Fundamentals of

Advertising
Integrated Marketing
Communications (IMC)
 Factors for Adopting IMC
1. Proliferation of new media and an intensified cost of
competition
2. Declining efficiency of mass media advertising
3. More sophisticated, cynical and distrusting consumers
4. Tremendous gaps between what companies advertise
and what they actually sell/do
5. Realization of the importance of nourishing long-term
good customer relationships

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 “
Integrated Marketing
Communication is a strategy of
coordinating and integrating all of
company’s marketing efforts as
well as its promotional
communications (through diverse
channels of communications) to
convey a consistent, unified
message and image.
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 “
Integrated Marketing Communications is an
approach to creating a unified and seamless
experience for consumers to interact with the
brand/enterprise; it attempts to meld all
aspects of marketing communication such as
advertising, sales promotion, public relations,
direct marketing, and social media, through
their respective mix of tactics, methods,
channels, media, and activities, so that all work
together as a unified force. It is a process
designed to ensure that all messaging and
communications strategies are consistent
across all channels and are centered on the
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customer.
 Explanation
- Integrated Marketing Communications works to ensure that
an advertiser speaks with a single voice in the most
consistent, cost effective manner possible.

- A more comprehensive vision of IMC includes collecting and

analyzing data about current and potential customers
before designing integrated marketing communications
strategies for specific audiences.

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 Explanation
- An effective IMC will outline a core message, highlight your
competitive advantage, address the appropriate target market,
and tailor the message to fit supportive media channels.
Essentially, the message remains consistent, but the method of
delivery will vary across platforms.

- Customers don't care enough to pay attention to all your different

messaging, and by not using one clear communications strategy to
amplify your brand, your message will simply be lost in the
constant stream of content that all consumers are subject to every
day.
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Seven Steps To A Better
Integrated Marketing
Communications Strategy
by Ahmad Kareh
Forbes Agency Council
 Identify campaign goals and potential
limitations.
- What resources do you have access to?

- Is the purpose of your campaign to boost consumer loyalty

or are you looking to build awareness for customers who
don’t know about your brand?

- Decide exactly what you want to accomplish with your

efforts.

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 Define the target audience.
- Always ask yourself, "If I would be charged a dollar for every
person who would watch my ad, who would I choose to show it
to?“

- The most effective target audiences are not too big, as to lose
focus and spread resources too thin, and not too small, limiting
potential market size.

- Defining target audiences who are; accessible, receptive and

profitable – is just right. This can be achieved by using consumer
insights uncovered in the research process, thinking strategically,
and using a data-driven approach.
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 Gain some insight.
- One of the best ways to do this is with a SWOT analysis.
Analyze your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats from the perspective of your target audience.

- In other words, do your best to answer these questions:

What makes you special from your consumer’s
perspective? What doesn’t? What are some external
factors and trends that could help or threaten your
business?

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 Understand your competition and
identify your competitive edge
- Perform a SWOT analysis on the competition from the
perspective of your target audience.

- Note that a good competitive advantage has a high barrier

of entry. The harder it is to duplicate what sets you apart,
the better off you are.

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 Get creative.
- Creativity is the process of brainstorming a strategy after
being well informed about the contributing factors.

- It’s important to remember while in the brainstorming

phase that there are no bad ideas. Try not to protect your
idea to the point you become inflexible.

- The more you’re willing to dig deep and challenge why an

idea will work or not, the faster you are to finding your big
idea.
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 Check your “big idea.”
- Once you come up with your big idea, double check it. Ask
yourself, does this appeal to my audience and fit my
strategy?

- Does it set me apart from my competition and does it

have a lasting impact?

- Would it be hard for my competitors to duplicate? If you

answer yes to these, you’re probably in good shape.
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 Communicate.
- Consider how you can tailor your idea through different mediums while
maintaining the original message. In other words, how would you
address your Twitter and Instagram followers differently?

- Creatively think of ways to communicate and present your idea through

different mediums while maintaining the original message.

- Is the message being clearly communicated across your channels? Is

your message consistently communicated across all platforms?

- Are your employees and colleagues aware of and communicating your

message? Consistency is key, and your employees aren’t exempt from
this; your message is the voice of your company and should be
communicated throughout every department.
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Benefits of IMC
 Why adopt IMC?
- It promises to increase marketing and promotional
effectiveness and decrease marketing costs.

- What better way to achieve brand reinforcement than to use

a single, unifying message to tie together what your brand or
product is all about? Because consumers are hit with
hundreds, if not thousands, of marketing messages daily, it's
more important than ever for a brand to be recognizable from
one platform to the next.

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 - Greater Brand Visibility. You can’t begin to form a relationship
with a potential customer until he or she takes note of your
business. These integrated marketing solutions can highlight
key messages and owned assets, making it easier for you to
build rapport with consumers.

- Integrated approach makes brands instantly more recognizable,

and consumer awareness provokes a competitive
advantage for the company. Think about it: If you use unified
messaging for every advertising channel, consumers will start to
recognize you automatically.

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