MEI602: Integrated Marketing Communications

Internet promotional marketing and the use of social media for promotion have become increasingly common in recent years. Remember that marketers must promote to consumers where their promotional messages will be received, read, and viewed. As consumers spend more time on their smartphones, tablets, and computers, marketers deliberately reach out to people where they are – on the internet.

Integrated marketing communications (IMC) came out of necessity a couple of decades ago. Large multinational firms that maintained many different advertising and sales departments found that their promotional messages were often lacking consistency and often disjointed in terms of conveying a message to their consumers. For example, a firm with separate departments for TV, radio, and print advertising could be faced with each department having their own agenda and creating messages that could potentially confuse the consumer. The term "integrated" became necessary for consistency of the promotional message across several media platforms.

Once companies have developed products and services, they must communicate the value and benefits of the offerings to current and potential customers in both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) markets. Integrated marketing communications (IMC) provide an approach designed to deliver one consistent message to buyers through an organization's promotions that may span all different types of media such as TV, radio, magazines, the Internet, mobile phones, professional selling, and social media. For example, Campbell's Soup Company typically includes the "Mm, mm good" slogan in the print ads it places in newspapers and magazines, in ads on the Internet, and in commercials on television and radio. Delivering consistent information about a brand or an organization helps establish it in the minds of consumers and potential customers across target markets. Although the messages are very similar, Campbell's uses two variations of commercials designed to target different consumers. Watch the following two YouTube videos. You'll notice that the message Campbell's gets across is consistent. But can you figure out who is in the two target audiences?