MARKETING

MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT
ON
INTEGRATED
MARKETING
COMMUNICATION MIX
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF
Dr. S.K CHADHA
Professor,
University Business School, Chandigarh

Submitted by
Karan Kapoor
MBA-B, Roll no.15, 2019-21
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am using this opportunity to express my gratitude to everyone who supported

me throughout the course of this assignment. I am thankful for their aspiring
guidance, invaluably constructive criticism and friendly advice throughout my
work. I am sincerely grateful to them for sharing their truthful and illuminating
views on a number of issues related to the assignment.

I also express my warm thanks to Dr. S.K Chadha, Professor, University

Business School, for his constant support and guidance.

Finally I would like to thank all the people who provided me with the facilities
being required and conductive conditions for working on our assignment.
Integrated Marketing Communications

Introduction

The rationale behind integrated marketing communications (IMC) is to achieve

the promotional objectives in reaching target markets and to raise awareness of
the companies’ products and services. Therefore, IMC may involve the
combination of different promotional tools, including; advertising, personal
selling, sales promotions, direct marketing, interactive marketing, publicity and
public relations. This chapter describes the IMC tools which make up the
promotional mix. It explains the characteristics of each marketing
communications tool. It also considers the various factors which could influence
the successful implementation of an IMC plan, including the measurement of its
effectiveness.
Communication Vehicles

Everyone is exposed to commercial messages during a typical day: radio and

TV commercials, ads in the morning newspaper, billboards along the highway,
solicitations in the mail, calls from telemarketers, web page banners, among
others. The magnitude of the contemporary communications clutter is such that
consumers have often learned to tune out from promotional messages. Today’s
businesses want to distinguish themselves through the clutter as they strive in
their endeavors to generate leads and convert prospective customers.

The marketers who possess a generous budget may have access to an arsenal of
communication options, including electronic media (TV and radio), print media
(newspapers and magazines), direct-mail solicitations, telemarketing, personal
selling, public relations and the web, among others. The choice of the relevant
marketing tools and the identification of the right messages to target different
market segments; could prove to be a difficult task. Very often business may not
convey the same message across channels. This may usually happen if the
marketing communication efforts are not integrated. Instead, there may be a
disparate and dispersed group of activities.

The chances are that the businesses will find out that prospective customers may
(or may not) know certain aspects of their products. Therefore, businesses
should use communication vehicles that are intended to send relevant messages
to them. Their integrated communication approaches should provide consistent,
persuasive messages that are specifically crafted for their selected target
audiences. These corporate messages could be coordinated through precise
channels to maximize impact. Hence, multi-channels, multi-audience
approaches to message creation could produce synergies that will increase the
potential to influence target customers.

The multi-channels include; advertising, personal selling, sales promotions,

direct marketing, internet marketing, publicity and public relations, as illustrated
in the figure below.

The Marketing Communications Mix

Advertising

Advertising is an extremely important element of the promotional mix. It is a

non-personal communications tool that is paid for by a specific sponsor.
Advertising is a mass-marketing communication tool that is designed to inform
and persuade a large number of people. Therefore, this medium requires some
type of media platform to deliver the message. Advertising messages are
required for all promotional elements, which is why the process of creating
advertisements could be an essential first step in IMC. The goals of advertising
may include: to create awareness of a new product; to describe the attributes
and features of the product; to suggest usage situations; to distinguish the
product from competitors’ products; to direct buyers to the point-of-purchase,
and; to creating or enhancing a brand image, among other things. However,
advertising may be limited in its ability to actually close the sale and to finalize
a transaction.

Advertising objectives must be successful in reaching the businesses’ target

markets. For instance, airlines may use this medium to inform their customers
about new or improved product features, new routes being served and so on.
The advertisements may also remind the customers of existing product features,
routes served, et cetera. There are several advertising media options, including;
print advertising, broadcast advertising, digital or mobile advertising, and
outdoor advertising, among others.

 Print Advertising, includes; newspapers, magazines, inflight magazine,

printed flyers, brochures, posters, backs of tickets and supermarket
receipts;
 Broadcast Advertising, includes; radio, television and cinema.
 Digital or Mobile Advertising includes; Online streaming channels,
online banners, web pop-ups, the opening section of streaming audio and
video, et cetera.
 Outdoor Advertising, includes; Wall paintings, billboards, street furniture
including infrastructure, sky writing, human billboards, town criers, sides
of buses, banners attached to airplanes ("logo jets"), seatback tray tables
or overhead storage bins, taxicab doors, roof mounts and passenger
screens, musical stage shows, subway platforms and trains, elastic bands
on disposable diapers, doors of bathroom stalls, stickers on apples in
supermarkets, shopping cart handles, sporting venues, and the like.
 Any place an "identified" sponsor pays to deliver their message through a
medium is advertising.

The media that is used to advertise a business and its services must be carefully
selected. The choice of media depends on a number of factors, including: (i) the
markets which are being targeted; (ii) the combination of media which will be
the most effective (and the media habits of the target markets); (iii) the amount
of money that is dedicated to the advertising budget.

The Advertising Campaigns

Businesses ought to set advertising objectives and determine their budget before
choosing relevant media for the promotion of their products and services. They
may also decide to contract a specialized advertising agency or to organize the
advertising campaign in-house. The market managers are entrusted to make
timing decisions. They need to consider the best time period to place their
campaign to achieve the desired results. For instance, they could organize an
all-year-round campaign or a seasonal campaign. It is important to note that
such decisions must be linked with the companies’ overall marketing strategies,
plans and tactics.
The advertising budget may be affected by several factors. The marketing
managers need to consider their businesses’ objectives before allocating
resources to advertising. They may want to advertise their products and services
to maintain their profitability and market share. In this case, they will have to
dedicate specific financial resources to advertising. The three most common
methods that are used to calculate the advertising budget are as follows:

The Percentage of Sales Method

This method assumes that the level of sales should determine the amount spent
on advertising. Its methodology is based upon an arbitrarily chosen percentage
of sales (either past or forecast). For example, if 5% of sales may be the chosen
percentage. If last year’s sales amounted to $10,000,000, this year’s advertising
budget would be $500,000. The percentage of sales method is adopted by many
businesses, however it should not be recommended.

The Competitive Parity Method

This method is based on the idea that the businesses should spend the same
discretionary amount as their competitors on advertising. However, there may
be a possibility that the competitors may have miscalculated their advertising
budget. Consequently, the company will allocate excessive or insufficient
resources toward advertising. This methodology ignores the other factors which
should be taken into account when determining the advertising budget, for
instance; ‘Who is being targeted?’; ‘What media will be used?’ ‘What are the
advertising objectives? This method of calculating the advertising budget is
erratic and should never be recommended.
The Task and Investment Method

This method assumes that the advertising budget should be related to the
organization’s objectives and its advertising goals. The more ambitious and far
reaching these objectives are, the more money will be allocated to the
advertising budget to achieve them. This approach involves asking the
questions; ‘What is the business trying to achieve?’ and ‘What form of
promotion will help the business to reach its advertising objectives?’ The task
and investment method is the best method to calculate the advertising budget as
it is based on the return on investment principle.
Outsourcing Marketing Communications to an Advertising Agency

The selection of an advertising agency is very important and must be considered

carefully. Using a specialized agency may be quite expensive. However, the
benefits of having advertising experts working on the campaign should
outweigh these costs. Very often advertising agencies may use different
marketing communication techniques. Their strategies and tactics could involve
traditional media and digital marketing tactics, as they use data and analytics to
track their online performance. Hence, the outsourcing of advertising campaigns
may ultimately prove to be feasible, transparent and an affordable option for the
following reasons:

 Outsourcing allows the commissioning business to improve its capacity

without adding staff. The business could capitalize on the experience of
experts, who will execute advertising campaigns from strategy through to
setup, management and reporting.
 The specialized agency could easily access every marketing channel.
They may be in a better position to customize their content to target
segments, whether they are local, international or geographically-
dispersed.
 The contracted agency will be efficient in the compilation and
interpretation of data to determine the effectiveness of their marketing
communications.
Public Relations and Publicity

The public relations (PR) are a management function that helps an organization
to establish and maintain communication with the public. PR promotes a
favorable opinion of a company, its products, and its services. The traditional
perspective of PR is about building mutually-beneficial relationships, and
earning public understanding and acceptance from others. Therefore, it is a
very useful tool, which, if used effectively can help to improve the businesses’
corporate image, boost its reputation, and stimulate demand. PR tools include
press releases, speeches by executives and public service activities. Unlike other
forms of communication, PR operates through unpaid channels. Consequently,
the business may have less control over how the PR efforts will play out.

The primary virtue of PR in marketing communications is to put the company in

a favorable image, usually via the use of broadcast, print and digital media. At
times, PR efforts may entail certain costs to the firm, but generally, PR is
clearly distinguished from advertising as the firm does not pay for space in the
media vehicle. The output of public relations activities is somewhat less
controllable than is the case with either advertising or sales promotion. For
instance, a TV advertisement guarantees that a business reaches its audiences,
as prospective customers are frequently exposed to a particular message. This
level of control may not be attainable with PR, as other parties decide whether
or not to feature a media release. As a result, publicity is often referred to as
public relations; in terms of providing favorable information to media and third-
party outlets. Publicity may originate from bloggers, mainstream media, as well
as from new media forms, including podcasts. All this is done to provide a
message to consumers without having to pay for direct time or space. Therefore,
publicity creates awareness and carries out more credibility than other
promotional vehicles. After the message has been distributed, the publicist will
lose control on how the message will be used and interpreted by others.

The advantages of publicity are low-cost and credibility (particularly if the

publicity is aired in between news stories like evening TV news-casts). New
technologies such as blogs, web cameras, web affiliates, and convergence
(phone-camera posting of pictures and videos to websites) are changing the
cost-structure of publicity. The use of publicity is also known to be an important
strategic element due to its effect of intentional exposure over a prospective
consumer. Favorable publicity is also created through reputation management in
which organizations strive to control via the web. Furthermore, despite the fact
that publicity, both good and bad, can be beneficial for a company, much of it is
paid for, despite claims that publicity is free of charge. Despite publicity being
an influential benefit within the marketing sector, one disadvantage which
highly affects publicity, is the lack of ability in which publicity cannot be
repeated. The use of publicity, the acquisition of free space or time in the media,
can potentially be extremely beneficial to the businesses. This does not happen
by accident, though. It must be well thought-out.

A very important function of public relations and publicity is to promote the

corporate image and reputation of a business. The “image” is the total sum of
impressions of a company. For instance, a casual act by an employee can
appraise or damage the corporate image in the eyes of a single customer, or
caller on the phone. However, the major elements of corporate image include;
the core business and the financial performance of the company, the reputation
and performance of its brands (i.e. brand equity); its reputation for innovation or
technological processes; policies toward employees; external relations with
customers, shareholders, and the community, at large, and; the perceived trends
in the markets in which the business operates.
Public relations and publicity support other marketing tools, and could be seen
as the backbone of the promotional mix. The success achieved by the other
elements of the mix could easily be damaged or reduced by bad public relations
or negative publicity, something which is undesirable to businesses. Very often,
the businesses cannot control the favorable or unfavorable messages about
products or services that appear in online reviews and referrals. If for some
reason, the business receives bad publicity; its role in this area is the limitation
of damage. For example, many airlines and large hotel chains may have a
section within their PR department to engage with online communities. This
section will usually handle publicity issues, including negative reviews.

Recently, we are increasingly witnessing a surge in the businesses’ engagement

with online communities, including consumers. User-generated ratings and
reviews provide relevant information on the businesses’ products, and their
levels of customer service. For instance, many prospective customers read
reviews before choosing which places to visit, to stay or to eat. Very often, the
online ratings and reviews will have an effect on consumer behaviors. It is
likely that prospective customers will be mainly influenced by negative reviews,
rather than by positive ones. Many studies indicate that individuals will read
consumer reviews before shopping.

Reviews and Ratings

Presently, there are millions of online reviews that are related to travel and
tourism. Digital platforms which provide travel-related content concerning
destinations, attractions and businesses (these are generated by users,
themselves). For instance, Trip Advisor provides travel-related reviews and
opinions on accommodation establishments, restaurants and attractions. In
addition, many websites, which are traditionally known as booking engines,
including; Booking.com, Airbnb.com, et cetera, also provide reviews that are
integrated in their presentation of properties, restaurants and other amenities. A
distinction should be made between reviews and ratings: Reviews will generally
include qualitative comments and descriptions, whilst ratings usually feature
quantitative rankings, corresponding to degrees of user satisfaction. The ratings
may be part of a review.

Digital platforms that incorporate reviews and ratings for their products and
services need to ensure the accuracy, reliability and credibility of their content.
Online platforms should undertake all reasonable measures to ensure that the
individual reviews reflect the real users’ opinions, findings and experiences.
The provision of publicly available information through digital media involves a
certain degree of trust; therefore the veracity of the reviews is essential for their
integrity, reputation and good functioning of the review platforms. Whilst it is
not always easy to verify the authenticity of user generated content, the digital
platform should have quality control mechanisms and processes to ensure that
their reviews are clear, accurate and truthful, for the benefit of the service
providers as well as prospective consumers.
Sales Promotions

Sales promotions are marketing activities that provide an incentive to stimulate

immediate action. There are two types of sales promotions: consumer-oriented
and trade-oriented. Consumer-oriented sales promotions can be considered as a
pull strategy that creates demand.
Consumer promotions may include; samples, redeemable coupons, special
offers, freebies, complementary upgrades, contests, competitions, sweep stakes,
et cetera. These tactics are usually more effective when used as a short-term
inducement to generate purchase behaviors.
Conversely, the trade-oriented sales promotions are aimed at intermediaries.
These are used to incentivize an intermediary to promote (and supply) products
and services to the intended audience(s). The trade promotions may include;
temporary off-invoice price discounts or cooperative advertising allowances etc.

Sales promotion consists of those promotional activities which supplement

other market activities, especially advertising, sponsorships of events, personal
selling, et cetera. For example, it is very common for tourism businesses to
sponsor, not just the event, but also individual sports people and teams. Very
often, the sales promotional activities could support the launching of a new
service. Therefore, such promotions are usually of a short-term nature. They are
designed to both stimulate and induce the customer into buying from the
business. However, it should be noted that certain sales promotional tactics may
not be suitable for all kinds of businesses, particularly those who are offering
differentiated services.
Personal Selling

Personal selling is an important marketing communications tool as the

organizations representatives interact and engage in two-way communication
with potential customers. Therefore, members of staff can develop a good
understanding of their particular customers’ perceptions and preferences. This
will allow them to adapt their communications message to individual customers.
Personal selling is an interactive, conversational method of promotion. One of
its advantages is that it targets precise market segments. Therefore, it is usually
very expensive as it is based on a per-contact basis.

Very often, the other elements of the promotions mix are used to support the
personal selling effort. For example, without direct marketing and database
support, personal selling efforts cannot be fully-optimized. Without advertising
that creates awareness and knowledge about the businesses’ products and
services, personal selling could not exist.

Complaints provide a good opportunity to businesses to strengthen relationships

with customers. The businesses’ front office employees should listen to
customers with an open mind. They have to hear what customers have to say
without prejudging the situations. Once the front office employees understand
the complaint they have to empathize with customers and assure them that
something will be done to resolve the matter. The business should follow-up
this incident with a report on what went wrong, and steps should be taken to
rectify the situation. The goal of this process is to show customers that the
business cares about them. Crucially, management must ensure that all of their
front office employees will know how to approach complaints and criticism
with openness, empathy, and with a sincere desire to help. This way, they could
create lasting and satisfying relationships with customers.
Direct Marketing

Direct marketing tactics allow businesses to communicate directly with

customers through a variety of media, including; by electronic newsletters,
mobile messaging apps, websites, online adverts, fliers, online and offline
catalogues, promotional letters, targeted television, newspaper and magazine
advertisements, as well as outdoor advertising, among others. Direct marketing
often relies on the proposition, offer, communication, choice of channel and the
target customer. While advertising is comprised of non-personal
communications, direct marketing seeks to create one-to-one personal
relationships with customers. Again, the goal is to generate a response.

Direct marketing is attractive to many marketers because it is a communications

tool that provides a direct response from customers. Its positive results can be
measured directly. For example, if a marketer sends out 1,000 solicitations by
mail and 100 respond to the promotion, the marketer can say with confidence
that the campaign led to 10% direct responses. This metric is known as the
'response rate,' and it is one of many clearly quantifiable success metrics that are
employed by direct marketers. In contrast, general advertising uses indirect
measurements, such as awareness or engagement, since there is no direct
response from the consumer. The measurement of results is a fundamental
aspect for the successful implementation of direct marketing.

In this day and age, the engine behind direct marketing is usually a sophisticated
database. The collection of data is growing at an exponential rate as it is
continuously stored, in massive amounts, by search engines, including; Google,
Bing and Yahoo. In addition, more information is being gathered by social
media giants, like; Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, SnapChat, Instragram, et
cetera. The advances in technology are increasingly allowing marketers to know
more about their audiences. For instance, marketing are benefiting from the
growth of geo-location data services like satellites, near-field communication
and global positioning systems that track users’ movements that measure traffic
and other real-time phenomena. New anonymous cookie-less data capture
methods are connecting consumer data with matching geolocation-based data.
In the past; businesses did not have these means to capture, store and analyze
such data. Now, companies can economically gather and store all data from
each and every customer transaction. These methods are increasingly
empowering marketers to hyper-target consumers with real-time mobile ad
campaigns; before, during and after in-store activity, as they drive conversions.
Geolocation capabilities not only enable advertisers to capitalize on a lead, at
the right time, but they can also offer valuable insights into shopping habits and
consumer behaviors. As a result, customers are continuously being targeted with
relevant content.

Evidently, the internet has made it even easier for marketing managers to
measure the results of their direct marketing campaigns. This is often achieved
by using a specific website landing page which is directly related to the
promotional material. A call to action will ask the customer to visit the landing
page, and the effectiveness of the campaign can be measured by taking the
number of promotional messages distributed and dividing it into the number of
responses. Another way to measure the results is to compare the projected sales
or the generation of leads with the actual sales or leads after a direct advertising
campaign.
Interactive Marketing

Interactive marketing is a marketing communications strategy that enables two-

way communications between sellers and individual buyers. This exchange
takes place online through email, social media, and blogs. The advantages of
interactive marketing include the ability to precisely communicate to
individuals with addressable messages that can be customized in ways that
make the messages more relevant to consumers.

The interactive marketing tools rely on an open engagement with customers.

One of the most noteworthy advantages of utilizing digital media, including
websites, blogs, micro-blogs is their two-way, interactive nature. Today, Web
2.0, also referred to as ‘‘Travel 2.0’’ in tourism, includes a range of new
technological applications such as media and content syndication, mash-ups,
tagging, wikis, web foray and message boards, customer ratings and evaluation
systems, virtual worlds, podcasting, blogs, and online videos (vlogs). Moreover,
the development of social media channels has also been crucial for the
successful execution of this communication strategy. Interactive marketing is
also linked to content marketing, so companies can produce relevant content
that is shared many times through social networks. Such content may "go viral"
among social media users. In addition, consumers may trust those who may be
considered as thought leaders in their industry, so this strategy can bring in
many inbound leads, coming through download pages. On the other hand,
internet users can choose what content they wish to be exposed to, respond to,
and share.

Direct and interactive marketing techniques typically include response

mechanisms that allow consumers to respond directly to a communication and
to potentially make a purchase. Compared to mass media communications,
direct and interactive marketing is much more precise and measurable. The
ability to measure direct and interactive marketing effects allow marketers to
design communication programs that target consumers, based on the amount of
time since last purchase, frequency – the number of previous purchases, and
monetary value – the total expenditures a customer makes over time, et cetera.

For example, Google may have access to consumer profiles more than any other
company, because it knows when consumers view ads in Google Search, Gmail,
YouTube, Google Maps, and Android apps. It also knows where consumers go,
both online and in the physical world, based on cookies and location data from
their phones. The company will shortly be in a position to track credit and debit
card transactions and link them to online consumer behavior. Google’s moves
will bring significant marketing opportunities to advertisers. It may appear that
businesses could leverage themselves if Google provides them with relevant
data on the customers’ needs and wants. Google could also indicate when
prospects need products or services, and what price they are willing to pay.
These answers allow marketers to better target individual consumers. However,
these advances will also raise privacy concerns. There may be wary consumers
who may want to separate the greater personalization of content from
advertising. For this reason, they may install ad blockers, tracking blockers, and
they could decide to switch off their phone’s location services
Integrated Marketing Communications Campaign

The integrated marketing communications campaigns are drawn from all of the
elements of the promotional mix which have been discussed in this chapter. The
businesses’ communications objectives may not change much over time.
However, the promotional campaigns may run for a few weeks, sometimes even
for a few years. Consequently, it is usual for the overall promotional campaigns
to be based on clear strategies that will help the respective business to achieve
its goals and objectives. The different marketing tools are distinct from each
other in terms of their purpose. However, they may be used together in unison –
something which is easier said than done. Therefore, marketing managers are
faced with important decisions with respect to their IMC planning, organization,
implementation and control. They need to coordinate the various promotional
activities into a concerted, organized, promotional campaign. They will have to
allocate financial resources in support of every marketing tool; and coordinate
their spending so that all customer touch points are getting consistent messages.

There are many marketing communications tools, including digital media and
traditional channels. Managers must also ensure that each of their promotional
activities will truly represent their product or services, in a consistent manner.
The worst thing that can happen is to have different media conveying
conflicting marketing messages. Such discrepancies may confuse customers and
undermine brands. One practical way to avoid inconsistency is to review the
IMC program on a regular basis.

The job of specifying the right communications mix has grown more complex
simply due to the number of options, variations and combinations to be
considered. Usually, a large chunk of the IMC budget is dedicated to an
advertising or media agency. For instance, a TV commercial is strictly a one-
way message; it can create awareness, and it may impart information about the
features and benefits of the product. Personal selling, involves a two-way
conversation where the salespersons can describe the features and attributes of
their products or services. At the same time, customers may ask for specific
information, or may voice their concerns on certain issues. The salespersons and
the buyers can negotiate and perhaps conclude with a transaction. Therefore,
two-way communication methods are effective in moving the buyer along the
final steps of the marketing funnel. In a similar vein, direct marketing and
interactive communications, offer some of the advantages of two-way
communications.

In sum, the marketers’ challenge is to communicate with customers in a way

which triggers their purchase decision. At the same time, they must optimize
their resource allocation among all promotional activities, as effectively as
possible. They may have to consider the following 6Ms whenever they use their
marketing communications tools:

5.9.1 The Market

The market comprises customers, including other intermediaries; such as
retailers or wholesalers, as well as consumers.

5.9.2 The Mission

The marketing objectives may include increasing sales volumes, market share,
return on investment, and profitability. The communication objectives may
include; raising awareness of a product or service, increasing the consumer
knowledge of the product features and attributes, improving the consumers’
preferences and convictions toward the product, entice customers to make their
purchase decisions. These latter objectives are related with the hierarchy of
effects model, which map out the response process of prospective customers
before their actual purchase. One premise of this process is that communications
take time to yield results. Another aspect of this model is that; different
elements of IMC can be very effective and specifically targeted at integral steps
in the response process. For example, advertising is an excellent tool to raise
awareness and to convey information on a product or service. Public relations
may be used to generate interest and desire. Personal selling (which necessitates
face-to-face interactions) may be used to convert preference and conviction into
purchase behaviors.

5.9.3 The Message

The consumers may be interested in the features and benefits of products or
services. Whilst the intermediaries (if any) may want to know more on the terms
of trade, the reliability of delivery, volume discounts, and about the businesses’
efforts to generate demand through advertising.

5.9.4 The Media

Which communication tools should be used to promote the businesses’ products
or services? One medium is seldom enough to reach segments.

5.9.5 The Money

How much will be budgeted for every marketing tool?

5.9.6 Measurement
How will the business assess the impact of its integrated marketing
communications?