Integrated Marketing Communication: Woolworths Group Report

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) and its application within the Woolworths Group. The report begins with an executive summary highlighting the importance of IMC for brand growth and customer engagement, followed by an introduction that defines IMC and its benefits, such as cost-effective brand awareness. A key component of the report is the application of Belch's communication model, which explains the process of communication, including the roles of sender, receiver, messages, channels, encoding, decoding, noise, response, and feedback. The analysis of Woolworths' IMC strategy explores both internal and external communication methods, detailing how the company utilizes advertising, social media, sales promotions, and public relations to reach its target audience. The report also examines how Woolworths gathers customer feedback through various channels, including customer talkback and media press, to improve its services. Finally, the report concludes with recommendations for effective IMC implementation, emphasizing the importance of aligning marketing personnel with customer needs and creating both short-term marketing effects and promoting sales. The report references various sources to support its findings and includes an appendix for additional information.

Running head: INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION
Application of Integrated Marketing Communication
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Executive Summary
The purpose of the report is to state the importance of the Integrated Marketing
Communication and its importance for the organization to implement it for the importance of
the growth of its brand. The organization chosen in this report is the Woolworth group
located in Australia and it applied its integrated communication marketing well to make its
brand famous and they use it quite effectively in order to reach the customers and make them
aware about the popularity of the brand. In this context the communication model has been
used by Belch which became a base to support the IMC utilized by the organization. Both the
internal and external administrative sources are being explained in the form of IMC and how
the organization is effectively working on the model of communication in order to take
feedbacks for the customers. Finally, the recommendations are also being given in terms of
the communication mix and how a company must utilize properly to make its working
effective.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
A basic Model of Communication (Belch et al)........................................................................3
Implementing Integrating Market Communication in Woolsworths Group..............................6
Integrating IMC......................................................................................................................7
Recommendations......................................................................................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10
References................................................................................................................................11
Appendix..................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
Integrated Marketing communication is a process to plan the communications that
provides business the energy to perform better which can happen from the campaigns and
could reduce the costs of the marketing. Through the integration of different advertising tools
such as social media, telemarketing and sales promotion, the need to provide clarity, impact
of the maximum communication and also consistency can be provided (Bhupathi, 2016). It
can create the awareness of the brand in a minimal cost among the customers. Organizations
who are following the IMC is not only successful in promoting their brands among their
targeted audience but also developed trust among the people whose interest towards only one
brand is exhibited. IMC as well scores over the occidental ways of marketing strategies but
also concentrates on winning the new customers and also focus on maintaining a healthy
relationship based on longer term with the customers (Bhupathi, 2016; Luxton, Reid &
Mavondo, 2015).
Woolsworths Group is one of the famous companies in Australia they focus on the building
of culture and customer store led team. Woolsworth always focused on making its brand
famous and they always work hard for 18 million customers and especially for those
customers who have attraction for the same brand (Woolworths.com.au, 2017; (Bhupathi,
2016). Therefore, in this respect, Woolsworths Group has been chosen and its approach
towards the Integrated Marketing Communication.
A basic Model of Communication (Belch et al)
There are two important participants who are being represented by the two elements
in the process of communication and they are sender and receiver. The other two are
important tools of communication such as messages and channels. Other four important
functions of communication are encoding, decoding, response and feedback. The last element

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of the process of communication is the noise which indicates the non- essential factors which
interferes with the work process against the effective means of communication (See
Appendix).
 Source Encoding: The source or the sender is the organization’s person who shares
vital information with other group of people or other person. The source can be
identified as a salesperson or a hired person, a celebrity who is paid to appear in the
advertisement of the company or any kinds of organization such as corporations
which are regarded as the non- personal entity. The process of communication takes
place when the sources choose words, pictures, symbols in order to represent the
message that it would get delivered to the receiver. The process of sharing
communication with the other in the form of ideas, thoughts and information is known
as encoding in a symbolic form (Belch & Belch, 2016).
 Messages: The system of encoding gives birth to the message which includes the
meaning or information that the source who wishes to convey to the receiver. The
messages might be in the form of symbol, non-verbal oral or written. Messages must
be in the format of transmittable which is suitable for the communication based
channel.
 Channel: It is a method through which the communication takes place from either
receiver or sender who are the sources. At the level of broadcast, communication’s
channels are the types non- personal and personal. Communication based on personal
channels which is carried on a direct basis interpersonal (face to face) contact with the
groups or the targeted individuals (Belch & Belch, 2016). The non- personal channels
are those which carry out messages without any face to face contact between the
receiver and sender. It is a channel through which the source transmits its messages to
the targeted audiences or the group of people. For example, if a company chooses to

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sell its product, the famous companies or any start- up companies can do so through
the attraction of media or through the means of mass communication. The non-
personal channels include as well in the form of advertisements as well.
 Receiver/decoding: The receiver or the individual with whom the source or the sender
shares thoughts and passes messages. In a general sense, the receivers are the
consumers in the targeted market, who hears, reads or see the message of the
marketers and decode the messages (Vernuccio, & Ceccotti, 2015). Decoding is the
process of transforming the messages of the sender into the thought process and ideas.
This process is the significant way which influences the receiver’s experience’s field
and receiver, which describes the perceptions, attitudes, values that the receiver brings
to the situation of communication. Decoding is an idea which gives birth to ideas in
the head of the receiver about what the organization is intended to (Belch & Belch,
2016).
 Noise: Throughout the process of communication, the messages are subjected to non-
essential factors that interfere or distorts with the reception. The unsystematic
distortion or the interference is referred to as noise (Belch & Belch, 2016). Noise
occurs because the experience of the sender and also the receiver do not overlap. The
dearth of common ground may result to the improper ways of encoding the messages
through the usage of symbol, words or signs which carry different meanings to the
receiver.
 Feedback/Response: The set of reactions of the receiver after witnessing, reading or
hearing the messages of the receiver is known by the term response. The response can
be vary from the actions which are non- observable such as storing in memory the
vital information such as dialing the toll number in order to buy the product by seeing
the advertisements on television. The Marketers are interested in taking feedbacks,

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which is the part of the response of the receiver which is communicated back to
senders. Feedback, can take a variety of forms and allow the sender to supervise how
the message is intended and the process of being decoded and received by the
receiver.
 Marking the targeted audience
1. The process of marketing begins through the identification of the audience
which would focus on the identified audience and also on the efforts of the
promotion and the advertisements of the firms (Belch & Belch, 2016).
2. The market which has been targeted may contain individuals who are having
some specific needs and also for the people for whom the process of
communication must be tailored. This also calls for the communication based
on person to person and which can be achieved through the personal form of
selling (Belch & Belch, 2016).
 Process of Response: The most effective way to develop the process of
communication incorporates the understanding the process of responses that the
receiver may move through towards a particular behavior like the purchasing the
products that they like and how the responses of the consumer are being influenced by
the promotional efforts of the markets.
Implementing Integrating Market Communication in Woolsworths Group
IMC plays an important role in Woolsworth Group in the terms of
 Interactions which are based on Business to Business
 Channel communications of the Market
 Communications based on aim of the customer

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 Communications which are internally directed (Woolworths.com.au, 2017; Luxton,
Reid & Mavondo, 2015).
From the external point of view, which features the important points of IMC includes
 Advertising
 Internet/ social media (Schivinski, B., & Dabrowski, 2016).
 Promotion of sales
 Developing relations with public
 Sponsorships and events (Woolworths.com.au, 2017).
Internally carrying out communication takes place by the non executive director to the
Director and CEO of group managing. The source over here is the Non- executive director
who through the channel of communication send messages to the subordinates working under
him such as Chief GM, Director Supermarkets, Logistics and Information officer and Chief
Financial officer, further they carry out the communication to the other sources under their
respective subordinates (Woolworths.com.au, 2017; Babin & Zinkmund, 2015). Therefore,
an integrated marketing communication is carried out inside the organization in this way. The
administrative decision that is taken inside the organization gets effective outside the
organization in terms of developing relations with the customers and making its brand
famous (Woolworths.com.au, 2017; Andrews & Shrimp, 2017).
Integrating IMC
The management of the Woolsworth Organization looks forward to place the
preferences of the customers in the first position. They give advertisements to the public to
make their brand famous in different websites, newspapers or any social media. The
organization makes its channel of communication more non-personal in order to reach the
customers more (Woolworths.com.au, 2017). The organization through the websites listens

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and gathers feedbacks about their stores and services. Later the receiver takes the feedbacks
and work harder in order to improve the experiences of the customers.
The Woolworth Organization practices Integrated Marketing Communication through the
Customer Talkback and media press. Customer Talkative is regarded as a new form of
initiation where the customers’ focus groups are being taken into account for a better
understanding and take their feedbacks about their likings and disliking (Woolworths.com.au,
2017; Luxton, Reid & Mavondo, 2015). The organization is regarded to be happy if the
customers come with their feedbacks and more improvements are suggested to make the
service special and helpful (Woolworths.com.au, 2017).
The organization also believes in listening to the customers. The organization also
focuses on the importance of their brand and sends the objectives through television, radio,
cinema, digital and newspapers as mentioned before. They practice the communication with
the customers through telemarketing, digital television for achieving direct responses and
interaction. It maintains effective public relations which render help to organization and also
in order to gain support from the public (Woolworths.com.au, 2017). For the sales promotion,
the Woolsworth organization can also take these forms such as bonus, packs, coupons and
competitions. Through the promotion of Events, to make their brand famous, it makes the
Sources
Messages
Channels
(Social media, press, face
to face
Receiver
Customers

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customers engage and generate publicity (Kitchen & Burgmann, 2015).In order to properly
implement the IMC, it is important for the organization to being critical about the planning
and process and monitor and control the communication system and leading to the proper
IMC program. The Woolsworth Organization follows certain guidelines for the proper
implementation of IMC
 They make sure that the IMC is practiced horizontally.
 They make communication’s design around the buying process of the
customers.
 They develop a better information system of marketing.
 They follow clear objectives of communication and always link the values of
brand with every communication.
 Ensuring visual standards are maintained in a common (Woolworths.com.au,
2017).
Recommendations
 The marketing personnel, it is important for them to use the skills of people and also
listen to their audience so that the requirements of the customers are addressed.
 The Woolworth Organization can create a short term marketing effects and promote
the sales of the product (Kitchen & Burgmann, 2015; Serrat, 2016).
 It is the responsibility of the company to check out the readiness of the buyers and the
products that the customers are ready to buy through the process of the catchy
messages such as knowledge, awareness, preferences and purchases.
 It is important for the company to set up budgets for the promotional purposes such as
the budgeting has to be based on the requirements of the industry, advertisements for

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achieving the success based on promotion (Kitchen & Burgmann, 2015; Carroll,
2015).
 The company must utilize its promotion mix with effective costing on direct
marketing, online marketing or personal selling.
 The company needs to handle the different communication channels properly so that
different communication channels do not show different messages. This might create
a sense of misunderstanding among the customers which would make them not aware
about the real scenario (Patti et al., 2017; Todorova, 2015).
 While doing online marketing, the company needs to be aware of ethical and legal
issues which are subjecting the communications in market. The customer privacy is
needed to be respected and the company must follow the social norms effectively for
the growth of organization. Effective skills of communication would lead a faster, a
better online marketing procedures (Fill & Turnball, 2016; Argenti, 2015; Jackson &
Ahuja, 2016).
Conclusion
Therefore to conclude it could be said that Integrated Marketing Communication is a
better way to understand the communication initiated by the organization to reach the
customers to fulfill their targeted goals. The company Woolsworth uses an effective ways
to promote communication to make their brands famous. Belch et al communication
model provides an effective form of communication that an organization must practice to
encourage the growth of the organization. It is a process which develops the strategy of
marketing properly and makes an effective use out of it. Accordingly the organization
follows the Integrated Marketing Communication by following this communication
model and makes its brand name stronger with time. Finally the recommendations are

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given in terms of the model so that the company follows the IMC more properly in terms
of their popularity.
References
Andrews, J. C., & Shimp, T. A. (2017). Advertising, promotion, and other aspects of
integrated marketing communications. Nelson Education.
Argenti, P. A. (2015). Corporate communication. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Babin, B. J., & Zikmund, W. G. (2015). Exploring marketing research. Cengage Learning.
Belch, G. E., & Belch, M. A. (2016). Evaluating the effectiveness of elements of integrated
marketing communications: A review of research. ISBN: 10 12-3869 Vol No 4 No 1
June 2016.
Bhupathi, M. M. (2016). Integrated Marketing Communications. In Strategic Marketing
Management in Asia: Case Studies and Lessons across Industries(pp. 425-445).
Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Carroll, C. E. (Ed.). (2015). The handbook of communication and corporate reputation (Vol.
49). John Wiley & Sons.
Fill, C., & Turnbull, S. L. (2016). Marketing communications: brands, experiences and
participation.
Jackson, G., & Ahuja, V. (2016). Dawn of the digital age and the evolution of the marketing
mix. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, 17(3), 170-186.