Product

Same Different

Product repositioning

Image repositioning

Target market

Same Different

Intangible repositioning

Tangible repositioning

Chapter 14

Integrated marketing communications approach (IMC)

- The concept by which companies coordinate their marketing communications tolls to deliver a clear, consistent, credible and competitive message about organization and its products.

- Moves emphasis of communications away from a step-by-step, linear, transactional process to an on-going relational dialogue

- Integrating all useable promotional tools and appropriate media to deliver synergistic communication campaigns.

Drivers of IMC:

- Organizational drivers

• Operational perspective

• E.g. streamlining communications activities, creating opportunities for increased profits through efficiency gains

- Target-market based drivers

• Focuses on changes which are affecting the delivery of communication messages

• E.g. cost and availability of media channels

- Communication drivers

• Focuses on potential benefits associated with the delivery of the message

• E.g. increased effectiveness of message through constant reinforcement of the core ideas

Framework for implementing integrated marketing communications:

Marketing strategy and situation analysis: internal and external competitor analysis  Identify communication opportunities and set campaign objectives 

Create agency selection: brief, pitch, deliverables 

Promotional mix selection 

Campaign development and implementation 

Evaluation before, during, after campaign 

Future planning

Elements of IMC:

The message:

- Information-based:

• Company provides information so that customers are able to make an informed decision about the brands they choose

- Emotional messages:

• Stimulate a response, which might connect with the target audience through a particular emotion

Communication process: simple and complex

• The source encodes a message by translating the idea to be communicates into a symbol consisting of words, pictures and numbers.

• Message is transmitted through media to reach desired target audience in desired way.

• Noise distractions during communication process may prevent transmission to some of the target audience.

• When a receiver sees/hears message it is decoded (receiver interprets the symbols transmitted by the source)

• Feedback: e.g. increased sales or marketing research

The tools

Mass marketing communications:

- Includes advertising, sales promotion, PR

- Involve primarily sending non-personal messages to wide target audiences

- Main media: broadcast, print, digital

Direct marketing communications:

- Includes personal selling, exhibitions, direct marketing

- Direct communications can be personalized, highly specific and are used to target niche audiences.

Digital promotions and social media communications:

- Includes websites, email marketing and social media

Communication mix:

- Advertising: Any paid form of non-personal communication of ideas/products in the prime media (e.g. TV, the press)

- Personal selling: Oral communication with prospective purchasers with the intention of making a sale.

- Direct marketing: Distribution of products, information and promotional benefits to target consumers through interactive communication that allows response to be measured.

- Digital promotions: Promotion of products to consumers and businesses through digital media channels.

- Sales promotion: Incentives to consumers or the trade that are designed to stimulate purchases.

- Public relations: To educate and inform an organization’s publics through media without paying for the time/space directly.

Considerations that have an impact on the choice of the promotional mix:

- Resource availability and cost of promotional tools

- Market size and concentration:

Small, concentrated market  personal selling

- Customer information needs:

Complex, technical argument  personal selling

- Product characteristics

- Push versus pull strategies:

Push strategy  involves an attempt to sell into channel intermediaries (e.g. retailer)

Pull strategy  communicates consumers directly

Media channels

- Broadcast: TV, radio

- Print: newspapers, magazines

- Digital: Websites, portals, email

- Social: online communities, blogs

- Outdoor: billboard, transport, guerrilla

- Indoor: point-of-sale, in-store posters, window and shelf displays

- Cinema

The context

Pull-positioning strategies:

Producer/Manufacturer  Wholesaler  Retailer  Customer

Flow of communications: Producer/Manufacturer  Customer

- Aim to encourage consumers and stimulate action among members of the target audience

- E.g. giving launch dates for new products

Push-positioning strategies:

Producer/Manufacturer  Wholesaler  Retailer

- Aim to move goods through the supply chain

- Target audiences for this type of communications initiatives are channel intermediaries

- Strategy is used between businesses

- Communication tools: personal selling and trade promotions