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Marketing communications

Marketing communications (MC, marcom(s), marcomm(s) or just simply communications) refers to the use of different marketing channels and tools in combination.[1] Marketing communication channels focus on how businesses communicate a message to its desired market, or the market in general. It is also in charge of the internal communications of the organization. Marketing communication tools include advertising, personal selling, direct marketing, sponsorship, communication, public relations, social media, customer journey and promotion.[1]

MC are made up of the marketing mix which is made up of the 4 Ps: Price, Promotion, Place and Product, for a business selling goods, and made up of 7 Ps: Price, Promotion, Place, Product, People, Physical evidence and Process, for a service-based business.[2]

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is the most important part of marketing strategy, which is "the framework to manage marketing and incorporate it within a business context[6]".

Marketing mix

: how a business achieves its marketing objectives. The initial step to achieve a marketing strategy is to identify the market target and build up a business plan.[6]

Marketing strategy

does not involve a proven order of steps resulting in an ultimate inference. It is a repeated process that requires a broader outlook. At times, projects may require going in-depth and changing the entire process. Let us take the example of Nokia when they were preparing themselves to compete against the smartphone market. In November 2011, they decided on coming up with something new, especially targeting the youth, who were switching over to the Finnish Smartphones. This switchover required bringing several changes, starting from brand fundamentals to training in-house teams, from targeting to product advancement, and from hiring talented marketing people to new innovations.[7]

Marketing Research

One-to-many: this kind of communication is the most original communication. It is "generated from a single broadcast point and then available over airwaves or in mass print runs". This type of communication is usually adapted to news distribution that is not specific, not even interactive. Such as in an urgent notice play over airwave from broadcast in an industry, it is helpful for the general announcement.

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Many-to-one: many-to-one is usually connected to the one-to-many communication. For example, a reply button in your email box, a prepaid number bought from Spark. All the communication techniques proceeded to the public with bi-directional communication from mass communications.[8]

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One-to-one: this is the most intensive and interactive communication at a one-to-one level. There are so many examples like a sales presentation; a negotiation in the market or direct delivery is based on one-to-one communication. Most of this communication is face-to-face. But with the development of the Internet, email and online shopping are taking the chance to be face to face with people. Which provided the chance for sellers and buyers to talk more directly. Another important is instant message 'chat' channels like Wechat and Facebook, which are becoming extremely popular in business.[8]

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Many-to-many: on the background of the highly developed Internet, the many-to-many communication has been growing up such as online chat rooms, 'blogging' websites. The many-to-many communication stands for the participants being able to exchange their ideas and experiences.

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Source: The source is an individual or organization that has information to share. The source (or sender) creates and sends the information to another person or group of people. The source may be an individual (e.g. a salesperson or spokesperson) or a non-personal identity (e.g. a corporation or organization). The communication process begins with the source, marketers must carefully choose a source as it affects how the message will be perceived by the target audience.

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Encoding: This is transposing the intended meaning of the message with words, symbols, or pictures to show a message. Encoding is the development of the message that contains the information the source hopes to convey. It is putting together the thoughts, ideas, and information into a symbolic form that can be transmitted and understood by the receiver. Encoding the message is the second step in the communication process. The encoding process leads to the development of a message that contains the information or meaning the source hopes to convey. Encoding is extremely important, it is a brain activity that takes effect when the receiver makes sense of a brand message or idea used to convey meaning: words, color, pictures, signs, symbols, or even music. The message may be verbal or nonverbal, oral or written, or symbolic (e.g. the sound of a brass band being redolent of simpler times or heritage). or it can often include 'cues' such as the Nike 'swoosh' which indicates success. Often things can get in the way of the "correct" encoding and the interpretation of the intended message (decoding). There are methods the sender can use to make sure the receiver interprets the message correctly, these methods include; channels, consumer insights, having similarities with the receiver, and frame of reference (e.g. age, values, culture).[12] Finally, it is extremely important for the sender to get to know its receiver and this is accomplished through research for targeting strategy. These concepts help craft the intended message in the minds of the consumer.

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Message: The message comes from the encoding process, it is the content, meaning, or information the sources hope to convey. The message can be in many forms such as verbal, non-verbal, oral, written, or symbolic.

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Channel: The channel is the method by which the communication travels from the source or sender to the receiver. There are two types of channels, personal and non-personal. Personal channels of communication are direct and target individual groups. Personal communication channels are connected with two or more persons who communicate directly with each other face-to-face, person-to-person through telephone, email, or fax. Social channels also fall under the category of personal communications. Friends, neighbors, associates, co-workers, or family members are all means of social channels.[3] Carrying a message without interpersonal contact between sender and receiver is known as non-personal channels of communication. Mass media or mass communications are examples of non-personal channels since the message is sent to many individuals at one time. Non-personal channels of communication are made up out of two main types, the first being print. Print media includes newspapers, magazines, direct mail, and billboards. The second type is broadcast; broadcast media includes radio and television.[16]

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Decoding: The receiver unravels the symbols to interpret what is being communicated. Transforming the sender's message back into thought. This is influenced greatly by the receiver's frame of reference (or realm of understanding) which involves their values, attitudes and state of mind when receiving the message. For the model to be effective the decoding by the receiver would match the encoding by the source, meaning they correctly understand the message that was sent. Decoding is the process of interpreting messages and relies on correct encoding and the ability of the receiver to deconstruct transmitted meaning. Decoding occurs when the message reaches one or more of the receiver's senses. Consumers both hear and see television ads, others consumers handle (touch) and read (see) an advertising offer (e.g. coupon). According to Belch & Belch this process is deeply influenced by the receiver's frame of reference or field of experience, which refers to the experiences, perceptions, attitudes, and values he or she brings to the communication situation.[12] For effective communication to occur, the message decoding process of the receiver must match the encoding of the sender. Over this entire means the receiver comprehends and correctly translates what the source is trying to communicate. Effective communication is more likely to emerge when there is some common ground between the two parties. The more familiarity the sender has about the receivers, the better the sender can understand their needs, communicate with them, and overall communicate more effectively.

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Receiver: The individual (s) that the source shares thoughts or information with. The receiver hears, sees or reads the message and decodes it.

Noise: Noise is any external interference during this communication process. Any external factors that create unplanned distortion. This distortion can make it difficult for the receiver to interpret or assign meaning to a message as it was intended by the source. Examples of noise in the encoding of the message could be lack of radio or television signal. Noise can also occur when the sender and receivers fields of experience do not overlap, if there is no common ground between them, which may result in a misunderstanding in the meaning of the message. Throughout the communication process, the message is subject to irrelevant factors that can distort or interfere with its reception. Noise is the physical or Psychological fundamentals either from inside or outside of the process of communication. Noise acts as a barrier as it makes the message less accurate, less productive and unclear. It may even prevent the message from ever reaching the receiver. Physical noise is often triggered by badly made images or messages (e.g. poor print quality) or elements of distraction (e.g. consumer scrolling through TV advertisements). Psychological noise could be mixed meanings, poor credibility of source or the insignificance of the message to the consumer requirements. Not having a connection with the receiver and lacking in common ground usually cause this. This may result in unsuitable encoding of the message such as; using a sign, symbol, or word that is unfamiliar or has a different meaning to the receiver (e.g. sending a message in a foreign language that is not understood by the receiver). The more common ground there is between the sender and the receiver, the less likely it is for noise and barriers to interrupt a message.[12]

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Response/Feedback: The receiver's reaction to the message provides feedback to the sender. This is the set of reactions after seeing, hearing or reading the message. The receiver's response is the feedback and lets the sender know how the message was decoded and received. A form of feedback in an interpersonal selling situation could be questions, comments or any reactions (such as expressions) about the message. In mass media, an indication of how the marketing communications were perceived is the amount of sales after the message has been sent. There are many different ways such as attitude change, store visits and inquiries that provide feedback in mass media. Feedback can help to improve the communication process and the success of future messages. The receiver's particular type of reaction after seeing, hearing, or reading a message is known as a response. Receivers' responses can range from either non-noticeable actions or noticeable actions. Non-noticeable responses can be storing their information in memory and noticeable responses are immediate action such as dialing the commercials number to order a product advertised on television. One of the main goals of communication is receiving appropriate receiver responses, feedback closes the loop in the communications flow and lets the sender monitor how the intended message is being decoded and received. To achieve this goal one can ask indirectly or directly for the response, or assist the receiver in giving the response.[3] Receiving feedback can be more difficult for parties that advertise through the channels of mass media, because advertisers are not in direct contact with their customers so other methods must be obtained to determine how their messages have been received. While the critical form of feedback happens through sales, it is often hard to show a direct relationship between advertising and purchase behavior. So marketers; visit stores, check coupon redemption, use reply cards and listen to customer inquiries to achieve feedback. Once a significant amount of feedback/response study has been gathered advertisers would then have enough information to determine reasons for success or failure in the communication process and from there they can make appropriate adjustments.

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Guerrilla marketing[edit]

Due to the rise in advertising clutter, there has been a push for non-traditional media such as guerrilla marketing.[48] Guerrilla marketing is usually a low-cost way of generating buzz through creative or unexpected communication platforms.[49] Outdoor settings provide potential ground to gain attention from a large audience. An example is customizing street infrastructure or creating an event such as a flash mob. Research rates guerrilla advertising as having a higher perceived value compared to other communication platforms, which tends to result in a positive consumer response.[48] An example of successful guerrilla marketing was created by Volkswagen (VW) in their promotional "driven by fun" campaign, where consumers could use VW "fast lane" slide instead of the escalator to get to the bottom of the stairs faster.[50]

Touch points[edit]

Every point of contact is a form of communication and it is, therefore, necessary to consider touch points as a communication platform. Touch points can be either physical or a human interaction between a brand and the consumer which influence customer decision-making process during pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase.[51]


There are many ways in which a customer may interact with a business.[21] Interactions occur through direct customer service exchanges, a company website, the point of purchase environment and product packaging or performance.[51] These all contribute to consumer perceptions of a particular brand. For instance, the service-scape of a purchase touch point such as a retail store can influence the perception of quality and service through lighting and layout or other sensory touch points, for example, smell.[21] Fast fashion retailers such as Topshop maintain a white store interior and exterior which is perceived as luxurious.[52] Likewise, the higher price point and packaging of Ferrero Rocher may communicate sophistication and better quality. Visual appearance can have a significant effect on purchase decision,[51] companies such as Coke a Cola and Pepsi provide a free fridge to distributors to control how products are displayed at the point of purchase.[21]

"IMC is the process of all sources and information managed so a consumer or prospect is exposed which behaviorally moves the customer more towards a sale."

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"The strategic coordination of all messages and media used by an organization to influence its perceived brand value."

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"The process of strategically controlling or influencing all messages and encoring purposeful dialogue to created and nourish profitable relationships with consumers and other stakeholders."

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"[A three-pronged definition] One-voice marketing communications is integration that creates a clear and consistent image, position, message, and/or theme across all marketing communication disciplines or tools. Integrated communications refers to the creation of both a brand image and a behavioral response that emanate directly from marketing communications materials such as advertisements. Coordinated marketing communications associates 'integrated' with the concept of 'coordination'.

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"IMC is a strategic business process used to plan, develop, execute and evaluate coordinate measurable persuasive brand communication programs over time with consumers, customers and prospects, and other that are targeted, relevant internal and external audiences."

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"IMC is the concept and process of strategically managing audience-focused, channel-centered, and results-driven brand communication programs over time."

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"An IMC program plans and executes various marketing activities with consistency so that its total impact exceeds the sum of each activity. It is a strategy in which different communication tools like advertising, public relations, sales promotion, direct marketing and personal selling work together to maximize the communication impact on target consumers." (Saeed et al., 2013)

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"IMC is the planning and execution of all types of advertising-like and promotion-like messages selected for a brand, service, or company, in order to meet a common set of communication objectives, or more particularly, to support a single ‘ positioning’."

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4C's[edit]

Originally, marketing was focused around the 4P's (product, price, place and promotion) which concentrated on companies' internal concepts. The idea of integrated marketing communications was first raised in 1993 by Don E. Schultz, who changed the 4P's concept into the 4C's model. The four parts include consumer, communication, convenience and cost, taking into consideration the needs and wants of consumers. Integrated marketing communications accomplished synergy when each element was executed in accordance with the overall vision of the organization's campaign, which allows the message to be executed efficiently.[61] Finding out who the target market is to answer the 4C's: knowing what products they're willing to purchase, the amount of money they are willing to spend for it, how the product will fulfil their needs and wants, the accessibility of the product and how easily correct information is transmitted.[111] Changing the emphasis on what consumers desire leads to a higher success being attained through IMC, as it is being influenced by not only internal stakeholders but also external ones.

Communication-based relationship marketing[edit]

Expanding from this, Tom Duncan and Sandra E. Moriarty formed the concept of communication-based relationship marketing. This model diverged from the concept of the general one way, business influencing consumers what to believe scenario.[108] However, Duncan and Moriarty argued that communication between business and consumers was the key to developing a strong establishment for consumer oriented marketing endeavors. The process of IMC through communication-based marketing goes through a sequential three stage process. Organizations begin with choosing an effective mixture of communication methods; then, the marketing methods are selected; thereafter, the best of each element is fused and integrated together which thence is channeled from the organization to the audience.[112] Subsequently, these findings shaped modern marketing, focusing on an interactive two-way approach that builds rapport with stakeholders. Developments from integrated marketing communications have evolved into three categories: inside-out approach, outside-in approach and cross-functional strategic approach.

Focus[edit]

Marketing communications are focused on the product/service as opposed to corporate communications where the focus of communications work is the company/enterprise itself. Marketing communications are primarily concerned with demand generation and product/service positioning[115] while corporate communications deal with issue management, mergers and acquisitions, litigation, etc.

Customer-focused versus customer-centric[edit]

A recent revelation in integrated marketing communication is the change in the role of the customer within the business world. Due to the fast-paced growth of technology, customers are rapidly gaining more power through forums such as word of mouth; now with capabilities of reaching a much wider audience through the use of social media. Recognizing this power shift, organizations have begun to re-evaluate their typical marketing strategies and customer approaches from the traditional customer-focused attitude to the wide-spreading customer-centric method in order to develop a more integrated strategy.


A customer-focused approach can be defined as "when an organization learns more about the habits of the customer so that they can identify opportunities for cross-selling".[116] While this type of approach can be viewed as entirely satisfactory, Kliatchko (2008) introduced a contrasting concept which concentrates on "working from the outside in" and promotes a different perspective on organizations. When an organization adopts a customer-centric technique, they forgo the view that customers are only passive receivers of marketing techniques and focus on listening to what their needs are and striving to satisfy them; integrating the customer into the process.[116] Many organizations are yet to relinquish such control, as shown by research conducted by Campaign magazine, which can only be suspected to be due to the fear that it could potentially diminish the marketing profession.[116]

– emphasizes historical and social aspects of advertising

Advertising

– focuses on practical managerial approach to advertising

Advertising management

Brand awareness

Consumer behaviour

Marketing activation

Marketing mix

Media intelligence

Media relations

Promotional mix

Real-time marketing

Mobile marketing

Strategic communication

Ang, Lawrence (2014). Principles of Integrated Marketing Communications. Cambridge University Press.  978-1107649187.

ISBN

Kliatchko, Jerry (2005). "Towards a new definition of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)". International Journal of Advertising. 24: 7–34. :10.1080/02650487.2005.11072902. S2CID 166562530.

doi

Kliatchko, Jerry (2008). "Revisiting the IMC construct". International Journal of Advertising. 27: 133–160. :10.1080/02650487.2008.11073043. S2CID 44570427.

doi

Percy, L. (2008). Strategic Integrated Marketing Communications. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.  9780415822091.

ISBN