Principles of Marketing

Chapter 13: Integrated Marketing Communications

Chapter Outline

• 13.1 The Promotion Mix and Its Elements

• 13.2 The Communication Process

• 13.3 Integrated Marketing Communications

• 13.4 Steps in the IMC Planning Process

• 13.5 Ethical Issues in Marketing Communication

13.1 The Promotion Mix and Its Elements

Learning Outcomes

• LO1 Define the promotion mix and explain its importance.

• LO2 List and describe the elements of the promotion mix.

The Promotion Mix

• The promotion mix is a set of strategies aimed at reaching the target market.

• It allows marketers to reach customers in various ways to achieve marketing objectives, including:

  • Advertising

  • Personal selling

  • Sales promotion

  • Direct marketing

  • Internet/digital marketing

  • Public relations

• A multichannel approach is essential as it sends an integrated message to the target market and ensures the message is received through multiple contacts.

Elements of the Promotional Mix

• Visual representation in Figure 13.2 (Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY 4.0 license).

• Advertising: Paid, non-personal communication to promote products/services.

• Personal selling: Involves direct, one-on-one communication, typically the most expensive method of promotion.

• Sales promotion: Short-term tactics to encourage immediate sales (e.g., buy one get one free, coupons, enter-to-win promotions, rebates).

• Direct marketing: Direct forms of communication, including mail, phone, text messaging, and email marketing.

• Public relations: Non-paid, non-personal communication that builds the company’s image and manages public perception.

• Internet/digital marketing: Enables two-way interaction with consumers through targeted communication, providing immediate interaction.

Discussion Question

• Discuss a product for which you have experienced multiple elements of the promotional mix:

  • At what point in awareness did you purchase the product?

  • Did you see any advertisement or sales promotion that prompted the purchase or investigation?

  • Was it influenced by direct marketing efforts?

13.2 The Communication Process

Learning Outcomes

• LO1 Describe the communication process.

• LO2 Identify and discuss each element of the communication process.

Communication Process

• Contains multiple elements represented schematically in Figure 13.6 (Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY 4.0 license).

Elements of the Communication Process

• Sender: The person or entity that sends the message.

• Encoding: The process of converting the intended meaning into a message.

• Message: Contains the benefits that the product provides for the customer.

• Medium: The method through which the message is delivered (e.g., television, social media).

• Receiver: The customer or audience for the intended message.

• Decoding: How the receiver interprets and understands the message.

• Feedback: Information from the receiver that indicates whether the message was understood correctly and what actions were taken.

• Noise: External interference that can distort or disrupt the communication process, often beyond the marketer's control.

Discussion Question

• Do you recognize instances of noise interfering with your reception of a message?

  • If yes, what are those instances, and how can you alleviate the noise to better receive the message?

13.3 Integrated Marketing Communications

Learning Outcomes

• LO1 Define integrated marketing communications (IMC).

• LO2 Discuss why IMC is important in marketing.

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)

• IMC is a communication method that conveys the same message across various forms of the promotional mix.

• It is crucial because consumers differ in how they receive information; therefore, marketers must consistently send the same message through various channels.

Benefits of Integrated Marketing Communications

• Better results: IMC helps avoid confusing consumers.

• Increased efficiency: It reduces waste while increasing productivity.

• Improved brand awareness: Consistent messaging across different media enhances brand recognition.

• Repeated success: Campaign metrics effectively measure objectives across various execution strategies.

• Customer satisfaction: A blend of connection and education results in heightened customer satisfaction.

Discussion Question

• Analyze brands like Nike, Starbucks, and Ford:

  • How many methods do they utilize to convey their message?

  • Do they employ IMC strategies?

13.4 Steps in the IMC Planning Process

Learning Outcomes

• LO1 List the steps in the IMC planning process.

• LO2 Summarize the details of each step in IMC planning.

Target Market

• Identifying the target market is vital; knowing your audience increases the likelihood of campaign success.

• Determine communication objectives using the target market to establish clear goals based on the SMART method:

  • Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Time-bound

The 5A Framework

• A representation in Figure 13.10 (Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY 4.0 license).

• Awareness: The initial step; customers must know the product exists.

• Appeal: Customers must understand the benefits and solutions the product provides and why it is preferable over competitors.

• Ask: Customers seek additional information about the product/company, necessitating accessible communication channels.

• Act: The customer makes a purchasing decision; marketing teams evaluate effectiveness and may tweak messages.

• Advocacy: The final step occurs when the customer becomes loyal and promotes the product, contributing to lifetime value for the brand.

Designing the Message

• Message appeal design: Important considerations include:

  • Creating rational appeals that encourage purchases based on product benefits.

  • Employing emotional appeals that provoke feelings like fear, happiness, sadness, trust, anger, or guilt to stimulate purchases.

  • Applying moral appeals based on moral or social good.

• Create message content:

  • Factors include customer journey stage, product features/benefits, media channels, and segmentation bases of consumers.

• Message structure: Common components include slogans, graphics, and keywords.

• Message format: Dependent on the medium used for delivery.

Methods to Determine the Budget

1. Objective and task: Define IMC objectives, outline required tasks, estimate costs, and determine reach and frequency for establishing a budget.

2. Top down: Based on operations budget without adjusting for marketing needs.

3. Percent of sales: Allocates a percentage of sales to all marketing functions.

4. Affordable: Base budget on what the company can afford, potentially overlooking objectives.

5. Competitive parity: Matching budget to competitors’ expenditures.

Developing Promotional Strategies

• Message strategy: Inquire how to link the brand to the target audience and the desired consumer action (awareness, purchase, website visit).

• Creative strategy: Convey the message through impactful words, images, and sounds appealing to the target market.

• Communication channel: The means of delivery should align with the audience and the message.

Scheduling the Promotion

• Reach: The number of consumers exposed to the promotional message at any time.

• Frequency: How often the consumer encounters the message.

• Calculate promotional schedules using reach x frequency to determine the total exposure to the target market.

  • Promotional schedules:

  • Continuous: Ads seen throughout the year on a regular schedule.

  • Flighting: Alternating between heavy promotions and breaks to avoid consumer burnout.

  • Pulsing: Regular promotion combined with bursts of intensive messaging at key times.

Evaluating and Measuring Objectives

• Key performance indicators (KPIs) for assessing promotional campaigns include:

  • Return on Investment (ROI)

  • Cost per Lead

  • Cost per Sale

  • Conversion Rate

  • Engagement Metrics

Evaluating and Measuring Digital Promotional Campaigns

• Digital campaigns provide real-time tracking of analytics, allowing adjustments as needed.

• Valuable metrics include:

  • Website traffic

  • Page views

  • Bounce rate

  • Conversion rate

  • Impressions

  • Cost per click

Discussion Question

• What factors should be considered when scheduling a promotion?

13.5 Ethical Issues in Marketing Communication

Learning Outcomes

• LO1 Identify ethical issues in marketing communications.

• LO2 Discuss methods to maintain ethical marketing communications.

Regulating Marketing Communications

• The following regulations and bodies oversee marketing communications:

  • Self-regulation: Companies should adhere to their own ethical standards.

  • Trade associations: Provide additional layers of standards and oversight.

  • Federal Trade Commission (FTC): Monitors commercial speech, unfair competition methods, and deceptive advertising.

  • Federal Communications Commission (FCC): Regulates broadcast communications, covering radio, television, and telephone.

  • Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Governs labeling, packaging, branding, and advertising of food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.

  • CAN-SPAM Act: Regulates commercial email practices, crucial for many marketers.

Maintaining and Fostering Ethical Marketing Communications

• To avoid misleading consumers, marketing communications should not:

  • Withhold information

  • Make misleading claims

  • Misstate information

• Common ethical issues include:

  • Puffery: Overstating the truth of claims.

  • Paid sponsorship: When endorsers are compensated, this must be disclosed to prevent misleading consumers.

Discussion Question

• What policies and procedures should companies implement to self-regulate ethics in marketing communication?

Acknowledgment

• This OpenStax resource is © 2023 Rice University under a CC-BY 4.0 International license, allowing reproduction/modification with attribution and noting changes.