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Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC)…
Hamidul Islam Hamid, Summer 2015-2016
Introduction to
Marketing Communications [MC]
and Integrated Marketing
Communication [IMC]
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Marketing Communications, and
Integrated Marketing Communication
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Marketing communication is the process by which
information about an organization and its offerings is
disseminated to selected markets.
Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is the
concept under which a company carefully integrates
and coordinates its many communication channels
(more than one) to deliver a clear, consistent, and
convincing message about the organization and its
products.
- It is also called Communication Mix that consists of
the specific blend of advertising, sales promotion,
public relations, personal selling, and direct-marketing
tools that the company uses to communicate with
their customers and build customer relationships.

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The Role of Marketing Communications
Marketing communications are the means by which
firms attempt to inform, persuade and remind
consumers – directly or indirectly – about the products
and brands they sell.
In a sense, marketing communications represent the
voice of the company and its brands.
All of their communications must be planned and
blended into carefully integrated marketing
communication programs.
Just as good communication is important in building
and maintaining any kind of relationship, it is a crucial
element in a company’s efforts to build profitable
customer relationships.
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Building good customer relationships calls for
more than just developing a good product, pricing it
effectively, and making it available to target
customers. Companies must also communicate their
value propositions to customers, and what they
communicate should not be left to chance
The Role of Marketing Communications
The Changing Marketing Communications Environment
Technology and other factors have profoundly changed the
way consumers process communications, and even
whether they choose to process them at all. The rapid
diffusion of multipurpose smart phones, broadband and
wireless Internet connections, and ad-skipping digital video
recorders (DVRs) have eroded the effectiveness of the
mass media.
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Modes of Marketing Communications
Advertising
Sales Promotion
Events and Experiences
Public Relations and Publicity
Direct Marketing
Interactive Marketing
Word-of-mouth Marketing
Personal Selling
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MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS MIX
The marketing communications mix consists of
eight major modes of communication:
1. Advertising - Any paid form of non-personal presentation
and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified
sponsor via print media (newspapers and magazines), broadcast
media (radio and television), network media (telephone, cable,
satellite, wireless), electronic media (audiotape, videotape,
videodisk, CD-ROM, Web page), and display media (billboards,
signs, posters).
2. Sales Promotion - a variety of short-term incentives to
encourage trial or purchase of a product or service including
consumer promotions (such as samples, coupons, and
premiums), trade promotions (such as advertising and display
allowances), and business and sales force promotions (contests
for sales reps), purpose of making presentations, answering
questions, and procuring orders. 6

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MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS MIX
3. Events and Experiences - Company-sponsored
activities and programs designed to create daily or special
brand-related interactions with consumers, including sports,
arts, entertainment, and cause events as well as less formal
activities.
4. Public Relations and Publicity - A variety of
programs directed internally to employees of the company
or externally to consumers, other firms, the government,
and media to promote or protect a company’s image or its
individual product communications.
5. Direct Marketing - Use of mail, telephone, fax, e-mail,
or Internet to communicate directly with or solicit response
or dialogue from specific customers and prospects.
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MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS MIX
6. Interactive Marketing - Online activities and
programs designed to engage customers or prospects
and directly or indirectly raise awareness, improve
image, or extract sales of products and services.
7. Word-of-mouth Marketing - People-to-people oral,
written, or electronic communications that relate to the
merits or experiences of purchasing or using products
or services.
8. Personal Selling - Face-to-face interaction with one
or more prospective purchasers for the purpose of
making presentations, answering questions, and
procuring orders.
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Communications Platforms
Advertising
Print and Broadcast Ads
Packaging Inserts
Motion Pictures
Brochures and Booklets
Posters
Billboards
Point of Purchase
(POP) Displays
Logos
Audio and Videotapes
Sales Promotion
Contests, games,
raffle draws
Free gifts
Sampling
Trade shows, exhibits
Coupons
Discounts and
Reductions
Continuity Programs
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Events/ Experiences
Sports
Entertainment
Festivals
Art & Cultures
Causes and events
Factory tours
Company museums
Road shows and street
activities
Public Relations
Press kits
Speeches
Seminars
Annual reports
Charitable Donations
Publications
Community Relations
Communications Platforms
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Personal Selling
Sales Presentations
Sales Meetings
Incentive Programs
Samples
Fairs and Trade Shows
Direct Marketing
Catalogs
Mailings
Telemarketing
Electronic shopping
TV shopping
Fax mail
E-mail
Voice mail
Websites
Communications Platforms
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Steps in Developing
Effective Communications
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1. Identifying the Target audience/market
What will
be said?
How it will
be said?
When it will
be said?
Where it
will be said?
Who will
say it?
Steps in Developing Effective Communications…
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Marketing communications begins with identifying a
clear target audience, the group of prospective buyers
toward which a promotion program is directed.
- The target audience will heavily affect the communicator’
decision on;

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2. Determining the Communications Objectives
Once the target audience has been defined, marketers must
determine the desired response.
Of course, in many cases, they will seek a purchase response. But
purchase may result only after a lengthy consumer decision-making
process. The marketing communicator needs to know where the
target audience now stands and to what stage it needs to be moved.
The target audience may be in any of six Buyer-readiness stage, the
stages consumers normally pass through on their way to making a
purchase. These stages are awareness, knowledge, liking, preference,
conviction, and purchase. 14
Steps in Developing Effective Communications…

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3. Designing the Communications
Formulating the communications to achieve the
desired response requires solving three problems:
What to say (Message Strategy)
How to say it (Content/Creative Strategy)
Who should say it (Message Source)
Steps in Developing Effective Communications…

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Message Strategy is an appeal or theme that
will produce the desired response.
Rational Appeal
Emotional Appeal
Moral Appeal
Steps in Developing Effective Communications…
3. Designing the Communications (cont.)

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Rational Appeal - Rational appeals relate to the
audience’s self-interest. They show that the product will
produce the desired benefits. Examples are messages
showing a product’s quality, economy, value, or
performance.
Emotional Appeal - Emotional appeals attempt to stir
up either negative or positive emotions that can motivate
purchase. Communicators may use motional appeals ranging
from love, joy, and humor to fear and guilt. Advocates of
emotional messages claim that they attract more attention
and create more belief in the sponsor and the brand.
Moral Appeal - Moral appeals are directed to an
audience’s sense of what is “right” and “proper.”
They are often used to urge people to support social causes,
such as a cleaner environment or aid to the disadvantaged.
Steps in Developing Effective Communications…

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Communications effectiveness depends on how a
message is being expressed, as well as on its content.
If a communication is ineffective, it may mean the
wrong message was used, or the right one was poorly
expressed.
Creative strategies are the ways marketers translate
their messages into a specific communication. We can
broadly classify them as either:
Informational
Appeals
Transformational
Appeals
3. Designing the Communications (cont.)
Steps in Developing Effective Communications…
Content Strategy

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Informational Appeals
An Informational Appeal elaborates on product or service attributes
or benefits. Examples in advertising are:
 Problem solution ads (ENO stops Acidity, MOOV pain removers)
 Product demonstration ads (Demonstration given Aerosol
advertisements killing Mosquitoes, HARPIC home visits)
 Product comparison ads (TATA sky’s DIRECT TV offers better HD
options than cable or other satellite operators), and
 Testimonials from common man or celebrity endorsers (Amir
Khan giving GODREJ Home Appliance/security systems, Abul
Hayat’s voice for iron sheets, water pump, cement etc)
Informational appeals assume strictly rational processing of
the communication on the consumer’s part. Logic and reason
rule.
3. Designing the Communications (cont.)
Steps in Developing Effective Communications…

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Transformational Appeals
A transformational appeal elaborates on a non-product-related
benefit or image. It might portray
 What kind of person uses a brand (BMW/ Mercedes advertised
to active, youthful people with prestige) or,
 What kind of experience results from use (Mountain dew: Dar
ke age jeet hai…)
Transformational appeals often attempt to stir up
emotions that will motivate purchase.
Communicators use negative appeals such as fear, guilt, and
shame to get people to do things (brush their teeth, have an
annual health checkup) or stop doing things (smoking, abusing
alcohol, overeating).
3. Designing the Communications (cont.)
Steps in Developing Effective Communications…

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Messages delivered by attractive or popular sources can achieve
higher attention and recall, which is why advertisers often use
celebrities as spokespeople.
Expertise is one of the sources of a spokesperson's
credibility that refers to the specialized knowledge that he or
she possesses to claim. Eg. Professionals…
Trustworthiness describes how objective and honest the
source is perceived to be. Friends are trusted more than
strangers or salespeople, and people who are not paid to
endorse a product are viewed as more trustworthy than people
who are paid.
3. Designing the Communications (cont.)
Steps in Developing Effective Communications…
Message Source

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Likability describes the source’s attractiveness. Qualities
such as openness, humor, and naturalness make a source more
likable. Eg. Celebrities and sport persons.
The most highly credible source would score high on all
three dimensions—expertise, trustworthiness, and
likability.
3. Designing the Communications (cont.)
Steps in Developing Effective Communications…
Message Source

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To be Continued…
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