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CHAPTER 1
INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
Chapter Overview
The purpose of this opening chapter is to provide the student with an overview of the field of advertising
and promotion and its role in the marketing process. The various elements of the promotional mix are
introduced. This chapter also introduces the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC), its
evolution, and examines how various marketing and promotional elements must be coordinated to
communicate effectively. We also discuss the reasons for the increasing importance of the IMC
perspective in planning and executing advertising and promotional programs. First, marketers understand
the value of strategically integrating the various communication functions rather than having them operate
autonomously. The move to integrated marketing communications also reflects an adaptation by
marketers to a changing environment, particularly with respect to consumers, technology, and media. The
chapter then examines how various marketing and promotional elements must be coordinated to
communicate effectively with the IMC perspective. Then, a model of the IMC planning process is
examined and finally, we give an overview of the perspective and organization of the rest of the text.
Chapter Objectives
1. To review the various elements of the promotional mix: advertising, sales promotion, public
relations, direct marketing, Internet marketing, and personal selling.
2. To introduce the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC) by considering its
evolution, growth, and importance.
3. To examine how various marketing and promotional elements must be coordinated to communicate
effectively with the IMC perspective.
4. To summarize a model of the IMC planning process and examine the steps in developing a
marketing communications program.
Chapter and Lecture Outline
I.
INTRODUCTION TO ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION
The opening vignette deals with the merger of TD Bank and Canada Trust and the challenges faced to
communicate the changes to its customers. The successful merger resulted in TD Canada Trust being
recognized as Marketer of the Year by Marketing Magazine for the year 2001.
II.
WHAT IS MARKETING?
A.
Many students may already have had a marketing course; however, it is still helpful to define
marketing and stress that it involves more than just selling or other promotion functions. The
American Marketing Association defines marketing as:
the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution
of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational
objectives.
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The discussion of marketing should include a discussion of the various activities involved in the
marketing process and its role and importance in different types of companies including both
profit and nonprofit organizations.
B.
Marketing Focuses on Exchange—Many experts argue that exchange is the core phenomenon or
domain for study in marketing. The discussion can focus on the nature of exchange what is
needed for this process to occur including:
two or more parties with something of value to one another; a desire and ability to give up their
something of value to the other party; and a way for the parties to communicate with one another.
III.
THE PROMOTIONAL MIX: THE TOOLS FOR IMC
The Role of Promotion—Promotion is defined as the coordination of all seller-initiated efforts to set up
channels of information and persuasion to sell goods and services or promote an idea. It should be noted
that promotion is best viewed as the communication function of marketing. The discussion of integrated
marketing communications should point how other marketing elements such as brand name, package
design, price or retail outlets implicitly communicate with consumers. However, it should be noted that
most of an organization’s communication with the marketplace takes place through a carefully planned
and controlled promotional program which utilizes elements of the promotional mix.
The promotional mix should be defined as the basic tools or elements that are used to accomplish an
organization’s objectives. The role and function of each promotional mix element in the marketing
program can be discussed along with its advantages and limitations.
A.
Advertising—any paid form of nonpersonal communication about an organization, product,
service, or idea by an identified sponsor.
Advantages:
 cost-effective way for communicating, particularly with large audiences
 ability to create images and symbolic appeals and for differentiating similar products and
services
 valuable tool for creating and maintaining brand equity
 ability to strike responsive chord with audience through creative advertising
 opportunity to leverage popular advertising campaigns into successful IMC programs which
can generate support from retailers and other trade members
 ability to control the message (what, when and how something is said and where it is
delivered)
Disadvantages:
 the cost of producing and placing ads can be very high, particularly television commercials
 it can be difficult to determine the effectiveness of advertising
 there are credibility and image problems associated with advertising
 the vast number of ads has created clutter problems and consumers are not paying attention to
much of the advertising they see and/or hear
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The nature and purpose of advertising differs from one industry to another and across various
situations as does its role and function in the promotional program. The common classifications
of advertising to the consumer market include national, retail/local and direct-response
advertising as well as primary versus selective demand advertising. Classifications of advertising
to the business and professional market include industrial, professional and trade advertising.
These classifications are described in Figure 1-3.
B.
Sales Promotion—marketing activities that provide extra value or incentive to the sales force,
distributors, or the ultimate consumer and can stimulate immediate sales. Sales promotion is
generally broken into two major categories: consumer-oriented and trade-oriented activities.
Advantages:
 provides extra incentive to consumer or middlemen to purchase or stock and promote a brand
 way of appealing to price sensitive consumer
 way of generating extra interest in product or ads
 effects can often be more directly measured than those of advertising
 can be used as a way of building or reinforcing brand equity
Disadvantages:
 many companies are becoming too reliant on sales promotion and focusing too much
attention on short-run marketing planning and performance
 many forms of sales promotion do not help establish or reinforce brand image and short-term
sales gains are often achieved at the expense of long-term brand equity
 problems with sales promotion clutter as consumers are bombarded with too many coupons,
contests, sweepstakes and other promotional offers
 consumers may become over-reliant on sales promotion incentives which can undermine the
development of favorable attitudes and brand loyalty.
 in some industries promotion wars may develop whereby marketers sales promotion
incentives extensively which results in lower profit margins and makes it difficult to sell
products at full price
It is important to address the potential terminology problem concerning the use of the terms
promotion and sales promotion. In this text the term promotion represents an element of the
marketing mix by which firms communicate with their customers and includes the various
promotional mix elements. However, many marketing and advertising practitioners use the term
promotion in reference to sales promotion activities. We use the term promotion in the broader
sense. When discussing sales promotion activities, we are referring to this one specific element of
the promotional mix.
C.
Publicity/Public Relations
Publicity—nonpersonal communications about an organization, product, service, or idea that is
not directly paid for nor run under identified sponsorship.
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Public Relations—a management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the public
policies and procedures of an individual or organization with the public interest, and executes a
program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance.
The distinction should be made between publicity and public relations noting that public relations
generally has a broader objective than publicity, as its purpose is to establish and maintain a
positive image of the company among its various publics. Publicity is an important
communications technique used in public relations, however other tools may also be used.
Advantages of Publicity:
 credibility of publicity is usually higher than other forms of marketing communication
 low cost way of communicating
 often has news value and generates word-of-mouth discussion among consumers
Disadvantages of Publicity:
 lack of control over what is said, when, where and how it is said
 can be negative as well as positive
D.
Direct Marketing—a system of marketing by which organizations communicate directly with
target customers to generate a response and/or a transaction. Direct marketing has not
traditionally been considered an element of the promotional mix. However, because it has
become such an integral part of the integrated marketing communications program of many
organizations, this text views it as a component of the promotional mix.
Advantages:
 changes in society (two-income households, greater use of credit) have made consumers more
receptive to the convenience of direct-marketed products
 allows a company to be very selective and target its marketing communications to specific
customer segments
 messages can be customized to fit the needs of specific market segments
 effectiveness of direct-marketing efforts are easier to assess than other forms of promotion
Disadvantages:
 consumers and businesses are being bombarded with unsolicited mail and phone calls which
makes them less receptive to direct-marketing
 direct marketing has image problems
 problems with clutter as their are too many direct-marketing messages competing for
consumers’ attention
E.
Internet Marketing – interactive media allow for a back-and-forth flow of information whereby
uses can participate in and modify the content of the information they receive in real time. The
major interactive medium is the Internet, which is a global collection of computer networks
linking both public and private computer systems. While the most prevalent perspective on the
Internet is that it is an advertising medium, it is actually a medium that can be used to
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communicate other elements of the promotional mix including sales promotion, direct marketing,
and public relations.
Advantages:
 the Internet can be used for a variety of integrated marketing communication functions
including advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion, public relations and selling
 the Internet can be used to target very specific groups of customers with a minimum of waste
 messages can be tailored to appeal to the specific interests and needs of the target audience
 the interactive nature of the Internet leads to a higher degree of customer involvement when
customers are visiting a web site.
 the Internet makes it possible to provide customers with a great deal of information regarding
product and service descriptions and specifications, purchase information and more.
Information provided by marketers can be updated and changed continually.
 The Internet has tremendous creative potential as a well-designed web site can attract a great
deal of attention and interest among customers and be an effective way to generate interest in
a company as well as its various products and services.
Disadvantages
 the Internet is not yet a mass medium as many consumers do not have access to computers
and/or online services and thus cannot be reached via the Internet
 there are problems with the Internet as an advertising medium as many Internet users do not
pay attention to banner ads and the click-through rate on most is extremely low.
 there is a great deal of clutter on the Internet which makes it difficult for advertising
messages to be noticed and/or given attention.
 audience measurement for the Internet is still a problem as is measuring the effectiveness of
banner ads and other promotional messages on the Internet.
F.
Personal Selling—direct person-to-person communication whereby a seller attempts to assist
and/or persuade prospective buyers to purchase a company’s product or service or act on an idea.
Advantages:
 direct contact between buyer and seller allows for more communication flexibility
 can tailor and adapt message to specific needs or situation of the customer
 allows for more immediate and direct feedback
 promotional efforts can be targeted to specific markets and customers who are best prospects
Disadvantages:
 high cost per contact ($155 to $300, depending on the industry)
 expensive way to reach large audiences
 difficult to have consistent and uniform message delivered to all customers
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IV.
INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
A.
The Evolution of IMC—In the past, many marketers built strong barriers around the various
marketing and promotional functions, planning and managing them separately with different
budgets, different views of the market and different goals and objectives. In the 1990s, however,
many companies are moving toward the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC),
which involves coordinating the various promotional elements along with other marketing
activities that communicate with a firm’s customers. As marketers embraced the concept of IMC,
they began asking their ad agencies to coordinate the use of a variety of promotional tools rather
than relying primarily upon media advertising. Many agencies have responded by acquiring
public relations, sales promotion, direct marketing firms, and interactive agencies and touting
their capability to meet all of their clients’ IMC needs. A number of companies began looking
beyond traditional advertising agencies and using other types of promotional specialists to
develop and implement various components of their promotional plans. As the advertising
industry recognized that IMC was more than just a fad, terms such as new advertising,
orchestration and seamless communication were used to describe the concept of integration. A
task force from the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As) developed one of the
first definitions of integrated marketing communications defining it as:
A concept of marketing communications planning that recognizes the added value of a
comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication
disciplines—for example, general advertising, direct response, sales promotion, and public
relations- and combines these disciplines to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum
communications impact.
Integrated marketing communications calls for a “big picture” approach to planning marketing
and promotion programs and coordinating various communication functions. With an integrated
approach, all of a company’s marketing and promotional activities should project a consistent and
unified image to the marketplace.
B.
Reasons for the Growing Importance of IMC—There are a number of reasons why marketers are
adopting the concept of IMC. A very fundamental reason is that they recognize the value of
strategically integrating the various communication functions rather than having them operate
autonomously. The move to integrated marketing communications also reflects an adaptation by
marketers to a changing environment, particularly with respect to demographics, lifestyles, media
use and buying and shopping patterns. The IMC movement is also being driven by changes in the
ways companies market their products and services. Major characteristics of this marketing
revolution include:

A shifting of marketing dollars from media advertising to other forms of promotion
particularly trade-oriented sales promotion.

A movement away from relying on advertising-focused approaches, which emphasize mass
media such as network television and national magazines, to solve communication problems.

The fragmentation of media markets, which has resulted in less emphasis on mass media and
more attention to smaller, targeted media alternatives.
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C.

A shift in marketplace power from manufacturers to retailers. Due to consolidation in the
retail industry, small local retailers are being replaced by large regional, national, and
international chains who are using their clout to demand promotional fees and allowances.
Retailers are also and using new technologies such as checkout scanners to assess the
effectiveness of manufacturers’ promotional programs which is prompting many marketers to
shift their focus to promotional tools that can produce short term results, such as sales
promotion.

The rapid growth and development of database marketing which is prompting many
marketers to target consumers through a variety of direct-marketing methods such as
telemarketing, direct mail and direct response advertising.

Demands for greater accountability from advertising agencies and changes in the way
agencies are compensated which are motivating agencies to consider a variety of
communication tools and less expensive alternatives to mass media advertising.

The rapid growth of the Internet, which is changing the very nature of how companies do
business and the ways they communicate and interact with consumers.
Importance of IMC—Companies can no longer be tied to a specific communication tool; rather
they should use whatever contact methods offer the best way of delivering the message to their
target audiences. A successful IMC program requires that a firm find the right combination of
promotional tools and techniques and coordinate their use. There are two reasons why IMC has
become very important for most firms:
V.

Consumer’s point of view—As a marketer, it is important to keep concepts distinct so that
you can communicate with other people within your organization when making decisions.

Relationship marketing—The focus of market-driven companies is on developing and
sustaining relationships with their customers. This has led to a new emphasis on relationship
marketing, which involves creating, maintaining, and enhancing long-term relationships with
individual customers as well as other stakeholders for mutual benefit. Marketers are giving
more attention to the lifetime value of a customer because studies have shown that reducing
customer defections by just 5 percent can increase future profit by as much as 30 to 90
percent.
PLANNING FOR INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
Promotional management involves coordinating the promotional mix elements to develop a controlled
and integrated program of effective marketing communication. It involves various decision areas such as:


which promotional tools to use and how to combine them effectively
determining the size of and distributing the advertising and promotional budget across the
promotional mix elements
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
determining the influence of various factors on the promotional mix including the type of
product, target market, decision process of the buyer, stage of the product life cycle, and channels
of distribution
At this point, it is helpful to go through the Integrated Marketing Communications Planning Model
presented in Figure 1-4 of the text.
The steps are as follows:
1. Review the Marketing Plan
2. Assess the Marketing Communications Situation
3. Determine IMC Plan Objectives
4. Develop IMC Programs
5. Implement and Control the IMC Plan
Teaching Suggestions
This initial chapter is designed to provide the student with an overview of the field of advertising and
promotion and a brief look at the role of promotion in the marketing process. The instructor should be
careful not to go into an in-depth discussion of marketing since this is covered in detail in chapter 2. It is
important to define the six elements of the promotional mix, discuss their role as marketing
communication tools, and discuss their advantages and limitations. It is important to note our view of the
elements of the promotional mix goes beyond the traditional communication tools of advertising, sales
promotion, publicity/public relations and personal selling as we also include direct marketing and internet
marketing as part of the mix. Direct marketing and the Internet have become major methods by which
modern-day marketers communicate with their target audiences and we feel they are best viewed as
distinct IMC tools.
You should introduce the concept of integrated marketing communications and discuss its evolution, and
note this approach differs from more traditional perspectives of advertising and promotional planning. It
is important to review the various factors that underlie the adoption of an IMC approach to advertising
and promotion by many companies. You might also spend some time discussing the pros and cons of
IMC. Although we advocate the IMC approach in this text, not everyone agrees with it. An excellent
discussion of the arguments on both sides of this issue is presented in a report of the Task Force on
Integrated Communications prepared by Tom Duncan, Clarke Caywood and Doug Newsom titled
Preparing Advertising and Public Relations Students for the Communications Industry in the 21st
Century. A copy of this report can be obtained by contacting the Association for Education in Journalism
and Mass Communication at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina.
During an introductory lecture there is latitude to discuss various issues and aspects concerning each
promotional mix variable. For example, various perspectives regarding advertising such as its social and
economic effect might be noted along with common complaints and criticisms of advertising. We do not
suggest going into a detailed discussion of these charges at this early stage of the course. We feel that
students are best able to evaluate and appraise various arguments for and against advertising and other
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promotional mix elements toward the end of the course. Thus, the final chapter of the text evaluates the
social and economic aspects of advertising.
We feel that it is important in either the first or second lecture to cover the integrated marketing
communications planning model in some detail. This text is built around this model and it provides the
student with the “big picture” as to the decision sequence and various considerations involved in the
development of an advertising and promotional program. It is also important to communicate to students
that advertising and promotion management is a process. A great deal of internal and external analyses, as
well as the coordination of the promotional mix elements, is required to develop an effective program of
marketing communications that can be integrated into an organization’s overall marketing strategy and
tactics.
Answers to Discussion Questions
1. Consider all the marketing communication tools (i.e., advertising, sales promotions, public relations,
direct marketing, Internet marketing, and personal selling) that are used to market a new car that a
graduating student might be expected to buy. Explain why each tool would be effective to create
awareness.
Integrated marketing communications play a very important role in the marketing of automobiles.
Many consumers, particularly young people, base their purchase decisions on product related
attributes such as price, quality, reliability, durability and performance, as well as on factors such as
style and brand image. A variety of IMC tools are used to provide consumers with information about
new cars as well as to create an image that will appeal to the target market for the car. Advertising on
television as well as in magazines can play an important role in providing, creating and reinforcing an
image of a car that is cool, fun, and hip to drive. Direct marketing can be used to build a database of
customers who enter a contest on the car maker’s web site and/or request more information about the
car. These customers can be sent information about the car and occasionally receive direct mail
pieces. The customer can be taken on a cyber journey to learn more about the car. The car maker can
also mail a CD-ROM to consumers who request more information about the car. The car maker can
also generate a considerable amount of publicity through press releases and various public relations
activities. Finally, promotional efforts can be extended to the dealerships to support the personal
selling effort.
2. What is the most important communication tool for each of the following brands: Molson Canadian,
Bell Mobility, Nortel Networks, Government of Canada? Give a good reason for each.
Molson Canadian – television to keep top-of-mind awareness
Bell Mobility – television and newspapers to reach target audience with information and benefits of
products and services
Nortel Networks – business publications to target their business customers
Government of Canada – television to reach a large audience
3.
From your perspective as a consumer, what Canadian brand (other than those discussed in the
chapter) has had the most successful IMC plan during the past year or so?
Answers may vary on this question. A good example that comes to mind is the Molson Canadian, “I
am Canadian” campaign.
4. Many sales promotions often look like ads these days. Why might this be occurring?
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Many of the free-standing inserts in weekend newspapers contain ads with coupons in the ads.
Consumers may perceive them as “ads”, despite the fact that it contains a discount on their next
purchase. These type of ads have a communication effect on consumers because they provide
information as well as an incentive to buy.
5. The various classifications of advertising to consumer and business-to-business markets are shown in
Figure 1-3. Choose one category of advertising to consumer markets and one to the business-tobusiness market and find an ad that is an example of each. Explain the specific goals and objectives
each company might have for the ad.
Students should be encouraged to choose one of the various classifications of advertising to consumer
and business-to-business and professional markets, find an ad that they feel is an example of each and
explain the company, association or organization’s goals and objectives for the ad. Basic descriptions
of each classification of advertising is provided in Figure 1-3 along with insight as to what the goals
or objectives might be for using this type of advertising.
This assignment is helpful in getting students to recognize that the nature and purpose of advertising
varies from one industry to another and/or across situations. For example, you might encourage them
to find an example of advertising done either by a company or an industry trade association where the
focus is on primary demand stimulation. Students might also be encouraged to look in some industry
or trade publications for examples of business-to-business advertising.
6. Discuss the role of direct marketing as an IMC tool, giving attention to the various forms of direct
marketing.
Direct marketing is a system of marketing by which an organization communicates directly with its
target customer with the goals of generating a response and/or a transaction. It involves a variety of
activities including the development management of a database, the use of direct-mail, direct selling,
telemarketing and the use of direct response ads through various print and broadcast media, the mail
or the Internet. Direct marketing has become very popular over the past two decades as a result of a
number of factors. One major factor is changing lifestyles, particularly the increase in two-income
households which has resulted in greater discretionary income but less time for traditional in-store
shopping. The availability of credit cards and toll-free numbers has also facilitated the purchase of
products and services from direct-response ads. Advances in technology is another factor that is
contributing to the growth of direct marketing as many marketers are using computers to develop and
better manage their data bases and improve the efficiency of their direct marketing programs. The
rapid growth of the Internet is another factor contributing to the growth of direct marketing as
companies are encouraging consumers to visit their web sites and place orders online.
7. Analyze the role of the Internet in the integrated marketing communications program of a company.
Discuss how the Internet can be used to execute the various elements of the promotional mix.
The Internet is having a tremendous impact on the way companies design and implement their entire
business and marketing strategies as well as their integrated marketing communications programs.
Companies ranging from large multinational corporations to small local firms have developed
websites to promote their products and services by providing current and potential customers with
information, building images for their companies and brands and even selling their products or
services directly over the Internet. While many view the Internet as an advertising or promotional
medium, it really is a marketing communications tool that can be used to execute all elements of the
promotional mix. Companies can advertise on the Internet by running banner ads or sponsorships on
the websites of other companies or organizations. Marketers can offer sales promotion incentives
such as coupons over the internet and they can offer contests and sweepstakes online. Many
companies are using the Internet for direct marketing. Companies such as L.L. Bean and
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Amazon.com have made the Internet a major part of their direct-marketing efforts and encourage
consumers to visit their websites to view their merchandise and to place orders online. Companies
are also using the Internet for publicity and public relations activities as many activities such as the
sending of press releases can now be done online.
8.
Why is it important for those who work in the field of promotion to have an appreciation for and
understanding of all elements of the promotional mix and not just the one in which they specialize?
In today’s business world, marketers use a variety of promotional tools to communicate with their
customers. The various promotional mix elements have to be viewed as component parts of an
integrated marketing communications program. An individual promotional activity such as
advertising or sales promotion cannot be managed without considering its relationship to other
promotional mix elements. Individuals working in various areas of advertising and promotion are
expected to understand and use a variety of marketing communication tools, not just the one in which
they specialize. For example, advertising agencies no longer confine their services to creating and
placing ads. Many agencies are involved in sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, event
sponsorship and other communication areas. Thus, it is important for those who work in advertising
and promotion, either on the agency or client side, to understand and appreciate the value and
limitations of all the promotional mix elements and how they can be combined to develop an effective
program of integrated marketing communications.
Additional Discussion Questions (not shown in text)
9. Discuss the role advertising and promotion will play as companies continue to focus their attention on
global markets. What are some of the challenges marketers will face in promoting their products to
consumers in developing countries?
Advertising and promotion play a very important role for domestic companies who are focusing their
marketing efforts on international markets. Advertising provides these companies with a way of
making consumers in these countries aware of their products and services and encouraging consumers
around the world to purchase them. Advertising provides a way of differentiating brands and creating
images for them. Consumers around the world want brands that possess the cachet advertising has
helped create. Celebrities such as entertainers and star athletes enjoy worldwide recognition and
popularity and can serve as advertising spokespersons all over the world Many companies are finding
that sales promotion tools can sometimes be helpful in introducing their products to foreign markets.
For example, Haagen Dazs ice cream used a heavy sampling program as part of its marketing strategy
for penetrating the European market. Many companies sponsor sporting events, concerts and other
special events in countries all over the world as ways of promoting their products and services.
Advances in technology, travel and communications are turning the world into a global village.
However, marketers do face considerable challenges in promoting their products in developing
countries. The infrastructure of these countries are often not well developed which makes it difficult
to communicate with consumers or make products available to them. In many countries the media
options available to advertisers are limited as consumers may not have televisions or radios or may
not be able to read print ads. In many developing countries consumers disposable income is quite
small and they may not be able to afford the higher priced, branded products offered by many
companies.
10. It has been argued that the way an organization communicates with its customers is not limited to
promotion, as all marketing activities send a message. Discuss how an organization communicates
with its customers through marketing activities other than promotion. Cite several examples.
Consumers’ perceptions of a company and/or a brand is determined by the bundle of messages they
receive from promotional efforts as will as other elements of the marketing mix. For example, price
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communicates with consumers since they use price as a perceptual cue. A high price may symbolize
and communicate quality or prestige for a brand while a low price may send a message of lower
quality. The physical product communicates a great deal to consumers through elements such as
shape, design or appearance of the actual product or the packaging. The brand name of a brand also is
a form of communication. Companies also communicate with consumers through the choice of retail
outlets where they choose to sell their products. Selling a product only through upscale specialty or
department stores may communicate that it is a high quality item. On the other hand, selling a product
through discount stores or mass merchandise outlets may send a cue of lower quality.
There are many examples of how consumers communicate with consumers through their marketing
activities. You might talk about products such as expensive watches (Concord, Movado, Rolex) and
how they are priced high, sold only through jewelry store or high end department stores and designed
to reflect an image of quality, prestige and style. On the other hand brands such as Timex and Casio
are designed more for function or sport, are priced lower, and sold in drug stores, sporting goods
stores and mass merchandise outlets.
11. What is meant by the concept of integrated marketing communications? How might a firm that is
using integrated marketing communications differ from one that looks at advertising and promotion in
a more traditional way?
Integrated marketing communications is a concept of communications planning that involves
coordinating the various promotional elements and other marketing activities that communicate with
a firm’s customers. Companies who use integrated marketing communications recognize the added
value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication
disciplines including advertising, direct response, sales promotion, and public relations and
combining them to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum communications impact.
Companies that view advertising and promotion in a more traditional way often build barriers around
various marketing and promotional functions and plan and manage them separately with different
budgets, different views of the market, and different goals and objectives. These companies may be
sending different messages to the market through their various marketing and promotional activities
or relying primarily on one promotional mix element such as media advertising. Companies who take
the IMC approach identify the most appropriate and effective methods to contact and communicate
with their customers.
12. Discuss how publicity/public relations differs from other elements of the promotional mix. Identify a
product, service or cause that has been negatively or positively affected by publicity in recent years.
Analyze the response process the company or organization took to deal with the problems or
opportunities created by the publicity.
Publicity/public relations differs from other elements of the marketing mix in several ways. First of
all it is important to make the distinction between publicity and public relations. Publicity refers to
nonpersonal communication regarding an organization, product, service or idea that is not directly
paid for nor run under identified sponsorship. Public relations is a management function that among
other things attempts to control and manage the nature of the publicity an organization receives.
Public relations has a broader objective than publicity, as its purpose is to establish and maintain a
positive image and relationship of the company among its various publics.
Publicity and public relations differ from other elements of the promotional mix in that their role is
often more supportive in nature rather than being the lead elements of a promotional program. (There
is an exception to this, however, as in some instances publicity and public relations are the primary
promotional tools, such as in the marketing of nonprofit organizations. It is often noted that an
advantage of publicity is that it more credible since it is not paid for and often comes from a source
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that is objective and unbiased. Another aspect of publicity that is sometimes mentioned is its low cost
since the company does not actually pay for the media time or space. However it should be noted that
publicity is not totally free since an organization may incur costs in developing publicity tools and
maintaining a staff to execute the publicity or public relations function.
Occasionally there are examples of a company’s receiving publicity that has a strong influence on the
sales of its products or service. Students should be encouraged to research examples of situations
where publicity has had a positive or negative effect on the company. Negative stories about
abdominal exercise machines that appeared on shows such as ABC’s “20/20” and NBC’s “Dateline”
had a very negative effect on sales of this products, particularly through infomercials. The publicity
created by the “60 Minutes” segment on the alleged sudden acceleration problem of the Audi 5000
automobile is an example of negative publicity leading to the demise of a product. Suzuki has had an
ongoing battle with Consumer Reports over the safety of some of its sports utility vehicles such as the
Samurai. The company received a considerable amount of negative publicity when Consumer Reports
released a report noting that the vehicle was unsafe because design flaws made it prone to roll over
when cornered hard. Nike has received a great deal of negative publicity recently regarding charges
that many of its manufacturing facilities in Asia use low-paid child labour.
Examples of positive publicity include the media coverage of hot products such the Ty Beenie Babies,
Palm Pilot, Chrysler PT Cruiser automobile, and iMac personal computer. Movies such as “Titanic”
that receive positive reviews from critics and are even featured on the cover of news magazines such
as Time or Newsweek can also be cited as examples of the effects of positive publicity. The discussion
should center on how the company responds to the negative publicity or capitalizes on any positive
publicity.
13. Identify a product or service whose success or failure has been largely determined by the
effectiveness of its advertising campaign. Discuss the reasons why the advertising played an
important role in determining its success or failure.
There are a number of classic examples of products where the advertising played a very important
role in the success of the brand including Eveready’s Energizer Batteries, the California raisins (The
Dancing Raisin Commercials), and Absolut Vodka. Other examples include Wendy’s “Where’s the
Beef?” ads, the humourous commercials for Federal Express and various campaigns used by Nike.
More recently the award winning “Drivers Wanted” ad campaign for Volkswagen models such as the
Jetta and Passat has played a major role in driving the sales of the company in the Canadian market.
Students should be encouraged to research more recent examples of effective or ineffective
campaigns from sources such as Marketing Magazine and The Globe and Mail.
IMC Exercise
This exercise is designed to give the student the opportunity to think more about the concept of integrated
marketing communications and how it might be used by a company.
Choose a specific company and discuss how this firm can use the concept of integrated marketing
communications in developing a promotional program for one of its products or services. You should
analyze all of the company’s promotional mix elements including advertising, direct marketing,
interactive media, sales promotion, publicity/public relations and personal selling and discuss how each
one is used in the marketing communications program. You should also consider how other marketing
mix elements such as the brand name, package, price and other factors communicate with the company’s
target audience. Is this company using all of the promotion mix tools in its marketing communications
program? Are they integrated and sending a consistent image and message?
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IMC Comprehensive Project
The purpose of the IMC comprehensive project is to have each student (or student teams) develop an
integrated marketing communications plan for a product or service as they proceed through the course.
The text is built around a detailed model of the IMC planning process that is presented in Figure 1-4 that
can be used as a framework for this plan. Students can update their plan as each chapter and topic area is
covered. This will encourage the students to apply the course material and develop an appreciation for the
process a product manager, account executive or marketing communications manager goes though in
developing a promotional plan. The project will also help students gain an appreciation for the various
sources of information available that can be used as part of the promotional planning process. By the end
of the course each student (or team) should have a detailed notebook containing the plan for his/her
product or service that can be turned in for evaluation.
Specific assignments for the IMC project will be presented with each chapter. These IMC project
assignments can be given to you as a general guideline of what they should be covering in this section of
the plan.
IMC Project Assignment for Chapter 1
The assignment for Chapter 1 is to familiarize yourself with the IMC planning process presented in Figure
1-4. Students should study the IMC planning model so they can gain some insight as to what will be
involved in developing the IMC project. Each student or team should choose a national, regional or local
brand a product or service for which they will be developing their IMC plan. You should submit your
choice to the instructor with a brief statement as to why you have chosen this particular brand. Your
instructor should approve your choice before you begin working on the project.
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