Integrated Marketing Communication : Creative Strategy

The main aspect of advertising is to ‘get more bang for the buck’, to make it aesthetically pleasing to the eye and gain the viewer’s attention. Throughout the years, advertising has varied in many ways from catchy slogans to iconic logos. Some may say there is nothing wrong with a little healthy competition, but what if one area is gaining the benefits slightly different than the others because of their boldness? American and European advertising are very different culturally as well as aesthetically. There has always been a cultural difference in the style of

| The biggest opportunity for marketers is the emergence of new media, such as Facebook and Twitter, and the increased screen space they can capture with the current dual screeners. Marketers are only beginning to understand that the data generated from these sources can be used to the effect of the brand in many ways. They are beginning to apply this knowledge to their IMC strategies to integrate usage of IMC tools – both existing and new – as seamlessly as possible.

Moreover, (Product) RED uses the INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS (IMC)technology for its marketing campaign. The IMC involves the utilization of all the elements of the marketing mix, which specifically includes

* Though integrated marketing communications is further than just an advertising movement, the bulk of marketing dollars is used up on the creation and division of advertisements. Therefore, the greater proportion of the research budget is also exhausted on these elements of the campaign. The researched elements can be applied once the marketing pieces have been tested: letterhead, logistics, customer service training etc. to complete the IMC cycle

Marketing is an important area in any company. Integrated marketing is an area of the marketing world. This type of marketing can increase brand value and this allows for a high turnover on the company’s investments. We will review a company and describe the purpose and value of integrated marketing, as well as showing what value the plan adds to the company.

“One of the most talked about ideas in marketing during the 1990s was the notion of integrated marketing communications (IMC). And while marketing managers still clearly feel that it is a valuable concept and one that will play an increasingly important role in their companies, there is unfortunately a great deal of evidence to suggest that truly integrated marketing communications is the exception rather than a rule”

“Marketing communication is an ever changing field. New theories, new techniques, cultural changes and technological advances all combine to create a dynamic environment within which marketers try to ensure that their messages get through to their target audiences” (Blythe, 2006, p.2). Fill (2005) argues that marketing communications is the way in which organisations reach their target audiences or it is an “audience-centred activity” (Fill, 2005, p.9).

Several facts are changing in today’s marketing communications. Owing to the growing numbers of alternative communication media and promotion, marketing communication does not just primarily focus on advertising and promotion. Organizations and entrepreneurs begin moving toward the process of integrated marketing communication (IMC), which has emerged as a new concept and the major communication development in marketing in the 21th century. More and more companies adopt IMC to convey a consistent message about their brand and products to derive competitive advantage and brand value. In addition, IMC has developed into a beneficial strategy for companies to reach more customers as well as build good customer relationships. Smith et al.

2》 Other beer brands have occupied large market capacity, market share of Carlsberg and Budweiser far exceeds that of Tsingtao beer

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is a simple concept that helps to ensure that the communications between the promotional implementations are interconnected properly so that they all work together harmoniously. This concept is also something that is not new in the world of marketing. “IMC is the coordination of the promotional mix elements (advertising, public relations, sales promotion, personal selling, direct marketing, and online marketing/social media) with each other and with the other elements of the brand’s marketing mix (product, place, price) such that all elements speak with one voice.”(pg. 12).

Visual culture is the use of images, media, and other visual modes to represent the events and ideas of the world (Mirzoeff, 1999). The visual modes can range from an oil painting, to media on the internet, advertisements or TV. Visual culture has an influence on the consumer who is exposed to it. In this essay, I am looking specifically at how visual culture is used in advertisements, and how large brands, such as Coca Cola and McDonalds, use visual culture throughout their advertisements. Visual culture is often used to benefit a business. Such as increasing brand recognition through the marketing of the brand via colour or imagery. It can also be through catchy slogans or jingles that are created to leave an impression and therefore influence the consumer to the extent that they are remembered for a significant period of time. Therefore, it can be seen that Coca Cola and McDonalds both use different forms of visual culture in order to improve company image and increase brand recognition.

However, with the introduction of new technologies and advances in information technology communication has been completely revolutionised and same has impacted in organisations in there IMC strategies. “For IMC to really take hold, old assumptions must exit, assumptions about the role of advertising and sales promotion, about the organisation of advertising and public relations departments, about agencies and what they do, about the media, and most of all accountability” (Schultz et al. 1994).

There are a range of strategies and terms that play into integrated marketing communication. Integrated marketing communication can be described as 1.) Management and managing all types of marketing communications, 2.) Assuring that the brands, personality, and messages are correctly delivered from each factor of communication and from a strategy, and 3.) The analysis and implementation of all the factors of marketing communication must efficiently, economically, and successfully impact the transactions between organizations and their audience. Furthermore, the vertical integration is the most important level because it makes sure that marketing communication will be formed. Without such communication, marketing communication will not be effective and not associated with any of the essential objectives. Therefore, I will be going into detail about each level of integration and what it exactly means (Holm, 24-25).

To ensure an effective marketing campaign an Integrated Marketing Strategy must be developed to communicate the brand and work collectively with various tactics to deliver a seamless message to consumers that stand out amongst competition. The objective is to make certain all elements of the marketing communication including, public relations, advertising, online communication, direct marketing, social media, and sales promotions are a collaboration of a unified campaign to effectively promote a product, rather than each tactic working independently, and would not have a maximize effectiveness. Csikósová (2014).

In recent times, branding has played a pivotal role in some brands’ success. This has been made possible through the ability of some marketers to capture the essence and minds of people (consumers), and put the trends and characteristics into the personality of a brand. Customers have always found ways to identify themselves with certain products, and on several occasions, branding campaigns