Woolworths Limited: An Analysis of Integrated Marketing Communication

This report provides an analysis of the integrated marketing communication (IMC) strategies employed by Woolworths Limited, an Australian retail giant. The report begins with an executive summary highlighting the importance of IMC in contemporary business communication, emphasizing its role in understanding stakeholders, sustainable marketing, and designing effective marketing strategies. It then delves into the theoretical communication model outlined by Belch et al. (2014), exploring the components of sender, message, channel, receiver, and feedback, as well as the impact of noise and decoding. The report examines Woolworths' current IMC approach, focusing on its online advertisement campaigns and social media presence, while also acknowledging areas for improvement to fully integrate IMC principles. It further explores the application of communication models and IMC, including the use of celebrity endorsements and social networks in marketing campaigns, and discusses the integration of various marketing elements such as advertisement mix, public relations, marketing mix (4Ps), social media, and direct marketing. The report concludes with recommendations for Woolworths to enhance its IMC strategies, improve brand touchpoints, and leverage a comprehensive IMC model for achieving organizational goals. The report also provides references for all the sources used in the analysis.

Running head: INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 1
Integrated Marketing Communications
Student Name
Institution

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 2
Executive Summary
The Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is an important contemporary
communication mix that forms the basis of effective and efficient communication. IMC is
important for the business since it forms the current best marketing communication strategy;
allow critical understanding of stakeholders and IMC is a sustainable marketing communication
for business. Woolworths Limited is a renown organization based in Australia that gives insight
into the marketing communication of an organization. Woolworth uses advertisement campaign
that mainly focuses on online campaigns and social media (Welcome to Woolworth, 2017).
Belch et al (2014) indicated the current advertisement perspective that is based on IMC using
current communication platforms. Woolworths Limited though has some aspects of IMC, much
need to be done to form an inclusive IMC model for the achievement of organization goals.
Looking into IMC revealed that there is a need for integrating most business marketing
communications methods to form a system that outlines understanding of both communication
and marketing. After analysis of the marketing communication used in the organization, it was
recommended that the organization need to implement a comprehensive IMC. This should
include contemporary marketing communication mix where social media and online platforms
are used to market products with clear brand touch points.

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 3
Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Importance of learning integrated marketing communication.....................................................................4
Theoretical communication model outlined by Belch et al (2014)..............................................................5
Woolworths Limited approach to IMC........................................................................................................6
IMC and communication model..................................................................................................................6
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................9
Recommendations.......................................................................................................................................9
Reference...................................................................................................................................................11

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 4
Introduction
Integrated marketing communication (IMC) is an organizational form of communication
that integrates various communications within an organization in an organized manner.
Integrated marketing communication normally link marketing communications within the
organization so as to market the products and services that the organization specializes in. IMC
may link communication channels such as vertical, horizontal, external and internal integration.
Vertical integration focuses on the marketing communication that supports higher organizational
culture in marketing (MMC Learning, 2015). Horizontal integration concerns with integrating
marketing mix that the company or organization uses to communicate its products or services.
Internal integration informs the staffs of the advertisement campaign that the organization is
making. Woolworths is one of the largest retailers in Australia by wealth and therefore an
important organization. Woolworth as an organization has good communication system that
employs some aspect of integrated marketing communication. Woolworths Limited has partly
invested in integrated marketing communication with the current uses online advertisement
campaigns (Welcome to Woolworths, 2017 ˂https://www.woolworths.com.au/ ˃). Woolworths
Limited as an organization also has good investment in social media such as YouTube
(Woolworth-YouTube- ˂https://www.youtube.com/user/WoolworthsAu ˃). The organization has
various integrated communication systems that aim to market its product forming advertisement
campaigns (Newman & Ober, 2013). The following paper explores IMC as a current business
model used for communication in an organization.

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 5
Importance of learning integrated marketing communication
Integrated marketing communication is an important aspect of business communication
and assists the business to communicate its products or services to the audience who are the
potential buyers or customers. Understanding IMC is important for the business in current
society for a number of reasons (Chaffey, 2006). Firstly, IMC is important for an organization
that is willing to understand their stakeholders who are the customers. This is possible due to the
comprehensive nature of the IMC enabling the organization to understand basic communication
process. Secondly, IMC has proved to be the sustainable marketing strategy that seems
promising since it integrates various aspects of communications. The sustainability nature of the
organization’s marketing communication link customers to the organization especially through
product promotion. Thirdly, understanding IMC enable the organization to design a good
marketing strategy for the business that will serve a well-defined market segment (Kitchen &
Burgmann, 2015). In order to understand IMC at the organizational level, it is important to study
the marketing communication used by an organization such as Woolworths Limited (Nagra et al,
2012).
Theoretical communication model outlined by Belch et al (2014)
Belch et al (2014), explains the basis of integrated marketing communication giving
various components of the communication that include sender, message, channel, receiver and
response or feedback. In addition, basic model also gives other important concepts of noise and
decoding of message. According to the basic communication model, IMC is a communication
tool that is used to link various aspects of organization marketing systems have been changed to
include other forms of communication systems such as social media and are taking over
communication of organizations. IMC currently uses advertisement channels that are the link or

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 6
associated with social media. Marketing campaigns are currently done online as the
organizations tries to attract vast number of online uses. Woolworths Limited for instance,
heavily invests in social media as the new form of IMC that it uses to advertise its products
(Welcome to Woolworths 2017). Belch et al (2014) further indicate that current model of
communications assists many users to obtain information on the product or service hence faster
information. The theoretical communication model as explained by the author emphasizes on
advertisement as a business communication from the IMC perspective. The IMC perspective
considers the integration of other current communication and their ability reach the current vast
number of online users. Woolworths Limited as an organization concentrates its advertisement
campaign to YouTube for example. This form of communication limitedly integrates both
internal and external integrations that are key aspect of IMC. Some other communication
channels that have been emphasized are mobile platforms and the internet (Sheehan, 2013).
Woolworths Limited approach to IMC
Woolworths Limited is a premium organization that has vast marketing communication
coupled with online marketing campaigns (Maguire, 2017). The two main strategies that the
organization uses are online advertisement campaign and direct marketing with more focuses
celebrity advertisement. Firstly, Woolworths Limited organization combines the various aspect
of marketing mix a good advertisement mix. As revealed within the organization’s main website
the organization highlight nearly all the marketing mix (Bhatia, 2000). The advertisement that
characterizes its website is a large poster of welcome to Woolworth. The organization has other
strategies that consider other security within the online platform as noise. There various
applications that assists in advertisement as the decoding devices. Secondly, the organization has
closely link external integration through external partners such as media houses and farmers who

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 7
are key stakeholders as part of direct marketing campaigns. This is also evident through the print
media that are readily available for download at its main website. It is quite and evident that
though the organization has tried to implement marketing communication that is related to IMC
there still a lot to done in order to fully implement IMC model (Welcome to Woolworths, 2017).
Social media on the other hand, the organization has its YouTube where it has display of various
services it sells (https://www.youtube.com/user/WoolworthsAu )
IMC and communication model
A good communication strategy incorporates communication model and IMC so as to
achieve organizational objectives. Woolworth has recently adopted IMC though there is still a lot
to be done. Woolworth uses both Basic Model of communication model and Duncan’s model
IMC for its marketing especially using celebrity and social networks in its marketing campaigns.
Firstly, communication model that the organization uses according to Saunders (2014) follows
the communication process that begins advertisement of various products that the organization
deals in with the main focus on grocery and petrol discounts. For instance, after advertising
liquors that are sold within Woolworths Limited, sales will show the response of the customers
to the advertisement. Secondly, the organization has also concentrated on product promotion
giving discount to customer with an example of IMC on the other hand, make good use of
different aspects customer oriented model of IMC. However, some of the key aspects of basic
model of communication model Belch et al are online campaign, sale promotion delivered
through social media. Integration of communication model and IMC involve following
communication process with the addition of integrated marketing communication through
various advertisement mix. To apply IMC using current forms of communications can be

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 8
explained as using online platforms in harmonized manners through linking different forms of
advertisement (Lucia, Garcia & Kitchen, 2012).
Adopting IMC within an organization involves applications of advertisement campaign,
direct marketing, marketing mix, public relationship and social media. Firstly, advertisement mix
is using various advertisement methods that the organization uses to advertise its products.
Secondly, public relation is another aspect of this marketing strategy that includes engaging the
public activities of the company. Thirdly, marketing mix consists of the 4Ps of marketing that
can be expanded to 7Ps. These 4Ps are a promotion, price, place, and product and play a
significant role in the marketing of products. Fourthly, social media is used for online marketing
campaigns that aim at attracting more online users to buy the product. Finally, direct marketing
is also another marketing strategy that is incorporated inside IMC for a better result.
Incorporation of these marketing aspects or advertisement strategies in an organized manner
result into product advertisement with integrated marketing communication strategy (Clow &
Baack, 2002).
The message that is sent should be designed in a manner that is transmissible for example
the organization can design advertisement as the message. The basic IMC model of
communication emphasizes the importance of understanding the audience before designing
message. This is because a good communication strategy should have message spiced with a
picture that is appealing to the audience enabling specific campaign strategy. Therefore, the
message needs to be very communicative to users. The organization has on the designing of its
adverts can be termed as attractive since its poster are catchy. The message also bears the nature
of the sender since the sender communicates its thought to the audience (Kitchen & Burgmann,
2015). Duncan’s model of IMC has highlighted the basis of designing customer-oriented

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 9
campaigns. The organization to some extend uses personal for instance, selling includes direct
selling to customers while non-personal selling consists of print media, online social media, and
broadcast media. According to Arens & Michael, (2012), the current channel that needs to be
used in IMC is mainly social media and other online platforms such as websites. The target
audience when using social media as channel depends on the media itself since through social
media the organization can communicate to a single user or mass (Habibi et al, 2016).
The analysis of the receiver reveals the market segmentation that is important for the
marketing campaign. Woolworths Limited target individual, market or masses as its audience
with its main target based on mass and this is evidence by its main focus on online campaigns.
The receiver can be segmented into marketing zones mainly from an individual to mass at the
highest level of communication. Knowing receiver determines whether the message is relevant
or not since the message that is delivered to the receiver not intended is most likely to attract
negative feedback. The ability of the receiver to understand and interpret the message send plays
an important role in the communication process (Chandra & Ulrich, 2014). Woolworth on the
receiver, the organization understands the receiver though it has not linked the receiver to
specific product. Feedback is the critical aspect of the communication process and can take many
forms that include brand touch points. A brand touch point is important when the customer
comes into contact with the organization product and is used to plan for advertisement or
feedback from advertisement. The organization though has good advertisement campaign
methods, the brand touch point are not established. Response or feedback process follows
various processes such as AIDA (Attention, interest, desire, and action) or hierarchy of effect
model. The beauty of IMC is that it gives different integrations of communication hierarchies
that can assist the organization to analyze the response from a different perspective. The

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 10
organization on the other hand has not shown response process that confers with any model. For
instance, a model of cognitive response give the relationship between cognitive responses, an
attitude developed and purchase intent (Moriarty & Nancy, 2014).
Conclusion
In conclusion, integrated marketing communication is marketing communication that
consists of the integration of various business communication aspects such as communication
process and advertisement mix. Woolworths Limited is a renowned organization in Australia that
rank second largest organization by wealth. The company has marketing strategy though not
effective and therefore need some changes. The IMC has proved effective and therefore a
recommended communication channel is mainly consisting of IMC. After a deeper analysis of
the IMC used in the organization, it is worth giving recommendations for improvement,
Recommendations
Woolworths Limited should adopt IMC as the main strategy for advertisement or product
campaigns. Though the organization has used some marketing strategies such as marketing mix,
online advertisement, public relationship and direct marketing, one problem with the marketing
strategy used in the organization is that all the advertisement campaign methods are not linked
therefore tracking feedback from the marketing communication used (Koc, 2002). Therefore, the
organization needs to link all the advertisement campaign methods to form integrated marketing
communication model and establish brand touch points. Woolworths Limited needs to launch
online campaign since most people within Australia are currently online users with more than 15
million Australians currently using social media. Furthermore, though the company has a well
rated website there is still need for integration with social media applications as this is currently
trending form of business communication. The organization’s IMC system has not properly used

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 11
the brand touch points since there are no clearly established touch points in its online
advertisement campaigns. As noted by Belch et al (2014), IMC is one of the best advertisement
practices that can be attributed to the success of some prominent business such as case of Coke
Zero in the Coca Cola campaign (Laird, 2001). The organization needs to embark on advertising
campaign its products and services through different channels as explained in the communication
channel. Secondly, the organization needs to develop a fully integrated marketing
communication system with all basic components of the communication. This can be done using
its social media pages such as ˂ https://www.youtube.com/user/WoolworthsAu ˃. Finally, the
organization can market directly to consumers (Luxton, Reid & Mavondo, 2015). Currently, the
contemporary needs of the consumers mostly are to reach them wherever they are. In addition,
the contemporary consumer wants products or service that reaches them at their own convenient
time. He implies that a good communication mix should also cater for customers that use various
mobile applications since contemporary consumer like using portable mobile devices to facilitate
a good marketing campaign.

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 12
Reference
Arens, W. & Michael, W. (2012), Contemporary Advertising: An Integrated Marketing
Communications
Belch, G.E., (2014), Advertising: An integrated marketing communication perspective. McGraw
Hill. p 31.
Bhatia (2000), Advertising in Rural India: Language, Marketing Communication, and
Consumerism, 62+68
Chandra, A. & Ulrich K. (2014), Targeted advertising in magazine markets and the advent of the
internet. Management Science 60.7 pp: 1829–1843.
Chaffey, D. (2006), Internet marketing strategy, implementation, and practice. Harlow:
Financial Times Prentice Hall. p. 50.
Clow, K.E. & Baack, D.E. (2002), Integrated Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing
Communications. Prentice Hall. p. 108.
Habibi, F. H., et al, (2016), Exploring the integration of social media within integrated marketing
communication frameworks: Perspectives of services marketers. Journal of Marketing
Practice, 34 (1), 19-40
Kitchen, P., & Burgmann, I. (2015), Integrated marketing communications: Making it work at a
strategic level. Journal of Business Strategy, 36: 34–39.
Koc, E. (2002), Impact of gender in marketing communications: the role of cognitive and
affective cues. Journal of Marketing Communications, 8 (4): 257.