Integrated Marketing Communications Involves Realigning Communications Flow From Different Sources

Social media has become an essential channel for corporations to build a two-way relationship with their customers. However, having a social media account cannot solve everything. To make the best use of social media in keeping a positive relationship with their customers, corporations ought to seek and maintain influence among their followers in social media, and participate in communications with them.

“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”

Intergrade Marketing Communication (IMC) is defined as ‘’ a strategic business process which is used to plan, develop, execute, and evaluate coordinated, measurable, persuasive brand communication programs over time with consumers, customers, prospects, and other targeted, relevant external and internal audiences.” (Schultz & Schultz (1998,p.18). More than three decades, IMC still remain as an issue without a standard terminology. While it has been argued that IMC can help a company on how to promote their goods and their services, however, it can be observed that sometimes it can be a ruin strategy if the IMC model do not used appropriately. This essay will begin by looking at some information in order to clarify the concept of IMC. Then it will analyse the process work for the communication model in comparison with the IMC model. Finally it will examine the barriers of IMC

For many firms, public relations are one of the tools they are utilizing to promote themselves to customers. In most cases, this is used as way to help standout in minds of consumers. As a result, a wide variety of corporations are utilizing this as a part of their strategy in maintaining this favorable image.

Communication is always one of the most important and vital strategic areas of an organization's success. You can have the best or most innovative products or services, but if your internal and external communications are weak, then the demand for your products or services raises a personal flag of concern. When communicating the value of your products or

‘Integrated marketing communicating is a concept that companies coordinated their marketing communication tools to deliver a clear, consistent, credible and competitive message about the organization and products. The objective is to position product and organizations clearly and distinctively’. (Jobber, 2007) ‘Integrated Marketing Communications
(IMC) is a new trend in business planning
– combining different communication instruments such as promotion, public relations, sale promotion, personal selling, Internet communication and direct marketing.’ (www.firstbase.ca) Objective: maintain the customer loyalty through effective integrated marketing communication.

Integrated marketing communications (IMC) as defined by the text is, carefully integrating and coordinating the company’s many communications channels to deliver a clear, consistent, and compelling message about the organization and its products. The integrated marketing plan is a superior model for marketing communications because it creates synergy, provides internal focus, is an efficient and effective marketing communication program and

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.

Originating in the early 1990s, the concept of Integrated Marketing Communications (hereafter referred to as IMC) remains highly contested and unstable. According to Oxford Dictionary (2015), a concept is “an abstract idea” or “a plan or intention.” IMC falls into both categories as a theoretical definition for some and a plan of action for others. Equivalently, its value is difficult to assess, as its range of definitions, confusion over implementation, and lack of empirical studies prohibit grounded judgments. Even vocal proponents of IMC, such as Don E. Schultz and Philip J. Kitchen (1997, p.8), acknowledge that there is not “any consistent or mutually agreed upon definition, description, or process to identify what is IMC and what it is not.” In fact, their study demonstrates that only some advertising agencies affirm Schultz and Kitchen’s definition of IMC, highlighting ambiguity among practitioners as well as academics. Jerry Kliatchko (2008) agrees, considering the definition and concept as a still developing topic of research. More recently, Mabel Zvobgo and T.C. Melewar (2011, p.2), state almost identically to Schultz and Kitchen (1997), “There appears to be no mutually agreed upon definition, description, or process to identify what is IMC and what is not.” Similarly, Fill (2013) discusses the lack of “universal definition.” Fill (2013) also outlines five interpretations of the IMC concept: Harmonisation, Planning, Perspective, Portfolio, and Relational. To remain

public relations in an effective organization. The article begins with an elaboration of a theory of

Effective Integrated Marketing communication could nurture a stong customer relationships, but it require a careful planning to an integrated communication program. It could maximize certain communication objectives that potentiality lead to a desired behavior form the target audience.

Public relations are the most important part of a company. It has the relationship between advertising and international public. The primary purpose of public relation is to target audience in different ways and gain the business in public status. Companies would like to use media for creating communicate with people, and promote their business into the world. Organisations would use four of the basic models in public relation to describes and communicate to the international public. The four basic models are press agentry/publicity model, public-information model, two-way asymmetric model and two-way symmetric model. Within these models, it can tell the company behaviour and how the organisation using models communicate with others.

Recently new changes in the market have led to variations and changes in marketing practices and communication management in organizations. There is no longer possibility to use one single marketing communication tool to achieve marketing communication purposes. (Kitchen et al. 2004). As a result, integrated marketing communication (IMC) approach appeared as a more efficient and sophisticated communication discipline that can rapidly respond to the increasingly market changes and conditions. (Kim et al. 2004). The new aspect of IMC is that technological developments have made it possible to put this idea into operational practice.(Kliatchko, 2005). In fact, the emergence and advancement in information and communication technology (ICT) are considered as one of the most significant background factors of IMC. (Kitchen et al, 2004. Gurau, 2008. Kliatchko, 2009). According to advanced technology solutions, IMC programs are able to capture precise data on customers. This means that database management is of crucial importance for the IMC approach. (Kliatchko,

Thus we see that the basic principle of public relations is to act in the right way, seeking the integration of business objectives with the objectives of the public, including correcting distortions that arise in the pursuit of that rapport. This principle, as we show below, involves all aspects of business strategy, is completed by adding to it the communication techniques, helping to show the public the right actions undertaken by the company.

The success of a company depends on relationships with the public such as consumers, suppliers, investors, employees, government and media. Since public relation practitioners are the once who do the actual communication between their organization and its public it is obvious that public relation is a management function.