1. IMC Strategy and Implementation
Planning Campaigns Across Multiple Platforms to
Achieve Synergy and Success
June 18-19, 2015
2. Bonnie Harris
Principal, Wax Marketing Inc.
Adjunct Instructor IMC Program, West Virginia University
Reed College of Media
www.waxmarketing.com
waxmarketing@gmail.com @waxgirl333
3. Agenda
The Case for IMC
Branding and IMC
Evaluating IMC
Audiences
Creative Strategy
6. Definition of IMC
According to the AMA (American Marketing Association) the
definition of Integrated Marketing Communications is:
“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.”
7. Definition of Integrated
Combining or coordinating separate elements so as to
provide a harmonious, interrelated whole.
Organized or structured so that constituent units
function cooperatively.
8. Definition of IMC
An approach to achieving the
objectives of a marketing campaign
through a well-coordinated use of
different promotional methods
intended to reinforce each other.
9. Why are Brands Turning to IMC?
Audience
Messaging Channels
Competition
Technology
Owned Media
15. Characteristics of a Strong IMC
Campaign
Alignment of objectives from the top down
Specific audience profiles including buyer
behavior and psychographics
Strong project management including
synchronized tactics across components
16. Characteristics of a Strong IMC
Campaign
Cross channel strategies
Linked tactics
Adaptive messages
Robust results
17. The IMC Report Card
Grading Existing Marketing Campaigns
20. BACKGROUND:
• Head of Human
Resources
• Worked at the same
company for 10
years; worked her way up
from HR
Associate
• Married with 2 children (10
and 8)
DEMOGRAPHICS:
• Skews female, 3-45
• Dual HH Income:
$140,000
• Suburban
IDENTIFIERS:
• Calm demeanor
• Probably has an assistant
screening calls
• Asks to receive collateral
mailed/printed
• Uses Facebook socially
• Uses LInkedIn
professionally
• Schedules time for
continuous learning
• Reads industry articles
often
• Doesn’t like “salesy”
people
• Likes to do research
Sample Sally
24. Messaging Strategy
Strategic consistency
Begin with one voice
Core/Integrated Strategy Statements
Message translations
25. Sample Core Strategy Statement
CORE STATEMENT:
Vail Place provides services,
housing and skill building to reduce
isolation and improve the quality of
lives for those with serious and
persistent mental illness.
26. Subsequent Messaging
MEDIA: Vail Place offers services, housing and skill building for those
with serious and persistent mental illness.
MEMBERS: The Clubhouse Model provides mental health recovery in
an engaged and productive community. Community members are
encouraged to manage and control their own lives.
SOCIAL WORKERS: Vail Place programs focus on mental health
recovery through the Clubhouse model, a community where members
learn to build relationships, increase self-confidence, and learn new
skills and abilities.
27. Message Translation
Messages align with core strategy statement
Key messages are NOT common across channels
Written in persona’s language
Delivered according to persona preference
Optimized using keywords, phrases and long tail search terms
Includes hashtags
28. Powerful Strategies
Strategies stay consistent across the period though tactics may
change
Drive toward increasing synergy between channels
Should be deployed across channels
Pay attention to buyer behavior and are specific to personas
Combine traditional and online/social media
29. Strategies can focus on:
Messaging – Changing
perception
Timing – Seasonal
Area – Hyper-local
Word of Mouth – Viral
Product/Service offering –
Call to action
Traffic– Landing
pages/conversions/promoti
on
Each strategy should focus
on one stage of the buying
cycle
30. Brand Strategies
Earned media
Word of mouth
Cause marketing
Thought
leadership/education
Sponsorships
Celebrity endorsements
Brand journalism
Online marketing
Brand strategies create awareness of a new brand, change
perception of an existing brand or create a brand extension.
31. Content Strategies
Brand journalism
Native advertising
Social media
Influencer marketing
Multimedia messaging
Education/Thought
Leadership
Contests/Quiz
Ambassadors/Celebrity
Testimonials
Content strategies are used when with a longer sales cycle, the client or
customer is sophisticated and the brand needs credibility.
32. Promotional Strategies
Events
Sponsorships
Contests
Rewards/loyalty programs
Cause marketing
Digital/mobile promotions
Add-ons/lost leaders
Seasonal
Promotional strategies are used to influence the later steps in the buying
cycle, including post-purchase behavior
33. Geographical Strategies
Geographical strategies might be used for retail, medical practices,
franchises and other B2C businesses where the customer is not well-
known.
Hyper-local marketing
Outdoor/On the ground
Micro-events
Retail business partnerships
34. Powerful Linked Tactics
Strong linked tactics are often combination of traditional and newer
media
Can link two, three or even four tactics
Synchronized for best effect
Common message or tone
35. Simple Linked Tactics
Earned placement+ social media
Direct marketing + landing pages
Email + signage
Print + mobile
Product placement + ads
37. BJP Party
Campaign
• Elected Modi in 2014
• Created a landslide
victory in India
• Core strategy statement
around change
• Common creative
• Understanding of
personas
• Linked traditional and
bleeding edge
technology
38. Measuring Tactics
Iterative, ongoing measurement
Website behavior
Social media engagement
Online clicks
Unplanned messages
39. Our IMC Plan
Audience Definition
Persona
Opportunities
Objectives/Strategy/Tactic
s
Integrated Strategy
Statement
Selected Channels
Timeline
Measurement
.
How do we measure linked tactics? What would that look like?
Choose your brand
Audience definition using at least three segmentation strategies. Detailed persona
Identify the opportunities that exist
Name two objectives, two strategies per objective and tactics
Develop an integrated strategy statement
Select channels – use your timeline