WHAT IS INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION ??

There is a plethora of change affecting the lives of people every day and needless to say every industry has undergone a transformation of the way it works and thrives to survive. Needless to say, the way the corporate world has approached its marketing communication efforts has seen a distinctive turnover.

Marketing communications these days include direct selling, social networking ad spaces, sales promotion concentrating on BTL as opposed to the aggressive ATL practices from just about a decade ago.

It becomes extremely important for the various channels adopted by the companies are integrated and there is clarity of thought of the messages being sent to the end customer. This is where the very concept of Integrated Marketing Communication has evolved.

IMC TOOLS

Advertising was the only form of conventional marketing communication. However, organizations have innovated various other ways of this communication to make their message reach the customers. The following figure describes the various forms of IMC tools that are in practice.

The following figure describes clearly how a firm decides to use the various IMC tools to its maximum advantage.

As a concluding remark, firms believe that IMC is the future way of promotion. A few thoughts from Mr. Troland, Media Business and Brand Strategy Advisor on the marketing in a new world:

Thus, it is fitting to say that firms that integrate their marketing efforts avoid duplication, bring out clarity of message to the customers, bring about a synergy in the communication aligned strategically with the firm's objectives and maximize its return on advertising and promotion.