Integrated marketing communications
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Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is the application of consistent brand messaging across both traditional and non-traditional marketing channels and using different promotional[disambiguation needed] methods to reinforce each other.
The first definition for integrated marketing communication came from the American Association of Advertising Agencies (also 4A's) in 1989, defining IMC as "an approach to achieving the objectives of a marketing campaign through a well-coordinated use of different promotional methods that are intended to reinforce each other. " The 4A's definition of IMC recognizes the strategic roles of various communication disciplines (advertising, public relations, sales promotions, etc.) to provide clarity, consistency, and increased impact when combined within a comprehensive communications plan. Basically, it is the application of consistent brand messaging across both traditional and non-traditional marketing channels.
The Journal of Integrated Marketing Communication from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University refers to IMC as "a strategic marketing process specifically designed to ensure that all messaging and communication strategies are unified across all channels and are centered around the customer. " IMC is used practically to allow one medium's weakness to be offset by another medium's strength, with elements synergized to support each other and create greater impact.
From the West Virginia University Reed College of Media The American Marketing Association defines Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) as “a planning process designed to assure that all brand contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product, service, or organization are relevant to that person and consistent over time.” Gronstedt broadens the definition to include communications with stakeholders, such as opinion leaders, government agencies, media, financial community, and employees.
A more contemporary definition states, "True IMC is the development of marketing strategies and creative campaigns that weave together multiple marketing disciplines (paid advertising, public relations, promotion, owned assets, and social media) that are selected and then executed to suit the particular goals of the brand. " Instead of simply using various media to help tell a brand's overall story, with IMC the marketing leverages each communication channel's intrinsic strengths to achieve a greater impact together than each channel could achieve individually. It requires the marketer to understand each medium's limitation, including the audience's ability/willingness to absorb messaging from that medium. This understanding is integrated into a campaign's strategic plan from the very beginning of planning - so that the brand no longer simply speaks with consistency, but speaks with planned efficacy. This concept inherently provides added benefits that include: a singular/synchronized brand voice and experience, cost efficiencies generated through creativity and production, and opportunities for added value and bonus.
Shifts That Enabled IMC
Fundamental shifts in how companies market to consumers have made Integrated Marketing Communications possible.
From Traditional Marketing to Digital/Interactive Marketing
From Mass Media to Specialized Media
From Low Accountability in Marketing Spend to High Accountability in Marketing Spend
From Limited Connectivity to Pervasive Connectedness 
Components of integrated marketing communications
IMC weaves diverse aspects of business and marketing together. These include:
- The organization's vision and mission
- Attitudes and behaviors of employees & partners
- Communication within the company
- Four C's of Marketing mix
- Four C's in 7Cs Compass Model (commodity, Cost, Channel, Communication, see Marketing mix, Co-marketing )
- Broadcasting/mass advertising: broadcasts, print, internet advertising, radio, television commercials
- Outdoor advertising: billboards, street furniture, stadiums, rest areas, subway advertising, taxis, transit
- Online advertising: mobile advertising, email ads, banner ads, search engine result pages, blogs, newsletters, online classified ads, media ads
- Direct marketing: direct mail, telemarketing, catalogs, shopping channels, internet sales, emails, text messaging, websites, online display ads, fliers, catalog distribution, promotional letters, outdoor advertising, telemarketing, coupons, direct mail, direct selling, grassroots/community marketing, mobile
- Online/internet marketing
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Search engine marketing (SEM)
- Mobile Marketing
- Email marketing
- Content marketing
- Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google +, Foursquare, Pinterest, YouTube, Wikipedia, Instagram)
- Sales & customer service
- Sales materials (sell sheets, brochures, presentations)
- Installation, customer help, returns & repairs, billing
- Special events, interviews, conference speeches, industry awards, press conferences, testimonials, news releases, publicity stunts, community involvement, charity involvement & events
- Contests, coupons, product samples (freebies), premiums, prizes, rebates, special events
- Booths, product demonstrations
- Corporate philanthropy
- Donations, volunteering, charitable actions
When these diverse aspects of business and marketing are weaved together properly an effective campaign can be achieved. Effective campaigns are demonstrated on the Integrated Brands showcase which recognizes brands that are innovative, strategic and successfully growing their sales. By effectively leveraging each communication channel greater impact can be achieved together than achieved individually.
First defined by the American Association of Advertising Agencies in 1989, IMC was developed mainly to address the need for businesses to offer clients more than just standard advertising. The 4As originally coined the term the "new advertising, " however this title did not appropriately incorporate many other aspects included in the term "IMC" - most notably, those beyond traditional advertising process aside from simply advertising.
Overall, an influx of new marketplace trends in the late 20th century spurred organizations to shift from the standard advertising approach to the IMC approach:
- Decreasing message impact and credibility: The growing number of commercial messaging made it increasingly more difficult for a single message to have a noteworthy effect.
- Decreasing costs of databases: The cost of storing and retrieving names, addresses and information from databases significantly declined. This decline allowed marketers to reach consumers more effectively.
- Increasing client expertise: Clients of marketing and public relations firms became more educated regarding advertising policies, procedures and tactics. Clients began to realize that television advertising was not the only way to reach consumers.
- Increasing mergers and acquisitions of agencies: Many top public relations firms and advertising agencies became partners or partnered with other communication firms. These mergers allowed for more creativity, and the expansion of communication from only advertising, to other disciplines such as event planning and promotion.
- Increasing global marketing: There was a rapid influx in advertising competition from foreign countries. Companies quickly realized that even if they did not conduct business outside their own country, they were now competing in global marketing.
- Increasing media and audience fragmentation: With the exception of the decline of newspapers, media outlets, such as magazines and television stations, increased from 1980 to 1990. Additionally, companies could use new technologies and computers to target specialized audiences based on factors such as ethnic background or place of residence.
- Increasing number of overall products: Manufacturers flooded retailers with a plethora of new products, many of which were identical to products that already existed. Therefore, a unique marketing and branding approach was crucial to attract customer attention and increase sales.
Model and stages
Similar to the definition of IMC, models of the IMC approach vary according to the source cited. Frequently, models stress the importance of blending various marketing tools to maximize the customer experience and value. IMC models also often emphasize the lack of a specific hierarchy of importance in the IMC stages: all components of the model play an equally important role and a company may or may not choose to immediately implement any or all of the integration strategies.
Level 1: Tactical Coordination and Marketing Communications Initial IMC focus is on the tactical coordination of diverse marketing such as advertising, promotion, direct response, public relations, and special events. This level focuses on delivering “one sight, one sound” via marketing communication.
Level 2: Redefining the Scope of Marketing Communication The organization begins to examine communications from the customer’s point of view. Marketing communication begins to give consideration to all sources of brand and company contact a customer has with the product or service. Management broadens the scope of communication activities to encompass and coordinate internal marketing employees, suppliers, and other business partners and align with the existing external communication programs.
Level 3: Application of Information Technology An organization’s application of empirical data using information technology to provide a basis identity, value, and monitor the impact of integrated internal and external communication programs to key customer segments over time.
Level 4: Financial and Strategic Integration The emphasis shifts to using the skills and data generated in the earlier stages to drive corporate strategic planning using customer information and insights. Organizations re-evaluate their financial information infrastructure.
Importance of integrated marketing communications
Integration has become a widely used concept in marketing. Marketing theory that was established during the discipline’s formative years has been overtaken by the complexities of real-time, multimodal, multi directional communication.
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