Integrated Marketing Communication (BEM 224) Chapters 1-4 Report

This report provides a comprehensive overview of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC), drawing from chapters 1-4 of a marketing course. It begins by defining IMC and outlining its core principles, emphasizing the importance of a holistic approach that integrates various marketing communication techniques. The report then delves into the benefits of IMC for organizations, highlighting its ability to create synergy, enhance brand integration, and center around audience segmentation. It also addresses the barriers to IMC implementation, such as organizational structure, specialization, and financial considerations. The report further explores business trends shaping IMC, including database use, audience fragmentation, and the increasing power of retailers. It then examines the "Seven C's" of IMC, covering coverage, cost, contribution, commonality, complementarity, cross-effects, and conformability. Ethical considerations within IMC are discussed, addressing issues such as misleading practices and the impact on social and cultural aspects. Finally, the report looks at future directions for IMC, including the integration of organizational vision, monitoring digital communication, and refining guidelines for coordinating communication possibilities, as well as the marketing communication mix.

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Integrated Marketing Communication Ch 1-4
Integrated brand communications (University of Pretoria)
StuDocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university
Integrated Marketing Communication Ch 1-4
Integrated brand communications (University of Pretoria)
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Integrated Marketing Communication ( BEM 224 )
Chapter 1
1.1 Introduction
 Communication within an organisation compromises of internal communication with
owners, managers and employees and external communication with suppliers,
society, government, customers and stakeholders.
 Communication with these audiences can occur in many forms and on many
platforms, depending on the organisational objective or the issue at hand.
 Marketing communication when organisations communicate their brand, product
and service offering to specific audiences.
 Marketing mix elements: Product, price, place, promotion, process, people and
physical evidence. (last 3 services =7P’s)
1.2 Defining IMC (Integrated Marketing Communication)
IMC is a concept of marketing communication planning that recognizes the added value of a
comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of the marketing communication
techniques (example advertising and direct) and combines these disciplines to provide
clarity, consistency and maximum communication impact.
1.3 Any IMC definition should incorporate five crucial attributes
1. An outside-in approach used to include the target audience at the initial phases of
developing communication and marketing strategy.
2. A well-established relationship between the organisation and its audiences is required
3. Communication effort directed at audiences to influence behaviour
4. Deliver a message consistently and accurately – all communication activities should be
included with the various contact points integrated into strategy
5. A competitive brand needs strong co-ordination between communication and marketing
disciplines
1.4 The Value-add that IMC retains for organisations
• IMC signifies a holistic business approach: The integration of marketing communication
efforts can form part of the core existence of an organisation
• There is contact synergy through IMC: Contact synergy is established through all brand
contact points of encounter
• IMC can assist with brand integration: this entails communication integration where
brand personality and values are strategically, consistently and continuously conveyed during
contact points between the organisations and its audiences
• IMC centres around audience segmentation: IMC efforts are concentrated on all audiences
and not just on target markets. Audiences will include all groups or individuals that have a
direct or indirect impact on the performance of the organisations.
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• IMC delivers strategy and message consistency: Through IMC an organisation can achieve
strategy and message consistency, aligning its core marketing communication messages to
the strategic organisational intent to ensure that a consistent message is conveyed to all
different audiences.
Benefits of IMC in organisations
1. All audiences are considered
2. Individual and interpersonal communication is also encouraged
3. There is an increase in synergy and recall
4. It is a complete and well-defined approach
5. This approach usually results in financial benefits
Barriers to the realisation of IMC in organisations
 Organisation character and culture: organisational character and culture can hinder
the implementation of IMC. A rigid organisational culture with common
understanding of what constitutes IMC, as well as resistance to change and fear over
who will charge, may be barriers to IMC.
 Organisation structure: although there is broad agreement among marketing and
communication professionals about the general need for IMC, the very structure of
organisations might obscure it from being effectively implemented
 The low standing of marketing communication in the organisation: communication
may be viewed as a luxury that can only be allowed when all else is going well.
 Specialisation: Trend toward specialisation in 21st Century- many specialists work in
organisations also in marketing and communications and may want to keep
communication programmes separate from marketing campaigns however in
complex environments integration is needed.
 The semantics of IMC : IMC advocates tended to over accentuate the language and
terminology used to depict IMC instead of substantiating IMC on the basis of
empirical research.
 A validity problem: IMC is still too vague and ambiguous partially due to a lack of
universally agreed upon definition and incongruities of operational IMC measures
therefore a validity problem.
 Financial considerations: Marketing communication departments in organisations
are in conflict regarding budget control over communication activities instead of
working together thus diluting IMC efforts in the organisation.
 The strength of emerging disciplines in their own right: PR lit argued against
integration of PR and marketing in organisations. No longer regarded as a mere
function of marketing but as a separate management function as marketing is
primarily viewed as serving customers and PR directs messages to and builds
relationships with all relevant audiences.
 Cultural Diversity: Apart from different terminology and semantics cultural diversity
can be a barrier to IMC and its implementation. It may enrich but also pose obstacles
to the IMC campaign/programmes. The key to any strategy is to find a way to reach
and appeal to all audiences , if diverse : MC professionals must strive to direct promo
efforts to appeal to local but also regional and global bases. It becomes complex
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when a large multitude of religions, cultures, subcultures, political affiliations to be
considered.
 Further barriers : power coordination and control issues; audience gender education
and skills; time/resource issues; measurement difficulties IMC might bring; lack of DB
development in organisations.
 Organisations must be aware of barriers to facilitate IMC implementations.
1.5 Business trends that shape IMC (A MASS MEDIA MESSAGE NUMBER)
 Decreasing cost of DB use: cost reductions increase opportunities for MC to reach
target audiences more efficiently.
 Increasing stakeholder expertise: SH are becoming more informed with focus not
solely on communication with target market alone but all audiences.
 increasing audience fragmentation and better segmentation: computers and more
sophisticated research methods led to more accurate segmentation of target
audiences which in turn = greater emphasis placed on finding right media to
effectively reach niche markets also causing audience fragmentation.
 Increasing power of retailers :Size and info provided from scanner data enabled
retailers to be more assertive in kind of products and promos wanted and when.
 Increasing global markets : led to increased competition and necessity for all
organisations to concentrate on max efficiency and more focus in all their operations.
 Advances in information technology: Changes in information technology enabled
audiences to communicate interactively with and what they buy directly from
manufacturers.
 Increasing number of almost identical products: Retailers are being flooded with
new products almost identical to existing ones
 Increasing mass media costs: Database costs decreased, but space and time in the
mass communication media, increased
 Increasing media fragmentation: the increase in different types of media has
increased the competition for stakeholder attention
 Decreasing message impact and credibility: the explosion of communication
messages led to diminished impact on audiences
1.6 The “Seven C’s” of IMC
1. Coverage - proportion of target audience reached by each communication option, as well
as how much overlap exists among communication options
2. Cost – the financial efficiency associated with the communication options and campaign
or programme
3. Contribution – The inherent ability of a communication option to create the desired
effects and achieve to desired communication objectives independent of prior or
subsequent exposure to any other communication options for the organisation
4. Commonality – the extent to which a communication option is designed to create
communication effects and achieve communication objectives that are also the focus of
other communication options
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5. Complementary – the extent to which a communication option addresses communication
effects and objectives not addressed by other communication options
6. Cross-effects – the effects to which a communication options are designed to explicitly
work together such that interaction or synergy occurs enhanced communication effects
emerge as a result of exposure by audiences to both options
7. Conformability – the extent to which communication works across target audiences
regardless of their communication history or other characteristics
1.7 Ethical considerations of IMC
Ethics connecting marketing and communication can be categorized into individual and
social audience impacts
At individual level
Misleading or deceptive practices that may or may not deliberately seek to create false
beliefs about
a brand, goods or services. (Example: Persuasive advertising showcasing someone or a brand
more
favourably than the reality)
At social level
Marketing and communication have an impact on social, political and cultural aspects of
everyday
life. Messages must be ethically communicated. Used by corrupt business leaders or
government
(Example Taking advantage of fake news, propaganda and coercion)
Communication and marketing remain ethical considerations in an organisation due to the
following general issues:
• The vulnerability of children audiences – this is regarded as an ethical issue because
children can be highly susceptible to communication content
• The danger of stereotypes – stereotyping in communication and marketing and a specific
classification of a minority group which is labelled through advertising can leave them
feeling insecure about themselves.
• Tobacco, alcohol and fast foods – cigarette and alcoholic advertising has been banned by
many countries. Fast food outlets and franchising often lower-income groups and the youth.
Fast food outlets often target lower-income groups
• Misleading communication – advertising usually makes items look more sophisticated and
effective, showing farms or green fields on the packaging of highly processed foods, or using
terms such as “pure” or ´natural” when the product actually contains harmful preservatives
• Regimenting the public mind – the criticism that advertising can create unnecessary needs
and wants in the minds of audiences is often leveed against the industry
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1.8 Future directions for IMC
What could IMC look like in the future?
1. Integrated communication (IC) or IMC? – integrated communication is the key
process that prompts the behaviour, attitudes, opinions and perceptions of target
audiences.
2. Integration of organisation vision and structure will be key – the avenues for future
considerations in enhancing integration in org will be :
- A definite alignment of internal and external communication
- Moving to a more behavioural base for marketing communication outcomes.
- Reversing the flow of marketing communication programmes and campaigns.
- Making the brand the key component of the MC effort
- Developing a global but locally sensitive perspective
- Developing forward looking systems of forecasting, measurement and evaluation
- Developing new organisational structures that will equip organisations for the
move toward a more holistic, integrative communication frame of reference for
strategic org decision making.
3. Monitoring digital communication for changing audience behaviour – although
digital communication allows more precise targeting behaviourally, it is important to
understand and incorporate the predisposition of audiences to engage with
products, services, brands and communication.
4. Refine directions for specific communication possibilities – the digital area is
currently receiving much research attention as organisations seek a better
understanding of how communication possibilities such as social networking sites,
search engines etc
5. Refine guidelines for coordinating communication possibilities – the true impact of
IMC programmes is the engagement and synergy outcomes that are created through
the competent assembly of various communication possibilities
1.9 The marketing communication mix
• Advertising
is the controlled, and paid-for, non-personal communication about a product,
service, individual, organisation or idea that is directed by an identifiable
communicator via the mass communication media and is geared towards a
specific target audience.
Its aim in achieving the objectives of communication and marketing is to
inform, remind, persuade or activate the target audience in a certain way.
• Personal selling
The verbal presentation of a product, service or idea to one or more potential
customers in hope that a transaction will take place. A flexible method that
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can accompany the advertising of popular products or service and allows it to
be an agreeable communication platform for establishing, nurturing and
growing customer relationships.
• Sales promotion
Consists of personal and impersonal short term efforts aimed at audiences to
motivate them to buy the org products or use their services. Can’t be
classified as personal selling, advertising or publicity but complements these
elements as conveys the message to potential customers or resellers.
• Publicity
Involves influencing audiences in a non-personal way by celebrating the
actual newsworthiness of the org offering in the media thus obtaining free
and favourable news coverage on the org and its current offering.
• Sponsorship
Provision of resources directly to a sponsored property to enable the
sponsored property to pursue some activity in return for certain sponsorship
rights.
• Direct marketing
Entails the direct communication with target audiences to encourage the
latter's response by telephone, mail, electronic means or a personal visit.
Prevalent methods of direct marketing are direct mail, telemarketing.
• Digital communication
New technological developments open the door for digital comms
opportunities to reach audiences with increasing frequency and greater
impact.
Chapter 2 : Integrated Marketing Communication Planning
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Planning, strategy and strategic planning
• Planning involves a basic management function in which plans are formulated to achieve
one’s goal.
• Strategy refers to the framework guiding the marketer’s choices in a specific direction.
This
direction can only be maintained when specific actions are followed with a particular end in
mind.
• Strategic Planning A continuous process of systematic decision making. It is a disciplined
effort to produce fundamental decisions as well as actions that form what an organisation is
and guide it, what it does and why it does it, with a focus on the future.
Characteristics of successful strategic planning include the following
• It leads to action
• It builds a shared vision that is values based
• It accepts accountability to the community
• It is based on quality data
• It is a key part of effective management
Strategic marketing planning
Strategic marketing planning is the formulation of a marketing plan to answer these two
questions in practical and sequential manner. “what are we trying to do?” and “how are we
going to achieve it”
A marketing strategy defined as a plan, usually long term, to achieve the organisations
objectives
through the selections of target markets, the marketing mix and the marketing expenditure
levels.
Strategic marketing communication planning
Supports the strategic marketing plan assist with achieving the goals of the plan. It is the
process of
devising a strategy for the content, channel selection, frequency, reach, budget and desired
outcome.
Integrated marketing communication planning and implementation
• Tactical phase includes detailed action, the operations element of the communication
plan
and sometimes adjustments if necessary. Tactics are more short term.
• The marketing communication tactics involve the choice the marketer makes between
different media or various marketing communication techniques to achieve the strategy.
Principal issues of marketing communication to be considered and planned:
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• Who should receive the message?
• What should the message say?
• What image of the brand are receivers expected to retain?
• How much must be spent on establishing this new image?
Marketing communication planning framework
Step 1: executive summary and introduction
Step 2: Conduction a situational analysis
Step 3: Define the target audience
Step 4: Setting the communication objectives
Step 5: Determining the marketing communication strategy
Step 6: Determining the marketing communication mix
Step 7: Budgeting and implementing, evaluating and control
Step 1: executive summary and introduction
A brief summary of the entire IMC plan. It focuses the reader on the link between the
marketing
objectives and the strategic. It is crucial to understand the linkage of how the
communication is tied
to the overall goals of the brand and management would understand the strategic nature.
The introduction establishes:
• What is being promoted
• Who is doing it
• Where they are doing it
• When it will be done
• Why it is done how long the campaign is
Step 2: Conduction a situational analysis
Briefly looks at the current position and history of the chosen organisation and examines the
internal and external factors affecting the business. It includes the current position of the
marketing mix elements:
• The marketing analysis contains a review of pricing, distribution and compares these with
competing brands in the same category.
• The brand analysis measures brand awareness, brand usage and perceptions of the brand
• The communication analysis examines the message, copy and communication channel
with competing brands in the category.
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• SWOT analyse strengths and weaknesses analyse the internal aspects of the company,
while Opportunities and threats constitute an external analysis.
A thorough situational analysis includes various actions namely:
• Identifying internal strengths and weaknesses of the organisation this includes policies
and procedures, personnel skills managements skills.
• how the organisation is differentiated (competitive advantage, its brand(s), brand equity)
• Investigating the target market’s media usage identifying all available media touchpoints
• Investigating the target markets and key segments and obtaining consumer insight
• Identifying relationships such as trade relations, customer relations, competitor relations
and internal staff relations) and relationship issues that might arise.
• Conducting a competitor analysis to identify direct and indirect competitors and to
determine the brand’s positioning in comparison with its competitors.
• Examine the external or uncontrollable events PESTLI
- Politic and physical – refers to the issues relating to the political landscape that may affect
the brand and its marketing activities
- Economic – refers to economic variables that may ultimately affect the consumer as well
as the success of the marketing communication plan
- Sociocultural/sociological – for example, public regarding alcohol advertising or
advertising to children
- Technological – this includes new technologies such as smartphones and increased
connectivity that increase information access, customisation.
- Legal – refer legislation that restricts the promotion of types of products or services such
as cigarettes advertising, or rules and agreements concerning sponsorship deals
- International – the internet allows competitors from beyond South Africa’s borders.
Marketers therefore need to keep abreast of international developments that may affect
their brand and marketing activities.
Step 3: Define the target audience
Marketers use the term, target market to refer to the geographic market, while target group
can define the demographic target and a target audience can mean the media target.
Segmentation
Segmentation is the process in which marketers identify the entire target audience and then
breaks it down into small groups of people with shared values, traits, beliefs and
consumption habits.
Bases of segmenting consumer markets :
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• Lifestyle and life stage – a consumer who lives in an upscale city suburb has a very
different
lifestyle from that of a consumer living in a small farming community. This type of analysis
suggests that you need different media approaches to reach different lifestyle groups.
• Heavy user consumers in this regarded are segmented based on their consumption.
Consumers can be classified as heavy, medium and light users of a brand.
• Purchasers vs Influencers - Purchasers do not always consumer the product. Marketers
need to do research to determine who the influencers re and who the actual user of the
product is.
• Geographic – this consists of segmenting by region, city, country or any other geographical
basis. The marketer would consider this segmentation basis for unique messages that are
targeted at consumers within a specific geographic location.
Targeting and positioning
Once the segment has been identified, the communication strategies are decided upon a
positioning
strategy is developed and targeted specifically to that segment.
Target audience – is the specific audience is the specific person, people, group of people or
organisation to whom the message should be addressed.
Positioning statement frames the strategy and could be something like ‘we provide the
highest-end quality organic fabrics materials in trendy, customised fashions for the teen to
young adult market’
Step 4: Setting the communication objectives
Marketing objects support firstly business objectives, and then the communication
objectives, which derive from the marketing objectives. Media objectives support the
marketing communication objectives.
Marketing communication objectives focus on:
• Creating awareness
• Achieving product recognition
• Creating and image
• Persuading the consumer
• Informing the target audience
Devising marketing communication objects fall into three broad fields
1. Knowledge-based communication objectives look to stimulate awareness and gain
interest.
This may require creating attention-seeking strategies.
2. Feeling-based objectives are about developing the ‘personality’ and the ‘aura’ of the
brand through Growing its reputation by developing associations and strengthening brand
preference.
3. Action-based objectives involve the sale: however, they also include building
competence in areas such as database management.
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Each objective should be smart
Step 5: Determining the marketing communication strategy
Communication strategies ask, ‘how are we going to get there?’. It is the way an organisation
chooses to communicate with their target audience.
Tactics are an operational element; the detail of the communication plan and they are short
term (example sales promotion vs advertising)
Marketing communication strategies may include sub strategies for specific marketing
communication techniques or elements (such pas public relation strategies) or they may
stretch
across disciplines, for example a media strategy or a creative strategy. E.g. sales promotion,
advertising
Before any communication strategy can be decided on, the marketer needs to establish the
following:
• Who is the target audience and how do we communicate to them?
• How is the brand positioned, or re-positioned to?
• Which distribution channels are used?
• Who are the competition and what are their communication strengths and weaknesses?
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