Significant Role of IMC in Overall Marketing-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss how IMC plays a significant role in the overall Marketing and Business Strategy. Answer: Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is a marketing concept that has been used by different companies in the past. According to Adrian (2013), integrated marketing communication comprises of using different marketing strategies to optimize the communication of a consistent message of the organizations products to its stakeholders. The major aim of using this concept in businesses is to meld all aspects of marketing communication like sales promotions, advertising, public relations, social media and direct marketing through a mix of tactics, media, channels, and methods so that they can work together to meet the organizations marketing goals. IMC attempts to link the modern and traditional marketing strategies with the aim of establishing an efficient and reliable tool to convey a companys brands to its relevant stakeholders. One of the major purposes of IMC in an organization is developing and maintaining a positive customer-company relationship and therefore when developing this concept it is vital to thoroughly analyze and determine the target audience, who is this case should be the prospective customer (Camelia, 2012). IMC also assists companies in other different ways, like for example building good links with customers and communicating brand characteristics based on customer preferences. One of the Australian companies which have been utilizing IMC concept in their operations is coca cola. According to Daliborka (2016), this company has been incorporating this strategy with the primary aim of communicating with its target customers and to meet its marketing goals. Being a pioneer company which operates in not only Australia but also in other countries, coca cola realized it had to get in touch with its customers in order to create links which could increase customer loyalty. To succeed in this strategy in the Australian market, the company has been adapting IMC based on the society, the nature of the market, the potential, competition, product positioning, and so forth. In its operations, coca cola targets to be close to its consumers, to become part of their life, to become kind of ritual attached to specific moments. For this reason, the company uses IMC to meld different aspects of marketing communication to create emotions and a feeling of affiliation towards its consumers (Krisztina, 2016). Some of the tools of IMC which this company puts in utilization in the Australian market comprise of advertising, direct marketing, interactive marketing and social media, sales promotion and others. The company has been using emotional product communication through utilizing various tactics like creative storytelling and regular people endorsements from time to time as one way of connecting with the target audience in Australia. Coonawarra vignerons association is also among other many companies which use this concept to ensure they meet their marketing goals. One of the most vital marketing messages communicated by this company outwards to the external audiences is the regional brand image. According to Pauwels (2014), organizations such as Coonawarra vignerons association should prioritize communication in order to survive. Over the years, this company has been putting different aspects of marketing communication together in order to reach its customers. Different features like the nature of segmentation, targeting, and positioning of this company have enabled it to realize that IMC is ideal for its marketing strategies. According to Tybout Calder (2014), integrated marketing in this company has enabled it to realize unity of purpose, unity of goal, unity of process as well as unity of action. Some of the key communication channels which this company has been utilizing in its operations comprise of local media, radio and television, as well as print. Integrated marketing communication plays a significant role in overall marketing and business strategy in a number of ways. According to Krisztina, (2016), one of the major purposes of this concept is to communicate brand message to a larger audience, which helps an organization to create a positive relationship with its targets. The concept does this through melding all essential components of marketing to communicate a uniform message to the companys potential and existing customers. IMC is fundamental for not only business to business marketing but also for direct interaction with consumers (Pauwels, 2014). Companies which use this concept in their operations not only succeed in promoting their products or services among the target audience but also establish trust and loyalty which makes them to stick to their brands. Through IMC, similar message goes to the consumers simultaneously, which eventually creates a positive influence on them. The other importance of IMC is that it allows an organization to provide customers with information in the format they feel is best for them (Daliborka, 2016). For example, consumers can specify if they prefer to receive product information through direct mail, telephone, email and so forth. This concept also makes an organization to save costs because it enables the marketing professionals to use the same images and also adapt the same copy of different media, hence leading to the reduction of costs associated with different aspects like copy-writing photography, design and so forth. References Adrian. B. (2013). The Relationship between Integrated Marketing Communication and Brand Equity. International Journal of Communication Research, 3(1), 56-78. Camelia. M. (2012), Impact of Integrated Marketing Communication on Consumer Behaviour: Effects on Consumer Decision - Making Process. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 4(2), 123-134. Daliborka, N. L. (2016). Public Relation Based Model of Integrated Marketing Communications. UTMS Journal of Economics, 7(2), 70-90. Krisztina, U. S. (2016). Integrated Communication in the Marketing of Lifelong Learning Programmes. International Journal of Communication Research, 6(1), 78-90. Pauwels. k. (2014). It's Not the Size of the Data -- It's How You Use It: Smarter Marketing with Analytics and Dashboards. New York. American Management Association. Tybout, A. M. Calder, B. J. (2010). Kellogg on Marketing. Hoboken, NJ. Wiley