Marketing 12 Integrated Marketing Communication Integrated Marketing Communication IMC the concept of designing marketing activities advertising personal selling sales promotion public relations electronic media and community building in combination to provide clarity consistency and maximum communication impact across all audiences Represents the promotion of the 4 Ps Each of the different marketing communication elements are regarded as a part of a whole which offers a different means to connect with the target audience Three elements o o o Consumer Channel Evaluation of Results The Communication Process Sender must be clearly identified to the intended audience Transmitter marketing agency develops marketing communications to the customer Encoding converting the sender s ideas into a message Communication Channel the medium that carries the message print broadcast etc Receiver the person who reads hears or sees and processes the information contained in the message or advertisement Decoding the process by which the receiver interprets the sender s message Noise any interference that stems from competing messages a lack of clarity in the message or a flaw in the medium which poses a problem for all communication channels Feedback Loop allows the receiver to communicate with the sender and thereby informs the sender whether the message was received and decoded properly Hierarchy of Effects 1 Be aware of the products existence 2 Be motivated to give some attention to the product and its benefits 3 Evaluates the benefits of the product and whether or not it is worthy If they buy a good experience may lead to repurchase 4 The AIDA Model Think feel do Model Awareness Attention leads to o o o Awareness Metrics Senders first must gain the attention of the consumer A multichannel approach increases the likelihood the message will be received Interest which leads to o Message needs to include attributes that are of interest to the target audience o o After the customer is aware they must be persuaded The customer must want to further investigate the product service Desire which leads to o Message should move the consumer from I like it to I want it Action o o Purchase The Lagged Effect delayed response to a marketing communication campaign Aided Recall when consumers indicate they know the brand when the name is presented to them Top of mind awareness the highest level of awareness that occurs when consumers mention a specific brand name first when they are asked about a product or service Elements of an IMC Strategy Extremely effective for creating awareness of a product or service and generating interest Advertising see info below a paid form of communication delivered through media from an identifiable source about an organization product service or idea designed to persuade the receiver to take some action now or in the future o o Most visible element of IMC o Must break through the clutter of other messages to reach its intended audience Public Relations involves managing communications and relationships to achieve various objectives such as building and maintaining a positive image of the firm handling or heading off unfavorable stories or events and maintaining positive relationships with the media o o o More credible for consumers than advertising Free media attention Importance of PR has grown as the costs of other forms of media have increased o Cause related marketing refers to commercial activity in which businesses and charities form a o partnership to market an image product or service for their mutual benefit Event Sponsorship occurs when corporations support various activities usually in the cultural or sports and entertainment sectors Can be aimed both to end user or channel members Can be used for long or short term objectives Sales promotions special incentives or excitement building programs that encourage the purchase of a product or service o o o Used in conjunction with other forms of IMC o Cross promoting when two or more firms join together to reach a specific target market o Evaluating Sales Promotions The realized margin from the promotion The cost of the additional inventory carried due to buying more than the normal amount The potential increase in sales from the promoted merchandise The long term impact on sales of the promotion The potential loss suffered when customers switch to the promoted merchandise from more profitable products The additional sales made to customers attracted to the store by the promotion Personal Selling the two way flow of communication between a buyer and a seller that is designed to influence the buyer s purchase decision o High cost compared to other forms of promotion o Most efficient way to sell certain products services Direct Marketing marketing that communicates directly with target customers to generate a response or transaction o Growing element of IMC o o Win win situation for customers and firms because the customer s needs are addressed efficiently and firms Allows for personalization of the message good for multicultural groups o are able to gather large amounts of data about customers data base technology improves Includes email and M commerce Mobile Commerce involves communicating with and even selling to customers through wireless handheld devices Electronic Media o Websites Build brand image Educates customers about their products or services and where they can be purchased Sell direct to consumers o Corporate Blogs can create positive word of mouth by connecting to customers by forming a community and increase sales by responding directly to customers comments and develop a long term relationship with the company o Social media media content distributed through social interactions help facilitate the consumer decision process creates communities between customers which can have both a positive and negative effect o Online Games Planning And Measuring IMC Success Goals and Objectives Short term or Long term Should be explicitly defined and measured but be aware that you are estimating a forecast Increasing Awareness Prompting trial Increase repeat Increase sales Customer loyalty o o o o o IMC Budget o Objective and task Method determines budget required to undertake specific tasks to accomplish com First establish a set of communication objectives Then determine which media best reaches the target market and how much it will cost to run the number and types of communications necessary to achieve the objectives o