Advertising & IMC Strategy in the Digital Age

Advertising in the 21st Century

The 21st century is the Digital Age — the era that marked the decisive shift from legacy media to new media. Advertisers have therefore focused increasingly on digital media, social media, and online engagement rather than on the power of print media or traditional television commercials. The reason for this shift is that more people now use their mobile devices for browsing the Internet, consuming information, shopping via e-commerce, and communicating with peers than ever before. More people have "cut the cord" of cable television and now stream content via providers like Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and HBO Max. Fewer people read books and magazines than in previous generations.

Advertisers must go where the audience is, and digital media platforms like Facebook and Google have developed sophisticated tools to track user behavior through online monitoring, giving advertisers detailed insight into what consumers are doing and what they want. As a result, advertising in the 21st century has become more personalized, more targeted, and more digital than at any prior point in history.

IMC Philosophy, Brand Equity, and Ethics

The philosophy and practice of integrated marketing communications (IMC) centers on understanding the profile of the target market — its needs, opinions, values, interests, and media habits. From that foundation, IMC proceeds with the development of communication synergy, crafting a message that is consistent across all media channels. The aim is to influence the target market's behavior and to build lasting relationships with customers. Advertising within the IMC approach is most effective when it is predicated on a solid understanding of the target market, when the preferred media of that market are used to deliver the message, and when a unified message works to establish brand equity and loyalty.

Brand equity is the worth of a brand — how highly it is esteemed by consumers. For instance, customers might hold a brand like Coca-Cola in high regard because of its consistency, heritage, and cultural value. However, brand equity can drop sharply when a company makes controversial statements or takes positions that alienate significant segments of its consumer base. For companies, brand equity is critically important because it defines the company's value among consumers in terms of its reputation. Whatever products a company releases, strong brand equity ensures those products start with built-in consumer trust. Companies with strong equity are therefore careful to avoid scandal, inferior products, or any action that could damage the brand's standing.

Ethical issues associated with advertising, sales promotions, social media, and other marketing practices demand careful attention. Advertising should never be false or misleading. Sales promotions should never be used for bait-and-switch practices. Social media should always be used honestly and transparently — never to deceive followers or to make statements that offend large segments of the community. Maintaining ethical standards across all promotional channels is essential to sustaining brand equity over the long term.

The Importance of Market Segmentation

Market segmentation allows companies to group consumers based on demographics, behaviors, and other shared characteristics. This in turn enables a company to market its products to particular groups whose members share common needs, values, interests, and purchasing habits, making promotional efforts far more precise and cost-effective.

Five important factors of persuasion — message strength, peripheral cues, receiver involvement, receiver initial position, and communication modality — are essential to building a successful advertising campaign. Message strength pertains to the relevance, clarity, appeal, and consistency of the message. Peripheral cues, such as the credibility of the source or the presence of multiple reinforcing arguments within a single message, help to convince the consumer further. Receiver involvement refers to the degree to which a consumer is ready to act or is seeking more information; understanding this helps the advertiser determine which tools to rely on most heavily. Receiver initial position indicates whether the consumer is predisposed to accept the advertiser's argument or is likely to raise counter-arguments. Communication modality refers to how the message is conveyed — which channels, media, and formats are used.

The process of setting marketing communication objectives and establishing clear, measurable requirements for those objectives also plays a significant role in a campaign's long-term success. Good objectives provide a framework for increasing the company's brand equity over time, giving all promotional activity a coherent direction.