Integrated Marketing Communication

What is IMC and what does it mean for a company to follow IMC?

- How could IMC be defined?

Integrated Marketing Communications is integrating all the promotional tools, so that they work together in harmony. It refers to integrating all the methods of brand promotion to promote a particular product or service among target customers. It leads to development and maintenance of a good company- customer relationship.

It’s a mix of modern and traditional marketing strategies with the intention of creating an efficient, reliable tool to convey a company’s brands to the relevant stakeholders and potential clients. It is a reliable mode of communication where messages are passed without any disruption and have the best clarity.

- Why is IMC important?

· It’s ensure that the message is clear and not confusing

· It creates competitive advantage, boosts sales and profits

· It saves time and money (agency fees are reduced by using a single agency for all communications, time is saved when meetings bring all the agencies together)

· Develops dialog with customers

· Increases effectiveness

· Reduces workload and stress level

- What are the aims and benefits of IMC?

· IMC reduces transaction costs, interdepartmental conflict, and effort.

· IMC creates a higher return on campaign investment than the competition.

· IMC provides clarity and consistency to brand messages to create own customers.

· IMC can decrease the rate of defection, increase market position, sales, and sales growth.

· IMC increases the achieving higher sales, sales growth, profitability, return on investment.

· IMC media plan provides a cost-effective combination of media to attain the company’s media objectives.

· The media plan provides the organization with a top of mind presence with the consumer when it comes time to purchase.

· IMC creates a unified and consistent brand identity.

· An IMC strategy has consistent message that differentiates a company from the competition.

- What does an IMC process look like?

- Can you think of a company who does IMC successfully?

The Coca-Cola

· Consistent messaging is the hallmark of the Coca-Cola brand

· There are thousands of brands under the Coca-Cola umbrella

· The most people have Coke products at home and don’t even realize it

· Coca-Cola has a global brand recognition of 94%

· The red background with white lettering is very recognized

· Coca-cola is the same in every language in the world

Who are in charge of IMC? What are the roles of the company and the different agencies?

- What kind of areas of responsibility do exist in IMC?

There are areas such as planning based on market and financial expectations, cross-functional integration, involvement in resources investments, interactivity and connectivity with clients and stakeholders and strategic coherence.

- What are the roles of companies and agencies in a good client-agency relationship?

· Transparency

· Relationship-building

· Streamlined approval process

· Reacting effectively to media opportunities

· Collaborative communication

· Focus on communications

· Set solid expectations

· Use all available services

· Work with your agency to deal with crisis situations

Role of Advertising Agencies

Creating an advertise on the basis of information gathered about product
Doing research on the company and the product and reactions of the customers.
Planning for type of media to be used, when and where to be used, and for how much time to be used.
Taking the feedbacks from the clients as well as the customers and then deciding the further line of action

- How should they act to benefit from a cooperation? Are there any rules?

· Client turnover affects the image of agency

· Companies gives advises for the agencies

· Agencies give guidelines for the companies

· Companies expect that the agency will not work with competitors and the way around

· Companies give the approval for all agency’s businesses and expenses connected with the project

· Mutual trust is very important

· Added expertise

· Easier administration

· Cost and time saving

How does/should the client company follow IMC? What are the roles of different agencies?

- How should an agency take the IMC into account?

IMC is cross-channel. Various tools are combined which help to reach the audience.

Integrated marketing draws upon the power of traditional advertising and public relations efforts, as well as the use of new online communication tools including social media.

IMC is customer focused. Successful marketing strategies start and end with customers. Making customers a top priority is well known but rarely executed because most marketing budgets are focused on obtaining new customers not keeping old ones. with their friends.

IMC has checks and balances. Each channel has its own strengths and weaknesses. By leveraging the strengths of one to offset another’s weakness, effectiveness improves and costs are reduced.

“Organizations that embrace IMC will experience stronger brand identities with consistent messaging, and company or product or service leadership positions. These organizations maximize and leverage marketing resources to deliver cost-effective communications more frequently to the right customer at the right time. Using a team approach, organizations implementing IMC can maximize responsiveness to clients by regularly measuring the value of marketing programs to adopt plans to meet changing requirements.”

- Can you think of an example of a successful work of an agency?

· Great Staff

· Good Communication

· Creativity

· Ability to Execute

· Problem-Solving Skills

· Strong Online Presence

· Mastery of Data

· Global Branding

· Digital Fluency

· Good Value and Transparent Billing

Resources