Evaluating Integrated Marketing Communication for Five Lakes Resort

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the integrated marketing communication (IMC) plan for Five Lakes Resort, a hotel and resort operated by AB Hotels Group. The report is divided into two parts. Part A evaluates distinct marketing channels like advertising, public relations, social media marketing, and digital marketing, assessing how they serve communication objectives within a hospitality organization. It also critically evaluates the IMC plan in relation to communication strategy, channel choice, and creative content. Part B focuses on designing communication objectives for a given hospitality situation, providing justification for the selection and integration of communication channels, and creating an IMC plan to effectively meet communication objectives. The report highlights the importance of IMC in delivering consistent and persuasive messages to the target audience, emphasizing the role of creative content and channel coordination in influencing consumer behavior and achieving marketing goals. The report also explores the use of various marketing channels and their effectiveness in reaching the target audience.

Integrated Hospitality
Marketing
communication

Table of Contents
Part A...............................................................................................................................................1
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................1
P1.Evaluate distinct types of marketing channels and how they serve communication
objectives within a range of hospitality organisation.............................................................1
P.5 Critically evaluate the integrated marketing plan in relation to communication strategy,
channel choice and creative content.......................................................................................3
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
References:.......................................................................................................................................6
Books and Journals.................................................................................................................6
Part B...............................................................................................................................................7
Introduction......................................................................................................................................7
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................7
P2.Design communication objective for a give hospitality situation.....................................7
P3.Provide justification for the selection and integration of communication channels chosen
................................................................................................................................................8
P.4 Create an integrated marketing communication plan that effectively meets communication
objective for a given hospitality organisational situation.......................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
References:.....................................................................................................................................11
Books and Journals...............................................................................................................11

Part A
Introduction
Marketing is a broader term and plays a significant role in any business firm as it is
concerned with identifying the target audience needs, designing and developing a product,
promoting the features of goods produced and persuading them to make a purchase. Earlier
companies made use of one size fit for all approach to communicate with the target market which
was costly and uninformative as there were improper tools to measure performance. In a present
world, Mass marketing have shifted towards niche marketing which have made it necessary for
the companies to have integrated marketing communication with the aim to develop cost
effective, unison and effective marketing campaign delivering same value (Font and et. al.,
2021). IMC is a widely used concept used by companies to promote a message through multiple
channels of communication or strategies which are coordinated and integrated to deliver clear
and consistent message with the aim to maximise the impact and reduced cost of marketing
campaigns. Hospitality industry also makes use of IMC to brand their services and communicate
with the target audience. Five Lakes Resort in Essex is run, managed and operated by the AB
Hotels Group , is a 194 bedroom hotels and resort offering wide range of services to deliver
excellence, warm and friendly hospitality. The report outlines the use of distinct marketing
channels to meet the communication objective and integrated marketing plan in relation to
corporate strategy, channel choice and creative content.
Main Body
P1.Evaluate distinct types of marketing channels and how they serve communication objectives
within a range of hospitality organisation
Marketing channels constitute a important element of marketing mix which is concerned with
means of physical distribution of goods and services from the place of origin, that if
manufacturer, to the place of destination, that is finally to the consumer for the consumption.
These channels act as liaison between the clients and Five lakes Hotels and Resorts in delivering
their services and deliver exceptional, warm and friendly experience (Yoon, Kim and Fu, 2020).
In the company, marketing manager and event manager makes use of distinct marketing channels
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to make the customer aware about their events services and facilities they offer such as venue,
food, logistic and accommodation. Below mentioned are the detailed distribution channels: Advertising: Advertising is one of the significant channels used by the Five Lakes Hotels
and Resorts to disseminate the information to the target audience and promote the brand
by means of paid announcements. These announcements are directed towards the
catching the attention of the clients through different medias of communication such as
radio, television, newspaper, magazines, direct mails, internet etc. This is one of the
traditional methods of reaching to the target audience and effective too as the message
conveyed through the medium of advertising are more compelling and persuading than
any other forms of communication (Kumar and Kaushik, 2020). Five Lakes makes use of
sponsorship to finance the events both by paying a supporting amount or become a
hospitality partner to make appeal to their exceptionally quality of services which in turn
increase its brand image and builds good rapport as a leading brand. These modes of
communication are also essential for communication with the other stakeholders to make
aware about the companies, corporate policies, corporate social responsibility and
announcement of the strong financial position. Public Relation: Publicity or Public relations are the distinct mode of communication
channel which has potential to arouse interest or curiosity about the brands, products or
services in collaboration with media outlets such as newspaper, journalists, and other
significant organisations. Public relations help the Five Lakes in converting brand
message into stories that appeal to its target audience and media which have interest in
the services and business affairs of the hotels. PR is viewed as more objective and neutral
form of promotions as the information shared in the form of news, campaign or strategies
ate tailored with the intention of creating, promoting and enhancing the positive brand
image of the company and services offered. Some of the techniques used by Five Lakes
Hotels to enhance its brand image through press release, news conferences and publicity
(Kim, Yoo and Yang, 2020). These campaigns are mostly designed keeping in mind
interest of clients, events and trends which can be connected to the Hotel’s services.
Another technique that can be used by the Hotel is sponsorship of events and experience
which helps in generating positive Public Image and reaches the more target audience.
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 Social media marketing: With the use of internet enabled technology across globe
companies can better connect with their target audience irrespective of the geographical
boundaries and specific demographic features. Social media marketing enables Five
Lakes Hotels and Resorts to make use of social media platforms to interact with the target
audience, increase brand awareness, direct website traffic and promote their services.
Some of the prominent social media platforms which can attract and establish strong
position in the market are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube. With the
help of these platforms Five Lakes can create a compelling and attractive content to
influence the behaviour of client, increase their engagement, analyse the results and
manage advertisement to grab more clients (Zhang and et. al., 2020). One of the
advantages of social media marketing is to increase the brand awareness of Five Lakes
through social engagement which encompasses activities such as sharing, posting,
reposting and comments of posts which attracts huge traffic over social media sites. Digital marketing: Another significant tool is a digital marketing, as the names suggest is
concerned with utilising internet and digital technology for the promotion and selling of
goods and services such as laptop, desktop, mobile, tablets and other media appliances.
Five Lakes makes use of digital marketing to support their business and promotion of
their brand and services primarily because of the augmented use of technology and
internet across globe. Hotels can easily find the customer over internet and can convert
lead into sales in a matter of seconds. Some of the important components which can assist
Five Lakes in reaching target audience and increase their sales are search engine
optimisation, pay per click, content marketing, influencer marketing, social media
marketing, email marketing and much more (Ofosu-Boateng and Agyei, 2020).
P.5 Critically evaluate the integrated marketing plan in relation to communication strategy,
channel choice and creative content
In the modern era of intense competitive environment myriad of companies struggling to
get a lead and convert those into successful sales which made it necessary for the companies to
have robust marketing strategies. An effective marketing strategy consists of strategic approach
to make efficient utilisation of marketing channels and mediums to reach target audience,
creating brand ambassadors, converting leads into sales, expanding into distinct territories and
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positioning string brand image in the market. Integrated marketing plans is a prominent approach
which helps Five Lakes Resorts to attain the objective of the marketing campaign through
integration and coordination of different promotional methods aimed at reinforcing each other
and deliver clear and consistent message (Rooney, Krolikowska and Bruce, 2021). With the help
of strategic, collaborative and promotional marketing function Five Lakes Hotel is successful in
delivering consistent and convincing message to target audience through different channels of
marketing to influence the behaviour of prospect clients in the buying decision making process.
The aim of integrated marketing communication plan is to ensure that company makes use of all
the available marketing channels to amplify the brand message of marketing campaign to interact
with the customer in a holistic approach and without losing the track of marketing objective
(Bakri, Krisjanous and Richard, 2020).
Integrated marketing communication with communication strategy
One of the prime objectives of IMC is to fulfil the objective of communication strategy
that is to communicate effectively with the target audience through compelling and persuasive
designing of message to influence their behaviour in decision making and convert potential leads
into successful sales. As a part of communication strategy, integrated marketing plan considers
the target audience and determines the way in which they are expecting to get interacted with the
company. Based on this marketers collect the facts and information and devise appropriate
channel of promotions to communicate with the customer (KAKIRALA and SINGH, 2020). It is
the prime responsibility of IMC to ensure that all the channels of marketing are in coordination
and delivers same message to the target audience through different modes and techniques.
Integrated marketing communication with channel choice
Integrated marketing communication plan designed by Five Lakes Hotels and Resorts is
aimed towards delivering consistence and persuasive brand message through distinct marketing
channels available to them in an integrated and coordinated way to reach the target audience and
influence their buying decisions. In order to bring coordination it is essential for the marketers to
make an appropriate selection of the marketing channel taking into account demographic features
of the audience, their problems, and how company solves their problems. Selection of
communication channel will determine the intensity of influence and extent of the reach to the
target audience. One of the best methods through which Fives Lakes can communicate and reach
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to target audience is through social media marketing which is less expensive and has an intense
impact over buying decisions of customers. Hotel may take help of testimonials and review,
influencer for promotion, sharing of photos videos and live streaming to make customer enjoy
real experience (Lalicic and et. al., 2020).
Integrated marketing communication in relation with creative content
Creative and appealing content is the key success for the marketing campaigns and are
essence of the promotions made by the company with the intention of increasing sales, educating
customers or increasing brand awareness. Content can be defined as the information contained
and carried by any marketing or promotional campaigns. The content is essential in the success
of marketing activities as they carry the message to be delivered to target audience which can be
a graphics, pictures, visuals, logo, tag lines, GIFs, video, short stories, blogs, or an advertisement
with the relevant theme such as “coming soon” or opening shortly (Ibrahim, Aljarah and
Sawaftah, 2021). It is essential for Five Lakes Hotels to design and craft appealing, convincing
and attractive message with relevant information that meets the objective of communication
objective. No matter what marketing channel or promotional strategies are opted, it can-not
succeed until it communicates the solution of the customer’s problem through highlighting the
features of the products and services offered by the hotel. Role of IMC is to amplify the branding
message through coordination among the distinct marketing channels used by Five Lakes Hotels
and Resorts to communicate effectively with the target audience.
Conclusion
From the above mentioned report it has been concluded that integrated marketing
communication is an approach towards bringing coordination and integrity amongst the different
marketing channels used by the company to promote and sell its goods and services. It is a more
holistic approach aimed at delivering consistent and persuasive message to the target audience to
influence their behaviour. Furthermore, there are different marketing channels which serve
different purpose of promotion and communication with the target audience each one of them
communicating different message. Use of internet across globe and digitalisation has made hotel
industry to integrate and make use of digital marketing as a promotional tool and expand their
customer base.
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References:
Books and Journals
Bakri, M., Krisjanous, J. and Richard, J.E., 2020. Decoding service brand image through user-
generated images. Journal of Services Marketing.
Font, X., and et. al., 2021. Value co-creation in sustainable tourism: A service-dominant logic
approach. Tourism Management.82. p.104200.
Ibrahim, B., Aljarah, A. and Sawaftah, D., 2021. Linking Social Media Marketing Activities to
Revisit Intention through Brand Trust and Brand Loyalty on the Coffee Shop
Facebook Pages: Exploring Sequential Mediation Mechanism. Sustainability. 13(4).
p.2277.
KAKIRALA, A.K. and SINGH, D.P., 2020. The Mediating Role of Social Media in Tourism:
An eWOM Approach. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics, and
Business. 7(11). pp.381-391.
Kim, B., Yoo, M. and Yang, W., 2020. Online engagement among restaurant customers: The
importance of enhancing flow for social media users. Journal of Hospitality &
Tourism Research. 44(2). pp.252-277.
Kumar, V. and Kaushik, A.K., 2020. Does experience affect engagement? Role of destination
brand engagement in developing brand advocacy and revisit intentions. Journal of
Travel & Tourism Marketing. 37(3). pp.332-346.
Lalicic, L., and et. al., 2020. Emotional brand communication on Facebook and Twitter: Are
DMOs successful?. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management. 16. p.100350.
Ofosu-Boateng, I. and Agyei, S.D., 2020. EFFECT OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND
MARKETING COMMUNICATION MIX ON CUSTOMERS’LOYALTY IN THE
GHANAIAN BANKING INDUSTRY. European Journal of Management and
Marketing Studies. 5(4).
Rooney, T., Krolikowska, E. and Bruce, H.L., 2021. Rethinking relationship marketing as
consumer led and technology driven: propositions for research and practice. Journal
of Relationship Marketing. 20(1). pp.42-61.
Yoon, D., Kim, Y.K. and Fu, R.J., 2020. How can hotels’ green advertising be persuasive to
consumers? An information processing perspective. Journal of Hospitality and
Tourism Management. 45. pp.511-519.
Zhang, X., and et. al., 2020. An integrated model of the antecedents and consequences of
perceived information overload using WeChat as an example. International Journal
of Mobile Communications.18(1). pp.19-40.
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Part B
Introduction
Integrated marketing communication is a concept which is based on the approach of integrating
and coordinating the different communication channels and objective in an organisation with the
aim of delivering clear message to target audience. It is takes into account all the available
communication channel and deliver consistent message to persuade prospect clients in decision
making process (Huang and et. al., 2019). Five Lakes Hotels and Resorts is situated in
countryside of Essex in United Kingdom, operating with a inventory of 194 rooms which is run,
operated and managed by AB Hotels Group. The Hotel is renowned for delivering excellence,
warm and friendly hospitality services beyond the expectation of guests. This part of the report
covers communication objectives along with the justification of selecting appropriate
communication channel. Apart from this the report also prepared an integrated marketing
communication plan to meet communication objective.
Main Body
P2.Design communication objective for a give hospitality situation
One of the key aspects in the marketing is communication which is concerned with interaction
between the company and future clients with regards to the exchange of solutions to the problem.
Marketing and promotional campaigns can be successful until it is clearly defined the intention
and objective of communication with the target audience. Without the effective and clear content
a marketing and promotional campaign is vague and waste of money, therefore it is essential for
Five Lakes Hotels and Resorts to determine and highlight the communication objective to make
marketing activities beneficial and successful (Konuk, 2019). Communication objective of Five
Lakes Hotels and Resorts are:
 Increase the customer base: Five Lakes with the effective marketing communication
plan is to expand the customer base through informing and educating them related with
their additional events services such as food and beverages, transport, events and
accommodation. The Hotel has a room facility of 195 rooms along with lavish garden
facility to organise events.
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 Influencing the buying behaviour: Another communication objective for Five Lakes
Hotels is to persuade and convince the clients to make use of their exceptionally warm
and friendly services. Company wants to be the first preference choice for the visitors
who arrive in United Kingdom to opt for their service through differentiating themselves
with the unique selling points.
P3.Provide justification for the selection and integration of communication channels chosen
Communication is a key element in the marketing mix which is broader tern and takes
into account different methods and channels to interact and position strong brand image of the
company (Murillo and King, 2019). Hospitality industry makes use of communication channel to
educate and increase brand awareness of the products and services offered to them and to build a
long term relationship with potential customer to increase sales and create a strong position in
the market.Five Lakes Hotels and Resorts make use of digital media marketing to establish its
brand image and sell the services of hotel across globe. Below mentioned are the reason for
selection and integration of above mentioned communication channel:
 Build brand awareness and generate leads: As Five Lakes Hotels makes use of digital
media marketing to communicate, promote and sell its services; it helps the company in
establishing strong presence over digital media platforms with the use of pay per click,
search engine optimisation and use of influencers over social media platforms. Around half
of the world’s population have access to the internet and electronic appliances which make it
easier for the company to extend its reach and create brand awareness in almost every corner
or world and influence tourists to choose their hotels for exceptionally, warm and friendly
services over others. Apart from that use of digital marketing helps the company in
attracting huge traffic over their website and social media platforms which increases the
chances for converting leads into successful sales (Kiráľová, 2019).
 Client engagement and satisfaction: One of the prime objective for the selection of digital
marketing is that it offers wide range of opportunities the hotel to get interact and maintain
consistent interaction over social media sites which leads to delivering instant solutions to
the clients and enhancing their satisfaction level. Five Lakes hotels keeps the customer
engaged through several interactive activities which assist the company in understanding the
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customer better and maintain positive relationship which turns potential customer into loyal
customer.
P.4 Create an integrated marketing communication plan that effectively meets communication
objective for a given hospitality organisational situation
Integrated marketing plan refers to the strategies opted by the Five Lakes Hotels and
Resort to focus on maintaining consistent interactions with the customers in terms of message,
language, imagery and feel and integration of all the marketing and promotional techniques to
reach the target audience and promoting the brand image. Below mentioned is the integrated
marketing communication plan to meet communication objective:
 Indentify and understand target audience: One of the prime and essential step towards
establishing the effective marketing communication system is to identify and understand
the target client audience intimately (Chauke and Duh, 2019). Five Lakes can collect the
information from marketing data, past sales, analysing the buyer to understand what
actual customer is, their problems, medium of communication and selection of the best
communication channel to interact with them. Knowing customer more closely helps the
Five Lakes in building relation and converting prospect client into potential customer. Setting up budget plan: Finance is essential in preparing and determining all the
activities of integrated marketing communication plan to ensure that everything is align
with the predefined budget. Chief financial officer of Five Lakes monitors all the aspects
of the communication plan and ensures that all the activities are carried out within the
budget and Hotel does not go over budget.
 Identify unique selling preposition: Knowing unique selling points will help the Five
Lakes in differentiating its products and services from that of competitors due to the
unique attributes. Five Lakes Hotels provide a unique and personalised event services to
their customer along with the facility of food, accommodation and logistics apart from
two grand and lavish venues (Huang and et. al., 2019). USP of the Hotel will help in
reaching greater audience and expand its operations. Marketing communication method: One of the significant part of marketing
communication plan is to make a right selection of the communication which will help
marketers in designing and developing a content for the promotion and branding
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campaign. These channels will determine how well intended user understand the
message, what impact does it have and potential to reach maximised target group. Maintain a consistent brand element: It is essential for Five Lakes Hotel to maintain
consistent brand element in all the marketing and promotional methods, platforms and
channels. As the brand element helps the customer to recognise and differentiate the
company with that of other competitors. Creating and maintain a strong brand value will
help the company in developing interest among the customer group and associate
themselves with the company and its services. Key success metrics: Developing key success metrics will help the hotel in determining
the success of the efforts made by integrated marketing communication for the future
reference and analyse the performance of present strategies (Konuk, 2019). These key
metrics can be sign-ups for news letter, conversion rate of leads, visitors who visit
website through social media post etc. Execute, test and reiterate: Last stage is to implement the marketing plan, execution of
strategies and measurement of performance through key success metrics. One of the key
concepts is to make use of dynamic strategies to be able to make any changes and
modification as per the market trends and challenges.
Conclusion
From the above mentioned report it is conclude that, unlike traditional way of marketing,
integrated marketing communication is a holistic approach which takes into the account distinct
communication channel used by the company with the objective of delivering clear and
consistent message. This approach is widely used by the business firms to persuade and convince
the customer to opt for their products and services through making appeal by a creative and
personalised content. Furthermore, it has also been analysed that determining communication
objective helps the company in achieving its marketing and corporate objective and successful
integrate the efforts of distinct communication channel.
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