The role of advertising in consumer behavior and market dynamics

Integrated marketing communications programs (IMC) use sales promotions as a major factor in their programs today. Marketers have realized that effective marketing is a combination of promotion and advertising. For effective communications programs, marketers have realized they have to rely on promotional sales, direct marketing, personal sales, convectional advertising campaigns and public relations. Sales promotions along with marketing make advertising more effective and, and the effectiveness can be increased by communication to increase awareness. IMC is a communication strategic tool, and it combines promotional mix to deliver maximum communication influence that target the audience. IMC can have the greatest persuasive effect because customers are in contact with brands. Different communicating tools are combined bringing a synergetic effect in resulting communication.

Since the inception of IMC, there have been many changes due to the changing relationship between marketers and consumers. There have also been shifts because of technology and direct communication to the audience. Technology driven shift was because of different advances in technology, which included new marketing and communication modes and internet accessibility. These factors attempted to align and coordinate a firm's marketing strategies to ensure that a clear message is communicated. Direct communication to the audience was another cause of the shift in IMC; this wanted to ensure that customers are served effectively from the seller's point-of-view.

Role of advertising in IMC

Advertising has had a major role in IMC; it has increased collection of sophisticated information, thus emphasizing on customer relationships. It has also equated and enhanced good customer relationships through social media channels. This has placed more focus in retention of customers, as opposed to acquisition of new customers. Advertising has increased marketer's reliance in selecting their market targets, because of the data mining techniques, accountability and sophistication of information has improved. Marketing has nurtured customer relationship efficiently and effectively. This is because of long-term customer relationships. IMC is data driven hence focuses on dialogues and customer orientation, thus manages expectations, profits, brand equity, experiences driving sales and brand perceptions. Advertising using technological advances has enabled consumers to have timely, one on one and personalized interactions with firms and businesses.

Increased competition, marketing and attraction as a unique product, and communicating successfully to customers are vital. Advertising has enabled direct response from customers, hence positive, strong and transparent relationships. Marketing in IMC also increases sales, increase customer spending and builds a unique image. Advertisement acts as glue across different departments of organizations and different tools of IMC because successful channels are used to focus on the right consumers. Marketing plays a role in maintaining consistency in the message of a brand, show changes in a brand over time and visual logic is incorporated hence improving customer awareness. This is also crucial because other consumers purchase goods because of their symbolic value. Marketing enables IMC data to be useful and accessible to all customers.

Creativity

Creativity has been viewed by marketers as a central feature to successful campaigns because it is the defeat of habit. Creativity and communication of message content during campaign planning; provides a source for fresh inspiration giving a firm a superior allure in the market. This will also give a brand or product competitive advantage. Creativity is a rare commodity, which some consumers are always willing to pay.

Creativity is a brand strategy, which is insightful and has inspired message content. Media space and advertising should be used creatively. This will effectively solve the problem of harnessing different communication channels in IMC as a part of the creative strategy. Advertising should be having a good brand marketing communication. This ensures that the message is well understood, and a good relationship with clients and service providers is maintained. Integrated marketing communication is part of a creative process, which is characterized by a communication model (Lisa, 2011).

Creative advertising ensures that consumer habits evolve. It involves testing new boundaries of communication, and this will have a positive impact on IMC. A brand is the information that consumers have emotional or imagined association. Tools used to build brands like creative advertising or presentation of goods in supermarket shelves, gives a channel in which delivering brand information is effective. Advertising should include promotional disciplines and through IMC combination, there is certainty that a good customer relationship is maintained. Similarly, message is passed effectively, sales, profit increase, and different IMC strategies are properly incorporated for excellent results.

Analysis

Advertisement is of great value when incorporated to IMC program, hence should work in combination with IMC. This is because IMC programs include a combination of certain tools, which require communication for customers to be thoroughly informed about the brand or product. The aim of IMC is customer retention, creating and maintaining good customer relationships; for this to be successful advertisement has to be incorporated (Kitchen and Schultz, 2009). Advertisements link marketers, customers and consumers and sometimes allow communication for relevant feedback from both sides. Instant feedback or direct feedback is important as it helps marketers to make appropriate adjustments according to customer feedback. It eventually ensures that the marketer's aim of making profit is achieved. Marketing helps in understanding consumer behavior hence very valuable to IMC, in achieving the target of creating good customer relationships. They will know the needs and wants of customers hence they will know what the communications program will need to change or reinforce.

Communication is the major factor in IMC and for communication to be successful advertisement and has to take place through various channels. Communication creates awareness, customer trust with certain brands hence creating good customer relationships. Marketers have branding in their unit, and it is the core of a business because branding drives everything else. Therefore, there must be a close alignment between branding units and marketing communicators for a business to be successful. The real asset of a company is not the brand but the loyalty of customers to brand. A strategic role by marketing is the impacts by specific campaigns, which change the way consumers, think about particular products and sometimes even consider the way these products or services exist (Studies, 2012).