Emergence of Integrated Marketing Communication - Essay Example

Emergence of Integrated Marketing Communication The integrated marketing campaign (IMC) looks to present a single message or a series of message in a consistent manner whereas the marketing plan or campaign (MC) is the overall basis of IMC in the first place. There would be no basis of IMC if the MC is not drafted or prepared. MC looks to counter the strategies and tactics which will be employed in the wake of the ever changing market scenarios and conditions whereas the IMC looks to present the message of the MC through a synchronized and harmonious way. Therefore it would be correct to suggest that the IMC is indeed important but not to the same levels as the MC is, since the MC looks at all the different angles of marketing the brand, which could be the product and/or service or a combination of both, in certain instances. The integrated marketing campaign cannot be successful if the different deliverables are not put in a direct fashion towards the target audience; no matter it is the primary one or the secondary target market. The marketing plan however remains the key in such a situation and it cannot be counted off, no matter how difficult the undertakings or executions of the IMC turn out to be. Thus IMC and MC must go hand in hand towards a successful execution of the product and/or service’s message geared towards the relevant target audience. Message consistency is indeed a significant aspect of the integrated marketing campaign since the old campaigns might just get mixed with the newer campaigns that are brought forward by the relevant brand, which could either be a product or a service and in some cases, a hybrid also works to some effect. The message must remain geared towards a selected target audience as this ensures that there are no shortcomings on the part of the people for which the message is put out, in the first place. With that, we must understand that a well balanced IMC campaign looks to plug the shortcomings which usually arise in the wake of changing messages and when certain strategies and tactics are amended for one reason or the other. The reasons could be aplenty but the most important thing here to understand is the fact that the message must remain synchronized and there are no double meanings or embedded messages beneath the new campaign brought forward by the product and/or service. Message consistency within an effective and efficient IMC campaign suggests that the brand team has done its homework well and that there are no hindrances in the wake of it achieving short term benefits and long term, strategic profits. An IMC campaign is all about message consistency and if the same is missing in the first place, then there leaves no reason for it to get implemented at all within the market or industry for that matter. The steps that are significant in the line of IMC planning process include proper research which ensures that the IMC campaign is driven towards success right from the very beginning. If the research is not done in an adequate manner, then there is no use to undertake the execution activities of the IMC campaign. When the research is conducted, then there is a need to identify the actors which will play an active role in the communication aspects of the IMC campaign. With that, we aim to look at the costs and expenditures since this is a very significant issue which needs to be addressed before an IMC planning process is carried out. When the costs and expenditures are discussed and the problems attached with them are tackled, then there is a need to assign tasks and responsibilities even at the lowest of levels. Planning process can only be successful when there is a genuine commitment from the brand team to address the problems and issues which might arise from time to time. The deliverables of the IMC campaign be it in the form of print, electronic or outdoors is also discussed at length and hence the planning process comes to an end after this. It is pivotal to comprehend the fact that planning process can only be successful if the activities and tasks are seen in a realistic fashion and there are figures and data to support the very same at each and every stage. A company can make use of the IMC campaign when there is a need to address a large cross section of the population which comes under the target market discussion. These people are constantly hammered with a distinct and cut throat message so as to form a basis of the brand in the minds of the consumers and the potential ones as well. The best utilization could be in the form of bringing the IMC campaign in as many areas of consumers’ movement and tasks’ performance as possible. What this will do is to make sure that the consumers remain glued to the different tasks and activities which are being carried out by the brand itself and they do not feel missed out when it comes to the various messages that are put forward by the brand itself. IMC campaign can only be successful when there are concerted efforts by the organization that is bringing out the specific brand to make its message get heard within the clutter of so many brands that are available in the market. With that, we must comprehend the fact that IMC campaigns can never be successful if there are different deliverables of the same brand exhibiting entirely unique and different messages which are brought forward by the brand itself, say at a particular time period within the brand’s evolution epoch. The time has come to have synchronization between the different activities and undertakings of the IMC campaigns. Continuing with the discussion on IMC, we need to understand the basis of a brand’s equity so that there is a relational basis here. A product’s equity depends on four factors which might include its name and how much the people are aware of this very name. This comes as an imperative point of the IMC approach. Another factor is the loyalty level of the consumers with regards to this product or the brand which is available in the market. Under the loyalty level are five types of groups present which include the non-customers who simply do not buy this product which is being sold under the company’s name but purchase the one of the competitors’. Other one is the group that houses the price switchers who are extremely sensitive to price. The passively loyal lot buys out of habit rather than any reason. Fence sitters do not make an effort to judge between the competing products and buy any one and mostly they do not pay that much of a heed that is necessary in making that selling exercise. Lastly, there is the group of committed people who will stick to your product no matter what happens in the marketplace. The third factor is that of the perceived quality in which people have pre-conceived notions with regards to a product or a brand. This can happen due to their already set reservations in the mind with regards to this product’s packaging, size, colors and so on and so forth. The last factor is that of the associations attached with the product which include some celebrity spokesperson who is selling this product or the brand and with whom the people do not want to get associated to, hence bringing in low sales of this product in relation with the competitors’. The consumer persuasion as well as the influence as concerns to marketing communications and more precisely the field of advertising is deemed as being an art in entirety rather than being considered as a discipline of science itself. Thus it must be comprehended with regards to the distinct consumers who visit the market place for satisfying their personal needs and requirements. Persuasion is a difficult process and the consumers need to be told about the benefits that they can draw from the product itself. Customer loyalty can result in increasing sales trends for a company with regards to a particular product line and thus revenues start pouring in from left, right and center. The niche needs to be touched upon so that the customer base remains satisfied and does not feel unhappy about any steps that have been taken by the brand team every now and then. These aspects make the whole study of IMC very quintessential in the related scheme of things. In the end, it is pertinent to note that marketing communication practitioners must make use of their role which is concentrated upon the lines of ensuring as well as maintaining consumer loyalty trends and similar levels. What this does is to have the consumers’ perception and influence getting built in the wake of the equity of not only the brand but the organization that it is working under. On the part of the marketing communication team, there must be more attention laid on the roles that are being adopted with the passage of time on the consumers as well as the manners in which the same are in essence having that very vital purchase which the brand actually wants for itself. 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