ADVERTISING AND

MEDIA MANAGEMENT
Module-1
What is integrated marketing communications
(IMC)?

• Integrated marketing communication (IMC) can be defined as the

process used to unify marketing communication elements, such as public
relations, social media, audience analytics, business development
principles, and advertising, into a brand identity that remains consistent
across distinct media channels.
The goal of practicing integrated marketing is to align your multichannel marketing mix. As
channels and platforms continue to evolve, the concept has extended to include a structured
approach to:
•Search
•Social media
•Display
•PR
•Landing pages
•Product catalogs
•Email marketing
•Direct marketing

At Smart Insights, we define Integrated Marketing as follows:

"Integrated Marketing is a strategic approach to integrating communications and interactive experiences targeting defined
audiences and individuals which coordinates all aspects of marketing of a brand, including:
•Paid media (offline advertising, direct marketing and online display and programmatic);
•Earned media (Organic search fuelled by content marketing, PR and online influencer outreach)
•Owned media (including social media, on-site UX, customer service and direct messaging through
email and mobile)

in order achieve consistent messaging customised where possible by channel which presents a unified
and seamless experience to consumers across the customer lifecycle or path to purchase".

That's the essential essence of integrated marketing - that by coordinating

messages across channels the results from increasing brand awareness,
familiarity, favourability and purchase intent are far higher than when taking a less
integrated approach that fails to coordinate.
With the introduction of a whole host of new digital marketing channels over the
past decade, the integration of marketing channels has never been more difficult
or more important.

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In addition to our own definition, the 3 definitions below demonstrate 3 different approaches to integrated marketing strategy;
Marketing-Schools focuses on customer-facing content, Multimedia Marketing, on linking messages to work together, and
Wikipedia on consistency and impact of messages.

• Marketing-Schools
Integrated Marketing is a marketing strategy that stresses the importance of a consistent, seamless, multi-dimensional
brand experience for the consumer. This means that each branding effort – across television, radio, print, Internet, and in-
person – is presented in a similar style that reinforces the brand’s ultimate message.
• Multimedia Marketing
Integrated Marketing Communications is a simple concept. It ensures that all forms of communications and messages are
carefully linked together. At its most basic level, Integrated Marketing Communications, or IMC, as we’ll call it, means
integrating all the promotional tools, so that they work together in harmony.

• Wikipedia
Integrated Marketing Communications is the use of marketing strategies to optimise the communication of a consistent
message of the company's brands to stakeholders [...] which when combined together builds a clearer and vaster impact
than if used individually.

Within the 3 given definitions, although each has a slightly different focus, remains a consistent definition of integrated
marketing, and its benefits for your business. There is no doubt that integrated planning can transform your digital marketing
strategy ROI.
• Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Definition
• IMC: Making an Impact with Marketing Communication
• Having a great product available to your customers at a great price does absolutely nothing for you if your customers
don’t know about it. That’s where promotion enters the picture: it does the job of connecting with your target audiences
and communicating what you can offer them.
• In today’s marketing environment, promotion involves integrated marketing communication (IMC). In a nutshell, IMC
involves bringing together a variety of different communication tools to deliver a common message and make a desired
impact on customers’ perceptions and behavior. As an experienced consumer in the English-speaking world, you have
almost certainly been the target of IMC activities. (Practically every time you “like” a TV show, article, or a meme on
Facebook, you are participating in an IMC effort!)
What Is Marketing Communication?
• Defining marketing communication is tricky because, in a real sense, everything an organization does
has communication potential. The price placed on a product communicates something very specific
about the product. A company that chooses to distribute its products strictly through discount stores
sends a distinct message to the market. Marketing communication refers to activities deliberately
focused on promoting an offering among target audiences. The following definition helps to clarify
this term:
• Marketing communication includes all the messages, media, and activities used by an organization to
communicate with the market and help persuade target audiences to accept its messages and take
action accordingly.
• Integrated marketing communication is the the process of coordinating all this activity across
different communication methods. Note that a central theme of this definition is persuasion:
persuading people to believe something, to desire something, and/or to do something. Effective
marketing communication is goal directed, and it is aligned with an organization’s marketing strategy.
It aims to deliver a particular message to a specific audience with a targeted purpose of altering
perceptions and/or behavior. Integrated marketing communication (IMC) makes this marketing
activity more efficient and effective because it relies on multiple communication methods and
customer touch points to deliver a consistent message in more ways and in more compelling ways.
• The Promotion Mix: Marketing Communication Methods
• The promotion mix refers to how marketers combine a range of marketing
communication methods to execute their marketing activities. Different
methods of marketing communication have distinct advantages and
complexities, and it requires skill and experience to deploy them effectively. Not
surprisingly, marketing communication methods evolve over time as new
communication tools and capabilities become available to marketers and the
people they target.
Seven common methods of marketing communication are described below:

• Advertising: Any paid form of presenting ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. Historically, advertising
messages have been tailored to a group and employ mass media such as radio, television, newspaper, and magazines.
Advertising may also target individuals according to their profile characteristics or behavior; examples are the weekly ads
mailed by supermarkets to local residents or online banner ads targeted to individuals based on the sites they visit or their
Internet search terms.
• Public relations (PR): The purpose of public relations is to create goodwill between an organization (or the things it
promotes) and the “public” or target segments it is trying to reach. This happens through unpaid or earned promotional
opportunities: articles, press and media coverage, winning awards, giving presentations at conferences and events, and
otherwise getting favorable attention through vehicles not paid for by the sponsor. Although organizations earn rather
than pay for the PR attention they receive, they may spend significant resources on the activities, events, and people who
generate this attention.
• Personal selling: Personal selling uses people to develop relationships with target audiences for the purpose of selling
products and services. Personal selling puts an emphasis on face-to-face interaction, understanding the customer’s needs,
and demonstrating how the product or service provides value.
• Sales promotion: Sales promotions are marketing activities that aim to temporarily boost sales of a product or service by
adding to the basic value offered, such as “buy one get one free” offers to consumers or “buy twelve cases and get a 10
percent discount” to wholesalers, retailers, or distributors.
• Direct marketing: This method aims to sell products or services directly to
consumers rather than going through retailer. Catalogs, telemarketing, mailed
brochures, or promotional materials and television home shopping channels are
all common traditional direct marketing tools. Email and mobile marketing are
two next-generation direct marketing channels.
• Digital marketing: Digital marketing covers a lot of ground, from Web sites to
search-engine, content, and social media marketing. Digital marketing tools and
techniques evolve rapidly with technological advances, but this umbrella term
covers all of the ways in which digital technologies are used to market and sell
organizations, products, services, ideas, and experiences.
Guerrilla marketing: This newer category of marketing communication involves unconventional,
innovative, and usually low-cost marketing tactics to engage consumers in the marketing activity,
generate attention and achieve maximum exposure for an organization, its products, and/or services.
Generally guerrilla marketing is experiential: it creates a novel situation or memorable experience
consumers connect to a product or brand.
• The Objectives of Marketing Communication
The basic objectives of all marketing communication methods are
(1) to communicate, (2) to compete, and (3) to convince.

In order to be effective, organizations should ensure that whatever information

they communicate is clear, accurate, truthful, and useful to the stakeholders
involved. In fact, being truthful and accurate in marketing communications is
more than a matter of integrity; it’s also a matter of legality, since fraudulent
marketing communications can end in lawsuits and even the criminal justice
system.
• Organizations may conduct many types of IMC campaigns, and several may be run
concurrently. Geographically, a firm may have a local, regional, or national campaign, depending
upon the available funds, objectives, and market scope. One campaign may be aimed at
consumers and another at wholesalers and retailers. Different marketing campaigns might target
different segments simultaneously, delivering messages and using communication tools tailored
to each segment. Marketers use a marketing plan (sometimes called an IMC plan) to track and
execute a set of campaigns over a given period of time.
• A campaign revolves around a theme, a central idea, focal point, or purpose. This theme
permeates all IMC efforts and works to unify the campaign. The theme may refer to the
campaign’s goals—for example, KCRW “Capital Campaign” launched by the popular Los Angeles-
based public radio station KCRW to raise $48 million to build a new state-of-the-art media facility
for its operations. The theme may also refer to the shift in customer attitudes or behavior that a
campaign focuses on—such as new-member campaigns launched by numerous member
organizations, from professional associations to school parent-teacher organizations. A theme
might take the form of a slogan, such as Coca-Cola’s “Taste the Feeling” campaign or DeBeers’ “A
diamond is forever.”
The Purpose of Advertising
• Advertising has three primary objectives: to inform, to persuade, and to remind.
• Informative Advertising creates awareness of brands, products, services, and
ideas. It announces new products and programs and can educate people about
the attributes and benefits of new or established products.
• Persuasive Advertising tries to convince customers that a company’s services or
products are the best, and it works to alter perceptions and enhance the image of
a company or product. Its goal is to influence consumers to take action and
switch brands, try a new product, or remain loyal to a current brand.
• Reminder Advertising reminds people about the need for a product or service,
or the features and benefits it will provide when they purchase promptly.
Reminder Advertising

Left: Informative Advertising Right: Persuasive Advertising

When people think of advertising, often product-focused advertisements are top of mind—i.e., ads that promote
an organization’s goods or services. Institutional advertising goes beyond products to promote organizations,
issues, places, events, and political figures. Public service announcements (PSAs) are a category of institutional
advertising focused on social-welfare issues such as drunk driving, drug use, and practicing a healthy lifestyle.
Usually PSAs are sponsored by nonprofit organizations and government agencies with a vested interest in the
causes they promote.

Public Service Announcement (PSA)

• Developing Effective Ads: The Creative Strategy
• Effective advertising starts with the same foundational components as any other IMC campaign: identifying the
target audience and the objectives for the campaign. When advertising is part of a broader IMC effort, it is
important to consider the strategic role advertising will play relative to other marketing communication
tools. With clarity around the target audience, campaign strategy, and budget, the next step is to develop
the creative strategy for developing compelling advertising. The creative strategy has two primary
components: the message and the appeal.
• The message comes from the messaging framework:
• What message elements should the advertising convey to consumers?
• What should the key message be?
• What is the call to action?
• How should the brand promise be manifested in the ad?
• How will it position and differentiate the offering?

With advertising, it’s important to remember that the ad can communicate the message not only with words but also
potentially with images, sound, tone, and style.
Effective wordless advertisement
• The emotional appeal targets consumers’ emotional wants and needs rather than rational logic and facts. It
plays on conscious or subconscious desires, beliefs, fears, and insecurities to persuade consumers and
influence their behavior. The emotional appeal is linked to the features and benefits provided by the
product, but it creates a connection with consumers at an emotional level rather than a rational level. Most
marketers agree that emotional appeals are more powerful and differentiating than informational appeals.
However, they must be executed well to seem authentic and credible to the the target audience. A poorly
executed emotional appeal can come across as trite or manipulative. Examples of emotional appeals
include:

• Self-esteem: L’Oreal “Because I’m worth it”

• Happiness: Coca-Cola “Open happiness”
• Anxiety and fear: World Health Organization “Smoking Kills”
• Achievement: Nike “Just Do It”
• Attitude: Apple “Think Different”
• Freedom: Southwest “You are now free to move about the country”
• Peace of Mind: Allstate “Are you in good hands?”
• Popularity: NBC “Must-see TV”
• Germophobia: Chlorox “For life’s bleachable moments, there’s Chlorox” eg: Sanitizer
• Marketers also need to consider existing public perceptions and other advertising and messages
the company has placed in the market. Has the prior marketing activity resonated well with target
audiences? Should the next round of advertising reinforce what went before, or is it time for a fresh
new message, look, or tone?
• Along with message, the creative strategy also identifies the appeal, or how the advertising will
attract attention and influence a person’s perceptions or behavior. Advertising appeals can take
many forms, but they tend to fall into one of two categories: informational appeal
and emotional appeal.
• The informational appeal offers facts and information to help the target audience make a
purchasing decision. It tries to generate attention using rational arguments and evidence to
convince consumers to select a product, service, or brand. For example:
• More or better product or service features: Ajax “Stronger Than Dirt”
• Cost savings: Wal-Mart “Always Low Prices”
• Quality: John Deere “Nothing runs like a Deere”
• Customer service: Holiday Inn “Pleasing people the world over”
• New, improved: Verizon “Can you hear me now? Good.”
The AIDA Model identifies cognitive stages an individual goes through during the buying
process for a product or service. It's a purchasing funnel where buyers go to and fro at each
stage, to support them in making the final purchase.
• What is the AIDA model?
• The AIDA Model identifies cognitive stages an individual goes through during the buying process for a product or
service. It's a purchasing funnel where buyers go to and fro at each stage, to support them in making the final
purchase.
• It's no longer a relationship purely between the buyer and the company since social media has extended it to
achieving the different goals of AIDA via information added by other customers via social networks and communities.
• What does AIDA stand for?
• Awareness: creating brand awareness or affiliation with your product or service.
• Interest: generating interest in the benefits of your product or service, and sufficient interest to encourage the buyer
to start to research further.
• Desire: for your product or service through an 'emotional connection', showing your brand personality. Move the
consumer from 'liking' it to 'wanting it'.
• Action: CTA - Move the buyer to interact with your company and taking the next step ie. downloading a brochure,
making the phone call, joining your newsletter, or engaging in live chat, etc.
• Retention: We all know that this is key to upsell, cross-sell, referrals, Advocacy and the list goes on.. as companies
are also focussing on LTV.
• An example of the AIDA model
Here is a case study from our Marketing Models Guide showing how an award-winning hairdressing company,
Francesco Group used the model to launch their new salon.

1. Awareness: Ran a PR campaign four months prior to launch, promoting award, stylists, qualifications etc. and was
reinforced through a DM campaign to targeted customer groups.
2. Interest: Executed a direct mail campaign to offer a free consultation or hair cut and finish. They used research to
support that this would work, as females are loyal if the offer is compelling.
3. Desire: Close to the opening of the new salon, they ran exclusive local launch events which was advertised through
local press and social media. This created a local buzz for 'people wanting an invite' and excited to see the new salon.
4. Action: Clear CTAS were positioned on the Facebook site (call to reserve), the website (call to book) and local
advertising (call in to receive discount or the offer.

The case study didn't highlight Retention, though there are many ways to increase loyalty around sign up to mailing
lists or social platforms which offer news about offers and events, discounts on product ranges, discounts according to
the frequency of visit, etc.
What Is DAGMAR?
• DAGMAR (defining advertising goals for measured advertising results) is a marketing model
used to establish clear objectives for an advertising campaign and measure its success.
• The DAGMAR model was introduced by Russell Colley in a 1961 report to the Association of
National Advertisers and was expanded upon in 1995 by Solomon Dutka.

• DAGMAR helps us understand advertising approaches properly. It deals with the concept of when
and how to do the advertisement with minimum effort and finance. This article covers all about
DAGMAR, its approach, advantages and examples.
• In advertising, DAGMAR refers to a collection of objectives for measuring an advertisement's
effectiveness. In addition, it improves the customer relationship by increasing the effectiveness
of the advertising campaign.
• Advertisers who use the DAGMAR approach decide on clear advertising objectives, monitor &
analyse results, and accomplish concrete goals. The DAGMAR approach, however, is criticised
for having a large advertising budget.
DAGMAR Approach to Advertising
• Advertising effectiveness is determined by defining and measuring advertising goals or
DAGMARs. You can build a better customer relationship by improving your advertising
campaign using the DAGMAR approach. In a nutshell, the DAGMAR approach looks like this:
• 1. Defining Your Advertising Goals
• Companies often consider marketing and advertising goals the same. The advertising
process deals with the image of a brand.
• In reality, they do not share the same objective of generating sales. As a result, the company
needs to define its advertising goals.
• To explain to them, they must also clearly understand what they hope to achieve through
this advertisement.
• For example, a soap and detergent company wishes to increase sales from 10% to 15%.
Thus, their advertising goal will emphasise how good their detergent is compared to others.
• 2. Measuring Advertising Results
• Companies can measure results when analysing and evaluating
advertisements.
• First, it allows the company to understand how effective its advertising is.
• As a result, it demonstrates the number of customers that saw their ads, the
number of leads and sales created, and other similar questions.
• During the 1920s, the Audit Bureau Of Circulations helped firms gather
accurate statistics about advertisement sales. The next step is determining if
the advertisement motivated customers to act.
• Finally, they examine whether the advertisement changed the customer's
perception of the brand.
Objectives of the DAGMAR Model of Advertising
• Advertising is only possible if you want people to notice you, read your
message or listen to it. The advertisement should change customers'
mindsets instead. Also, it should create brand recognition.
• The DAGMAR approach aims to achieve the following objectives:
• 1. Awareness
• Creating a positive impression in customers' minds begins with awareness.
It is important that a customer is familiar with the brand, the new product
launch, and the new offers before making a purchase.
• Customers often feel connected to a company's goals when they
understand its brand well. Therefore, companies should create ads that
target their target audiences.
2. Comprehension
• To achieve effective advertising results, awareness alone is not sufficient. Understanding
(detailing) product information is crucial for a company.
• In addition, it should provide relevant information about the product's features.
• For example, Dell releases an advertisement for its new laptop. Laptop's features include
enhanced processors, a protected screen, and increased storage.
• 3. Conviction
• In this case, the customer decides whether to buy the product. Customers often compare
similar products to make choices.
• Customers might try the product if they find it exciting and worthwhile. Advertisements
strive to convey their message to targeted audiences at this point.
• According to Facebook Meta, another technology company, in 2020, two users helped a
woman start a business with Facebook users. With the help of Facebook, she slowly grew
her shop with many users.
4. Action
• Making a purchase decision is the final step. This step aims to motivate
customers to purchase the product.
• For instance, a consumer electronics company, Apple, pushes its ads to
prospective customers before launching a new iPhone. The product
becomes exciting as a result, and therefore, customers buy products they
find interesting.