How to Achieve Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC)?

Although the term "integrated marketing communication" (IMC) didn't appear until 1989, its popularity has only increased since then. Understanding IMC is critical for company owners and marketers who want to establish a standard of reliability for their products or brands.

The proliferation of online marketing channels that may be orchestrated by marketing automation systems has contributed to IMC's meteoric rise to prominence in the present day. As a result, print, broadcast, and online media have all expanded beyond their conventional confines. To effectively reach their customers in this age of proliferation, businesses require a method of strategic planning that can coordinate the use of a wide variety of media.

What Is Integrated Marketing Communication?

The goal of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is to ensure a unified and coherent brand message across all of an organization's various forms of communication. Its purpose is to guarantee that all of the media are working together harmoniously and that the message remains constant.

IMC, or integrated marketing communications, is the practice of coordinating the whole range of a business' promotional efforts so as to have the most possible effect on consumers while keeping expenses to a bare minimum.

A number of novel approaches are employed to guarantee that the appropriate message reaches the client at the appropriate moment.

Types and Examples of IMC

Since IMC is a strategy that makes use of many marketing channels, there are several kinds of IMC, all of which will be discussed in the following sections.

Ads

Commercials can be heard or seen on the radio, television, and the web. Customers are within reach, since their scope extends from the national to the global. So, they market the product to get people interested in it by pointing out all the great things about it.

Public relations

In public relations, we strive to win over new clients while still keeping our loyal ones. They will play an essential role in interacting with the target audience and spreading the company's message. In public relations, it is crucial to pay attention to how your firm is seen by the general public. By doing so, the company's public relations efforts will increase consumers' faith in it.

Increasing Profits Through Advertising

The urge to increase sales is something that all business faces at some point. This is when most businesses employ carefully planned methods of advertising and marketing. To implement this tactic, businesses would often run limited-time promotions or launch advertising campaigns. Challenges on social media, product bundles, flash sales, free trials, and other sorts of sales promotion incentives are all examples. Using a Sales Management System, you can manage all of your sales strategy to increase your company's sales smarter, faster, and more efficiently.

Experience and happening

The event and experience plan is not the same as the event strategy, despite their similar names. The two approaches differ significantly in their customer communication. The event approach is a one-way form of communication, thus customers cannot reply to the brand's statements. On the other hand, the two-way nature of the communication in the experience strategy will allow for a more engaging interaction between goods and their end users.

Personal Approach

Direct selling is an aggressive kind of marketing in which a company's salespeople make personal contact with potential consumers to deliver a convincing pitch. Relationship building with customers may be accomplished efficiently and cheaply with this tactic. Lack of promotion or costly administrative expenditures allows for adaptability in direct selling, which contributes to lower prices. However, in order for this method to result in subsequent real sales, salespeople must demonstrate their ambitions and professionalism.

What are the benefits of an integrated marketing campaign?

You should be sure a marketing approach will work before putting any money into it. Consider these arguments in favor of launching an integrated marketing effort.

Effective and cost effective

Some of the outcomes associated with the campaign examples were shown to you. It's not every day that a brand gets two million social media impressions. To achieve such results, careful planning is required at each stage. IMCs are meticulously planned.

Users and prospective buyers can assist in marketing efforts by participating in these programs. Do you recall that we mentioned potential buyers in line for the Snapchat Spectacles were using their own social media accounts to spread the word? While the campaign itself might be costly, any exposure that results from it would be entirely free.

These initiatives cut costs by creating resources that may serve several purposes. Content such as videos, images, and text can be shared between platforms. This maintains uniformity and spares you the expense of employing designers for several tasks. This is a straightforward method of economizing that ultimately has an impact.

More so than a scattershot approach using a variety of commercials or promotions, a unified message can increase return on investment. An integrated marketing effort might be compared to the preparation of a themed celebration. After coming up with the initial concept, you consider alternative methods for putting it into action. Everything from the table settings to the party activities to the party goodies should be superhero-themed. Any other interpretation might lead to confusion for the listeners.

Integrated marketing is everywhere

Integrated marketing is pervasive; modern commercials cater to each individual to the point of becoming creepy. Because of its pervasiveness, integrated marketing efforts are highly successful. The Snickers commercial is always on, not only in the dead air between episodes of Friends, but especially during the Super Bowl. After then, the same commercial airs again, this time with a different A-lister. You pick up your prescription at Walgreens and notice that Snickers' packaging has been updated to match the theme of the ad.

Exactly like when a brand new hit song comes on the radio. Its repetitive nature and lackluster lyrics may turn you off at first. However, after hearing that tune every morning on the way to work for weeks, and eventually months, you may come to enjoy it. Suddenly, you find yourself in the first row of that artist's concert, mouthing the words to a song you used to despise.

Though severe, this scenario is somewhat unlike the effect that persistent advertising has on humans. Even if we don't immediately buy a thing after seeing an advertisement for it, we end up learning more about it and are more inclined to do so in the future.

It builds a relationship

Interaction with the consumer is fostered, as the focus of integrated marketing initiatives is on them. You want people to like you, trust you, and recommend you to others so you can boost your reputation, brand, and sales. Customers will bring up your brand in everyday conversation, just like they may bring up a chance meeting with an old friend or a recent movie they saw.

People talk about the human side of advertising after hearing conversations like this. How they felt and what they believed are both contributing factors to a deeper connection with the customer. Consumers will form impressions and opinions about your campaign based on its execution.

Also, your relationship with your consumers will strengthen thanks to this all-encompassing approach. Remember your time spent in the classroom. There were regulations from your parents, rules from your instructors, and rules from the principal. It's far simpler for youngsters to adhere to these rules when they are all relatively consistent (no striking, no stealing, no rude remarks, etc.). This eliminates the need for them to question whose authority condones particular actions.

The identical holds true for your multi-pronged advertising push. Communicating with a focus on and dedication to uniformity can help your intended listeners better grasp your meaning. It's crucial that all of your company's divisions be on the same page. So, customers would know who to put their faith in.

How to execute an integrated marketing campaign?

Making a successful integrated marketing strategy is more involved than doing things like advertising on social media or billboards. There is no foolproof method for executing a campaign while employing many channels to convey the same message.

• Decision-making is a significant part of IMC management, including choices like which distribution channels to prioritize and whether to adopt a lighthearted or instructive tone. Listed below are some suggestions for actions that are more likely to lead to success.
• The most crucial part of an IMC is the harmony between its many parts. All the many ways of communicating should flow into one consistent whole. Team members should be on the same page with regards to objectives and communications in order to ensure that everyone's efforts complement one another. It's important for everyone in the team to have the same goal in mind. There is no room for confusion during the execution of a good integrated marketing campaign.
• Inspiring leadership – As was previously noted, an integrated marketing strategy frequently necessitates the collaboration of many teams or departments. Early on, your team should determine who will serve as the campaign's leader. This lessens the likelihood of disagreements developing later. When things go wrong, like running over budget or having differing opinions on the project's purpose, you'll have someone to go to for help.
• Objectives Setting clear objectives before beginning an IMC can make all the difference in the world. Never launch a campaign without first defining your goals. Would you like to have more conversations? Is growing your company's yearly recurring income a goal?
• Definable processes – At a rough estimate, an integrated marketing campaign may include a million or more moving pieces. Setting up a well-defined process from the start will prevent any unnecessary delays, miscommunication, or missed deadlines. This is especially true for teams who have never worked together before, since it is crucial that everyone understands where to submit their work once they have finished their portion.

In conclusion, the next time you need to promote your brand, product, or service, consider designing an IMC campaign rather than a one-off commercial or press release. Though taking a more all-encompassing strategy to marketing may seem frightening at first, you will rapidly develop confidence and see positive results when you engage with experts in the field.