Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)
The concept of designing marketing communications programs that coordinate all promotional activities - advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing - to provide a consistent message across all audiences.
Communication
The process of conveying a message to others that requires six elements: a source, a message, a channel of communication, a receiver, and the processes of encoding and decoding.
Source
a company or person who has information to convey during the communication process.
Message
information sent by a source to a receiver during the communication process
Channel of communication
the means (salesperson, advertising media, or PR tools) of conveying a message to a receiver during the communication process
Receivers
consumer who read, hear, or see the message sent by a source during the communication process.
Field of experience
a mutually shared understanding and knowledge that the sender and receiver apply to the message so that it can be communicated effectively during the communication process
Encoding
process of having the sender transform an idea into a set of symbols during the communication process
Decoding
process of having the receiver take a set of symbols, the message, and transform them back to an idea during the communication process.
Noise
Extraneous factors that can work against effective communication by distorting a message or the feedback received during the communication process
Feedback
the sender's interpretation of the response, which indicates whether the message was decoded and understood as intended during communication process.
Response
the impact the message had on the receiver's knowledge, attitudes or behaviors during the communication process
Feedback loop
consists of a response and a feedback
Mass selling
using advertising, sales promotion and public relations to sell to groups of prospective buyers
Customized interaction
personal selling includes face-to-face, telephone, and interactive electronic communication
Advertising
any paid form of non-personal communication about an organization good, service or idea by an identified sponsor
� Advantages - it can be attention getting, can communicate specific product benefits to prospective buyers. Can control what it wants to say,
Personal selling
the 2-way flow of communication between a buyer and a seller, often in a face-to-face encounter, designed to influence a person or group's purchase decision
� Advantages - control of when message is sent, the seller can see and hear the potential buyer's
Public relations
a form of communication management that seeks to influence the feelings, opinions, or beliefs held by customers, prospective customers, stockholders, suppliers, employees, and other publics about a company and its products or services.
Publicity
a non-personal, indirectly paid presentation of an organization, good or service
� Advantages - credibility
� Disadvantages - lack of user's control over it
Sales promotion
short-term inducement of value offered to arouse interest in buying a good or service
� Advantages - short-term so stimulates sales during that time
� Disadvantages - sales drop off when promotion ends
Push Strategy
directing the promotional mix to channel members to gain their cooperation in ordering and stocking the product
Pull Strategy
directing the promotional mix at ultimate consumers to encourage them to ask the retailer for a product