Marketing communications are the means by which firms attempt to inform, persuade, and remind consumers about the products and brands they sell. In a sense, marketing communications represent the voice of the company and its brands.
Marketing communications can:
help firms establish a dialogue and build relationships with consumers and strengthen customer loyalty, and thus contribute to customer equity.
work for consumers when by showing how and why a product is used, by whom, where, and when. Consumers can learn who makes the product and what the company and brand stand for, and they can get an incentive for trial or use.
allow companies to link their brands to other people, places, events, brands, experiences, feelings, and things.
contribute to brand equity by establishing the brand in memory and creating a brand image.
drive sales and even affect shareholder value.
The marketing communications mix consists of eight major modes of communication.
Multi-vehicle, multi-stage campaigns through combining personal and nonpersonal communications channels should be used to maximize impact and to increase message reach and impact. Promotions can be more effective when combined with advertising, for example.
Large ad agencies redefine themselves as communications companies that assist clients to improve their overall communications effectiveness by offering strategic and practical advice on many forms of communication. Many international clients such as IBM (Ogilvy), Colgate (Young & Rubicam), and GE (BBDO) have opted to put a substantial portion of their communications work through one full-service agency. The result is integrated and more effective marketing communications at a much lower total communications cost.