IMC Introduction

13 July 2014 11:04

Pg 10 - 11 IMC Text book

IMC is a strategic business process used to develop, execute and evaluate
coordinated, measurable and persuasive brand communication programs
over time with consumers, costumers, prospects, employees, associates
and other targeted relevant external and internal audience. The goal is to
generate both short term financial returns and long term brand and
shareholder value.

Promotion has been defined as the co-ordination of all seller initiated efforts
to set up channels of information and persuasion in order to sell goods or
services or promote an idea.
Refer Pg 25 for
explanation
Any paid of non-personal communication about an organization, service,
product or idea by an identified sponsor
Involves mass media that can transmit information to large groups of
individuals at the same time.
There is no opportunity for immediate feedback from the message
recipient.
Reasons for Advertising being most important form of communication
Media advertising is still the most cost effective way to reach large It allows for a back and forth flow of information where by users can participate in and
numbers modify the form and content of information they receive in real time.
It can be used to create a unique and favorable images about a brand Different forms of interactive media are
Internet
Kiosks,
interactive television
The organization directly communicates with target customers to generate a Mobile phones
response and / or a transaction.
It involves a variety of activities including
Database management
Direct Selling
Telemarketing It refers to non-personal regarding an organization, product, service or idea that is not directly
Direct response ads (Major tool in direct marketing) through direct paid for or run under identified sponsorship.
mail, internet and various broadcast and print media. Advantages:
Its credibility
Less expense compared to other forms

It is those marketing activities that provide extra value or incentives to sales

force, distributors, retailers or the ultimate consumer and can stimulate
immediate sales. The management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies policies and procedures
of an individual or an organization with the public interest and executes a program of action to
earn public understanding and acceptance.
Basically Policies are used to manipulate public attitudes
Tools used:-
In this the seller attempts to assist or persuade the buyer to purchase Publicity
the company's product or service or to act on idea. Special publications
Participation in community services
The interaction provides marketer communication flexibility Fund-raising
It involves precise feedback. Sponsorship of special events
Public affair activities
They also use advertising

Unexpected
High
Company created touch points - are planned marketing
communication messages created by company. The form the major Customer Initiated
part of IMC.
Intrinsic Touch Points - Interactions that occur with a company during Relative
the process of buying or using the product or service. Impact Intrinsic
Unexpected Touch Points - unanticipated references or information
about a company or a brand that a customer or prospect receives that
is beyond the control of the organization. Most influential is word of
mouth
Planned: Company-created
Customer initiated touch points - the interactions that occur when a
customer or prospect contacts the company.
Low Ability to control or influence
High

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 The role of IMC in Marketing Process
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These are the areas where there are favorable demand trends, where the company
believes customer needs and opportunities are not being satisfied and where it can
compete effectively.
A market consists of many heterogeneous groups or segments not one large group.
The target market selected becomes the focus of the company
The selection has direct impact on the marketing strategy, and advertising and
promotional efforts
Competition to be faced in the market place needs to be analyzed. This may
range from direct competition to more indirect competition such as substitutes.
Searching and understanding competitive advantage is an important aspect of
marketing strategy development.
Competitors marketing programs have an huge impact on firms marketing
strategy.

The process by which marketers used different marketing strategies to satisfy different consumer needs is called as Target marketing.

Target Market identification isolates customer with similar lifestyle, needs,

likes and increases our knowledge of their requirement It is dividing up the market into distinct groups 1. have common needs
Segment is identified to better satisfy the consumers. 2. responds similarly to a marketing action.

Once the market opportunities are analyzed the next step of target marketing
involves 2 steps
Determine how many segments to enter
Three market coverage alternatives are available
- Undifferentiated marketing - ignoring segment differences and offering just
one product or service to entire market.
- Differentiated marketing - marketing in number of segments developing
different marketing strategies
- Concentrated marketing - Firm selects one segment and attempts to
capture large share of the market.

Determining which segment offers potential

The firm must examine the following
- Sales potential of the segment
- Growth in the segment
- Competition
- Its own ability to compete

Positioning is the art and science of fitting the product or service to one or
more segments of the broad market in such a way as to set it meaningfully
apart from the competition.

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 Positioning is the art and science of fitting the product or service to one or
more segments of the broad market in such a way as to set it meaningfully
apart from the competition.

Positioning by product attributes & Benefits

- Setting apart from competitor on the basis of specific characteristics or benefits
offered.
- Some times more than one benefits are communicated
- Salient attributes are identified and communicated.
Positioning by Price or quality
- They do this with ads that reflect the high quality and cost becomes irrelevant, Positioning by competitor
Premium Brands follow this approach - Try to differentiating the brand from the competitor.
- Other way to do this is to communicate the value for the price. Positioning by cultural symbol
Positioning by use or Application - Associating brand with a meaningful symbol so it is easily remembered ex:-
- It is used to enter a market or to expand in the existing market. Monkey Brand.
Positioning by product class Repositioning
- Positioning is done against an alternative product category itself. - It occurs because of declining or stagnant sales
Positioning by product user - Because of anticipated opportunities in other market positions.
- By associating with a particular user group - ex: Nike shoes

Product Symbolism - refers to what the product means to a customer
Branding
- It is to maintain a favorable identity & image in the minds of the customer
Packaging
- It is an important way to communicate with customer and create and impression in
their minds.
- It helps in creating distinctive brand image and identity.
Promotional Push Strategy
- The objective is to aggressively sell the product by promoting the item. Trade
advertising could be a part of push strategy.
Promotional Pull Strategy
- Efforts are directed towards the ultimate user
- The goal is to create demand among consumers and encourage them to request
the product.
What the consumer has to give up to purchase the product
The price must be consistent with the perception of the product
Pricing and advertising strategies should go together.
This in IMC forms a sort of reminder advertising
There are basically two channels of distribution - Direct and Indirect
Direct Channel
- Company directly sells to its customers.
- Frequently used by industrial product manufacturers and some consumer
products.
Indirect Channel
- Using a network of distributors, wholesalers and/or retailers

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