MARK46001stEditionExam # 1 Study GuideChapter 1: Integrated Marketing Communications Integrated Marketing Communications - Integrated Marketing Communications o The coordination and integration of all marketing communication tools, avenues, and sources in a company into a seamless program designed to maximize the impact on customers and other stakeholders o Covers all of a firm’s business-to-business, market channel, customer-focused, and internally directed communications The Communication Process - Steps of a Marketing Plan o Current situational analysis o SWOT analysis o Marketing Objectives o Target Market o Marketing Strategies o Marketing tactics o Implementation o Evaluation of performance The Marketing Mix and Components of Promotion - Marketing Mix o Provides the starting point o Price, Product, Promotion, Distribution - Components of Promotion o Traditional view: advertising, sales promotion, personal selling o Expanded View: Database Marketing, Direct Response Marketing, Sponsorship Marketing, E-Active Marketing, Social Media, Alternative Marketing, Public Relations Emerging Trends in Marketing - Emphasis on Accountability and Measurable Results o Company leaders expect advertising agencies to produce tangible outcomes; they spend their promotional dollars carefully o Many companies rely less on 30-second television spots and instead pursue alternative communication venues o Marketing should not be viewed as an expense, but rather as an investment in which promotional dollars generate sales and profits - Changes in Tasks Performedo Account Executive  Develops overall strategic communication plans for client companies while at the same time overseeing individual promotional activities  Growing demand for accountability means the individual closely examines each marketing campaign seeking evidence of success to show perspective clients o Brand or product manager Oversees a specific brand or line of products for client company  Organizes the activities of multiple individuals and agencies while integrating each marketing campaign o Creatives The individuals who develop the actual advertisements and promotional materials  Most are employed by agencies, others are self-employed o Account planners  Represent the voice of the consumer within the agency to the agency’s creative staff  An account planner will be involved in the development of an advertising campaign  Now being asked to contribute ideas about the firm’s strategic marketing direction and the types of communication that will best reach each target audience - Emergence of Alternative Media o Alternative interactive marketing techniques can create experiences with a brandrather than mere purchases o Spend less on tv advertising and have shifted funds to digital mediaThe Value of IMC - Reasons for Integrated Advertising and Marketing Communications Programs o Advances in information technology  Technology enables instant communication, creating both opportunities and threats for marketing communications  Consumers hold access to a wealth of info about companies, products, and brands; they can communicate with each other, sending favorable or unfavorable ratings and info Marketers are adapting methods to communicate and vend products effectively in this new communication-rich age  Also monitor what consumers are saying in blogs and online forums  Advances in info technology allowed self-styled makeup maven Lauren Luke to sell cosmetics around the world o Changes in channel power Marketing channel consists of a producer or manufacturer vending goods to wholesalers or middleman, who in turn, sell items to retailers who sell the items to consumers Recent technological developments alter the levels of power held by members of the channel  Retailers seek to maintain channel power by controlling shelf space and purchase data which allows them to determine which products are placedon store shelves  The growth of the Internet and other methods of communication shifts some channel power to consumers - Consumers obtain info about goods and services and purchase them using the Internet  Buyers who shop on behalf of organizations and other company membersseeking business-to-business products also tap into these resources o Increase in global competition  Increase in info technology changes where competition comes from - Not just down the street but across the world  Consumers desire quality and low prices - The company that delivers both quality and values makes the sale,regardless of location  In this environment, integrating advertising and other marketing communications becomes increasing important; advertising alone cannot maintain sales o Increase in brand parity  Many currently available products offer nearly identical benefits o Emphasis on customer engagement  The expanding number of available brands perceived to be roughly equivalent leads to another response o Increase in micro-marketing  These programs focus more on individuals and micro-segments rather than the mass population Brand Parity - Brand parityo When consumers believe that most brands provide the same set of attributes o Shoppers select from a group of brands rather than one specific brand o Equality becomes less concern, because consumers perceive only minor differences between brands Consumer Contact Point - Contact point o Any place where customers interact with or acquire additional information abouta firm o To build loyalty, many marketing efforts have been made to engage customers with the brand at every contact point o Customer engagement programs often utilize digital media and should become part of the total integrated marketing approach - Effective engagement provides a venue for two-way communicationo It can be built by offering incentives and reasons for the consumer to communicate with the company o For customers to take advantage of these initiatives, however, they must developemotional commitments to the brand and have feelings of confidence, integrity, pride and passion toward it o The brand must deliver on its promises and provide reasons for consumers to continue to interact with the company Key Terms - Communication o Transmitting, receiving, and processing information - Senders o The persons attempting to deliver a message or idea - Encoding o The verbal (words, sounds) and nonverbal (gestures, facial expressions, posture) cues that the sender utilizes in