Promotional Mix and Integrated Marketing Communications

The Promotional Mix

  • The promotional mix includes:
    • Advertising
    • Personal selling
    • Sales promotion
    • Public relations
    • Direct marketing
    • Events/experiences

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)

  • IMC involves consistent and unified messaging.
  • It is customer-focused, carefully coordinating all promotional messages.
  • The goal is to assure consistency at every touchpoint between a company and the consumer.

Snickers' IMC Example

  • Snickers uses various platforms like YouTube and social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) to promote its brand.
  • The central theme is "You're not you when you're hungry."
  • They use hashtags like #EatASNICKERS.

Marketing Communication Process

  • Source: The sender of the message.
  • Encoding: The way a sender encodes a marketing idea and conveys it through a message and medium.
  • Communications channel: The medium through which the message is sent.
  • Message: The information being conveyed.
  • Decoding: How the receiver interprets the message.
  • Receiver: The target audience.
  • Feedback: The response from the receiver.
  • Noise: Interference in the communication process.

AIDA Concept

  • A model outlining the process for achieving promotional goals.
  • Stages of consumer involvement include:
    • Attention (Cognitive - thinking)
    • Interest (Affective - feeling)
    • Desire (Affective - feeling)
    • Action (Conative - doing)

Relation of Promotional Tools to AIDA Stages

  • Awareness: Advertising, Public Relations
  • Interest: Advertising, Public Relations, Personal Selling
  • Desire: Personal Selling, Sales Promotions
  • Action: Personal Selling, Sales Promotions

Goals and Tasks of Promotion

  • Informing
    • Relevant during the introduction and early growth stages of the PLC (Product Life Cycle).
  • Reminding
    • Relevant during the growth and maturity stages of the PLC.
  • Persuading
    • Relevant during the maturity stage of the PLC.

Informative Promotion

  • Goals include:
    • Increase awareness
    • Explain how the product works
    • Suggest new uses
    • Build company image

Persuasive Promotion

  • Goals include:
    • Encourage brand switching
    • Change customers’ perceptions of product attributes
    • Influence immediate buying decisions
    • Persuade customers to call

Reminder Promotion

  • Goals include:
    • Remind customers that the product may be needed
    • Remind customers where to buy the product
    • Maintain customer awareness