How MushyPea Is Marketed Using IMC Tools - Case Study Example

Integrated Marketing Communication Name Institution Name Date Executive Summary Marketing activities are rapidly changing; traditional marketing tools have been rendered infective due to the fact that they are transactional based while the current trend is conversational based. The invention of internet technology has plaid a major role in changing the manner in which people communicate. Integrated Marketing Communication is regarded as approach used by companies to brand and coordinate their communication effort. The new marketing trend is considered more effective because it understands the added value of a comprehensive method that evaluates the strategic roles of various communication disciplines, combining them to provide clarity, consistency together with maximum communication impact. It provides an effective and essential approach designed to communicate one consistent message to consumers across the company’s promotion that may use different communication channels. This paper discusses Integrated Marketing tools and how they can be integrated to have maximum impact on the final consumer. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) 5 IMC Objectives 6 Effective Marketing Communication 6 Communication Theories 6 Brand Communication 7 Advertisement 8 Classification of Advertising 9 Direct Marketing 10 Interactive/Internet Marketing 11 Sales Promotion 12 Types of Sales Promotion 12 Personal selling 14 Publicity/Public Relations 15 MushyPea marketing using IMC Concepts 16 Conclusion 18 References 19 Introduction Communication is a vital element in any business organisation as it aids it in its growth and prosperity, relationship creation, improves efficiency and effectiveness of the organisation and above all helps individuals learn about each other. The invention of technology including the internet and cell phones has largely changed the way people interact as well as changing the manner of messaging strategy that companies use (Barker, Valos & Shimp, 2012). Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is an approach used by companies to brand and coordinate their communication efforts. It is a concept that understands the added value of a comprehensive method that evaluates the strategic roles of various communication disciplines, combining them to provide clarity, consistency together with maximum communication impact (Baker, 2008). IMC has a primary role of creating a seamless experience for customers across various aspects of the marketing mix (Leonard, Lewis & Freedman, 2013). In this regard, the core image of the brand and messaging are strengthened given the fact that all channels of marketing communication works together in order to have massive influence on the customer (McDonald & Wilson, 2011). Business organisations after developing their products have an obligation to communicate the benefits and values of those products to both potential and current customers in both business-to-consumer and business-to-business markets (Shepherd, 2013). IMC provides an effective and essential approach designed to communicate one consistent message to consumers across the company’s promotion that may use different communication channels (Jaworski, Kohli & Sahay, 2001). The evolution in communication technology together with instant access to information through the internet has in one way or another made IMC a significant marketing tool. For instance, communicating consistent information with regard to a brand or organisation is essential in establishing the brand image in the minds of both current and potential customers (Baker, 2008). The current marketplace is comprised of customers and business professionals who unendingly seek information and are fond of connecting with other businesses or people through their phones or computers (Ferrell, Lukas and Schembri, 2012). It is important to note that, social and work environments are dynamically changing; people have virtual offices, communicate using text messaging services on their phones and through social media like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. This paper discusses Integrated Marketing Communication tools and how they can be integrated to have maximum impact to the target audience. For comprehensive understanding, the paper describes how MushyPea is marketed using IMC tools. MushyPea is a speculative peanut butter brand developed by Mushy Health Co. ltd (a speculative company) Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) From the introduction above, Integrated Marketing Communication is an approach, which business organisations use for brand communication whereby different modes work in unison to create a seamless experience for customers and are presented with similar style and tone that strengthens the brands core message (Barker, Valos & Shimp, 2012). IMC is tasked with integrating all aspects of marketing communication including advertising, sales promotion, public relations/publicity, personal selling, direct marketing, and internet marketing to work together as a unified force rather than working in isolation (Gosnay & Richardson, 2010). This is essential in maximizing their cost effectiveness. IMC Objectives The objectives of the IMC include: Create repeat customer purchase behaviour Increase market penetration Establish strong customer relationships Increase customer rate of consumption Stimulate impulse buying Product image establishment Influence sales volume Influence, modify and/or reinforce attitude Build support and acceptance Effective Marketing Communication This has three vital steps, which include: i. Identifying the target audience; this involves the assessment of the audience’s views and/or perceptions of the company, product and competitors’ product or company image ii. Setting cognitive, affective and behavioural objectives iii. Use the AIDA model as a guide in message design. Communication Theories With regard to the Source Credibility Theory, message acceptance largely depends on Expertness and Trustworthiness of the source. Expertness in this context refers to the perceived ability of the source to make assertions that are valid (Baker, 2008). On the other hand, trustworthiness refers to the perceived willingness of the source to assertions that are valid (Doole & Lowe, 2012). According to this theory, target audience acceptance increases with the expertness of the sources and the ability of the audience to evaluate the product (Hackley, 2010). Source Attractiveness Theory is another theory the helps in understanding how marketing message is accepted by the target audience (Barker, Valos & Shimp, 2012). This theory is based on social psychological studies and states that message acceptance depends on the following Familiarity: The audience is familiar with source through exposure to this extent. Likeability: this is the affection that physical appearance and behaviour of the source has on the audience Similarity: this is the resemblance between the source and the receiver (Myerson, 1997). The source attractiveness theory describes acceptance of the message in two ways: i. Identification which is when the target audience start identifying themselves with the attractiveness of the source thus end up or tend to accept the beliefs, attitudes, and opinions of the source (Ferrell, 2012). ii. Conditioning - this is where the attractiveness of the source must or is supposed to pass on to the brand after frequent association of the source and the brand (Gilligan & Wilson, 2012). Brand Communication This is an initiative taken by a business company to popularize their products and services among the final consumers. This act goes to extended lengths in promoting products and services among the target audience (Barker, Valos & Shimp, 2012). This process involves identifying people who are best suited to the purchase or the target consumers and promoting the brand among them using the following marketing tools; advertisement, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, personal selling, and social media/internet marketing (Baker, 2008). Despite the fact that money companies spend promoting their merchandise go to different media channels; the organisation still has a strong drive to send its potential and current customers a consistent message (Gilligan & Wilson, 2012). The various types of marketing communications that a company uses are mainly referred to as communication or promotion mix that consists of the aforementioned marketing tools (Ramanathan, 2009). Advertisement This is a paid form of communication, which identifies an organisation or brand and promotes it to a wide audience at one time (Barker, Valos & Shimp, 2012). Some of the typical channels that organisations use for advertising include television, radio, newspapers, magazines, direct mail, billboards and the internet (Percy, 2012). Due to advancement in technology, companies have been empowered to advertise on social media such as twitter, Facebook, blogs and mobile services. Each of the above mentioned channels has different benefits and disadvantages (McDonald, 2007). In accordance with the above, mobile phones for instance has enabled marketers to have a continuous access to customers; however, the reception of the marketing messages may vary from market to market. Radio, newspapers, and magazines are also portable and marketers vastly use these channels to communicate to their target audience (Baker, 2008). The only problem here is that there are many radio stations, different newspapers and magazines in circulation and thus it may be extremely expensive for marketers to reach all potential and current customers as organisations must advertise their brands on all radio stations for instance to reach a wider audience (Reed, 2006). Classification of Advertising The classification of advertising includes: National Advertising: this type of advertisement is usually done by established companies with massive resources and is on a nationwide basis or covers large regions of the country. This advertisement is mainly on radio or TV during prime time; it can also be done on national or regional newspapers or magazines (Storey, 2007). The primary goal here is to inform or remind customers on a given company or brand with regard to its benefits, uses, features, and specifications in order to strengthen the brand image for the customer to purchase. Retail Advertising: this is done retailers distributors or the local merchants; it is an essential tool in encouraging customers to shop at a specific store, patronize a particular establishment or use local services (Yeshin, 2012). These ads mainly emphasize on price, services, merchandise assortment, and/or hours of operation. It employs the use of direct action advertising to attract more customers. Primary vs. Selective demand advertising: primary demand advertising is specifically designed to arouse demand for general product category or class or the entire industry. It is largely used to help new products to increase their market acceptance (Barker, Valos & Shimp, 2012). Selective demand advertising major focus is on arousing demand for a specific brand of the company Business to business advertising: this is the advertisement of the industrial goods and services for their specific companies. Industrial goods in this regard are usually a part of the finished product and may include raw materials Professional advertising: this targets professional audience such as doctors, engineers, professors, engineers and dentists to influence them to use the company’s products in their business operations Trade advertising: this is targeted towards marketing channel members including wholesalers, retailer, and/or distributors (Barker, Valos & Shimp, 2012). This is used to influence channel partners to stock, promote and resell branded products of the manufacturer to their customers. Direct Marketing This promotional tool involves direct delivery of personalized marketing information or message to individual consumers (Drummond, Ensor & Ashford, 2013). It is characterized with provision of an interactive approach for a company to access or reach customers with a hope of influence the consumer to make a purchase or take action (Baker, 2008). It is a form of marketing communication in which physical marketing materials are provided directly to the customer in order to communicate information about a service or a product that a company is offering. In this type of promotion, intermediaries are removed from the promotion process because the marketing message if directly delivered to the customer. Direct marketing is also referred to as subscriber driven marketing and targets market segments; for instance, the marketer positions his/her brands through appropriate and relevant messages. Characteristics of Direct Marketing: Customer databases which make targeting possible Customers are viewed as assets with lifetime value Strong ongoing relationship with customers Data based market segmentation It is possible to do research and experimentation Benefit oriented direct response advertising Direct marketing is usually delivered through the following channels Catalogues Direct response advertisements Internet e-mail telephone Direct marketing has massive benefits including ability to target a specific set of customers, it is possible for the company to measure return on investment, and more importantly, the company can test various marketing strategies prior to their implementation. Interactive/Internet Marketing This is an evolving trend in marketing which is continuously transforming marketing activities from a transactional based to conversational based. This marketing communication tool is mainly powered by the internet technology (McLeish, 2010). The ability for the company to collect customer information online has virtually made it easier to remember and communicate accordingly with the customer in real-time basis. Interactive marketing enables current customers and prospective customers to take part in the development of the brand image. It is an entirely new form of marketing that is rapidly growing. Interactive marketing has the following benefits It provides a persuasive medium through which customers can be persuaded to make a purchase It is a medium through which the company can educate or inform customers It is an actual sales vehicle The company can use internet marketing to create customer database Helps the company to interact with customers on a real-time basis It provides an excellent customer support platform Helps in building and maintaining customer relationships Sales Promotion They are marketing activities that provide an added value or incentive to the marketing personnel, distributors or final consumers and has the potential of attracting immediate sales. Types of Sales Promotion Trade oriented sales promotion: this is aimed at maintaining support for new or established brands; encourage retailers and/or wholesalers to display and promote brands, and build retailer and/or wholesaler inventories (MMC Learning, 2009). Trade oriented sales promotion is directed towards marketing intermediaries such as wholesalers, retailers and distributors. This type of sales promotion uses the following communication channels: Trade allowances Contests and dealer incentives Point of purchase display Training programs Promotion allowances Trade shows, and Cooperative advertising Consumer oriented sales promotion: is aimed at obtaining trial and/or purchase, increasing consumption of an established brand, defending current users, and enhancing advertising and any other marketing efforts. Consumer oriented sales promotion use the following channels of communication: Coupons Sampling Premiums Rebates Contests Sweepstakes, and POP materials Uses of Sales Promotion Introducing new products Influence existing customers to purchase more Attract new customers Maintain sales in off season Increase retail inventories Combat competition Personal selling This is an interactive paid form of marketing communication that involves the buyer and the seller (Baker, 2008). The interaction between these two entities can occur in person, by phone or through any other technology. Regardless of the channel used, marketers always covet to develop and establish lasting relationship with buyers. This communication tool is characterized by: i. Personal form: there is a personal contact is developed between the buyer and the salesman. Face to face communication ii. Relationship development: personal selling always culminates into the establishment of personal relationship between the consumer and the sales person. This relationship is vital for growth and prosperity of the company iii. Oral communication: the parties involved in personal selling always use oral conversation with regard to the value and features of the product such as color, shape, price and design. iv. There is quick or instant solution to customer questions: the prospective consumer can ask questions regarding the brand; the sale person will automatically answer these queries on the spot thus removing customer doubts. v. Receipt of additional information: in normal circumstances prior to the introduction of products to the market, the company always has preferences of the initial buyers. However, personal selling process and when the sales person is in direct contact with the prospective buyer, he/she receives new additional information with regard to customer preferences. vi. Real Sale: not only the sales persons are informed about the product but also actually sale the products. Personal selling is usually accomplished through the following channels: Over-the-counter selling Field selling Telemarketing Inside selling Team selling Relationship selling Consultative selling Publicity/Public Relations This communication tool is mainly used to improve the organisation’s image and products through attaching a positive aspect on company news stories (Barker, Valos & Shimp, 2012). Public relations is regarded as a management function that evaluates the attitudes of the public, identifies problems and policies that an individual or organisation has with the public interest and executes a program of actions to earn public acceptance as well as understanding. Public relations objectives are mainly achieved through the following channels (Schuckel, 2003): Special events Media interviews Conference speeches Press conference Industry awards News releases, Publicity stunts Special events sponsorship Community involvement MushyPea marketing using IMC Concepts As already established from the above discussion, integrated marketing communication enables all aspects of marketing mix to work together in unison to promote a given brand effectively among consumers. There are eight steps for ensuring effective communication using IMC tools. These include (Blythe & Megicks, 2010): 1. Identify the target audience; the company must understand the target audience for their products. MushyPea is a whole family product to be used by all family members. 2. Determine the marketing objectives; the sellers must set the marketing objectives for the product. The marketing objectives for MushyPea are: To create customer awareness of MushyPea to as many customers as possible To give extensive knowledge with regard to MushyPea; inform customers about the benefits of the product To create customer liking of MushyPea To ensure that customers prefer MushyPea over substitute products To influence customers to have a conviction to buy MushyPea Influence customers to make the final purchase 3. Design the Marketing message; marketers must be well versed in encoding marketing messages that target audience can decode (Pick, 2005). Mushy Health Company will use AIDA to design the marketing message. For instance, the message will be able attract customer Attention, create customer Interest, influence the customer to Desire using MushyPea, and ultimately make the customer to take Action (purchase MushyPea). 4. Select communication channel; marketers must use channels that will make the message reach the target audience. Mushy Health Company will use various channels including advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, and personal selling to reach its target audience. 5. Establish communication budget; marketers must determine the amount of money and other resources that will be used to market the product (Pavel, 2012). Mushy Health Company will set aside $450,000 for this marketing activity. 6. Develop communication mix; marketers can now send the same message through various marketing tools to ensure that it reaches a wider market audience. For example, Mushy Health Company will send MushyPea marketing message through print media i.e. newspapers and magazines, TV, Radio, Social Media, Online, News releases and mail. 7. Measure the results; the company will develop feedback channel that will help the company Audience’s responses to the message (McDonald, Payne & Frow, 2011). 8. Effectively manage the process; The above described process will have massive influence on the customers and thus will help Mushy Health Company achieve the marketing objectives for MushyPea. Conclusion Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is an approach used by organisations to brand and coordinate their communication efforts. It is a concept that understands the added value of a comprehensive method that evaluates the strategic roles of various communication disciplines, combining them to provide clarity, consistency together with maximum communication impact. From the above discussion, the paper has extensively tackled various aspects of Integrated Marketing Communication; for instance, the paper has discussed different integrated marketing communication promotional tools. The main communication mix tools that have been discussed include advertising, sales promotion, public relations/publicity, personal selling, direct marketing, and internet marketing to work together as a unified force rather than working in isolation. In accordance with this, the paper has used MushyPea a speculative product of Mushy Health Company to describe how promotional mix tools can be integrated to have maximum impact on the final consumers as compared to when they are used in isolation. References Baker, M. (2008). The strategic marketing plan audit, 2nd Ed. Cambridge: Cambridge Strategy Publications Limited Barker, N., Valos, M., & Shimp, T. (2012). Integrated Marketing Communication. Melbourne: Cengage Learning. Blythe, J., & Megicks, P. (2010). Marketing planning: Strategy, environment and context. London: Financial Times Prentice Hall Doole, I., & Lowe, M. (2012). Robin CIM Coursebook 08/09 strategic marketing decisions. Burlington: Elsevier. 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