1. The document discusses the integrated marketing communications (IMC) planning process. It outlines the key steps, including conducting a communications market analysis, setting communication objectives, determining the budget, and developing IMC components. 2. The communications market analysis involves competitive analysis, opportunity analysis, target market analysis, customer analysis, and positioning analysis. Market research is also an important part of understanding customers and positioning. 3. Objectives, budget, target markets, and IMC components like advertising, promotions, and media spending all feed into creating an effective IMC program. International considerations are also part of successful globally integrated marketing communications.

1. 1 Chapter Four
The IMC Planning
Process
Dr Khondaker Sazzadul Karim
Associate Professor, Marketing
Faculty of Business Administration, AIUB.

2. Chapter Objectives
1. What makes marketing research critical to the IMC planning
process?
2. How do the various approaches to positioning influence the
selection of target markets?
3. How do marketing communication objectives interact with the
other elements of the IMC planning process?
4. How are communications budgets established?
5. What elements are considered in developing an IMC
program?
The IMC Planning Process
4

3. F I G U R E 4 . 1
The IMC Planning Process
Communications
Research
Target
Market
Product
Positioning
Objectives
Budget
IMC
Components

4. Promotion Opportunity Analysis
A promotion opportunity is the process by marketers
identify the target audience of the goods and services
produced by the company.
A promotion opportunity analysis must accomplish two
objectives:
1. Determine which promotion opportunities exists for the
company
2. Identify the characteristics of each target audience so
a coherent advertising and marketing communication
message can reach it .
(The target audience may consist of individuals, groups, niche markets,
market segments, or a general public or mass audience.
Marketers approach each of these audiences differently.)

5. 1st Step
Communication Market Analysis
A communication market analysis is the process of
discovering organization’s strengths and
weaknesses in the area of marketing
communication and combining that information
with an analysis of opportunities and threats
present in the firm’s external environment.
A communication market analysis typically has five
components:
• Competitive analysis
• Opportunity analysis
• Target market analysis
• Customer analysis
• Positioning analysis

6. Step One: Conduct a
Communications Market Analysis
Competitive
Analysis
Opportunity
Analysis
Customer
Analysis
Positioning
Analysis
Target Market
Analysis

7. Competitive analysis
A competitive analysis identifies major competitors.
Objective: What competitors are doing in the area
of advertising and communication?
1st: Identify competitors marketing tactics and how
they are attacking the marketplace
2nd: What potential customers see, hear, and read
about the competition.

8. Competitive analysis
Competitive analysis through collecting
secondary data about the competitors:
• Advertisement
• Promotional materials
• Annual repots
• A prospectus for a publicly held corporation
• Websites

9. Opportunity analysis
This means watching carefully a new marketing opportunities by
examining all the available data and information about the
market.
Market opportunities are areas where there are favorable
demand trends, where the company believes customer needs
and opportunities are not being satisfied, and where it can
compete effectively.
For example, the number of people who exercise has increased tremendously
in recent years, and the market for athletic footwear has reached over
$13.5 billion.
Some helpful questions in conducting an opportunity analysis are
as follow:
1. Are there customers that the competition is ignoring or not
serving?

10. Opportunity analysis
2. Which markets are heavily saturated and have intense
competition?
3. Are the benefits of our goods and services being clearly
articulated to our customers ?
4. Are there opportunities to build relationships with the customers
using slightly different marketing approach?
5. Are there opportunities that are not being pursued, or is our
brand positioned with a cluster of companies in such a
manner that it cannot stand out?

11. Target Market Analysis
This stage require the marketing department to recognize the
need of various consumers and business groups.
The segmentation process involves five distinct steps:
1. Finding ways to group consumers according to their needs.
2. Finding ways to group the marketing actions—usually the
products offered— available to the organization.
3. Developing a market-product grid to relate the market
segments to the firm’s products or actions.
4. Selecting the target segments toward which the firm directs its
marketing actions.
5. Taking marketing actions to reach target segments.
Determine the benefit of the customers and determine the way in
which they can be reached.

12. Customer Analysis
Study the three types of Customer group:
1. A current company customers
2. A competitor’s customers
3. Potential customers who may become interested
in purchasing from a particular company.
Reveal the interpretation of the organization’s
advertisements and its other marketing
communications and help to identify all of a
firm’s future communication avenues.

13. Positioning Approaches
Attributes
Competitors
Use or application
Price/quality
Product user
Product class
Cultural symbol
Consumer markets
B-to-B markets
International markets
1. Is relative to competition.
2. Exists in the mind of the consumer.

14. Product Positioning
• Is the perception created in the consumer’s
mind regarding the nature of the company
and its products relative to the competition?
• Positioning is created by factors such as
product quality, price, distribution, image, and
marketing communications.

15. Communication Research
• Understand customers purchase benefits
• Product-specific research
• Key selling points
• Desirable features
• Consumer-oriented research
• Context of product use
• Anthropological approach
• Sociological analysis
• Psychological motives
• Target-market research
• Identifies feasible market segments

16. Communication
Research
Product-specific research should be
conducted.
Two things should be understood at this
point.
One is whether there are problems
associated with a given good or service,
One approach is called “problem
detection.” in which consumers are asked
to report any problems or difficulties they
have encountered using a product

17. Communication
Research
Finally, qualitative research will
assist the vendor company and its
advertising agency.
Focus groups are often used to
bring people together to talk about a
product.
With a creative in attendance, it is
possible to hear about the kind of
person who likes a product as well
as tactics which might reach that
individual.

18. Communication
Research
The actual collection of
information can come from a
variety of perspectives. including
Anthropology
Sociology
Psychology

19. • The methods employed by Anthropology often involve direct
observation. This helps the marketing team discover not
only who is using a product, but also how it is being used.
• When Whirlpool employed anthropologists to study washing
machines
Communication Research

20. Communication Research
Sociologist examines
the social class issues
trends and analyze
cohorts and family life
cycles.
Trends come from
media and advertising.
The trend toward
greater involvements
with family and friends.

21. • Psychology concentrates on motivation, cognition, and
learning. When these come together, values emerge. The
values and life-style model (VALS) is designed to predict
consumer behavior by -understanding self-orientation and
resources.
Knowing the purchasing motives of a target market can greatly
enhance the effectiveness of an advertising program.
• Carefully collected knowledge about the product or service
and the audience for ads and advertising campaigns is
crucial to-success
Communication Research

22. • Product Attributes
• Competitors
• Use or application
• Price/quality
• Product user
• Product class
• Cultural symbol
F I G U R E 4 . 6
Product Positioning Approaches

23. Elements of Positioning
• Never completely fixed
• Applies to business-to-business also
• International positioning important
• Critical component of image and
brand management

24. Marketing
Communications Objectives
Communications
Objectives
Organization
Context
Target
Markets
Positioning
Budget IMC Components

25.  Develop brand awareness
 Increase category demand
 Change customer beliefs and attitudes
 Enhance purchase actions
 Encourage repeat purchases
 Build customer traffic
 Enhance firm image
 Increase market share
 Increase sales
 Reinforce purchase decisions
F I G U R E 4 . 7
Communication Objectives

26. • Percentage of sales
• Meet-the-competition
• “What we can afford”
• Objective and task
• Payout planning
• Quantitative models
F I G U R E 4 . 10
Methods of Determining Marketing Communication Budgets

27. Types of Budgets
The percentage of Sales Method:
Prepare communication
budget for coming year
based on either:
Sales form the previous
year or
Anticipated sales for the
next year.
When the sales goes up,
so does in the
communication budget and
when the sales decline, the
communication budget
also decline.
Exceptions, in most cases,
communication budget
should be opposite.
It does not allocate money
for special need or combat
of competitive pressure.

28. The Meet the Competition Method
The primary of this budget
is to prevent the loss of
market share.
Often used in intense
competitive market.
Drawback: Budget may not
spend efficiently, e.g.
matching the competition
spending does not
guarantee success, which
means market share can
still be lost.

29. Arbitrary Allocation and
“What we can afford”
Method
Arbitrary Allocation: An arbitration allocation
method is based on management estimates of
what is needed.
There is no criteria is set and no real reasoning is
being used.
“What we can afford” Method: This technique set
the marketing budget after all of the company’s
other budgets have been determined. Money is
allocated based on what the company leader feel
they can afford.
Smaller companies leaders may view marketing
expenditure as non-revenue generating activities.

30. The objective and Task
Method
To prepare this budget, management first list
all of the objectives it intend to peruse during
the year and then calculate the cost of
accomplishing each objectives. So
communication budget is the cumulative
sum of the estimated costs for all objectives.
Best method due to, It relates dollar costs
related to the objectives.
But least used because of it takes longer
time.

31. Objective and Task Method
Establish Objectives
(create awareness of new product among
20 percent of target market)
Determine Specific Tasks
(advertise on market area television and
radio and local newspapers)
Estimate Costs Associated with Tasks
(create awareness of new product among
20 percent of target market)

32. Payout Planning and
Quantitative Models
Payout Planning: Payout Planning
establishing ratio of advertising to
sales or market share. This method
allocates greater amounts in early
years and yield payout in latter year.
Objective is to initially develop a
brand awareness and brand equity.
But, later stage may face a
threshold effect.
Quantitative Models: Develop a
relationship between the advertising
and promotional expenditure with
sales and profits.

33. F I G U R E 4 . 9
Ad Spending, Brand Recognition, and
Market Share
Auto Insurer Ad Spending
(millions)
Brand
Recognition
Market Share
Geico $600 98% 8.2%
Progressive $506 92% 7.5%
State Farm $455 76% 18.6%
Allstate $369 63% 10.5%
Farmers $203 59% 6.4%
Source: Adapted from Gregory Bresiger, “It’s Ad Infinitum,” New York Post, May 1, 2011,
www.nypost.com/f/print/news/business/it_ad_infinitum_3ThF9rxodhlKnSkcIjdTPK.

34. IMC Components
• Traditional advertising
• Trade promotions
• Consumer promotions
• Media spending
• Alternative media spending
• Business-to-business media spending

35. F I G U R E 4 . 10
Breakdown of Marketing Expenditures
Consumer
promotions,
27.9%
Advertising,
41.1%
Trade
promotions,
27.5%
Other, 3.3%

36. F I G U R E 4 . 11
Global Ad Spending by Media
Source: Based on Ingrid Lunden, “Nielsen: Old School TV Reigns Supreme at 58% of Ad Spend, Internet Display up 27% in Q2,”
http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/22/nielsen-internet-display-ad-spend-up-27-in-q2-but-old-school-tv-reigns-supreme-at-58-of-all-spend, October 22, 2013
Cinema, 0.3% Digital, 4.3%
Magazines, 10.0%
Newspapers, 18.9%
Outdoor, 3.5%
Radio, 5.4%
Television, 57.6%

37. • Understand the international market
• A borderless marketing plan
• Thinking globally but acting locally
• Local partnerships
• Communication segmentation strategies
• Market communication analysis
• Solid communication objectives
F I G U R E 4 . 1 2
Successful Globally Integrated Marketing
Communications Tactics