Definition: Integrated Marketing Communications is a marketing strategy that combines different advertising and communicational channels to increase the effectiveness of a campaign. The goal of this technique is to take the message across all relevant platforms to reach the target audience.
What Does Integrated Marketing Communications Mean?
This concept was first presented by the American Association of Advertising Agencies in the beginning of the 19th century and it has been widely adopted by most advertising firms and corporations. The first step to develop this strategy is to identify the target market and its essential characteristics such as demographic and geographic profiles.
Then, through Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), a company employs all relevant media, including traditional and non-traditional tools, to reach its audience. This technique involves employees, top management, external advertising agencies, influencers, traditional advertising tools such as billboards and ads, along with digital media such as social networks and mobile platforms. By incorporating and combining all these platforms the message can be transmitted to a wider audience in a more compelling way.
On the other hand, one of the key elements of IMC strategies is that the message must be as homogeneous as possible, to increase the chances of positioning the brand in a privileged place within the mind of potential consumers.
Example
BigMart LLC is a company that operates more than 200 mega markets located across the U.S. territory and its managers are currently considering taking the business’ operations overseas. They have been involved in negotiations with a few partners in Europe to start a joint venture with the BigMart brand in France and Spain and after a few months of polishing the legal details they are ready to launch the brand.
In order to do so, the Global Marketing Director decided to implement an Integrated Marketing Communications strategy that includes hiring 5 different influencers with enough presence and reach to both countries within social media platforms, along with an extensive TV and radio advertising campaign, a mobile app that allows buyers to purchase goods that will be delivered in a few hours to their place and many billboards and other traditional advertising placed in key locations within the most important cities where the markets are. The strategy will communicate one simple and powerful message across all platforms: “A place with everything.”
