Integrated Marketing Communication Program for Commonwealth Bank

This report details the development of an Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) program for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). Faced with reputational damage due to scandals, the report outlines a strategic IMC plan to enhance the bank's image and effectively operate within Australia. It covers various communication strategies, including public relations, advertising, digital media, personal selling, and online banners. The media mix strategies incorporate television and social media advertisements, along with offers like free account services and easy EMI loans. The report emphasizes the importance of community participation and event sponsorships. The estimated budget for the campaign is approximately AU $4000, with a focus on measuring return on investment and conducting media analysis to evaluate the program's success. The report highlights the necessity of addressing past issues and rebuilding stakeholder trust through transparent communication and strategic initiatives.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE IMC
PROGRAM

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Integrated Marketing Communication is defined as the element of marketing which is applied to
spread awareness about an organisation and its products to target market. IMC program for The
Commonwealth Bank of Australia has been developed in the study which demonstrate several
crucial elements of integrated marketing communication. The brand reputation of the cited firm
has been tarnished due to their involvement in various scandals. IMC program has been
organised in order to enhance the reputation of organisation so that they can operate in Australia
effectively. Various communication and media mix strategies has been discussed and the
estimated budget for undertaking campaign is around AU $4000. For evaluation, management
has to focus on measuring return on investment and media analysis.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Communication Strategy Mix.....................................................................................................2
Media Mix...................................................................................................................................2
Implementation of creative approaches......................................................................................3
Basic budget concepts.................................................................................................................5
Evaluation metrics.......................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Integrated Marketing Communication is defined as marketing mix element which is
utilised to inform, persuade and remind people about an organisation and its products. IMC plays
a prominent role in advertising of products and services of the organisation (Belch and Belch,
2018).
In this context, present report will focus on developing Integrated Marketing
Communication program for Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The communication strategy
includes sales promotion, advertising, etc. that will be listed to determine the focus of campaign.
The role and use of media mix will be explained in the study. By developing of estimated budget
plan, the identification and segregation of cost will be made in this report. Eventually, the
measure of success will be evaluated with the help of precise and appropriate methods.
MAIN BODY
1
Illustration 1: Banking Royal Commission: CBA reputation set for another battering
(Source: Ferguson, 2018.)

Commonwealth Bank of Australia has faced severe issues when The Australian
Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) released damning report about the bank history, its past
scandals, humiliating money laundering case and disclosed its culture complacency which
negatively affects its reputation. In response to which the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Matt Comyn of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, is now committed to rectify the errors
(Wolfe, 2018). The management assigns the responsibility to Senior Executive Accountant of
M&C Saatchi (Australia) for development of Integrated Marketing Communication program.
Communication Strategy Mix
Marketing communication strategies are the plans devised by organisation to reach their
target market by using numerous types of communication (Belch and et.al., 2014). There are
variety of applications available for organisations for formulating robust communication strategy
mix.
Below are some effective communication strategy tools which can be implemented by
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia:
 Public Relations: It is the communication strategy and a function of strategic
management which adds value to the organisation by assisting it to manage its
reputation (Manser Payne, Peltier and Barger, 2017). It is an organisation way of
communication with their stakeholders and media. It is recommended to the
management of The Commonwealth Bank of Australia to assign the responsibility to
their Public Relation Specialist to undertake press conference in which he has to
describe the positive deeds of bank. The way bank deal with scandals and other issues
also needs to be disclosed in the conference. This will help the bank to enhance their
brand’s reputation.
Environmental Workplace Market Place Society
In order to enhance
reputation,
Commonwealth Bank
of Australia
contributed immensely
Bank is now
improving its work
culture by providing
opportunity to
employees where they
In order to safeguard
the reputation of firm,
the management will
provide report to its
key stakeholders
Commonwealth Bank
will now provide real
time banking facilities
to consumers.
Moreover,
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towards environmental
protection. 20% of
carbon reduction target
has been set by the
organisation.
However, in 2017,
exposure bank in
renewable energy
projects were $2.8
billion (Corporate
Responsibility Report
2017, 2017).
can participate in the
decision making
process. This increases
transparency within
the organisation.
Common wealth bank
is involved in digital
literacy program to
train employees
according to changing
market requirements.
where disclosure of
strategies will be
made.
The firm organizes
two-month trial for
determining
virtual reality
technology combined
with a storybook to
encourage
discussions of parent-
child on financial
topics.
infrastructural
development will be
made in rural areas in
order to boost up its
reputation.
Further, bank has
commitment to
invest in education,
starting with a $50
million over three
years
• Advertisements: Advertising is one of the most effective communication strategies which
helps the organization to deliver information regarding products or services to large number of
people (Kitchen, and Burgmann, 2015). The advertising dimension is higher than any other
form of mass data, so it can be used as a priority part of the IMC campaign designed by the
Commonwealth Bank. Advertising can generally refer to many media including television,
print, radio, billboards and web platforms (Zhang & Vorhies, 2017). In present digital era,
advertising now become easier and more feasible to the companies. The Commonwealth Bank
of Australia could utilize both print and digital media for advertising the precise information to
the public. They can provide information about the strategies to deal with the issues and
benefits to the target customers. Advertising is all about communication of non- personal and
giving information related to organization’s product and services (G. Belch & M. Belch, 2003,
p. 16)
•Digital Media: Digital media consists of essentially digitizable content such as graphics,
text, video, and sound that are transmitted on a computer or internet network. Digital media have
3

grown by influencing the brand. For example, Digital Followers may become the best or worst
supporters of a brand. This platform is constantly used for sharing personal experiences and
restoring services or products with partners and friends, which increases trust and
communication with the brand (Eagle et al., 1999). The goal of creating efficient digital media is
to grow and build long-term customer relationships and focus on future conservation strategies
(Qualmann, 2011). Although digital media offers a more open and detailed forum where
customers can see, react and share the many brands; businesses and their brands in turn, gain
credibility and experience a better brand image and brand value. This leads to greater brand
capital. Digital branding brings a unique distinction visually, emphasizing the organizational
culture (Reichheld & Sasser, 1990). Digital marketing has moved beyond search engines, for
example, Google and companies should multiply their presence through digital media. Media
sites such as Google Plus, Facebook and Twitter are more and more often platforms where
customers get information about services and products (Schor, 2004). The social media platforms
will help in achieving objectives of campaign by reaching to maximum number of people across
the globe. With the help of social media advertising the firm will be able to justify its money
laundering issue.
Direct marketing largely involves promotion through direct mails, phone, emails, letters,
etc. (M. Trehan & R. Trehan, 2010, p. 25). In addition to digital media marketing, personal
sales are the only approach adopted by the IMC, which guarantees a strong feedback and a
twoway communication platform. To maintain, satisfy and engage with the market,
marketing communications are an extremely important factor and must be implemented in
key marketing efforts to cope with every changing environment with strong competition.
 Personal Selling: Personal selling can be defined as promotion where communication
process between customer and organization is direct without any third medium. It plays
very important for organization to convey message about its product and services to
different consumers (Johnston & Marshall, 2009, p.90). Direct marketing largely involves
promotion through direct mails, phone, emails, letters, etc. (M. Trehan & R. Trehan,
2010, p. 25).
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 Online Banners: Businesses have begun to spread their overall marketing activities to
various offline and online media platforms (Pall & McGrath, 2009). In this way,
identifying and maintaining customer satisfaction through integrated marketing
communications is considered a priority strategy for achieving the brand's goals and
goals. Marketers have identified several tools to measure the direct and indirect impact of
IMC on customer satisfaction and overall revenue and output (Kliatchko, 2005). The
online banners placed on different websites gave the company an opportunity to attract
more customers. Online banners are such that it allows the customer to access to the
video or image or visit the company’s official website through the link. Use of online
banners on popular sites made people visit the website and the watch the video related to
Commonwealth Bank new updates.
Media Mix
The combination of communication channels which organisation utilise to meet
marketing and campaigning objectives is known as media mix (Fill and Turnbull, 2016). The
focus of current marketing campaign is to enhance customer attraction and stakeholder’s
motivation of Commonwealth Bank of Australia. To accomplish the aim and current marketing
objectives, the management of The Commonwealth Bank of Australia must adhere to precise
media mix strategies. There are different ways through which advertisements and information
can be circulated within the target audience adequately such as print media, digital media, public
relations, etc. (Zabkar, Mumel and Vanita, 2015). It is necessary for the management to create a
creative pitch to gain attention of audiences. Some other methods used by the company are direct
marketing through print and telecom media, sales materials (like Freezers, display racks, buses,
etc.) Outdoor advertising, internet marketing, and so on. Company also formulating creative
advertisements and advertising it on national channels, management would be able to enhance its
damaged reputation.
Below are some applications through which management could spread the message to
public as a part of their marketing campaign:
 Television Advertisements: Broadcasting advertisement on television daily, weekly or
monthly could benefit the organisation by delivering the appropriate information to
5

people of Australia. Indeed, television broadcasting is costly but it helps the management
in reaching their target customers effectively and efficiently (Key and Czaplewski, 2017).
By formulating creative advertisements and advertising it on national channels,
management would be able to enhance its damaged reputation. TV is generally
considered to be the most effective way of raising awareness, as it can display sound,
color and personality. We've decided that commonwealth placing, and ad is golden at
18:30 - 19:30, when families usually eat together and watching TV is the primary choice.
 Social Media Advertisements: With the immense development in field of internet and
digital technologies, users on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram are
rapidly increasing (Šeric, Gil-Saura and Ozretić-Došen, 2015). Management of The
Commonwealth Bank of Australia can capture this opportunity by sharing information
briefly on social media so that target audience can be informed about the strategies which
will be undertaken by the organisation to deal with challenges and issues.
 Free opening account service: a zero-balance account can be a good strategy for CBA
to attract its customer’s family members, if they have been clients of the bank for more
than 15 years. And it also be helpful to get trust of their current customer back on
organization.
 Easy go EMI loans: There should be a flexible EMI systems option for bank long- term
customers to repay their loans. The client of the bank would be given the option of
choosing the mandatory minimum EMI that they would pay when paying more than the
stated value to close their loans faster without any extra fees or fees.
 Social participation: CBA can be a regular member of local communities and participate
in community activities. This way they can interact directly with their customers. They
can introduce training classes for people who are not applicable at obtaining funding
from basic banking knowledge and help them to cope more easily with the banking
system.
 Sponsorship of the event: A considerable budget should be available from the bank.
This program can help to the bank to Sponsor a certain number of students and jobs after
6

completion of the degree at CBA branch. This would ensure that the company invests in
its own future. Sponsoring would help students get to do to do without a loan, and the
company will acquire a skilled, talented and competent employee for a few years, which
would pay the bank back for its productivity. Sponsors for the campaign will be
Westfarmers, Woolsworth, BHP and Rio Tinto. Print Media Advertisements: Print media advertisements or traditional mode of
marketing is efficient way of promoting of products and services rendered by the firm
(Ots and Nyilasy, 2015). The Commonwealth Bank of Australia can publish its detailed
report in magazines, newspapers and other articles to reach the audience. As compared to
other source of marketing, print media advertisement is relatively less expensive.
Implementation of creative approaches
There are different ways through which advertisements and information can be circulated
within the target audience adequately such as though print media, digital media, public relations,
etc. (Zabkar, Mumel and Vanita, 2015). It is necessary for the management to create a creative
pitch to gain attention of audiences.
In this context, the advertisement for newspaper articles through which Commonwealth
Bank of Australia can mitigate the damage is formulated below:
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Challenges
Commonwealth Bank of
Australia was ready for re-
design. Acknowledging the
CAN'T do attitude that
characterised financial
institutions. Commonwealth
Bank would turn CAN'T to CAN.
Strategy
Unbranded CAN'T ads launched
across Offline and Online. Day 7,
2000 outdoor panels were re-
skinned overnight to reveal
CAN. TV launched, Mobile,
Display and Search switched and
everyone who had seen CAN'T
was retargeted.
Results
Campaign generated:
 70% reach of all
Australians
 41000 new Facebook
friends
 20% more effective in
cost.
 11% more effective in
recall than campaign
norms
 1M page views &
400000 unique visitors
to CAN microsite.
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Basic budget concepts
It is essential to prepare budgetary plan in advance to enhance the effectiveness in
promotion and commercialisation (Chaudhary, Khan and Ali, 2017). The budget plan will help
the organisation in identifying the cost of each and every activity associated with the marketing
campaign. Estimating budget is difficult and challenging task which needs to be accomplished in
precise manner so that client's organisation could comprehend it thoroughly and grant budget for
carrying out campaign adequately. The marketing campaign for Commonwealth Bank of
Australia will require adequate amount of budget as it will be done on various media by using
different channels including print, digital, social media, etc. As undertaking of marketing
activities includes various hidden costs, thus management needs to prepare specific budgetary
plan so that these activities should be carried out in effective and efficient manner.
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In this context, the budget plan for carrying out marketing campaign is formulated below:
Marketing Channels Budget in AU $
Digital $400
Billboard $350
Newspaper $150
Sponsorships $800
Social Media (Online marketing) $1000
Broadcast $800
Digital Marketing $500
Total $4000
The above graph represents the total budget which will be required to carry out the
marketing campaign for The Commonwealth Bank of Australia. From the table, it can be easily
understood that maximum cost will be incurred in digital marketing campaign which accounts
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for 45% of total budget. In similar manner, broadcasting and digital marketing will also require
adequate amount of cost to enhance the effectiveness in the marketing campaign. The plan is
estimated on the basis of analysing the current cost of each channel currently charged in
Australia. Through this budget plan and allocation, the management of The Commonwealth
Bank of Australia will be able to accomplish its marketing aim and objectives.
Evaluation metrics
Evaluation of marketing is necessary as it provides brief idea about the direction of campaigning
(Luxton, Reid and Mavondo, 2015). The management of Commonwealth Bank of Australia
could utilise different tactics or measures to evaluate the success of marketing campaign. Some
of the best and effective measures to evaluating the success of marketing activities are described
below: Return on Investment: Return on investment (ROI) is the major concern when it comes
to marketing expenses. By measuring or analysing the return on investment management
at Commonwealth Bank would be able to gain information whether their campaign
enhances their brand reputation or not. Online analysis: Public Relation activities are more difficult to analyse and evaluate.
Management needs to carry out online analysis on social media sites like Facebook,
Twitter by providing questionnaire to their target audiences (Batra and Keller, 2016.).
Their responses will be considered for the analysis and afterwards evaluation can be
done.
 Media Monitoring: Another method to evaluate marketing campaigns is media
monitoring where the management has to measure the number of times their ads or
campaign covered in both print and broadcast media. This method can be used by the
management of Commonwealth Bank for evaluation. Media monitoring will be done by
retrieval of consumer, financial gains, increasing traffic on official website of bank, etc.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be understood that Integrated Marketing Communication
plays prominent role in promotion of products and services of firm. With reference to The
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the integrated marketing communication program has been
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discussed. It has been specifically prepared for the cited firm so that their brand image can be
improved in Australia. For communication and media mix strategy, the firm could utilise public
relations and advertisement which can be done on different marketing channels like television,
social media sites, print media, etc. The estimated budget found for each activity was AU
$42550000. In this context, the evaluation metrics for marketing activities and campaign were
identified and discussed. It can be recommended to the management to carry out the marketing
campaign systematically and according to the plan, so that the marketing goals and objectives
can be achieved.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Batra, R., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Integrating marketing communications: New findings, new
lessons, and new ideas. Journal of Marketing, 80(6), 122-145
Belch, G. & Belch, M. (2018). EBook. Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing
Communication Perspective, 11 Ed. McGraw Hill.
Belch, G. E. & et.al. (2014). Advertising: An integrated marketing communication perspective.
McGraw-Hill Education.
Chaudhary, A. H., Khan, M. A., & Ali, R. A. (2017). Effect of Integrated Marketing
Communications on Consumer Buying Decision of Internet Service (An Empirical Study
of Mobilink in Multan City). Journal of Research in Marketing, 8(1), 630-635.
Fill, C., & Turnbull, S. L. (2016). Marketing communications: brands, experiences and
participation. Pearson.
Key, T. M., & Czaplewski, A. J. (2017). Upstream social marketing strategy: An integrated
marketing communications approach. Business horizons, 60(3), 325-333.
Kitchen, P. J., & Burgmann, I. (2015). Integrated marketing communication: making it work at a
strategic level. Journal of Business Strategy, 36(4), 34-39.
Luxton, S., Reid, M., & Mavondo, F. (2015). Integrated marketing communication capability
and brand performance. Journal of Advertising, 44(1), 37-46.
Manser Payne, E., Peltier, J. W., & Barger, V. A. (2017). Omni-channel marketing, integrated
marketing communications and consumer engagement: A research agenda. Journal of
Research in Interactive Marketing, 11(2), 185-197.
Ots, M., & Nyilasy, G. (2015). Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC): Why Does It
Fail?: An Analysis of Practitioner Mental Models Exposes Barriers of IMC
Implementation. Journal of Advertising Research, 55(2), 132-145.
Šeric, M., Gil-Saura, I., & Ozretić-Došen, Đ. (2015). Insights on integrated marketing
communications: implementation and impact in hotel companies. International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(5), 958-979.
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