Integrated Marketing Communication Essay

Integrated merchandise intercourse (IMC) is a termination put ond to describe the communication tools which help channel the nubs intended by the marketers through unhomogeneous tools and with the usage of comprehensive plans and schemes that incorporate the objectives of a merchandise campaigns. ( break out GE, Belch MA, 2008). IMC is a discipline which seeks to develop the marketing strategies which help provoke a good or a service in the desire behavior which marketers want and plys to ensure that the methods used to do so argon in lined with the customs and traditions of the place where marketing and promotional material of a certain growth is being done. (Kitchen P & Pelsmacke PD 2004).IMC, tactically is a way of putting unitedly the social occasions of marketing into one hotshot form and using the marketing techniques and methods to achieve the desired level of solvent from the target clients. IMC involves combination of strategies which ar used to buy the f arm the messages of marketers with the use of various sources and methods. IMC strategies start from designing the product, analyzing the target market, conducting researches, budgeting and planning, overcoming the technological and cultural barriers and hence communicating the product to prospects.IMC operates in macro and micro environments which mean the outer and versed spheres of an arrangement and the immediate context of communication in an organisation respectively. The display case of macro environment in IMC is the use of consumer magazines. These magazines provide a way of fine communication amongst the people and the organisations. To consumers, magazines argon a source of tediousness alleviation and a hind sight to know about(predicate) the product which the organisation wants to sell.They perform the function of aw atomic number 18ness for the consumers and help the organisation go out the changing demands of the customers. (Kitchen P & Pelsmacke PD 2004) Magazin es being easy to use, mobile and supple to read are the vast effecting medium of communication used by the organisations. Some famous magazines like Readers Digest, New York Times display the utilization of widely read and used magazines. The Tools of Integrated marketing Communication at that place are seven basic tools employed by IMC to perform the function of communication.In order to understand them, understanding communication is more than important. Communication apprise be defined as a process in which a sender and receiver involve in the activity of send and receiving a message through a certain channel. Feedback is the resultant role of communication process which a receiver sends to a sender. (Schultz DE, Tannenbaum SI, Lauterborn RF, 1993). The marketing communication mix includes Advertisements, Sale Promotion, Personal Selling (PR), Sponsorship, Packaging and Direct market (DM).These tools together perform the functions of IMC that is to communicate the desired message of marketers to the target auditory modality who are the prospective and potential buyers of the product which is being sold. (Schultz D, Schultz H 2004) These are the six basic communication methods which are used in IMC to communicate to the target audience and help in interchange the product to them. (Belch GE, Belch MA, 2008). Drivers of Integrated Marketing Communication IMC is a discipline which is only if a decade old. The old 4Ps of marketing mix, that are, product, price, place, promotion be possessed of all been feature into one P, i. . , Promotion.Its promotion of the product which needs the basic communication processes and for which organisations observe huge expenses with one single target. (Pickton D, Broderick A, 2005). They need their product to be know and they want it be sold. Previously, marketing the product was the function of marketing part of an organisation only. (Cornelissen, P. J. & Lock, R. A. 2000). Organisations used to contact agencies to expect their product promoted amongst the masses and to allow the customers be aware of their existence in the market. (Schultz, D.E. 1996).PR that existed in those years too, but marketers and organisations over looked the fact that they potentiometer amalgamate both the functions and raise further tools to achieve better results in the field of marketing communications. globalization has made competition severe and tough. Organisations now bring offers for the customer which can non only satisfy their prospect customers but in like manner wassail them.In this endeavour, the organisations work hard to make sure that their product is communicated by rights and the customers are aware of their presence. Schultz DE, Tannenbaum SI, Lauterborn RF, 1993). Introducing promotional schemes and introducing personal selling with the help of gentle packaging and designs, products speak volumes about themselves, and expertise in PR, Sponsors, Personal selling and glamorous yet clas sy adverts in print, electronic mediums have coat way for marketers to enhance their marketing campaigns and their marketing plans. All of this is possible only when the concept of completion is hatched. (Percy L, 2008)Barriers to Integrated Marketing CommunicationEven though IMC has opened avenues for organisations to conduct businesses world wide, there are few barriers which have to be encountered term using IMC methods. The most important issue is racy costs. Advertisements and sponsorships land down heavy on organisations. Advertisements are expensive, and have to be made with careful vigilance to ensure that the adverts communicate the desired message properly. Sponsorship is costly for the organisations and it has to be done for few activities and has to be done real carefully.Hence budgeting is one of the prime barriers as it numbers to allotting a considerable collect of finances to marketing communications. (Pickton D, Broderick A, 2005). Organisational structure is one barrier too. Some organisations are rigid in their structures and they tend to stay the same. (Pickton D, Broderick A, 2005). IMC tackles with the integration of all the departments together to work in a cohesive and co coordinated environment. If organisations do not want to change their structure, IMC will be futile to implement and they wint enjoy the realizes of it. Schultz D, Schultz H 2004) Some internal and external factors also tend to hamper the activities of IMC.Culture can be one of them. It is very(prenominal) important for the organisation and the agency to know what promotional scheme they are using and whether it is in alignment with the culture existing in a country. Wrong wordings or inappropriate signs can disrupt the image of the organisation and people of the country can sue the company too. Such precautions have to be taken in account and can become a barrier to IMC. (Smith PR, Taylor J, 2004)Integrated Marketing Communications and the Academic Acceptance IMC has emerged as a discipline in the last decade. The new subject has come to be of great importance for the marketers and organisational managers who want to take full benefit of Integrated Marketing Communications. (Schultz DE & Kitchen P 1998, p 7-19). The in coherent and uncoordinated departments of the organisations can now assimilate together to produce synergies and can work together to have their product sold in the market. (Percy L, 2008)IMC promotes focus of customer on the product. With the use of various methods and careful planning like the use of AIDA model, FCB Grid marketers can ensure that customers have their complete focus on the product they are trying to sell. After all, marketing is all about communication. (Percy L, 2008) (Cornelissen, P. J. & Lock, R. A. 2000, p 7-15). In academic arena, IMC has created a benchmark for the people as this new discipline has created avenues for further enhancements in marketing techniques. (Schultz DE, Tannenbaum SI, Lauterb orn RF, 1993).Even though few marketers believe that IMC is no different from normal marketing activities and it is more or less same, but the question is Is IMC no different from Marketing? (OBrien EM & Hart SJ 1999, p 77-89) The questions needs to be addressed, and the answer to it is that Marketing is different from IMC. Marketing differs from IMC because Marketing deals with only one aspect of promotion, exclusively as a P of the marketing mix. It does not co ordinate promotion as a part of communication process.Promotional techniques are limited to personal selling and sales promotions. (Schultz D, Schultz H 2004) IMC takes cultural differences while designing the marketing campaign in order to avoid. It also helps slenderise the incoherency in organization by creating cross functional teams in organization so that the employees in the organization work hand in hand towards the product communication and creating synergy and increasing customer focus. (Percy L, 2008) Conside ring these factors, we can assumed and said that IMC must be accepted a cleave discipline and it has its own importance which can be seen in instantlys world where marketing process has been ignited with raging competition. (Schultz D, Schultz H 2004)