Integrated Marketing Communication

Problem: How can companies create an integrated marketing communication system?

Learning objectives:

1.    What is IMC about and how does it work in practice? Name a few examples.

·     Who is in charge of, what do you coordinate in, IMC and how?

2.    How can a company synchronize communication tools/channels to give a consistent message?

3.    What are common mistakes in IMC? Give a few examples.

1. What is IMC about and how does it work in practice? 

According to the American Marketing Association, 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."

IMC is basically about putting all marketing campaigns in all different channels used under one consistent message that the receiver automatically connects to your brand.

In IMC the following four elements are essential:

Consistency Make sure you are always sending out the same message throughout different channels/ campaigns
Coherence Be aware of your entire communication process through different channels. All information should be a part of your overall strategy to ensure alignment.
Continuity As well as coordinating messages to be consistent and coherent, you must also keep in mind that every channel needs to be monitored – and this should be done on a regular basis to keep up continuity.
Complementary Lastly, you need to think of how your communication effort come together, so that when the complementary synergy you create overall can exceed any effort. (Friis, 2010)

example: Snickers- You are not you when you're hungry.

• Coherence. While the execution changed across different media and markets, the central theme and strapline remained the same as it was relevant for markets worldwide. 
• Consistency. The consistency of the message worked well across multiple regional campaigns and media. These consistent messages allowed the effectiveness of the central proposition remain intact across markets and regional campaigns. 
• Continuity. The launched in the US with a Superbowl ad featuring Golden Girls actress, Betty White in 2010, and yet six years later the creative execution of the campaign remains intact. 
• Complementary. The effectiveness of the central proposition and the global campaigns adherence to the first Three Cs mean that when combined you have a long-running, multi-channel, multi-million campaign, the constituent parts of which ensure that 
• Effectiveness. According to Effie.org activity in the first three months of the campaign in the US helped to grow sales by 13.4%, there was an 18,000% increases in Snickers searches on YouTube, over 5million online views and over 400million incremental and unpaid media impressions. (Heaton, 2014)

1.1. Who is in charge of IMC and what do you coordinate in IMC?

Corporate communication as an integrated framework for
 managing communication (Cornelissen, 2011. p. 25)

This framework shows that there are various people from public relations and marketing communication disciplines in the coordination and decision-making of corporate communication. Each of these disciplines might be used separately, however, it is more common that organizations manage them together from a holistic organizational or corporate perspective with the company's reputation and overall strategy in mind. In many companies the responsible person for corporate communication has been promoted to a higher position in the organization's hierarchical structure. Sometimes the senior communication director even became a member of the organization's management team. These higher positions enable communication directors to coordinate communication from a strategic level and, therefore, maintain and protect the company's reputation with its stakeholders. 

2. How can a company synchronize communication tools/ channels to give a consistent message?

Nowadays many companies combine various communication departments together to one department in order that knowledge and skills of experts are shared and corporate communication is seen as an autonomous and significant function within the organization. Some of the communication departments might still be separated, but the main idea is to combine most of the departments into one single department in order to make sure that communication can be strategically managed from a central corporate perspective. Large companies even locate their corporate communication department at a high level, vertically within the organization. This means that staff of corporate communication directly report to the CEO and the executive board. This vertical structure divides each organization's primary tasks into smaller subtasks and activities. However, these vertical specializations require horizontal coordination. Horizontal structures combine tasks of basic functions (such as HR, finance, marketing and communication). Horizontal structures also enable companies to respond fast to emergent issues, provide control and ensure that consistent messages are sent throughout all communication channels. (Cornelissen, 2011, p. 25-29)

The organization of corporate communication
at Siemens (Cornelissen, 2011, p. 27)

In order to be able to coordinate all tools and channels the organization needs to carefully plan its marketing campaigns.

IMC marketing plan 

This plan is a coordination of all promotional messages for a product or service to ensure consistency at every customer contact point. 

3. What are common mistakes in IMC?

1. creating wrong content (confusing message)
2. Translation without localisation- take local slang and culture into consideration
3. making promises you cannot keep
4. not knowing your customer
5. not monitoring and measuring your campaign

Keywords: 

SP, PR, Integrated marketing communication, advertising, communication tools, integrated elements, common goal, publicity, marketing plan, mistakes

Sources: 

• American Marketing Association. 2016. Dictionary. URL: https://www.ama.org/resources/Pages/Dictionary.aspx?dLetter=I. Accessed: 2 February 2016.
• Cornelissen, J. 2011. Corporate communication: A guide to theory and practice (3rd ed.). London: SAGE Publications.
• Friis, M. 2010, November 1. Making an Integrated Marketing Communication Effort | Mindjumpers. URL: http://www.mindjumpers.com/blog/2010/11/integrated-marketing-com/. Accessed 2 February 2016.
• Heaton, A. (2014). Three examples of integrated campaigns - Smart Insights Digital Marketing Advice. URL: http://www.smartinsights.com/traffic-building-strategy/integrated-marketing-communications/three-examples-integrated-campaigns/. Accessed 3 February 2016.
• Stockmeyer J. 2012. An Introduction to Integrated Marketing Communications. URL: http://www.johnstockmyer.com/enmu/452ch1.pdf Accesed 3 February 2016.