on multiple social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter etc.
will furnish an additional set of tools to easily reach out to its customer base. The different tools
in the integrated campaign will be featuring the similar creative treatment in terms of repeated
headline, key phrases and images in every communication channel. This kind of an approach will
help in ensuring that consistent messages are received by the prospects and customers every time
see any one of the campaign’s elements. According to Naumovska and Blazeska (2016), by
maintaining the creative consistency Hush Puppies can be fortify the basic theme of the
campaign by enhancing the number of times the same message is seen or heard by the prospects.
Consistently working through a handful of different channels the footwear company can build
awareness of the brand, offers, catch phrases or other messages it intends of emphasizing in a
better way.
Discussion of how to appropriately evaluate the campaign
According to Zerfass, Verčič and Volk (2017), for every organization marketing is perceived as
its lifeline and a key business aspect. This is because it is the only way to reach out to the people
and showcase the values a company is offering. For business organisations like Hush Puppies
products and services are the offerings it provides, but effective campaigning is the only way
through which prospective customers can be made aware of them. By shelling out millions on
campaigns innovative marketing strategies and storylines with celebrities are used by the
company. However, for understanding whether or not right values proposition, brand image and
product information is reaching out to the audiences it is important for opting one critical process
i.e. evaluation. It is necessary to evaluate a campaign in order to estimate and analyze its
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effectiveness. It is well known fact that for building and marketing a brand an essential
component required is advertisement campaigns. According to Hasan (2018), print media,
television commercials and current being viral marketing on the internet are some of the most
important, popular and effective ways that are involved in advertising. Catch the attention of the
potential customers and ensuring that the product is purchased by him/her is what an advertising
campaign ultimately aims at; irrespective of where the campaign is shown. Evaluation of a
campaign can basically be perceived as comprehending whether or not the message that was
communicated through the advertisement, the features of a product (read shoes) was actually
understood by the targeted audiences. It also makes significant contributions in understanding
how an individual has been literally influenced by the advertising campaign. In short it can be
said that evaluation is the key to effective communications. According to McHugh and Domegan
(2017), evaluation is important for looking back at certain points of the overall campaign for
drawing out the learning outcomes for feeding into future campaigning works. As a campaign
makes progresses evaluating it will enable Hush Puppies in seeing if it is on the right track
besides demonstrating its effectiveness or successes. Meanwhile, routine evaluation has the
potential of strengthening the campaigns impact. It also help in building a powerful evidence
base for supporting the campaign for spurring on supporters in newer actions, or exhibiting that
people’s lives in making decisions are been improved by certain policies. According to Jansen
and Clarke (2017), evaluation during the period of post campaigning turns out to be extremely
useful for keeping the pressure on and monitoring how any policy commitments is getting
translated into a practice; whether or not the desirable change is bringing a real difference into
the lives of people. Also a crucial role is played by evaluation in giving support to broader
organisational learning. Future campaigns and strategy can be influenced through evaluation
besides demonstrating liability to stakeholders, provide evidence to feedback on performance
and accomplishment in the campaign.
According to Folse, et al., (2014), it is important to comprehend that evaluating a campaign is
something that should not be started after the campaign. Rather it should be undertaken from the
very beginning. Also the evaluation should always be a formative, which emphasizes on
continuous feedback on performance. For evaluating the effectiveness of the campaign run by
Hush Puppies, evaluation strategy that will be adopted revolves around knowing the goals
defined at the campaign’s beginning. The very basic document required for evaluating the
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campaign is a written strategy. According to Yang and Xie (2018), already during the campaign
at particular turning points like after candidates’ selection, deciding on the programme, after
campaign launch etc. discussing amongst the campaign team the targets that have been met, and
so far what is going right and wrong is very beneficial. More précised the goals are, controlling
and evaluating the campaign will much easier and better. Once the campaign is launched,
summative evaluation will be conducted for identifying the bigger trends and patterns in its
performance. These will be then judged against the targets that were set at the start.
Conclusions
This report has been divided into three parts on the basis of using own knowledge of the theory
of marketing communications. From the study it can be concluded that the chosen creative brief
of Hush Puppies whose objective is to increase brand awareness and demand has appropriate
background information. The “what” of the project (objectives) and “how” to achieve it (creative
approach) is described by Hush Puppies creative brief. It is also successful in identifying the
opportunities of the business. While analysing the chosen creative brief it has also been observed
that the target audience for whom the campaign has been designed in particular are well defined.
In the second part efforts have been made in recommending an appropriate response to the
creative brief of the footwear brand. Apart from this measures that should be undertaken for
implementing the creative strategy suggested into the campaign has also been recommended.
This has been followed by suggesting ways of integrating the campaign across the various forms
of communication and media available in the current business environment such as print media,
television commercials etc. to name a few. In the third part the role of communications
evaluation has been discussed in brief by bringing into light the importance of evaluation. This
has been followed by briefly elaborating the strategy that can be adopted for evaluating the
campaign run by Hush Puppies.
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Appendix
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(Source: workamajig.com)
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