Integrated Marketing Communications Corporate Image and Brand Management Buyer Behaviors Promotions Opportunity Analysis

 Communication can be defined as transmitting, receiving, and processing information.

 Senders. The person(s) attempting to deliver a message or idea.  Encoding. The verbal (words, sounds) and nonverbal (gestures, facial expressions, posture) cues that the sender utilizes in dispatching a message.  Transmission Devices. All of the items that carry a message from the sender to the receiver.  Decoding. When the receiver employs any of his or her senses in an attempt to capture a message.  Receivers. The intended audience for a message.  Feedback. The information the sender obtains from the receiver regarding the receiver’s perception or interpretation of a message

 Noise. Anything that distorts or disrupts a message.  Clutter. Exists when consumers are exposed to hundreds of marketing messages per day, and most are turned out.  Task: Identify a current marketing (media) campaign and identify the different elements involved in its communication execution. What are possible noise or clutters of this campaign.

 The coordination and integration of all marketing communication tools, avenues, and sources within a company into a seamless program that maximizes the impact on customers and other end users at a minimal cost.  This affects all of firm’s business-to-business, marketing channel, customer-focused, and internally oriented communications.

 The coordination and integration of all marketing communication tools, avenues, and sources within a company into a seamless program that maximizes the impact on customers and other end users at a minimal cost.  Integrated Marketing Communications is a simple concept. It ensures that all forms of communications and messages are carefully linked together.

 This affects all of firm’s business-to-business, marketing channel, customer-focused, and internally oriented communications. How?

 Which should be the precedent between the two concept?  How do you relate IMC with Marketing Mix? ProductPriceDistribution

 Information Technology  Changes in Channel Power  Increase in Competition  Brand Parity  It occurs when there is the perception that most products and services are essentially the same.  Integration of Information  Contact points are the places where customers interact with or acquire additional information about a firm.  Decline in the Effectiveness of Television Advertising

 The firm’s image is based on the feelings consumers and businesses have about the overall organization and its individual brands.  A strong IMC foundation combines understanding of the firm’s image and brands with assessments of consumer and business buyer behaviors.  Remember that what consumers believe about a firm is far more important than how company officials view the image.

Tangible ElementsIntangible Elements Goods and services soldCorporate, personnel, and environmental policies Retail outlets where the product is soldIdeals and beliefs of corporate personnel Factories where the product is produced Culture of country and location of company Advertising, promotions, and other forms of communications Media reports Corporate name and logo Packages and labels Employees

 Providing assurance regarding purchase decisions of familiar products in unfamiliar settings  Giving assurance about the purchase when the buyer has little or no previous experience with the good or service  Reducing search time in purchase decisions  Providing psychological reinforcement and social acceptance of purchase

 Extension of positive consumer feelings to new products  The ability to charge a higher price or fee  Consumer loyalty leading to more frequent purchases  Positive word-of-mouth endorsements  Higher level of channel power  The ability to attract quality employees  More favorable ratings by financial observers and analysts

1. The image being projected accurately portrays the firm and coincides with the goods and services offered. 2. Reinforcing or rejuvenating a current image that is consistent with the view of consumers is easier to accomplish than changing a well-established image.

3. It is difficult to change the images people hold about a given company. In some cases, modifying the current image or trying to create an entirely new image is not possible. 4. Any negative or bad press can quickly destroy an image that took years to build. Reestablishing or rebuilding the firm’s image takes a great deal of time when the firm’s reputation has been damaged.

CategoryDefinitionExample Overt namesReveal what the company doesPAL, National Bookstore Implied namesContain recognizable words or words parts that convey what a company does Metrobank, FedEx Conceptual names Capture the essence of what a company offers Google, Iconoclastic names Represent something unique, different, and memorable Yahoo!

Corporate logo is a symbol used to identify a company and its brands, helping to convey the overall corporate image. Four Tests of Quality Logos and Corporate Names  Recognizable  Familiar  Elicits a consensual meaning among those in the firm’s target market  Evokes positive feelings

Brands are names assigned to an individual good or service or to a group of complementary products. Developing Strong Brand Name  What are the brand’s most compelling benefits?  What emotions are elicited by the brand either during or after the purchase?  What one word best describes the brand?  What is important to consumers in the purchase of the brand?

Two Important Processes in Establish a Strong Brand Name  Prominent promotions through powerful, repetitious ads.  Association with the product’s most prominent characteristics.

Brand equity is a set of characteristics that are unique to a brand. In essence, it is the perception that a good or service with a given brand name is different and better. Benefits  Allows manufacturers to charge more for products  Creates higher gross margins  Provides power with retailers and wholesalers  Captures additional retail shelf space  Serves as a weapon against consumers switching due to sales promotions  Prevents erosion of market share

 Family brands. A group of related products sold under one name.  Brand extension. The use of an established brand name on products or services not related to the core brand.  Flanker brand. The development of a new brand sold in the same category as another product.  Co-branding. The offering of two or more brands in a single marketing offer.

 Ingredient branding. The placement of one brand within another brand.  Cooperative branding. The joint venture of two or more brands into a new product or service.  Complementary branding. The marketing of two brands together for co-consumption.  Private brands. Proprietary brands marketed by an organization and sold within the organization’s outlets.

Primary Purpose  Protect the product inside.  Provide for ease of shipping, moving, and handling  Provide for easy placement on store shelves.  Prevent or reduce the possibility of theft.  Prevent tampering (drugs and foods). New Trends in Packaging  Meets consumer needs for speed, convenience, and portability  Must be contemporary and striking  Must be designed for ease of use

It is the process of creating a perception in the consumer’s mind regarding the nature of a company and its products relative to competitors.  The product’s standing relative to competition.  How the product is perceived by consumers. Product Positioning Strategies  Attributes  Competitors  Use or application  Product user  Product class  Cultural symbol

Developing effective methods to persuade people to buy goods and services is a primary goal of an integrated marketing communications program. Two Types of Buying Behavior  Consumer  Business-to-business **For purpose of facilitation and time management, please refer to other subjects covering this topic.

 It is the process marketers use to identify target audiences for a company’s goods and services and the communication strategies needed to reach these audiences.  A successful IMC program identifies the places to make contacts and presents customers with a well-defined message spoken in a clear voice.  The purpose of part is to identify customers and competitors in the marketplace and to discover new promotional opportunities.

Steps 1. Conduct communication market analysis 2. Establish communication objectives 3. Create communications budget 4. Prepare promotional strategies 5. Match tactics with strategies

It is the process of discovering the organization’s strengths and weaknesses in the area of marketing communication and combining that information with an analysis of the opportunities and threats present in the firm’s external environment (TOWS). Five Areas  Competitors  Opportunities  Target markets  Customers  Product positioning

Communication Objectives 1. Develop brand awareness 2. Increase category demand 3. Change customer beliefs or attitudes 4. Enhance purchase actions 5. Encourage repeat purchase 6. Build customer traffic 7. Enhance firm image 8. Increase market share 9. Increase sales 10. Reinforce purchase decisions Marketing Objectives 1. Sales volume 2. Market share 3. Profit 4. Return on investment

 Budgets are based on communication objectives as well as marketing objectives  It is not unlikely that there is a direct relationship between expenditures on advertising communications and subsequent sales revenues.  Communication goals differ depending on the stage in the buying process that is being addressed.

 Percentage of Sales Method  This budget is derived from wither: (1) sales from the previous year or (2) anticipated sales for the next year.  Disadvantages: (1) it tends to change in the opposite direction of what is typically needed. (2) it doesn’t allocate money for special needs or to combat competitive pressures.  Meet-the-Competition Method  The primary goal of this method is to prevent the loss of market share.  Matching the competition’s spending doesn’t guarantee success.  IMPORTANT: It is not how much is spent, but rather how well the money is allocated and how effectively the marketing campaign works at retaining customers and market share.

 “What We Can Afford” Method  This technique sets the marketing budget after all of the company ‘s other budgets have been determined.  VIEW: Marketing expenditures as non-revenue- generating activities.  Objective and Task Method  Management lists all of the communication objectives to pursue during the year and then calculates the cost of accomplishing each objective.

 Payout Planning  Establishes a ration of advertising to sales or market share.  This method normally allocates greater amounts in early years to yield payout in later years.  Quantitative Models  Computer simulations can be developed to model the relationship between advertising or promotional expenditures with sales and profits.

 Strategies are sweeping guidelines concerning the essence of the company’s marketing efforts.  Strategies provide the long-term direction for all marketing activities.  It is critical that a company’s communication strategies mesh with its overall message and be carefully linked to the opportunities identified by a communication market analysis.

 Communication strategies should be directly related to a firm’s marketing objectives.  Strategies must be achievable using the allocations available in the marketing and communications budget.  Once strategies have been implemented, they are not changed unless major new events occur.  Only changes in the marketplace, new competitive forces, or new promotional opportunities should cause companies to alter strategies.

 Tactics are activities performed to support strategies.  Tactics include promotional campaigns designed around themes based on strategic objectives.  Tactics do not replace strategies, nor should they distract consumers from the consistent message or theme the company is trying to create.

 Methods  Advertisements based on the major theme or a subtheme  Personal selling enticements (bonuses and prizes for sales reps)  Sales promotions (posters, point-of-purchase displays, end-of-aisle displays, freestanding displays)  Special product packaging and labeling  Price changes

 Other enticements  Coupons  Gift certificates  Bonus packs (a second product attached to a first)  Special containers  Contests and prizes  Rebates  Volume discounts

 To better enhance your promotional opportunities analysis, it is better to revisit your MARKET SEGMENTATION.

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