Integrated marketing communications: is the whole greater than the sum of its parts

Integrated Marketing Communications: Is the whole greater than the sum of its parts?

The concept of Integrated Marketing Communications is a relatively new one, which arose from the need to constantly adapt to the changes affecting both the micro and macro environments. In addition, the emergence of the IMC is a direct consequence of the increased attention placed on marketing activities and strategies, as well as the recognition of the vital role played by the communication system in achieving organizational goals.

Only until recently, the basic change was that of an increased focus on customers' needs and the immense desire to satisfy them. Companies became more customer-oriented and began to develop and implement numerous strategies, aimed at increasing customers' satisfaction in regard to the company's products and services.

Today however, the variety of strategies seems overwhelmed by the rapid mutations affecting both the business community as well the consumers. In marketing "the paradigm change is coming from an offspring called Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC). and, nowhere is that more evident than in the non-English-speaking countries where the primary focus on mass advertising and mass communication is giving way to more integrated forms of communication, including such areas as sales, promotion, direct marketing, public relations, events, and the like" (Kim, Han and Schultz, p.1).

In order to best respond to these changes, organizations are beginning to think of new ways of developing their strategies. The Integrated Marketing Communication comes to their benefit as it provides insight on how to best integrate and unify all marketing strategies into an organizational activity to retrieve the most favourable results. And the beneficial outcome of Integrated Marketing Communications offers a positive answer to the question Is the whole grater than the sum of its parts?

2. Integrated Marketing Communication

The specialized literature of our days has presented the reader with a multitude of definitions of IMC. As such, the American Marketing Association defines the Integrated Marketing Communication as being "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" (American Marketing Association, 2008).

Laura Lake, a marketing specialist at Marketing About has defined the IMC as: "a management concept that is designed to make all aspects of marketing communication such as advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing work together as a unified force, rather than permitting each to work in isolation" (Lake, 2008).

Another relevant definition of IMC comes from the Centre for Integrated Marketing, which states that "Integrated Marketing is a creative, human and business discipline that reduces or eliminates these divisions to ensure the brand is appropriately present and effectively communicating at all the important times in a customer's life in a way that provides value, creates sustainable profits and benefits shareholders and employees" (Centre for Integrated Marketing, 2006).

The list of IMC definitions could go on for numerous pages, but the conclusion would be the same: Integrated Marketing Communication represents the process of unifying all marketing activities of an organization, such as sales, promotions or advertising, in order to develop the best marketing campaign that would retrieve the best results. But in order to develop a successful marketing campaign with the aid of the IMC, companies must consider a wide variety of factors of influences, such as the company clients (both current and potential), public relations, brand, media, advertising or promotions.

Factors that influence a marketing campaign

Source: Vargas, 2005

IMC is a common-sense idea. Instead of dividing communications into several overlapping departments, organizations use one strategy for everything, making every communication consistent with one message and one strategy. For example, once a company decides how it is uniquely able to meet a particular consumer need, every message is based on those conclusions" (Paquet).

2.1 Benefits of IMC

The major beneficial features of implementing integrated marketing communications within an organization revolve around the following capabilities offered by a good IMC system:

The IMC aids companies to effectively manage the corporate image by highlighting the core competencies and how to connect these capabilities with the other corporative features

The IMC supports a strong marketing campaign, centred around organizational values and strengths and which will not only make a statement, but will also positively influence sales and increase the company's return on investment

The IMC improves the quality of the promotional and advertising strategies presented through media channels

The IMC has better chances of success than traditional implementation of marketing strategies as it encompasses more modern strategies, generally the online marketing (Wisconsin School of Business, 2006) properly implemented Integrated Marketing Communications system sustains the company in cutting down their costs

The IMC offers the company a core competency and a sustainable advantage in comparison to the large numbers of companies which have yet to implement the IMC

The Integrated Marketing Communications set the basis for coordinated company and brand developed well implemented marketing campaign, developed with regard to the IMC considerations is prone to attract increased attention from customers, for after all, the IMC is based on customer orientation (Slide Share, 2007).

Other benefits of the usage of the Integrated Marketing Communications system arise form the differences revealed by basic comparison of the traditional and the integrated marketing approaches. These differences are presented in the table below:

Table 1: Differences between the Traditional and Integrated Approach to Marketing

Traditional Approach

Focus on:

Integrated Approach

Focus on:

1. Making transactions

1. Building and nourishing relationships

2. Customers

2. All stakeholders in the organization

3. Independent brand message

3. Strategic consistency on brand messages

4. Mass-media - monologue with the customers

4. Interactivity - dialogue with the customers

5. Products claims

5. Corporate mission marketing

6. Adjusting prior year's plan

6. Zero-based campaign planning

7. Functional department planning and monitoring

7. Cross-functional planning and monitoring

8. Communication specialists

8. Creating core competencies

9. Mass marketing and customer acquisition

9. Building and managing databases to retain customers

10. Stable of agencies

10. One communication management agency

Source: Peter and Donnelly, p.121

Today, when most companies have yet to adopt the IMC, its usage represents a core competency and a sustainable advantage. However in the future, this advantage could turn against the company in the form of a shortage. To better explain, in the following years, when all companies will have adopted the IMC, it will no longer represent a benefit as it will imply that all companies implement similar marketing strategies and fail to stand out. If this situation was to occur, the probability is that corporations will begin to "disintegrate" their marketing procedures as to make them more unique and more adaptable to the particular needs of the clients and the particular features of the products.

2.2 Barriers to IMC

The benefits of implementing an integrated marketing communications system are made obvious by the increased chances of developing a strong marketing campaign to support the organization in achieving its goals. However, to ensure this, the corporations have to increase their efforts and get passes several barriers imposed by IMC. Some of these barriers have been presented by Hun, Kim and Schultz (2004) in Understanding the Diffusion of Integrated Marketing Communications:

Integration requires the staff to be better trained, therefore the company executives must organize training programs which require additional expenditures

The corporate culture doesn't entirely reflect the company's ability to implement IMC; for instance, numerous companies have numerous marketing goals and intent to reach them through a variety of marketing strategies

The Integrated Marketing Communications offer too much control to advertising companies

The decision making process would have to be modified and the focus would swift

The Integrated Marketing Communication systems weaken the competition between agencies (Kim, Han and Schultz, p.8).

Other shortages of the IMC refer to the risks posed by IMC, basically that of turning the company into a highly standardized facility, which is unable to adapt to the changes of the environment. In this order of ideas, it is highly possible that the Integrated Marketing Communications:

Encourage centralization and total standardization

Require increased management, monitoring and control

Promote uniformity and single message, which may not always adapt to all products or customers of the company

Reduce the creative and innovative opportunities within the company, which may lead to personnel dissatisfactions

Result in an inflexible company, unable to adapt to changes in the environment

Require that the company changes its culture

IMC stands the chance of harming the company's brand if the message delivered is incorrectly managed

May lead to mediocrity and the loss of any specials skills and core competencies possessed by the company and its employees (Slide Share, 2007)

2.3 Four P's and C's of Marketing particular feature of the Integrated Marketing Communication is that more than any other marketing procedures, it emphasize on the customer. However traditional marketing is also customer-oriented, the traditional strategies regard customer features from the stand point of the company. As such, they define the four P's of marketing as Product, or what the company produces and sells, Price, as the retail price the company will charge for their products or services, Place, as in the distribution channels the company will use to distribute their products and services, and finally, Promotion, as the strategies used to attract the audience's interest in regard to the company's products and services.

The Integrated Marketing Communication system takes these P's and turns them into C's - similar aspects, but looked at from the stand point of the consumer. In this order of ideas, Product turns into Customer; Price turns into Cost; Place turns into Convenience and Promotion turns into Communication (Wirth, 2001).

The first 'P' is product, but really this is all about the customers' needs and wants. Which goods and services customers are looking for, what are the features / benefits in demand, what might be unfulfilled needs? The second 'P' is price; but in fact, this has more to do with the cost to the customer. What is their perception of value, how much are they able / willing to spend? The third 'P' is place (or distribution), but what this means is the convenience to the customer to obtain the product. Where will it be sold, are there distribution channels, is the process simple and secure? And last but not least, is promotion, and [...] this is how we communicate with our customers. To promote yourself effectively, you need to understand your customers and their perspectives" (Vargas, 2005).

All in all, Integrated Marketing Communication is the new trend in the business community and its importance and significance is expected to increase over the next few years. Basically, the IMC represents the multitude of managerial processes aimed at unifying the marketing strategies to better meet organizational goals. The Integrated Marketing Communication, through its integration of all marketing strategies, offers the answer to the initially posed question. As such, since the company stands better chances of achieving its organizational values through the implementation of the unified IMC, rather than the usage of the disparate traditional marketing strategies, than the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

3. Integrated Marketing Communications at Nike

Nike is an American-based company, headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, but with subsidies and retail stores all over the globe. Nike manufacturers and sells high quality apparel, shoes and sports equipment. Today, Nike has managed to become more than a supplier of sports equipment; they represent the trend, the fashion statement.

Nike's brand is the most valuable assets of the company's and they base most of the marketing campaigns on the Nike brand. A relevant sign indicating Nike's implementation of the Integrated Marketing Communication is given by their capability of reaching such an extended palette of customers. Most companies are only able to become the main provider for one specific target market, be this formed of teenagers, adults, senior citizens, men or women. But Nike has managed to develop such a strong marketing campaign which captured the attention of both teenagers and adults. And the message is simple: Just Do it! The message is standardized; it's the same for all items sold in the Nike stores, but it can mean a wide array of things: Teenagers, buy these cool clothes and stay on fashion! Just Do it! Or Adults, buy these great sports equipment and start exercising and having a healthier life today! Just Do it!

But the message must be kept alive at all times and the company has the obligation of backing it, for the brand or the message cannot solely sustain a successful campaign. The launching part of a new marketing campaign is a crucial part and it is the results of significant efforts which are once again aligned with the company's overall goal and integrated with the rest of the marketing strategies.

The launch comes to support and promote the brand. "Nike launches its new products through a marketing communication team that develops point-of-purchase and trade show displays, posters, video, and other visuals, all of which reinforce the positioning of, and key messages about, the Nike brand/logo" (Media Campaign, 2002).

Another sign that proves that Nike makes significant efforts to develop and implement a strong integrated marketing campaign is given by their combination of both online and offline marketing strategies. A perfect example of this was Nike's 2000 Whatever campaign. "Online and offline, Nike did Whatever to find perfect synergy [...] Nike's "Whatever" campaign not only was consistent, it was groundbreaking - so groundbreaking that major TV networks almost refused to run it" (Mara, 2000).

The basic characteristic of Nike's Whatever campaign was revealed by the company's ability to perfectly integrate traditional and online marketing. The television advertisement presented the customer racing Marion Jones, the fastest runner on the globe; but the end was not shown, sending the viewer to the campaign's website. "You're racing Marion Jones. The fastest woman in the world. Look out for the glass door. (CRASH!) What do you do? Continued at whatever.nike.com" (Mara, 2000).

The advertisements retrieved the most beneficial results: they proved once again the strong capabilities of the Nike team, managed to integrate traditional and modern marketing strategies, revolutionized the advertising community and most important, increased Nike's sales. Also, this advertisement attracted users to visit the campaign website, www.whatever.nike.com, and also increased the number of www.nike.comvisitors.

A new feature which points out that Nike has managed to successfully implement the Integrated Marketing Communications is given by the company's ability to interact with the consumers. By going to the Whatever website, the customers were able to choose from a variety of endings to the television advertisement. They were given the freedom to choose rather than being imposed the ending. Based on the immense success retrieved from the Whatever campaign, Nike "is looking forward to doing stuff that's more interactive. The Web is the one medium where people are in control. We need to stop pushing content at people and let them be in charge" (Mara, 2000).