Chapter 6

Integrated Marketing
Communication Strategy and
Management
In this chapter, you will
learn about…
1. Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC)
Strategy Framework
2. Information Requirements in Purchase
Decisions
3. Reasonable Communication Objectives
4. Developing an IMC Mix
Information Requirements of Buyers
Nature of the Offering
Target-Market Characteristics
Organizational Capacity
Push versus Pull Communication Strategies
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In this chapter, you will
learn about…
1. Marketing Web Sites and Integrated Marketing
Communications
Purpose of Marketing Web Sites
Leveraging Advertising and Personal
Selling with Promotional Web Sites
2. Communication Mix Budgeting
Communication Budget Allocation
3. Evaluation and Control of the Communication
Process
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What is Marketing
Communication?

Marketing communication is the

process by which information
about an organization and its
offerings is disseminated to
selected markets.

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Goal of Marketing
Communication

Induce initial purchase

Create post purchase

satisfaction

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 Purpose of Marketing
Communication

Communication is necessary to inform

buyers of the following:

The availability of an offering

The unique benefits of the offering
The where and how of obtaining and
using the offering

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Marketing Communication
Mix

Personal
Advertising
Selling

Communications
Mix

Sales
Promotion
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 Integrated Marketing
Communications (IMC)

The practice of blending

different elements of the
communication mix in
mutually reinforcing ways.

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IMC Strategy Framework
1. What are the information requirements
of target markets?

2. What are the objectives of the strategy?

3. Can some of the communication

activities be combined?

4. What should the budget be and how

should resources be allocated?

5. How should it be timed and scheduled?

6. How should it be evaluated?

6-9
Information Requirements
in Purchase Decisions
Purchase Process Model

Unawareness

Knowledge

Preference

Purchase
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Information Requirements in
Purchase Decisions
Determine how buyers purchase a particular
offering
Roles played by individuals in the buying
center/household

Define the role of information in the

purchase process
When, where, how, and what information is
used for decision making

Determine the perception that consumers

have of the organization and the offering
Sources from which information is sought
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6-12
6-13
What would your
objectives be?
Reasonable Communication
Objectives
Objectives differ depending on stage in
product life-cycle:

Build primary demand

Demand for the product or service
class

Build selective demand

Demand for a particular brand,
product, or service

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 Reasonable
Communication Objectives
Requirements

Consistent
Both among themselves and with other
marketing elements

Quantifiable
For measurement and control purposes

Attainable
With an appropriate amount of effort and
expenditure and within a specific time
frame
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Developing an IMC Mix
Factors to be Considered

• The information requirements of

potential buyers
• The nature of the offering
• The nature of the target market
• The capacity of the organization

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 Developing an IMC Mix
Information Requirements of
Buyers

Analyze the relative value of the communication

tools used at various stages in the purchase-
decision process

• Advertising creates awareness

• Salespeople provide information

• Sales promotion, brochures, and catalogs

provide descriptions and stimulate trial
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Developing an IMC Mix
Nature of the Offering

Advertising is useful when an offering is not

complex, is frequently purchased, is relatively
inexpensive, or has benefits that differentiate
it from competition

Personal selling is required when a product is

relatively expensive or its benefits are not
readily apparent

Sales promotion lends itself to nearly every

offering type because of the wide variety of
forms it can assume
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Developing an IMC Mix
Target Market Characteristics

Advertising is effective for communicating an

offering to a mass market that is geographically
scattered
Direct marketing (e.g., Internet) can also be used
to reach a geographically dispersed target
market
Personal selling is useful when a small number
of buyers live in close proximity and purchase
large quantities

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Developing an IMC Mix
Organizational Capacity

MAKE vs. BUY

Perform the activity Contract it out?
internally?
Company sales Independent sales
force representatives
Fixed and variable Variable costs only
costs Acceptable control
More control Lower personnel
Flexibility costs
Focused sales Greater flexibility
effort Increased sales
Greater availability effort
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 Developing an IMC Mix
Organizational Capacity

Commission paid to independent reps = 5%

Commission paid to company salespeople = 3%
Salary and admin costs for salespeople = $500,000

At what level X of sales would both options cost the same?

Cost of company reps Cost of independent reps

=
0.03X + $500,000 0.05X

Solving for X, we get $25 million for the level of sales at

which both options will cost the same.
 Break-Even Chart for Comparing Independent
Reps and Company Sales Force
Company Sales Cost
($000)
Independent Reps
Selling Cost
$3,000

$2,500

$2,000

($1,250)
Company Sales
$1,000 Force Selling Cost

$500

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Company Sales
($ Millions)
 Developing an IMC Mix
Push and Pull Strategies

Producer
PUSH strategy

Retailers and Retailers and

PULL strategy
Wholesalers Wholesalers

Consumers Consumers
Developing an IMC Mix
Push and Pull Strategies

Push strategy is typically used when…

1. An organization has easily identifiable

buyers
2. The offering is complex
3. Buyers view the purchase as being
risky
4. A product or service is early in its life
cycle
5. The organization has limited funds for
direct-to-consumer advertising
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 Developing an IMC Mix

1. There is a favorable primary demand for a

product or service category
2. The product or service to be advertised can
be significantly differentiated from its
competitors
3. The product or service has hidden qualities
or benefits that can be communicated
through advertising
4. There are strong emotional buying motives
involved, such as for health, beauty, or
safety
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Marketing Web Sites and
IMC
Transactional Sites

Focus on turning an online browser into

an online buyer. Successful
transactional Web sites feature:

Well-known, branded products and

services
Favorable shopping and buying
experiences (e.g., Gap.com)

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Marketing Web Sites and
IMC
Promotional Sites

Promote a company’s products and

services and provide information on
how items can be used and where
they can be purchased

Can have games, contests,

quizzes with electronic coupons
and other gifts and prizes (e.g.,
Saturn.com)
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Marketing Web Sites and
IMC

Promotional Sites
Can also be used to create a
buzz (word of mouth behavior)

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Marketing Web Sites and
IMC

Viral Sites
Encourages individuals to
forward marketer-initiated
messages to others via e-mail

•Procter & Gamble’s Physique shampoo

– People who referred 10 friends to the
shampoo’s promotional web site received
a gift
– The promotion generated 2 million
referrals!
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 Leveraging Advertising and
Personal Selling with Promotion
Web Site

Promotional Web sites and the Internet/Web-

enabled technology that supports them can
leverage advertising and personal selling efforts

Can play a cost-effective role in:

• Communication mix
• Early stages of the process-need recognition
• Development of product specifications
• Providing feedback on product/service
performance
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 Communication Mix
Budgeting

Make the budget

commensurate with the
tasks required of the
communication
activities

Establishing the size of a communication

budget:

• Formula-based guidelines
• Qualitatively-based guidelines
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 Communication Mix
Budgeting
Formula-based Approaches

Percentage of sales approach

Past sales or anticipated sales can be
used for this approach

Per unit method

– Multiply per unit spending with expected
sales volume
– Mostly used by durable-goods
manufacturers (e.g., appliance marketers)
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 Communication Mix
Budgeting
Qualitatively-based Approaches

Competitive-party approach

Maintain a parity between company’s

communication expenditures and those
of its competitors

All available funds

When introducing a new offering

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 Communication Mix
Budgeting
Objective-task approach

1. Define the communication objectives

2. Identify the tasks needed to attain the
objectives
3. Estimate the costs associated with the
performance of these tasks

This method is typically considered the

best approach.
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 Communication Mix
Budgeting
Advertising Budget Allocation

SIX media: Television

Radio
Magazine
Newspaper
Billboard
Internet

Each medium consists of vehicles that have

specific characteristics
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 Communication Mix
Budgeting
Advertising Budget Allocation

Media are mostly chosen based on:

Cost
Reach
Frequency
Audience characteristics
Other considerations:
Purpose of the advertisement
Product needs
Editorial climate
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Communication Mix Budgeting
Sales Force Budget Allocation

NC x FC x LC
NS =
TA

NS
NC
FC
LC
TA

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Communication Mix Budgeting

Sales Force Budget Allocation Example

= 15 salespeople needed

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Evaluation and Control of the
Communication Process

Continuous monitoring of the execution of

any communication to ensure that
communication objectives are being
attained
• Should incorporate some measure of
sales or profits
• Budgeting

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