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This is a concept under which the company integrates and coordinates its many communication tools also known as promotional tools(advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing) to deliver clear, consistent and compelling messages about the organization and its products.

Provides an opportunity to cut communication costs. Since IMC emphasizes operational efficiency it becomes easy to avoid unnecessary and hence save on communication costs. . Has the potential to produce synergistic and more effective communications. This often is a result of clear an communication consistency
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Can deliver competitive advantage through clearer positioning. IMC attempts to unify the companys image as it is shaped by thousands of company activities hence positioning much clearer. Provides for increased employee participation and motivation. Since IMC Involves everyone in the organization including employees in the development and implementation of marketing communication programs, participation and motivation of employees is enhanced.

Causes management to review its communication strategy. IMC emphasizes attainment of results for every marketing communication effort. Therefore at the end of every communication effort management is forced to review the impact of their communication effort. Helps foster focus on the customer. IMC has the interest of the customer at heart and all messages are tailored to customer needs.

Provides a benchmark for the development of communication activities. IMC normally sets standards that form the bases for the development of marketing communication activities. Through IMC the company is able to work out the roles that the various promotional tools will play and the extent to which they will be used.

Enables coordination of marketing communication activities. IMC carefully coordinates the promotional activities and the timing of when major campaigns take place. Has led to increased accountability. IMC places responsibility in someones hands where none existed before.

Encourages centralization and formal/bureaucratic procedures. IMC requires that all marketing communication activities be centralized or coordinated from a central place, which leads to unnecessary bureaucracy, Time wastage. IMC requires increased management time seeking agreement from all parties involved.

Kills creativity in marketing activities. The tendency to standardization might negate or dilute creative opportunities Can lead to resistance to change. IMC requires cultural change from employees and encourages resistance. Damage to brand reputation. IMC has the potential to severely damage a brands reputation if incorrectly managed.

Sometimes it is impractical to implement. IMC suggests uniformity and single message that may not be possible in some situations. It is not possible with global brands. There is need to adopt global brands and messages to local conditions which poses a big challenge as getting a uniform message for all consumers in the globe is not an easy task.

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ADVERTISING -Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. -Advertising is used mostly by business firms, by a wide range of not-for-profit organizations, professionals and social agencies. Advertising is a good way to inform and persuade the target audience. Important decisions when developing an advertising program

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Setting Advertising Objectives These objectives should be based on past decisions about the target market, positioning and marketing mix. An advertising objective is a specific communication task to be accomplished with a specific target audience during a specific period of time. Advertising objectives can be classified by primary purpose whether the aim is to inform, persuade or remind.

Informative advertising: Is used heavily when introducing a new product category. In this case, the objective is to build primary demand. Persuasive advertising: This advertising becomes more important as competition increases. Here the companys objective is to build selective demand.

Telling the market about a new product Suggesting new uses for a product Informing the Market of a price change Explaining how the product works

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Describing available services Correcting false impressions Reducing consumers fears Building a company image

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Building brand preference Encouraging switching to your brand Changing customers perception of product attributes

Persuading customers to purchase now Persuading customers to receive a sales call

Reminder Advertising
 Reminding consumers  Keeping it in customers

that the product may customers that the product may be needed in the near future

mind during off season

 Reminding consumers

 Maintaining its top-of-

where to buy it

mind-awareness

 Setting the advertising budget   A brand s advertising budget often depends on its stage in

the product life cycle. For example new products typically need large advertising budgets to build awareness and to gain consumer trial. While mature brands on the other hand usually require lower budgets as a ratio to sales.  -Market share also impacts the amount of advertising needed. Building the market or taking share from competitors requires large advertising spending than does simply maintaining current share. Low-share brands usually need more advertising spending as a percentage of sales.

 Brands in a market with many competitors and high advertising clutter must be advertised more heavily to be noticed above the noise in the market.  -Undifferentiated brands those that closely resemble other brands in their product class may require h

heavy advertising to set them apart.  When the product differs greatly from competitors, advertising can be used to point out the differences to consumers.  No matter what method is used, setting the advertising budget is no easy task. So many factors affect advertising effectiveness, some controllable and others not. Most managers rely on judgment along with more quantitative analysis when setting advertising budgets.

 Developing Advertising Strategy  Advertising strategy consists of two major elements:  Creating advertising messages  Selecting advertising media.

Creating the advertising message

 In the past creative department first created good

advertisements and then the media department selected the best media for carrying these advertisements to the desired target audiences. This often caused friction between creatives & media planners. Today however, media fragmentation, soaring media costs, and more-focused target marketing strategies have promoted the importance of the media-planning function. More & more advertisers are cultivating a closer harmony between their messages and the media that deliver them.  -

 No matter how big the budget, advertising can

only succeed if advertisements gain attention and communicate well.  -Good advertising messages are especially important in today s costly and cluttered advertising environment  -To gain and hold attention, today s advertising messages must be better planned, more imaginative more entertaining, and more rewarding to consumers.


 Message Strategy   The first step in creating effective advertising

messages is to plan a message strategy i.e. to decide what general message will be communicated to consumers, the purpose of advertising is to get consumers to think about or react to the product or company in a certain way. People will react only if they believe that they will benefit from doing so. Thus developing an effective message strategy begins with identifying customers benefits that can be used as an advertising appeal.

 Message strategy statements tend to be plain, straightforward outlines of benefits and positioning points that the advertiser want to stress. The advertiser must next develop a compelling creative concept or big idea that will bring the message strategy to life in a distinctive and memorable way. The creative concept will guide the choice of specific appeals to be used in an advertising campaign.

 Advertising appeals should have three

characteristics:

  1). They should be meaningful, pointing out

benefits that make the product more desirable or interesting  2. The appeals must be believeable consumers must believe that the product or service will deliver the promised benefits.  3. Lastly appeals should also be distinctive they should tell how the product is better than the competing brands.

Message execution
 This is where the advertiser now turns the big idea into an actual ad execution that will capture market s attention and interest. The creative people must find the best style, tone, words, and format for executing the message. Example of execution styles are: Lifestyle: This style shows how a product fits in with a particular lifestyle.  Fantasy; This style creates a fantasy around the product, or its use.

 Mood or image: This style builds a mood or image around     

the product such as beauty, love or serenity. Musical: This style shows one or more people or cartoon characters singing about the product. Personality symbol: This style creates a character that represents the product. Technical expertise: This style presents shows the company s expertise in making the product. Scientific evidence: This style presents survey or scientific evidence that the brand is better or better liked than one or more other brands. -Testimonial evidence or endorsement; This style features a highly believable or likable source endorsing the product.

 The advertiser also must choose a tone for the ad, he/she

must use memorable and attention-getting words.  Finally format elements make a difference in an ad s impact as well as in its costs.
 The illustration is the first thing the reader notices- it must

be strong enough to draw attention. The headline must effectively entice the right people to read the copy.

 Finally the copy the main block of text in the ad must be

simple but strong & convincing. These three elements must effectively work together.

 Selecting Advertising Media   The major steps in media selection are:   Deciding on reach, frequency, and impact  Choosing among major media types  Selecting specific media vehicles  Deciding on media timing

 Deciding on Reach, frequency & Impact   To select media, the advertiser must decide on the reach &

frequency needed to achieve advertising objectives.  - Reach is a measure of the percentage of people in the target market who are exposed to the ad. Campaign during a given period of time. (For example the advertiser might try to reach 70% of the target market during the first 3 months of the campaign.  Frequency is a measure of how many times the average person in the target market is exposed to the message.

 The advertiser also must decide on the desired media

impact- the qualitative value of the message exposure through a given medium. The advertiser also must decide on the desired media impact- the qualitative value of the message exposure through a given medium.  The advertiser also must decide on the desired media impact- the qualitative value of a message exposure through a given medium. For example, for products that need to be demonstrated, message on television may have more impact than messages on radio because television uses sight and sound.  It is important to know that the advertiser seeks , the higher the advertising budget will have to be.

 For example, for products that need to be demonstrated, message on television may have more impact than messages on radio because television uses sight and sound.  It is important to know that the advertiser seeks , the higher the advertising budget will have to be.

 Choosing among major media types   -The media planner has to know the reach

frequency, and impact of each of the major media types. They include newspapers, television, direct mail, radio magazines, outdoor and the internet.  -Media planners consider many factors when making their media choices. The media habits of target consumers will affect media choice advertisers look for media that reach target consumers effectively.

 The nature of the product is also taken into consideration. For example, fashions are best advertised in color magazines while automobile performance is best demonstrated on television.

 Different types of messages may require

different media. For example a message announcing a major sale tomorrow will require radio or newspapers. A message with a lot of technical data might require magazines, direct mailings or an online ad.  -Cost is another major factor in media choice. For example network television is very expensive, whereas newspaper or radio advertising cost are much less but also reach fewer consumers.

 The media planner looks both at the total costs of using a medium and, at the costs per exposure of reaching specific target customers. Recently the network television costs have gone up and audiences too have shrunk thus we see many advertisers are looking for new ways of reaching consumers.

Profiles of Major Media Types Medium Newspapers Advantages Flexibility, timeliness, good local market coverage broad acceptability high believability quality, small pass-along audience Limitations Short life, poor reproduction

Television

Good Mass-market coverage: low cost per High absolute costs, high Exposure, combined sight, sound and clutter, fleeting exposure Motion; appealing to the senses less audience selectivity High audience selectivity; flexibility no ad competition within the same Relatively high cost per per exposure, junk mail image

Direct Mail

Radio

Good local acceptance; high Audio only, fleeting exposure, geographic & demographic selectivity fragmented audiences low cost low attention (the half-heard Medium) High geographic & demographic selectivity Credibility & prestige; high quality reproduction, long life and good position pass-along readership Flexibility; high repeat exposure; low cost Low message competition; good Positional selectivity High selectivity; low cost; immediacy; Interactive capabilities Long ad purchase lead time high costs, no guarantee of

Magazines

Outdoor

Little audience selectivity creative limitations Small, demographically skewed audience; relatively low impact, audience controls exposure

Internet

 Selecting Specific Media Vehicles  The media planner must choose the best media vehicles

specific media within each general media type e. broadcast consider, KTN, CITIZEN, KBC, K 24, NATION.

 -The media planner must consider the costs of producing

ads for different media. They also must compute the cost per thousand persons reached by a vehicle. For example if a full-page, four-colour advertisement in Nation costs $ 200,000 and Nations readership is 3.1 million people, the cost of reading each group of 1000 persons is about 864.

 The same advertisement in standard may cost only $103,320 but reach only 970,000 persons at a cost per thousand of about $106. The media planner ranks each magazine with the lower costs per thousand for reaching target consumers.

 Deciding on Media Timing  The advertiser must also decide how to schedule

the advertising over the course of a year. Suppose sales of a product peak in December and drops in March. The firm can vary its advertising to follow the seasonal pattern Or. The advertiser also has to choose the pattern of the ads. Continuity means scheduling ads evenly within a given period, while pulsing means scheduling ads unevenly over a give time period.

 Evaluating Advertising  The advertising program should evaluate both the

communication effects and the sales effects of advertising regularly.  Measuring the communication effects of an ad-copy testing tells whether the ad is communicating well.  Copy testing can be done before or after an ad is printed or broadcast. Before the ad is placed, the advertiser can show it to consumers, ask how they like it, and measure message recall or altitude changes resulting from it.  After the ad is run, the advertiser can measure how the ad affected consumer recall or product awareness knowledge and preference.

 -Sale effects of advertising are often harder to measure than the

communication effects. Sales are affected by many factors besides advertising such as product features, price, and availability.  -One way to measure the sales effect of advertising is to compare past sales with past advertising expenditures.  -Another way is through experiments. For example to test the effect of different advertising spending levels, Coca-Cola could vary the amount it spends on advertising in different market area, half the normal amount in a third area. If the three market areas are similar and if all other Marketing efforts in the area are the same, then differences in sales in the three areas could be related to advertising level.  -It is important to know that more complex experiments could be designed to include other variables, such as difference in the ads or media used.

Sales Promotion
 Role of sales promotion  1. Gain customers and convert them into regular users particularly for new and improved products  2. Widen the distribution of a product  3. Create a new interest in an established products  4. Identify and attract new customers

6.

Increase the total number of users for an established brand. 7. Educate customers regarding products improvements 8. Boost sales during low seasons 9. To combat or offset competition 10. Improve the public image of the firm

Reasons for rapid growth of sales promotion

1. Great pressure to increase current sales- product managers face greater pressure to increase their current sales and promotion now is accepted more by top managers as an effective tool. 2. Competition- externally the company faced more competition, and competing brands are less differentiated. Hence marketers have resorted to using more promotion than advertising.

3. Advertising efficiency has declined this is because of rising costs, media clutter, and legal restraints 4. Growing power of retailers retailers are demanding more deals from manufacturers. 5. Declining brand loyalty consumers have become less loyal and are purchasing more on the basis of price, value and convenience.

 Increased promotion sensitivity marketers are making greater use of sales promotion because consumers respond favourable to the incentives it provides. 7. Brand proliferation a major aspect of many firms marketing strategies over the past decade has been the development of new products.

Short term focus many business people believe the increase in sales promotion is motivated by marketing plans and reward systems geared to short term performance and immediate generation of sales volume. 9. Increased accountability in addition to pressuring their marketing or brand managers and sales force to product short-term results, many companies are demanding to know what they are getting for their promotional expenditures. Sales promotion is more economically accountable than advertising. 10. Clutter a promotional offer in an ad can break through the clutter that is prevalent in most media today. A premium offer may help attract consumers attention to an ad as will a contest or sweepstakes
8.

Sales promotion tools

 Consumer promotion tools  Samples offers to consumers of a trial amount of a product. Some samples are free while for others the company charges a small amount to offset the cost  Coupons certificates that give buyers a saving when they purchase a specified product.

 Cash refund offers (rebates) offers to refund part of the purchase a specified product.  Price packs (cents-off-deals) reduced prices that are directly marked by the producer directly on the label or package.  Premiums are goods offered either free or at a low cost as an incentive to buy a product  Advertising specialties are useful articles imprinted with an advertiser s name given as gifts to consumers i.e. calendars, caps.

 Patronage rewards - are cash or other rewards for the regular use of a certain company s products or services.  Point of purchase (POP) promotions these include displays and demonstrations that take place at the point of purchase of sale.  Contests, sweepstakes and games are promotional events that give consumers the chance to win something such as cash, trips or goods by luck or through extra efforts.

 Trade promotion tools  Contests & incentives these are aimed at stimulating greater selling effort and support from resellers management or sales personnel.  Sales training programs manufacturers provide sales training to retail sales people to make them more knowledgeable on the products.

 Cooperative advertising this is where the cost of advertising is shared by more than one party i.e. retailers may advertiser a manufacturer s product and the individual manufacturers reimburse the retailers for their portion of the ad.

Advantages of sales promotion

 1. It stimulates positive attitudes towards the product  It gives extra incentive to the customers to make a purchase  It gives direct inducement to immediate action now rather than later  It has flexibility and can be used at any stage of a new product introduction

Disadvantages of sales promotion

 Sales promotion has temporary and short life not exceeding three months. Sales promotion alone cannot build brand loyalty  Sales promotion are only supplementary devices to supplement selling efforts of other promotion tools.  They are non-recurring in their use. They have seldom re-use values

 Too many sales promotions may affect adversely the brand image, suggesting its lack of popularity or overstocking by a company.  Advertising agencies accord low status to sales promotion and usually employ junior staff for sales promotion so that they may be trained for creative jobs.

Public Relations
Role played by public relations 1. Makes people aware of the company s products, brands and activities 2. Maintains a certain level of visibility with the public 3. Promotes a particular image such as a sporting company a progressive company etc. 4. To overcome negative images.

Functions of public relations

1. Press relations on press a gentry creating and placing newsworthy information in the media to attract attention to a person, product or service. 2. Product publicity publicizing specific products 3. Public affairs building and maintaining national or local community relations

4. Lobbying building and maintaining relations

with legislators and government officials to influence legislations and regulation 5. Investor relations maintaining relationships with shareholders and other in the financial community 6. Development this is public relations with donors or members of non-profit organization to gain financial or volunteer support.

Public relations tools

 PR professionals use several tools that include 1. News PR professional find and create favourable news about the company, its or people 2. Speeches - company executives must field questions from the media or give talks at trade associations or sales meetings. Introducing a product with little or no advertising

4. Special events these ranges from news conferences, press tours grand openings and fireworks displays to laser shows hot air balloons releases, multimedia presentations. These are designed to reach and interest target publics. 5. Written materials - these are meant to reach and influence their target markets. These materials include annual reports, brochures, articles, company newsletters and magazines

 Audio visual materials such as films, slide and sound programs, video and video and audio cassettes.  Corporate identify materials include logos, stationary, brochures, signs, business forms, business forms, business cards, buildings, uniforms, company cars and trucks  Social responsibility activities improve public goodwill by contributing money and time to public service activities

PR process
 The PR process has four major component. These are:  1. Research  Gathers and interprets information. This component includes every activity that provides information pertinent to the  organization s relations with the public

 2. Planning: Defines the PR problem and

determines how to solve it. This component involves deciding what should be done, just how it should be done, where and when and why it should be done. Planning involves determining the objectives to be attained.  3. Communication: Carries out messages to the publics involved. This component involves selection and proper use of the communication channels; deciding what to say how to say it, when and where to say it, to whom it should be said and, and finally making the statement.

 Evaluation: Examines what is being accomplished. It is the process of checking the PR program and all its parts to learn whether it is worth what is costs, which things are effective and which are not.  Advantages of Public relations 1. Credibility the fact that media are not compensated for providing the information may lead receivers to consider news about organizations and products more truthful and credible.

 2. Cost in both absolute and relative terms, the

cost of PR is very low, especially the possible effects are considered.  3. Avoidance of clutter because they are typically perceived as news items, public relations messages are not subject to the clutter of ads.  4. Ability to reach specific groups because some products appeal to only small market segments, the best way to communicate to these groups is through public relations.

 5. Image building effective public relations help

develop a positive image for the organization.

6. Lead generation information about technological innovations, medical break through, and the like results almost immediately in a multitude of inquiries.

Disadvantages of public relations  1. Public relations have the potential for not completing the communication process. Public relations efforts are never associated with their sponsors in the public mind. While PR messages can break through the clutter of commercials, the receiver may not make the connection to the source.

 2. Inconsistent communications when PR and marketing departments operate independently, there is danger of inconsistent communications, redundancies in efforts and so on.

Differences between publicity and public relations

1. Publicity is typically a short-term strategy, while PR is a concerted long-term program extending over a period of time. 2. Public relations is designed to provide positive information about the firm or its agent. While publicity, on the other land, is not always positive and is not always under the control of, or paid for by the organization. Both positive and negative publicity often originates from sources other than the firm.

PERSONAL SELLING
 Personal selling involves selling through a person-to-person communications process. It is a two way communication between the seller and the buyer  Circumstances under which personal selling is appropriate  1. When launching a new product. In this case it is used to create awareness and conviction.

 2. When a product is tailored to meet customer s specification. It helps attend to individual customer tastes and preferences.  3. When demonstration is required. This can be made possible through personal selling  4. When the value of the product is high, the seller may want to use personal selling to avoid the risk of loosing the item if it were to use other methods.

 When the organization can afford to finance the sales force then personal selling is appropriate.  When the market is concentrated in one area, the cost involved in accessing the market is reduced.  Role played by personal selling  1. Creates demand in such a way that is precedes supply.

 Creates new wants and maintains the demand.  Conducts effective selling at minimum cost  Collects information about markets and passes it on to the manufacturers  Introduces products to customers  Enables the customer decide what to buy and what not to buy.

Tasks performed by selling

personal

 1. Prospecting finding new customers  2. Communication providing information to customers  3. Selling the art of influencing customers to buy  4. Information gathering reporting information about the market  5. Servicing handling customer complaints

6. Allocating availing products during a shortage 7. Shaping developing relationships with major customers Advantages of personal selling 1. Allowing for the two way interaction the ability to interact with the receiver allows the sender to determine the impact of the message 2. Tailoring the message because of the direct interaction, messages can be tailored to the receiver. 3. Lack of distraction in personal selling since a oneto-one presentation is conducted, the likehood of distractions is minimized and buyer is paying close attention to the sales message.

 4. Involvement in the decision process

through consultative selling and relationship marketing, the seller becomes more of a partner in the buying decision process, acting in conjunction with the buyer to solve problems.  5. Source of research information sales representatives can collect information on competitors products and services, promotions, pricing and so on firsthand. In addition, they can learn about the buying needs and wants of customers and potential customers.

 Opportunity for actual demonstration of the product or its use is recognized as the most powerful means of convincing and only personal selling provides this opportunity  Disadvantages of personal selling  1. Inconsistent messages there is lack of standardized message as the salespeople may alter the marketing message in ways the marketer did not intend.

 2. Sales force/management conflict because of failure to communicate, corporate politics, and myriad other reasons, the sales force and marketing may not be working as a team.  3. High cost the cost of developing and maintaining efficient sales force is quite high. As the cost per sales call continues to climb, the marketer may find mass communications a more cost effective alternative.

 4. Poor reach personal selling cannot reach as many members of the target audience as other elements.  5. Potential ethical problems salespeople sometimes bend rules by saying and doing things they know are not entirely ethical or in the best interest of the firm in order to get a sale.

DIRECT MARKETING
 Direct Marketing consists of direct connections

with carefully targeted individual consumers to both obtain an immediate response and cultivate lasting customer relationships. Direct marketers communicate directly with customers, often on a one-to-one, interactive basis. Using detailed databases, they tailor their marketing offers and communications to the needs of narrowly defined segments or even individual buyers. Beyond brand & relationship building, direct marketers usually seek a direct, immediate and measurable consumer response.

Forms of Direct Marketing

 Direct Mail Marketing  Direct mail marketing involves sending an offer, announcement, reminder, or other item to a announcement, reminder, or other item to a person at a particular address. Using highly selective mailing lists, direct marketers send out millions of mail pieces each year letters, catalogues, ads, brochures, samples and CDs and DVDs.

 Direct mail is well suited to direct, one-to-one

communication. It permits high target-market selectivity, can be personalized, is flexible and allows easy measurement of results. Although direct mail costs more than mass media such as television or magazines, per thousand people reached, the people it reaches are much better prospects. Direct mail has proved successful in promoting all kinds of products, from books, music, DVDs, magazine subscriptions to insurance, gift items, clothing, gourmet foods and industrial products.

 Charities also use direct mail heavily to raise billions of dollars each year. Direct mail industry constantly seeks new methods and approaches. For example CDs and DVDs are now among the fastest-growing direct mail media. Other forms of delivery have also become popular such as fax mail, voice mail, and email.

Catalog Marketing
 This is direct marketing/communication through

print, video or electronic catalogs that are mailed to select customers and are made available in stores or presented online. The internet age has enabled more and more catalogs to go digital. Web-based catalogs present a number of benefits versus printed catalogs. They save on production, printing and mailing costs. Whereas with print-catalog space is limited, online catalogs can offer an almost unlimited amount of merchandise.

 Telephone Marketing.  This is where telephones are used to selling directly to customers. Properly designed and targeted telemarketing has its benefits. Including purchasing convenience and increased product and service information.

Mobile Phone Marketing  With many people subscribing to wireless services many marketers view mobile phones as the next big direct marketing medium.

 Marketers of all kinds are now integrating

mobile phones into their direct marketing cell phone promotions include everything from ringtone, give always, mobile games and adsupported content to text-in contests and sweepstakes.  Online Marketing  Online Marketing is the fastest-growing form of direct marketing. Widespread use of the internet and other powerful new technologies have had a dramatic impact on both buyers and the marketers who serve them.

 Marketing and the Internet  Much of the world s business today is carried out over-digital networks. The internet has given marketers a whole new way to create value for customers and build customer relationships. The Web has fundamentally changed customers notions of convenience, speed, price, product information and service

 Online Marketing Domains:  There are four major online marketing domains:  a). The Business to Consumer online

Marketing (B2C): This involves selling goods and services online to final consumers.  b) Business to Business online marketing (B2B) Using B 2 B websites, email, online product catalogs, online trading networks and other online resources to reach new business customers, serve current customers more effectively and obtain buying efficiencies and

c) Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) online marketing. Online exchanges of goods and information between final consumers. d)Consumer-to-business (C2B) online marketing Exchanges in which consumers search out sellers, learn about their offers and initiate purchases sometimes even driving transaction terms