Chapter 6 : Integrated Marketing Communications

This chapter talks about creating and using Integrated marketing communications. But first, we should know about marketing communication. The main purpose is to inform, persuade and give your customer a nudging reminder about your product and services.
IMC is basically a technique where you combine different tools of communication and find the optimal mix so that your desired message can easily reach to your target market. In the previous chapter, we had discussed digitalization, so mainstream marketing techniques are cliché and companies are using digital marketing as their primary source of communication.

The first and the most renowned tool of IMC is the advertisement. The vital element which differentiates advertising from the promotion is in advertisement sponsor is identified. The controversy and the limitation of advertisement is that its effects cannot be quantified. For example, I poured 100,000 rupees on one advert, I don’t know whether and when my investment on this ad will give me revenues. Normally people see the ad and do not buy the product.

For Ideal ad campaign, your ad should be displayed at the right time to the right audience. For example, food ads before lunch and dinner. While creating an ad, make sure your product is not undermined by any celebrity or an endorser. Your ad should be easy to interpret and the customer can actually understand the intended message in it. In the end, your ad should not be only for awareness but its goal should be to make a sale. The strategies of advertisement are ATL, BTL, and TTL.

Sales promotion is a short-term tool in IMC, where you go trail of your product outside malls and stadiums. Kanas, a brand of Tehzeeb foods, when it was launched they put sales promotions in Safa Mall, Chilman restaurant and every outlet of Tehzeeb bakery.  Sales promotion are of two types; Consumer promotion, the scenario mentioned above and Trade promotions its basically b2b.

Event marketing and sponsorship is basically where companies try to create a good image out of themselves. Pakistan Tobacco company is banned from doing advertisement, so they arrange Golf Tournaments to have a good exposure for their customers. Redbull arranges sporty events and tries to endorse their brand using sports activities and celebrities.

Public relations and publicity, a concept which is synonymous to a layman person, yet they are poles apart. Public relation, a concept where companies try to defend their image by showing the positive side only. Press conferences and press releases are few tactics of public relations.  On the other hand, publicity is dual in nature where it can be positive or negative. Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy recently put a publicity stunt to get on the trending list, same goes with Misha Shafi and Ali Zafar’s using #metoo as a publicity stunt.

Marketing communication guidelines are critically important for companies because it helps them to develop their optimal marketing communication strategy. We will start with, you have to be analytical and deeply understand the consumer behavior model. Since everyone is different from each other so your managerial decision should develop a well-executed and researched communication strategy.
Only one-time value is not enough for your customer, you need to be curious about their changing need and demands, keeping your strategy aligned with market trends and competitors.  You cannot reach and customize your ads to the whole population.
Be single-minded and focus on your actual target market rather than focusing the whole mass. You have to be integrative which means you have to be consistent and keep reinforcing your message to your target audience. Showing one-time ad is not enough you need to keep showing them again and again until it jumps to the recall point in your brain.
Break the clutter and be creative, because a creative ad can easily be remembered because it has the element of uniqueness in it.
Observe your competitors and see what they are doing, how customers are responding to their strategies. Keeping the budget in mind, be realistic about which tool should be used and when. Lastly, be patient and trust your communication strategies. Success won’t come overnight.