Professional Writing Service http://HelpWriting.net/Advertising-And-Marketing-Communication 👈

1. 1
Contents
ASSIGNMENT QUESTION: ................................................................................2
Introduction: Integrated Marketing Communication ......................................2
The Role of IMC in the Marketing Process .......................................................4
The marketing mix consists of:.........................................................................4
The promotions mix consists of:.......................................................................4
The IMC promotions mix also includes: .........................................................4
Reasons for the Growing Importance of IMC ...................................................5
Major Characteristics of Integrated Marketing Communication................5
Reason for Integrated Marketing Communications .........................................7
IMC Planning Model............................................................................................8
social, Economical And Ethical Issues In Advertising......................................9
Economic issues in Advertising ........................................................................9
Social and ethical issues in Advertising.........................................................10
Ethical Advertising..........................................................................................12
Social Issues in Advertising ............................................................................12
Bibliography........................................................................................................14

2. 2
ASSIGNMENT QUESTION:
Q) 1. Integrated Marketing Communication Process.
2. Comparison of economical , social and ethical issues in advertising.
Introduction: Integrated Marketing Communication
Integrated Marketing Communication is a management concept that is designed to make
all aspects of marketing communication such as advertising, sales promotion, public
relations, and direct marketing work together as a unified force, rather than permitting
each to work in isolation.
The American Marketing Association defines Integrated Marketing Communications
(IMC) as ―a planning process designed to assure that all brand contacts received by a
customer or prospect for a product, service, or organization are relevant to that person
and consistent over time.‖
The IMC planning process has been compared to composing a musical score. In a piece
of music, while every instrument has a specific task, the goal is to have them come
together in a way that produces beautiful music. It’s the same in IMC, where advertising
might be your violin, social media your piano, public relations your trumpet and so on.
Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is an approach used by organizations to
brand and coordinate their communication efforts. The American Association of
Advertising Agencies defines IMC as "a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic
roles of a variety of communication disciplines and combines these disciplines to provide
clarity, consistency and maximum communication impact.
The primary idea behind an IMC strategy is to create a seamless experience for
consumers across different aspects of the marketing mix. The brand's core image and
messaging are reinforced as each marketing communication channel works together as
parts of a unified whole rather than in isolation.
Prior to the emergence of integrated marketing communications during the 1990s, mass
communications—the practice of relaying information to large segments of the
population through television, radio, and other media—dominated marketing. Marketing
was a one-way feed. Advertisers broadcasted their offerings and value propositions with
little regard for the diverse needs, tastes, and values of consumers.

3. 3
Often, this "one size fits all" approach was costly and uninformative due to the lack of
tools for measuring results in terms of sales. But as methods for collecting and analyzing
consumer data through single-source technology such as store scanners improved,
marketers were increasingly able to correlate promotional activities with consumer
purchasing patterns. Companies also began to downsize their operations and expand
marketing tasks within their organizations. Advertising agencies were also expected to
understand and provide all marketing functions, not just advertising, for their clients.
Today, corporate marketing budgets are allocated toward trade promotions, consumer
promotions, branding, public relations, and advertising. The allocation of communication
budgets away from mass media and traditional advertising has raised the importance of
IMC importance for effective marketing. Now, marketing is viewed more as a two-way
conversation between marketers and consumers. This transition in the advertising and
media industries can be summarized by the following market trends:
 A shift from mass media advertising to multiple forms of communication
 The growing popularity of more specialized (niche) media, which considers
individualized patterns of consumption and increased segmentation of consumer
tastes and preferences
 The move from a manufacturer-dominated market to a retailer-dominated,
consumer-controlled market
 The growing use of data-based marketing as opposed to general-focus advertising
and marketing
 Greater business accountability, particularly in advertising
 Performance-based compensation within organizations, which helps increase sales
and benefits in companies
 Unlimited Internet access and greater online availability of goods and services
 A larger focus on developing marketing communications activities that produce
value for target audiences while increasing benefits and reducing costs
Integrated marketing communications is an approach to planning communications that
gives your small business the potential to get better results from your campaigns and
reduce marketing costs. By integrating tools such as advertising, direct mail, social
media, telemarketing and sales promotion, you provide clarity, consistency and
maximum communications impact, according to the American Association of
Advertising Agencies’ definition.

4. 4
The Role of IMC in the Marketing Process
The advent of 21st century has marked a sharp change in almost all fields of life,
including business strategies. The old strategies, beliefs and tactics of marketing and
selling a product are no longer valid in today’s world. New techniques and technologies
have emerged on the surface of the business arena and have become eminent for
effective marketing strategies.
IMC is defined as customer centric, data driven method of communicating with the
customers. IMC is the coordination and integration of all marketing communication
tools, avenues, functions and sources within a company into a seamless program that
maximizes the impact on consumers and other end users at a minimal cost. Integrated
Marketing Communications is a simple concept. It ensures that all forms of
communications and messages are carefully linked together.
Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is the coordination and integration of all
marketing communication tools, avenues, and sources within a company into a seamless
program, which maximizes the impact on consumers and other end users at a minimal
cost.This integration affects all of a firm’s business-to-business, marketing channel,
customer focused, and internally directed communications.
The marketing mix consists of:
• Products
• Pricing systems
• Distribution systems
• Promotional programs
The promotions mix consists of:
• Advertising
• Sales promotions (including consumer and trade promotions)
• Personal selling activities
The IMC promotions mix also includes:
• Direct marketing

5. 5
• Public relations programs
• Internet marketing
• Sponsorship marketing
• Database marketing
Reasons for the Growing Importance of IMC
The IMC approach to marketing communications planning and strategy is being
adopted by both large and small companies and has become popular among firms
marketing consumer products and services as well as business-to-business marketers.
There are a number of reasons why marketers are adopting the IMC approach.
A fundamental reason is that they understand the value of strategically integrating the
various communications functions rather than having them operate autonomously. By
coordinating their marketing communications efforts, companies can avoid duplication,
take advantage of synergy among promotional tools, and develop more efficient and
effective marketing communications programs.
Advocates of IMC argue that it is one of the easiest ways for a company to maximize the
return on its investment in marketing and promotion.The move to integrated marketing
communications also reflects an adaptation by marketers to a changing environment,
particularly with respect to consumers, technology, and media. Major changes have
occurred among consumers with respect to demographics, lifestyles, media use, and
buying and shopping patterns.
Major Characteristics of Integrated Marketing Communication
The integrated marketing communications movement is also being driven by changes in
the ways companies market their products and services. A major reason for the growing
importance of the IMC approach is the ongoing revolution that is changing the rules of
marketing and the role of the traditional advertising agency. Major characteristics of this
marketing revolution include:
• A shifting of marketing dollars from media advertising to other forms of promotion,
particularly consumer- and trade-oriented sales promotions. Many marketers feel that
traditional media advertising has become too expensive and is not cost-effective. Also,

6. 6
escalating price competition in many markets has resulted in marketers’ pouring more of
their promotional budgets into price promotions rather than media advertising.
• A movement away from relying on advertising-focused approaches, which emphasize
mass media such as network television and national magazines, to solve communication
problems. Many companies are turning to lower-cost, more targeted communication
tools such as event marketing and sponsorships, direct mail, sales promotion, and the
Internet as they develop their marketing communications strategies.
• A shift in marketplace power from manufacturers to retailers. Due to consolidation in
the retail industry, small local retailers are being replaced by regional, national, and
international chains. Large retailers such as Wal-Mart are using their clout to demand
larger promotional fees and allowances from manufacturers, a practice that often siphons
money away from advertising. Moreover, new technologies such as checkout scanners
give retailers information on the effectiveness of manufacturers’ promotional programs.
This is leading many marketers to shift their focus to promotional tools that can produce
short-term results, such as sale promotion.
• The rapid growth and development of database marketing. Many companies are
building databases containing customer names; geographic, demographic, and
psychographic profiles; purchase patterns; media preferences; credit ratings; and other
characteristics. Marketers are using this information to target consumers through a
variety of direct-marketing methods such as telemarketing, direct mail, and
directresponse advertising, rather than relying on mass media. Advocates of the
approach argue that database marketing is critical to the development and practice of
effective IMC.
• Demands for greater accountability from advertising agencies and changes in the way
agencies are compensated. Many companies are moving toward incentive-based systems
whereby compensation of their ad agencies is based, at least in part, on objective
measures such as sales, market share, and profitability. Demands for accountability are
motivating many 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. The Internet
revolution is well under way, and the Internet audience is growing rapidly. The Internet

7. 7
is an interactive medium that is becoming an integral part of communication strategy,
and even business strategy, for many companies.
Reason for Integrated Marketing Communications
Five major shifts in the worlds of advertising, marketing and media have caused an
increased interest in (and need for)IMC. These include:
A shift From… To…
Traditional Advertising Digital/Interactive Media
Mass Media Specialized Media
Low Agency Accountability High Agency Accountability
Traditional Compensation Performance-Based Compensation
Limited Internet Access Widespread Internet Availability
These shifts are forcing organizations to look at the whole marketing picture, re-
aligning their communications and seeing things the way the consumer sees them – as
a constant flow of information from indistinguishable sources. Those who
practice IMC are avoiding duplicate messages, capitalizing on the synergy among
promotional tools, creating more effective marketing programs and maximizing ROI.
An IMC strategy benefits all organizations at every level of the organization. IMC
provides alignment of the brand position with the differentiation business strategy
giving the company one voice and one look in all communications. The benefits that an
IMC approach built on a comprehensive and well-developed brand strategy include:
Operations :At the operational level, IMC reduces transaction costs, interdepartmental
conflict, and duplication of effort.
Campaign :At the campaign level, IMC creates synergy with the communications mix
providing a higher return on campaign investment than the competition.
Brand Performance: At the brand performance level, IMC provides clarity and
consistency to brand messages to create brand loyal customers.

8. 8
Customer: IMC at the customer level results in the increased ability to effect positive
change in consumer awareness, customer attitudes, and customer experiences at every
touch point.
Market and Position : At the market and position level, IMC can decrease the rate of
defection, increase market position, sales, and sales growth.
IMC Planning Model

9. 9
SOCIAL, ECONOMICAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES IN ADVERTISING
Advertising is defined as ―Advertising is the nonpersonal communication of information
usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by
identified sponsors through the various media. Advertising has played a major role in
consumer marketing, and has enabled companies to meet communication and other
marketing objectives. Typically, advertising is used to inform, persuade, and remind
consumers. It importantly reinforces their attitudes and perceptions. Advertising has been
a target of criticism for decades. Advertising has been hailed as a capitalistic virtue, an
engine of free market economy, and a promoter of consumer welfare. Its detractors on the
other hand accuse it of an array of sins ranging from an economic waste to purveying of
harmful products, from sexism to deceit and manipulation, from triviality to intellectual
and moral pollution.
Advertising is seen by many as a threat to the cultural identity and self realisation of
many developing countries: it brings to many people alien ethical values; it may deviate
consumer demands in developing countries to areas which can inhibit development
priorities; it affects and can often deform ways of life and lifestyles. But at the same time
there are many benefits of advertising, as it helps in educating the customer about the
product.
Economic issues in Advertising
Advertising is praised by many due to role in increasing the economic growth but also
criticized by critics in their own ways. Advertising has many positive impacts along with
its negative pictures. Some of the economic issues in advertising are as follows-:
Value of Products:
The advertised products are not always the best products in the market. There are some
unadvertised products also present which are good enough. But advertising helps
increase value for the products by showing the positive image of the product which in
turn helps convincing customers to buy it. Advertising educates consumers about the
uses of the products hence increasing its value in minds of the consumers. For e.g.
mobile phones were first considered as necessity but nowadays the cell phones come
with number of features which makes them mode of convenience for consumers.

10. 10
Effect on Prices:
Some advertised products do cost more than unadvertised products but the vice versa is
also true. But if there is more competition in the market for those products, the prices
have to come down, for e.g., canned juices from various brands. Thus some professional
like chartered accountants and doctors are not allowed to advertise.
But some products do not advertise much, and they don’t need much of it and even their
prices are high but they are still the leaders in market as they have their brand name. e.g.,
Porsche cars
Effect on consumer demand and choices:
Even if the product is heavily advertised, it does not mean that the demand or say
consumption rates will also increase. The product has to be different with better quality,
and more variety than others. For E.g., Kellogg’s cornflakes have variety of flavors with
different ranges to offer for different age groups and now also for people who want to
loose weight thus giving consumers different choices to select from.
Effect on business cycle:
Advertising no doubt helps in employing more number of people. It increases the pay
rolls of people working in this field. It helps collecting more revenues for sellers which
they use for betterment of product and services. But there are some bad effects of
advertisements on business cycle also. Sometimes, consumer may find the foreign
product better than going for the national brand. This will definitely effect the
production which may in turn affect the GDP of the country.
The economic aspects are supported by the Abundance Principle which says producing
more products and services than the consumption rate which helps firstly keeping
consumers informed about the options they have and secondly helps sellers for playing
in healthy and competitive atmosphere with their self interest.
Social and ethical issues in Advertising
Advertising must follow certain moral principles certain rules and should not degrade or
adversely comment on the other products and brands. It should highlight the positive
points of its own products and be of good standard. It should not be offensive and in

11. 11
bad taste. It should not predict the sex of an unborn child and keep away from the
unwanted practices adopted by the advertisers.
Advertising should not be untruthful, deceptive and should not misguide the consumers.
Some companies advertising about their two wheelers and four wheelers vehicle
advertise that they will cover X amount of kms per litre when in practice the kms.
covered are much less. These advertisement deceive the customer; sometimes
advertisers have made false claims or failed to award prizes promised in sweeps takes
or contests.
The problem of untruthful advertising and promotion exists at the local level and in
specific areas such as mail order, telemarketing and other forms of direct marketing.
Ethics in advertising must be given its place. Ethics cover various aspects. These range
from the truthfulness of validity of claims to the mode of presentation of the
advertisement. The advertising of products like cigarettes, alcohol and other injurious
materials have to be dealt carefully. The authorities as well as the advertisers and the
agencies should make a set of rules and regulations. It should ad here to certain values
and give satisfaction to the consumers. Another issue is the advertising directed on
children. The children are exposed to adult advertisements and those advertisements
that are not made for children. The adult advertisement may be showing a lot of
indecency and sex, which may not be good for children.
Therefore: Advertising should:
 Be truthful, should reveal the truth and significant facts.
 Be substantiative should substantiate with proofs e. g. , Kapil Dev professes that
―Boost is the secret of my energy‖.
 Be non-comparative.
 Give real and true guarantees.
 Avoid false claims.
 Adhere to taste and decency. Should keep away from offensive and untrue
publicity.

12. 12
Ethical Advertising
Advertising communicates the message some of which may not be acceptable to the
society. These immoral and unethical values are controlled by self-control, control of
consumers and by the government. Some say that some Ads degrades the ethical
values of the society. For instance some advertisers project their medicine as giving
immediate relief like magic is not acceptable. There are a number of unrealistic
situation. The fairness of presentation is essential for any Ad. Value system is also
getting eroded. Obscence and nudity are example of these. Gambling and lotteries
should not be promoted. The names of celebrities should be used without their
permission. The advertisements should be in line with the traditions and customs of the
society.
Social Issues in Advertising
Since advertisement is directed at the society, it affects the society in many ways,
Society is concerned with how the advertising is done and its effects on it. Advertising
is criticized on the grounds of the deception, manipulation, bad taste and manipulating
consumers against their will. It is believed that the persuasiveness of the Ad has an
impact on the value system of the society. The consumer is deceived when the
benefits he perceives are far below his expectations.
This could be due to miscommunication or improper emphasis on attributes.
Advertisement as a whole should not be misleading. It should not conceal material
facts and give a true picture of the benefits, the cost and the offer.
Advertising is criticized of manipulating the buyers to make a decision against their
will or interest. Playing on the sub-conscious mind, motives and various form of
appeals. The appeals generated by the advertisements are sometimes so strong that the
consumer fully believe in them and does not apply his/her mind to make a decision
and buys it without much thought.
Deception in Advertising:
The relation between the buyers and sellers is maintained if the buyers are satisfied
with what they saw in advertise and what they got after buying that product. If seller

13. 13
shows a false or deceptive image and an exaggerated image of the product in the
advertisement, then the relation between the seller and buyers can’t be healthy. These
problems can be overcome if the seller keep their ads clean and displays right image of
the product.
The Subliminal Advertising:
Capturing the Minds of the consumers is the main intention of these ads. The ads are
made in such a way that the consumers don’t even realizes that the ad has made an
impact on their minds and this results in buying the product which they don’t even
need. But ―All ads don’t impress all consumers at all times‖, because majority of
consumers buy products on basis of the price and needs.
Effect on Our Value System:
The advertisers use puffing tactics, endorsements from celebrities, and play
emotionally, which makes ads so powerful that the consumers like helpless preys buy
those products.
These ads make poor people buy products which they can’t afford, people picking up
bad habits like smoking and drinking, and buy products just because their favorite
actor endorsed that product. This affects in increased the cost of whole society and loss
of values of our own selves.
Offensiveness:
Some ads are so offensive that they are not acceptable by the buyers. For example, the
ads of denim jeans showed girls wearing very less clothes and making a sex appeal.
These kinds of ads are irrelevant to the actual product. Btu then there is some ads
which are educative also and now accepted by people. Earlier ads giving information
about birth control pills was considered offensive but now the same ads are considered
educative and important.

14. 14
BIBLIOGRAPHY
I am very thankful to all my friends and our teachers who have guided me a lot
and helped me in completing this assignment .The data and information which I
have used as reference in completing my assignment have been taken from the
following sources as stated below -:
REFERENCES
1) TEXT BOOK: Advertising and Sales Promotion Kazmi
2) www.boundless.com
3) www.ama.org
4) www.mbaknol.com