Integrated Marketing Communication - Research Paper Example

Integrated marketing communication (IMC), that has become a real hot topic since the beginning of the 1990s, and its relation to gaining sustainable competitive advantage is widely known. A number of managerial strategies including IMC and various disciplines are brought together with high efficiency to add values to the competitive position of the business. Communicating business goals, vision and mission, brand messages and providing relevant information to the stakeholders, especially to the customers, is critical to business success and this can be effectively done with help of integrated marketing communication.

The main issue being discussed in this paper is integrated marketing communication and how does it turn to be an effective sustainable competitive advantage.  This paper explores the theoretical concepts of integrated marketing communication, sustainable competitive advantages and its relation to each other.   Kitchen, Schultz, and Kim (2003) found that there were two contradictory articles in the same issue of Journal of Advertising Research, 2000, one arguing that IMC is a new concept but only a management fad and the other argued that IMC is a new and emerging business and marketing concept for the 21st century which is characterized by digital business environment (p. 1418).  Some researchers found that integrated marketing communication is not new, but its theoretical and practical approaches were in place for years.

As Kitchen, Schultz, and Kim (2003), there was a question regarding the implementation of IMC. If IMC is as good as being theoretically explored or were exaggerated, why has it not yet been fully implemented? (p. 1418). It means, there are concerns regarding its implementation, though there have been growing trend towards its positive sides and emphasizing on its positive impacts on business success. This research paper aims to explore the importance and roles of integrated marketing communication in the contemporary business environment (21st century) despite any arguments surrounding it, and its role as being a strategy to helps business gain sustainable competitive advantages.