1. An Overview of Integrated
Marketing Communications
Dr. George Belch
San Diego State University

2. Communication-Based Marketing Model
Other Stakeholders
Corporate Level Message Sources Employees
Administration Manufacturing/ Marketing Finance Human Investors
Legal Financial Community
Operations Resources Government
Cross-Functional Brand Equity (IM) Regulators
Team
Marketing Level Message Sources Distributors
Interactivity Customers Suppliers
Product Price Marketing Distribution Competition
Mix Mix Communication Mix
Consumers
Cross-Functional IMC Team Local Community
Media
Marketing Communication Level Message Sources Interest Groups
Personal Adver- Sales Direct Public Pack- Events
Sales tising Promotion Marketing Relations aging

3. Communication Levels
 Corporate Level
 Messages sent by a company’s overall business
practices and philosophies such as its mission, labor
practices, philanthropies, culture and other processes
 Marketing Level
 Messages sent or inferred from various aspects of a
company’s marketing mix such as product quality and
performance, design, appearance, pricing, and
distribution
 Marketing Communication Level
 Strategic and executional consistency among all
forms of marketing communication

4. Nike
Corporate Level
(Social Responsibility)
Marketing Level
(Products, Price, Store
Atmosphere)
Marketing
Communications
(Advertising, Publicity/
Public Relations, Web Site)

5. What is Integrated Marketing
Communications (IMC)?
IMC is a strategic business process used to:
 plan, develop, execute and evaluate coordinated,
measurable, persuasive brand communication
programs
 with consumers, customers, prospects employees
and other relevant external and internal
audiences
 goal is to generate short-term financial returns
and build long-term brand value

6. The Integrated Marketing Communications
Perspective
 The concept of integration:
 Combining or coordinating separate elements so as to provide a
harmonious integrated whole
 The logic of integration:
 Communications emanating from a single strategic platform will
be more effective than those that are independent and not
coordinated
 The reality of integration:
 Companies must consider how a variety of MARCOM tools can be
used to deliver messages about their company and/or brands
 Effective integration begins with discipline excellence:
 It requires individuals in various disciplines to think about how
they contribute to the overall process and outcome rather than
their own specific goals.

7. The Marketing Revolution
Shift from traditional media ads to other
forms of promotion/nontraditional media
Internet and social media changing how
companies interact with consumers
Power shift: manufacturers to retailers
Growth of Database marketing
Greater ad agency accountability
Greater Role of IMC in Brand Building

8. Skyy Spirits Uses a Variety of Touch
Points to Reach Consumers

9. IMC Communication Tools
Traditional
IMC Communication Tools
Direct Interactive/
Advertising Marketing Internet Marketing
Sales Publicity/Public Personal
Promotion Relations Selling

10. IMC–Audience Contact Points
Broadcast Print Media Public
Internet/
Media (Newspapers Relations/
Magazines) Publicity Interactive
(TV/Radio)
Out-of-home Direct
Media Marketing
Target
Audience
Personal Sales
Selling Promotion
Point-of- Word-of- Product
Purchase Events and
Mouth Placements
(Displays/
(Buzz) sponsorships (TV and Movies)
Packaging)

11. Assessing Touch/Contact Points
Companies/brands connect to customers through contacts
 Contact = each and every opportunity the consumer has
to see or hear about the company’s product/brand or
have an experience/encounter with it.
 Contacts are not neutral conveyors of messages as they
add or subtract value
 “Net promoter” value vs. “Detractor”
 Contacts are not all equal - some are more influential
than others, e.g. an in-store demonstration will have
more impact than a TV or print ad

12. Types of Touch Points
Intrinsic
Company-Created Messages received from
Planned Messages interactions that occur
• Advertising, web sites, during the process of
news releases, packages, purchase or use
brochures, store displays
• Instructions, manuals,
Company X web sites, packages,
retail sales personnel
Products/
Services
Unexpected
Customer-Initiated Unanticipated messages received
Interactions that occur when that are beyond the control of the
a customer or prospect contacts company
a company. • Word-of-mouth/buzz
• Help lines, web sited, e-mail • Messages from suppliers,
responses, CRM efforts government officials, channels,
retailers, analysts

13. Touch Points: Control vs. Impact
Unexpected
High
Customer Initiated
Relative
Intrinsic
Impact
Planned:
Company-Created
Low High
Ability to control/influence

14. Touchpoint Planning
 Determining the optimal mix of MARCOM tools or
channels to ensure that we deliver the right message,
the right way to the right customer, at the right time
 Taking a discipline agnostic perspective with no
preconceived roles for one MARCOM discipline over
another
 Zero-based communication planning. Focusing on the
objectives to be achieved, the tasks required to achieve
them, what MARCOM elements should be used and to
what extent

15. Levels of Integration
 Vertical integration – within a specific campaign to a
specific audience or market segments
 All IMC elements working synergistically
 Horizontal integration – across campaigns to a
specific audience or market segments
 Alignment across communications to a given
audience to maximize their cumulative impact
 Cross-audience integration – across multiple
campaigns and across audiences and market
segments
 Delivering a consistent value proposition, message and
image across all markets segments and globally

16. The Role of Integrated Marketing
Communications
IMC perspective can help address these
issues and ensure that we:
 determine the right way
 to deliver the right message
 to the right customer
 at the right time

17. General Mills Used an Integrated Campaign
to Introduce New Wheaties Fuel