Chapter 15 Blog

Designing and Managing Integrated Marketing Communications

The means by which firms inform, persuade, and remind consumers about the products and brands they sell is known as Marketing Communications (MCs) Through MCs a company is able to establish a dialogue and build relationships with consumers. MCs show consumers how and why a product is used, by whom, where and when: lets consumers know who makes the product and what the firm and brand stand for; and offer an incentive for trial or use. They allow companies to their brands and other people, places, events, brands experiences, feelings and things. They can contribute to brand equity-by establishing the brand in memory and creating a brand image-as well as strengthen customer loyalty, drive sales, and even affect shareholder value. In light of this marketers have to really be creative in using technology without intruding in consumers’ lives.

The effectiveness of mass media has changed tremendously due to the fact that there is a rapid diffusion of multipurpose smart-phones, broad band and wireless internet connections, and ad skipping digital video recorders. Technology and other factors have deeply changed the way consumers’ process communications.

The marketing communications mix consists of eight major modes of communications:

1. Advertising: Is a paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor.

2. Sales promotion: Is used when encouraging trial or purchase of a product or

service.

3. Event s and experiences: company sponsored activities and programs designed to create brand-related interactions.

4. Public relations and publicity: programs directed internally or externally or promote or protect a company’s image or its individual product communications.

5.  Direct marketing: Use of mail, telephone, fax, email or internet to communicate directly with or solicit response or dialogue from specific customers and prospects.

6. Interactive marketing: online activities and programs to engage customers or prospects and directly or indirectly raise awareness improve image or elicit sales.

7. Word-of –mouth marketing: People to people oral, written, or electronic communications that relate to the merits or experience.

8.  Personal selling: Face to face interaction with one or more prospective purchasers for the purpose of making presentations, answering questions and procuring orders.

Developing effective communications requires eight steps:  (i)Identifying the target audience (ii) Determine objectives (iii) Design communications (iv) Select channels (vi) Establish budget (vii) Decide on media mix (viii) Measure results

  Manage integrated marketing communications

The process must start with a clear target audience in mind: potential buyers of the company’s products, current users, deciders or influencers and individuals, groups, particular publics, or the general public. The target audience critically influences the communicator’s decisions about what to say, how, when, where and to whom.

Determine the communication objectives

Category need

Establish a product or service category as necessary to remove or satisfy a perceived discrepancy between a current motivational state and a desired emotional state.

Brand awareness:

Foster the consumer’s ability to recognize or recall the brand within the category, in sufficient detail to make a purchase. Recognition is easier to achieve that recall, but brand recall is important outside the store, whereas brand recognition is important inside the store. Brand awareness provides a foundation for brand equity.

Brand attitude:

Help consumers evaluate the brand’s perceived ability to meet a currently relevant need. Relevant brand needs may be negatively oriented (problem removal, problem avoidance incomplete satisfaction, normal depletion) or positively oriented (sensory gratification, intellectual stimulation, or social approach.

Brand purchase intention:

Move consumers to decide the brand or take purchase related action

Design the communications

Formulating the communications to achieve the desired response requires solving three problems: what to say (message strategy), how to say it (creative strategy), and who should say it (message source).

Message Strategy:

In determining message strategy, management searches for appeals themes, or ideas that will tie in to the brand positioning and help establish points-parity or points- of -difference. Some of these may be related directly to product or service performance (the quality, economy, or value of the brand), whereas others may relate to more extrinsic considerations (the brand as being contemporary, popular, or traditional).

Creative strategies are the way marketers translate their messages into a specific communication. We can classify them as either informational or transformational appeals. An informational appeal elaborates on product or service attributes or benefits assuming that consumers will process the communication very logically. A transformational appeal elaborates on a non product related benefit or image. It might depict what kind of person uses a brand or what kind of experience results from use.

Takeaway

Although Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) requires a lot of effort it delivers many benefits. It can create competitive advantage, boost sales and profits, while saving money, time and stress. IMC wraps communications around customers and helps them move through the various stages of the buying process. This ‘Relationship Marketing’ cements a bond of loyalty with customers which can protect them from the inevitable onslaught of competition. The ability to keep a customer for life is a powerful competitive advantage.

IMC also makes messages more consistent and therefore more credible. This reduces risk in the mind of the buyer which, in turn, shortens the search process and helps to dictate the outcome of brand comparisons.

Finally, IMC saves money as it eliminates duplication in areas such as graphics and photography since they can be shared and used in say, advertising, exhibitions and sales literature.