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CHAPTER 14: Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Decline in spending on traditional media (TV, newspapers, radio) as digital ad spending surges
      - Digital advertising accounts for over 62% of U.S. ad spending, with significant growth projected.
      - Major brands (e.g., Unilever, L’Oreal) adopt "digital-first" approaches, with significant increases in digital ad spending.
    - - Digital formats allow for more personalized, non-intrusive, and on-demand marketing experiences (e.g., ad-free streaming on multiple devices).
      - Marketers are blending traditional and digital media to create integrated campaigns targeting specific consumer communities.
    - - Advances in digital tools and platforms (e.g., IoT, smartphones, social media, and the metaverse) have transformed communication between companies and customers.
      - Digital and social media have created new, targeted, and engaging marketing models.
    - - The focus is on delivering clear, consistent, and compelling brand messages across multiple channels.
      - Marketers act as content managers, creating and sharing brand messages through paid, owned, earned, and shared media.
    - - Shift from mass marketing to targeted micromarketing due to market fragmentation.
      - Consumers are now more informed and empowered through digital platforms like social media and the internet.
  - - - Digital media provide new tools for customer engagement and insights.
      - However, the variety of platforms complicates and fragments marketing communication efforts.
    - - IMC is a strategy where companies coordinate all communication channels to deliver a clear, consistent, and compelling brand message.
      - Different media play distinct roles (e.g., TV for reach, digital for targeting and engagement) but must work together under a unified plan.
    - - Different departments or agencies may handle various forms of marketing (e.g., advertising, PR, sales promotions), creating conflicting or unclear brand messages.
      - Consumers perceive all brand-related content as part of a single message, making inconsistent communication detrimental to brand image.
    - - Consumers are overwhelmed by brand messages from multiple sources.
      - Companies often fail to integrate their communication channels, leading to inconsistent messaging across platforms (e.g., ads, websites, social media).
- - - - Appeal: Liking the product.
      - Ask: Seeking more information or engagement.
      - Awareness: Knowing the product.
      - Act: Making a purchase or engaging with the product.
      - Advocacy: Recommending the product to others.
    - - Structure: Decide whether to draw conclusions, the order of arguments, and whether to present one- or two-sided arguments.
      - Format: Visual elements, headlines, colors, and layout play a significant role in capturing attention and engagement.
      - Content: Use rational (e.g., features, benefits), emotional (e.g., humor, fear), or moral (e.g., ethics, social responsibility) appeals.
    - - Personal channels (e.g., direct interaction like face-to-face, email, social media).
      - Nonpersonal channels (e.g., traditional media like TV, online ads).
    - - Personal recommendations (friends, family, online reviews) strongly influence consumer decisions.
      - Word-of-mouth marketing, opinion leaders, and buzz marketing are critical strategies for leveraging personal communication.
  - - - Examples include health professionals endorsing products or celebrities promoting brands (e.g., Kim Kardashian for Beyond Meat).
      - Poorly chosen endorsers can harm a brand's image (e.g., Lance Armstrong scandal affecting his sponsors).
      - The credibility and popularity of the message source significantly impact persuasion.
    - - Marketers assess how their communication is received by measuring recall, frequency of exposure, message impact, and changes in attitudes or behaviors.
      - Feedback can guide improvements in the marketing mix or communication strategy.
    - - Combining personal and nonpersonal channels enhances communication.
      - Nonpersonal messages (e.g., ads) can influence opinion leaders, who in turn share messages personally.
      - Nonpersonal channels often mimic personal communication through endorsements or testimonials.
    - - Atmospheres: Environments designed to influence buyer attitudes (e.g., bank decor conveying trust).
      - Events: Staged occurrences like shows or exhibits to deliver messages.
      - Major Media: Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards, and digital platforms (e.g., social media).
  - - - Marketers must audit all potential customer touchpoints during the buying process (e.g., ads, online reviews, retail experiences)
      - Understanding these touchpoints helps marketers allocate budgets effectively and influence customers at different stages.
    - - Decoding. The process by which the receiver assigns meaning to the symbols encoded
        by the sender
      - Receiver. The party receiving the message sent
      - Media. The communication channels through which the message moves from the sender
        to the receiver
      - Response. The reactions of the receiver after being exposed to the message
      - Message. The set of symbols that the sender transmits
      - Feedback. The part of the receiver’s response communicated back to the sender
      - Encoding. The process of putting thought into symbolic form
      - Noise. The unplanned static or distortion during the communication process, which results in the receiver getting a weaker or different message than the one sent
      - Sender. The party sending the message to another party—here
    - - Customers vary, so communication programs must be tailored for specific segments or individuals
      - Modern communications are increasingly two-way, requiring companies to engage customers and allow customers to engage with the brand and each other.
    - - Effective messaging requires the sender to understand and align with the receiver’s field of experience.
      - For instance, an ad targeting a specific demographic must reflect that audience’s values, language, and experiences.
    - - Focusing narrowly on short-term goals like brand awareness or preferences is short-sighted.
      - Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) emphasizes shaping coordinated programs to achieve the desired audience response and foster ongoing customer engagement.
- - - - Pull Strategy: Directly targets final consumers to create demand, which motivates retailers to stock the product. Example: P&G's advertising for Tide to drive consumer demand.
      - Push Strategy: Focuses on marketing to intermediaries (e.g., retailers) who then promote to consumers. Examples: John Deere's focus on trade promotions with retailers.
    - - Consumer Markets: Typically use a pull strategy with a focus on advertising and sales promotions.
      - Business Markets: Rely more on a push strategy, emphasizing personal selling and trade promotions.
      - Companies often combine both strategies for maximum effectiveness.
    - - Advertising: Reaches large audiences at a low cost per exposure; effective for broad awareness.
      - Personal Selling: Builds preferences and long-term customer relationships through direct interaction, but is cost-intensive and requires long-term commitment.
      - Sales Promotion: Engages consumers with immediate incentives to buy but may have short-term effects and risks unprofitability if poorly targeted.
      - Public Relations (PR): Viewed as credible and can dramatize a product or company. Effective PR campaigns can complement other promotion mix elements.
  - - - While simple, it wrongly assumes that sales drive promotion instead of the reverse
      - It also hinders strategic increases in spending to boost falling sales and lacks a rationale for the chosen percentage.
      - Budget is set as a percentage of current or forecasted sales.
    - - Budget is based on competitors’ spending or industry averages.
      - Assumes competitors’ spending reflects "industry wisdom" and prevents promotion wars, but these claims are flawed.
      - This method does not account for a company’s unique needs and can intensify competition instead of reducing it
    - - Small businesses often allocate whatever funds are left after other expenses.
      - This method ignores the impact of promotion on sales and results in unpredictable and often insufficient budgets
    - - Identifying tasks to achieve them.
      - Estimating costs of these tasks.
      - Defining specific objectives.
    - - Determining the right promotion budget is one of the most challenging marketing decisions.
      - Missteps can lead to overspending or underspending, with no clear method to measure effectiveness
  - - - Bait-and-Switch Advertising: Illegal practice of attracting buyers with false pretenses and switching them to more expensive products
      - Trade Promotion Regulation: Laws like the Robinson-Patman Act ensure fair promotional allowances and services to all resellers
      - False or Deceptive Advertising: Avoid making false claims or creating ads that can deceive consumers.
    - - Fair Competition: Salespeople must avoid deceptive practices and ensure their statements match advertising claims.
      - Cooling-Off Rule: The FTC's rule allows customers to cancel contracts or return merchandise within 72 hours for sales made at home or temporary locations.