The Fundamentals of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Campaign

on
I made this post for my Communication Arts students who are conducting their Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) campaign. As a lecturer, I always try to explain the concept to my students well. If you are from the marketing field or an educator like me, feel free to suggest ideas. I am very thankful that there is quite a lot of sources now, both scholarly and popular which include books, journal articles, and blogs.

What is IMC?


DEFINITION
A simple definition is provided in the book of Percy (2008) in which IMC is defined as a systematized planning to help create the most appropriate or effective message to the target audience. However, despite this simple definition which seems so easy to achieve, Percy noted that it is seldom put into practice because of company related factors such as company culture, budget, etc. On the positive side, IMC guarantees that all aspects of brand’s marketing communication are successful with shaping a powerful, positive brand attitude. Moreover, it also aids in managing communication strategies which are linked to the company’s branding strategy taking into account the overall product and brand portfolio. In other words, IMC covers the overall communication aspect of a company such as marketing communication which is responsible for the identity, image, and reputation of the company. Percy’s book offers a thorough discussion of IMC. It includes new media and other IMC options. Most importantly, it has a chapter on the IMC planning process and finalizing and implementing the IMC plan.
Another definition of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is provided by Persuit & McDowell Marinchak (2016) who explain it as an approach that ties together the fields of advertising, public relations, branding, promotions, event, and experiential marketing. It is an answer to the need of present-day society. A consumer-based approach, IMC put the consumers at the heart of engagement by coupling marketing practices with the personal or everyday life of the consumers (Persuit & McDowell Marinchak, 2016). This is actually the most recent definition in which “consumers” are at the core of the concept. The book of Persuit and McDowell Marinchak also provides information about IMC campaigns such as the Starbucks’ Faire Trade Coffee campaign.

©pixabay



However, if you ask someone from the marketing field about IMC, a simple explanation would be: sending your message to your target audience by the integration of the different kinds of media available today using the same theme or content, a definition similar to how Akers (n.d.) explains IMC.
An example of delivering one consistent message of the organization’s promotion across different kinds of media is given in the paper (“Advertising, Integrated Marketing,” n.d). The example is about the the consistency in slogan of Campbell’s Soup Company across different kinds of media which has variations in commercial design (“Advertising, Integrated Marketing,” n.d).

How do you do the Integrated Marketing Communication Plan?

Aker’s (n.d.)  cited four important steps in conducting the IMC. These include analyzing your costumers (to guarantee that the strategies you are doing are well-suited to them), creating a unique  identity or positioning for your brand or organization, constructing your objectives, and planning your budget.

How can your campaign reach its goals?


Heaton (2014) on Smart Insights website mentioned the 4CS of  Integrated Campaigns by Pickton and Broderick. These include coherence, consistency, continuity, and complementary. On the website, three high-profile campaigns which are related to the 4C’s are given.


References:

Advertising, Integrated Marketing. (n.d). Retrieved from https://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/marketing-principles-v1.0/s14-advertising-integrated-marketi.html
Akers, H. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/steps-developing-integrated-marketing-communication-plan-56305.html
Heaton, A. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.smartinsights.com/traffic-building-strategy/integrated-marketing-communications/three-examples-integrated-campaigns/
Percy, L.(2008). Strategic integrated marketing communication: Theory and practice.
Oxford: Elsevier
Persuit, J.M. & McDowell Marinchak, C. L. (Eds.). (2016). Integrated marketing
communication: Creating spaces for engagement. Lanham: Lexington Books.

Comments

Post a Comment