Wesfarmers' Integrated Marketing Communication Strategy Analysis

This report provides an analysis of Wesfarmers' integrated marketing communication (IMC) strategy. It begins with an overview of Wesfarmers, an Australia-based ASX-listed retail company, and explains the concept of IMC, emphasizing its role in coordinating communication disciplines for maximum impact. The report details Wesfarmers' marketing communication strategies, including social media marketing, word-of-mouth marketing, direct selling, and participation in international shows. It also addresses the communication issues and risks associated with these strategies, such as the rapid spread of negative news via social media. The report concludes by highlighting the importance of a consistent brand experience and recommends continuous monitoring of client needs to enhance the effectiveness of marketing communications. Desklib offers a range of similar solved assignments and resources for students.

Running head: COMMUNICATION IN BUSINESS
Communication in Business
Name of the student
Name of the university
Authors Note

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Executive Summary
The Following discussion deals with the concept of integrated marketing
communication in the business organisations. The integrated marketing communication deals
with a plan that is comprehensive that finds out the strategy of a various disciplines of
communication and combines these disciplines to give clear, consistent and maximum impact
of communication. The chosen organisation whose approach for marketing communication
has been analysed is Wes farmers, which is an Australia based ASX listed retail company.
The Wes farmers’ strategies for marketing communication comprises of the modern social
media marketing, marketing of word-of-mouth, the sales and service network of their own,
galleries, the various strategy of direct selling and their participation in the shows that are
international. In order to achieve a better marketing skill, the company of Wes farmers must
always find innovative methods to enhance the communication strategy for marketing as
compared to its competitors, so that the communications effort contributes to the value of the
retail brand of Wes famers.

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Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................2
Discussion......................................................................................................................2
Brief overview of the chosen organisation.................................................................2
The concept integrated marketing communication....................................................3
Integrated marketing communication and Wes farmers............................................4
The importance of integrated marketing communication in Wes farmers.................4
The integrated marketing communication strategy of Wes farmers along with the
communication issues............................................................................................................5
Conclusion......................................................................................................................7
References......................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
The process of marketing communications involves both online and offline
promotions, advertising, branding and sales. The mechanism considers potential customers of
the various business organisations to understand and identify a brand. The process of
branding that is successful includes the process of targeting audiences who would appreciate
the entities program of marketing.
The primary methodology of the business marketing communication is advertising
that includes letting the customers identify the product, it is a small but crucial marketing
communication part. As Key and Czaplewski (2017) has said that the mix of marketing
communications deals with a set of tools that is utilised to deliver consistent and clear
information to the audiences who are target. Therefore it is commonly known as the
promotional mix. (Fill and Turnbull 2016) states that initial stage is the marketing plan that
enables in the identification of the key threat and opportunities along with the setting of the
objectives and developing the plan of action for the achievement of the goals of marketing..
Since marketing is an essential proves of management as it creates a significant impact in
market as in the market more people of the target market would object to do business
operations with the organizations than its competitors. It can be said one of essential element
of marketing pricing as it can change the whole market both negatively or positively(Ots and
Nyilasy 2015).
Discussion
Brief overview of the chosen organisation
The chosen organisation which have been taken for the analysis is Wes farmers. The
company of Wesfarmers is listed in the Australian stock exchange with its headquarters in

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Perth, Australia. The company started their operations of being a co-operative that provides
the agricultural products and services to the farmers of western Australian (Šeric, Gil-Saura
and Ozretić-Došen 2015). The company of Wes farmers from being a company dealing with
goods related to framing has diversified their operations to hospitality retail and industry
sector. The retail segment of wesfarmers includes, home improvement stores, coles a
supermarket chain, Bunnings warehouse, office supplies stores Improvements. The industrial
segment includes the insurance chemical and resources business (Ang 2014). The main
purpose of Wesfarmers provides the maximum return to their stakeholders through
integration of the corporate strategies that are sustainable for maintaining a strong financial
position in the market. The company is the largest public sector employer in the Australia
with around 2, 20,000 individuals working committing to provide quality services and
products to the organisation’s business operations as well as their retail customers. The
diversified business portfolio ensures customer satisfaction with a sound marketing
communication strategies (Hsu, Lin and Tsai 2016).
The concept integrated marketing communication
The approach of integrated marketing communications (IMC) as utilised by
organizations to coordinate and brand the communication efforts. As per the American
Association of Advertising Agencies the definition IMC as “a comprehensive plan that
evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication disciplines and combines these
disciplines to provide clarity, consistency and maximum communication impact.” The main
concept of strategy of integrated for marketing communications is to generate a continuous
consumers experience across the different marketing mix aspects (Kim, Kim and Marshall
2016). The core image of the brand and messaging are reinforced as each marketing
communication channel works together as parts of a unified whole rather than in isolation.

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Integrated marketing communication and Wes farmers
At Present the company of Wesfarmers is trying to meet all the customer segment that
begins from the general coal business to retail chains that covers all the marketing aspects.
The organisation has realized that the business segment that are most profitable is their retail
store operation like the target, Coles and Kmart. As per Csikosova, Antošová and Čulková,
(2014) the primary key for the success of the retail chains is to induce the customers by
offering them heavy discounts. In General the buying behaviours of the Australian consumers
are they go shopping once in a week and buy all the necessary items in bulk. The Wes farmer
introduced their very famous “down discount” campaign which is a strategy to cut down the
prices of the various company products that can extent up to 10 percent. This allows the
company to make the products irresistible to buy, hence enhancing the marketing process. At
their Bunning warehouse stores they provide best of the hardware at very affordable prices.
The importance of integrated marketing communication in Wes farmers
The major advantage of the of communications process of integrated marketing is
that the marketer like the Wes farmers can effectively and clearly communicate the story of
their brand and information across the several communication channels to create awareness
of brand (Keller 2016). In Wesfarmers the integrated marketing communication is more cost-
effective than the mass media as the customers interacts with the brands across various digital
interfaces and forums at present. Since the consumers tend to spend more time on the digital
devices, marketers seek to weave together multiple exposures to their brands using different
touch points (Porto, de Sa Mendonca and Milan 2016). The entities can then see the
performance of their tactics of communication as a whole instead of as fragmented pieces.
The other advantages of integrated marketing communications is that it creates a
competitive advantage for entities looking to boost their profits and sales. This is especially

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beneficial for medium and small sized firms with limited staff and marketing budgets. The
integrated marketing communication submerges the clients in the communications and
enables to move through the various levels of the process of buying. The Business
organisation on a simultaneous basis consolidates the company image and makes
development and nurtures the relationship with the clients throughout the exchange (Belch et
al. 2014). The integrated marketing is instrumental in for creation of continuous experience
of purchasing that spurs the clients to become consumer loyal and continue on a lifelong
basis.
The integrated marketing communication strategy of Wes farmers along with the
communication issues
The Wes farmers’s marketing communication strategies consist predominantly of the
modern social media marketing, marketing of word-of-mouth, the sales and service network
of their own, galleries, the various strategy of direct selling and their participation in the
shows that are international Wesfarmers (Batra and Keller 2016).
Social media marketing
The media coverage of Wes farmers includes the strategy of digital communication by
use of the social media marketing. Use of the social media has been a major driver towards
the save of the Wes farmer’s costs of marketing and directly being associated with potential
clients. The social media marketing enables the company of Wesfarmers to spread the various
information rapidly within the network of the potential clients, and increasing the brand
recognition and the brand loyalty (Watson 2017). The Social media marketing is vital for
Wes farmers as brand and product references in social-media platforms may affect clients and
attitudes and feelings. Moreover, the purchasing decisions of the friends within social
networks are also impacted.

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However, using social media marketing also involves the various risk for the Wes
farmers (Key and Czaplewski 2017). The several dad news like the recent incident where a
retail store caught fire can also spread rapidly which harmed reputation of the Wes farmer.
Moreover, it all together financial losses due to a fall in the share prices and leading to less
money for marketing activities.
The social media marketing strategy of Wes famers therefore can be said to as an
efficient strategy for marketing communications in at present’s globalised as well as hyper-
connected world. This targets and attracts the young potential customers more in the
upcoming years.
Word-of-mouth marketing
Marketing of word-of-mouth is vital for the brand of Wes farmer’s competitiveness
and recognition in the market. The marketing strategy is essential as it is a factor of cost-
saving for Wes farmers marketing budget. As the Wes framers does not have such a big
marketing budget like major competitors like the wool worth, the Wes farmer has to invent
new marketing strategies efficient to save the costs, being essential for the new firms like
Wes farmers Word-of-mouth marketing also boosts demand and the sales of Wes farmers.
These savings can be invested in other operations and production which are vital for the
competitiveness of wool worths and brand recognition (Bhupathi 2016). It has contributed
successfully to a boosting in sales without traditional advertising, hence Wes farmers decided
to further employ this marketing strategy. Moreover, it helped in the achievement of sales
target without high marketing costs.
However, the marketing of word of mouth can also spread bad experiences about The
Wes farmers that may discourage potential customers from purchasing the products of Wes

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farmers or making use of services of the company (Rakić and Rakić 2014). This would
impact negatively on the sales of the company and ruin the brand reputation.
Wes farmers own sales and service network and direct strategy for selling
The Wes farmer’s self-owned network of service with various other locations for
service worldwide makes an extraordinary service for customer, leading to an increase of
brand perception which is an important component of Wesfarmers unique reputation of brand
(Turner 2017). The own sales network of Wes farmers, galleries and stores are chief
contributors to increase brand perception among customers. The Wesfarmers offers special
repair services, possibilities of making reservations and orders or even vehicles
customisations. The high qualified and trained sales and service staff deals directly with
customers through its company-owned stores and galleries globally which enables
Wesfarmers to get customer feedback rapidly. This strategy delivers a differentiated buying
and unique customer experience which strengthens the consumer relationship. This strategy
also enables Wes frame to get operations efficiency which Wes farmers would not achieve
when joining a traditional franchised distribution (Andrews and Shimp 2017). Moreover, it
enables Wes farmers to have superior control over inventory cost and to manage warranty
and pricing service more efficient. However, direct selling is expensive as costs of training
for staff are high which may shrink Wes farmer’s marketing budget for other potential
projects of marketing.
Conclusion
The marketing communications strategy of Wes farmers promotes an awareness of
the brand within the target market. At the time the audience identifies the products, the
process of sales begins. If the company creates a brand experience that is consistent, there can
be a foundation for more sales and better relationships. In order to make the strategy of

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marketing communication more results-driven and comprehensive, it continues to supervise
the needs for the actual clients, and focuses on the capabilities of the product that can solve
the various communication issues and inspires the company with confidence along with
generation of excitement in the targeted audience group. In order to achieve a better
marketing skill, the company of Wes farmers must always keep it self ahead of the curve to
find new ways to enhance the marketing communication strategy separate from its
competitors, so that the communications effort contributes to the value of the retail brand of
Wes famers.

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References
Andrews, J.C. and Shimp, T.A., 2017. Advertising, promotion, and other aspects of
integrated marketing communications. Nelson Education.
Ang, L., 2014. Principles of integrated marketing communications. Cambridge University
Press.
Batra, R. and Keller, K.L., 2016. Integrating Marketing Communications: New findings, new
lessons, and new ideas. Journal of Marketing, 80(6), pp.122-145.
Belch, G.E., Belch, M.A., Kerr, G.F. and Powell, I., 2014. Advertising: An integrated
marketing communication perspective. McGraw-Hill Education.
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.
Csikosova, A., Antošová, M. and Čulková, K., 2014. Strategy in direct and interactive
marketing and integrated marketing communications. Procedia-Social and Behavioral
Sciences, 116, pp.1615-1619.
Fill, C. and Turnbull, S.L., 2016. Marketing communications: brands, experiences and
participation. Pearson.
Hsu, P.F., Lin, E.P. and Tsai, C.W., 2016. Optimal Selection of Business Managers for
Integrated Marketing Communications Companies Using AHP and GRA. International
Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management (IJCRMM), 7(2), pp.16-29.

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Keller, K.L., 2016. Unlocking the power of integrated marketing communications: How
integrated is your IMC program?. Journal of Advertising, 45(3), pp.286-301.
Key, T.M. and Czaplewski, A.J., 2017. Upstream social marketing strategy: An integrated
marketing communications approach. Business horizons, 60(3), pp.325-333.
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Persuasion knowledge moderating the effect of integrated marketing
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PERFORMANCE IN SOCIAL NETWORKING: EFFECTS OF DYNAMICS AND
SYNERGIES COMING FROM THE INTEGRATED MARKETING
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Watson, N., 2017. How engineering consultants should communicate with their clients: an
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