Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC)

Introduction to IMC

Integrated Marketing Communications is a term used to

describe a holistic approach to marketing communication. It aims to ensure

consistency of message and the complementary use of media. The concept

includes online and offline marketing channels. Online marketing channels

include any e-marketing campaigns or programs, from search engine

optimization (SEO), pay-per-click, and affiliate, and email, banner to latest web

related channels for webinar, blog, micro-blogging, RSS, podcast, and Internet

TV. Offline marketing channels are traditional print (newspaper, magazine), mail

order, public relations, industry relations, billboard, radio, and television. A

company develops its integrated marketing communication programme using all

the elements of the marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion).

Integrated marketing communication is integration of all

marketing tools, approaches, and resources within a company which maximizes

impact on consumer mind and which results into maximum profit at minimum

cost. Generally marketing starts from "Marketing Mix". Promotion is one

element of Marketing Mix. Promotional activities include Advertising (by using

different medium), sales promotion (sales and trades promotion), and personal

selling activities. It also includes internet marketing, sponsorship marketing,

direct marketing, database marketing and public relations. And integration of all

these promotional tools along with other components of marketing mix to gain

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edge over competitor is called Integrated Marketing Communication. Although

closely linked to Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), it should not be

confused with it. This is enhanced when integration goes beyond just the basic

communications tools. There are other levels of integration such as Horizontal,

Vertical, Internal, External and Data integration. Here is how they help to

strengthen Integrated Communications.

Horizontal Integration occurs across the marketing mix and across

business functions - for example, production, finance, distribution and

communications should work together and be conscious that their decisions and

actions send messages to customers.

Vertical Integration means marketing and communications objectives

must support the higher level corporate objectives and corporate missions. Check

out the Hall Of Fame later for more about missions.

Internal Integration requires internal marketing - keeping all staff

informed and motivated about any new developments from new advertisements,

to new corporate identities, new service standards, new strategic partners and so

on.

External Integration, on the other hand, requires external partners such as

advertising and PR agencies to work closely together to deliver a single seamless

solution - a cohesive message - an integrated message.

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Meaning Of Integrated Marketing Communications

“It is the coordination and integration of all marketing

communications tools, avenues, and sources within a company into a

seamless program that maximizes the impact on consumer and other end

users at a minimal cost.”

Integrated marketing communication represents a holistic

view of marketing. Marketing communications is a subset of the overall subject

area known as marketing. Marketing has a marketing mix that is made of price,

place, promotion, product (known as the four P's), that includes people, processes

and physical evidence, when marketing services (known as the seven P's).

Is part of the marketing mix, includes all the means by which

a company communicates directly with present & potential customers. The

process of presenting an integrated set of stimuli to a target with the intent of

evoking a desired set of responses within the target market & setting a channel to

receive, interpret & act upon messages & identifying new communication

opportunities.

Importance of Marketing Communications not only informs,

but is also used to differentiate the seller’s products/services may also be

effective in affecting the price elasticity of demand (non price competition)

Prerequisite of Marketing Communication the marketing communications

strategy of a firm must be coordinated and linked with concepts such as target

segments, positioning, differentiation, and image.

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Marketing communication mix is also called as promotional mix.

Integrated means combine of two or more elements, which may includes

advertising, personal selling, public relation & sales promotion. These 4 elements

are very much the traditional components of the promotional mix. In addition to

these, other techniques are now increasingly added to the overall promotional

mix.

Promotion is one of the Ps in the marketing mix. Promotions has

its own mix of communications tools. All of these communications tools work

better if they work together in harmony rather than in isolation. Their sum is

greater than their parts - providing they speak consistently with one voice all the

time, every time.

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Definition of Integrated Marketing Communications

According to the American Marketing Association, integrated

marketing communications is “a planning process designed to assure that all

brand contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product, service, or

organization are relevant to that person and consistent over time.” This topic will

cover integrated marketing, including the best practices and tools of tradition and

Web 2.0 to design and implement great and highly effective communication and

branding strategies.

A concept of marketing communications planning that

recognizes the added value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic

roles of a variety of communication disciplines and combines these disciplines to

provide clarity, consistency and maximum communications impact.

Defining Integrated marketing:

Integrated Marketing (IM) is a management strategy and meta-

discipline focused on the organization-wide optimization of unique value

for stakeholders. Integrated marketing is the planning an execution of all your

company’s marketing activities, online and offline, in a way that is consistent

across all of your customer contacts and creates more value than when those

activities are performed separately.

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Defining Communication:

Communication is the process of sharing information between people

through a continuous activity of speaking, listening & understanding.

Communication is the process of delivering a message from one person or group

to another.

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History of Integrated Marketing Communication

The  History of Marketing in the 20th century and earlier is a

complex and still not fully explored subject, mixed up as it is with a history of

trade and economics. The concept of integrated marketing is focused on the

creation of value, arguing that the organization needs to be united in the creation

of distinctive or differentiated value in order to achieve productive synergy.

Similarly, Peter Drucker argued that, "Every organization,

whether business or not, has a theory of the business. Indeed, a valid theory that

is clear, consistent and focused is extraordinarily powerful.”

According to Drucker, the Theory of the Business consists of

assumptions about the environment of the organization, the specific mission of

the organization and assumptions about the core competencies needed to

accomplish the organization’s mission.

The concept of integration also arises as a result of recognition of

disintegration, especially in the field of communication. Integrated marketing

communications (IMC) developed during the 1990s as an Endeavour to achieve

consistency across marketing communications disciplines and media that had

become fragmented over time through the cultivation of individual disciplines,

competition and the development of independent communication objectives. By

2000, it was recognized that there was a logical and practical need in what was

called stage for IMC for this to be extrapolated across all organizational contact

with customers and therefore across the entire organizational business processes.

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The Tools For Integrated Marketing Communication

Each communication tools has its own unique characteristics &

costs. The tools that marketers commonly use to achieve their communication

objectives are:

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AdvertisingAdvertising

Personal SellingPersonal Selling

Any Paid Form of Nonpersonal Presentation by an Identified Sponsor.

Any Paid Form of Nonpersonal Presentation by an Identified Sponsor.

Sales Promotion

Short-term Incentives to Encourage Sales.

Public Relations

Building Good Relations with Various Publics by Obtaining Favorable Unpaid Publicity.

Direct Marketing

Direct Communications With Individuals to Obtain an Immediate Response.

Personal Presentations by a Firm’s Sales Force.

1. Advertising:

Advertising can be used to build up a long term image for a product or

trigger quick sales. Advertising can efficiently reach geographically dispersed

buyers. Certain forms of advertising (TV) can require a large budget, whereas

other forms (newspaper) do not. Just the presence of advertising might have an

effect on sales; consumers might believe that a heavily advertised brand must

offer good value. Because of the many forms & uses of advertising it is difficult

to make generalization. Yet the following qualities can be noted:

i. Pervasiveness:

Advertising permits the seller to repeat a message many times. It allows

the buyer to receive & compare the messages of various competitors. Large scale

advertising says something positive about the seller’s size, power & success.

ii. Amplified Expressiveness:

Advertising provides opportunities for dramatizing the company & its

product through the artful use of print, sound & color.

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iii. Impersonality:

The audience does not feel obligated to pay attention or respond to

advertising. Advertising is a monologue in front of, not a dialogue with, the

audience.

2. Personal Selling:

Personal selling is the most effective tool at later stage of the buying

process, particularly in building up buyer preference, conviction & action.

Personal selling has three distinctive qualities:

i. Personal Interaction:

Personal selling involves an immediate & interactive relationship

between two or more persons. Each party is able to observe the others

reactions.

ii. Cultivation:

Personal selling permits all kinds of relationship to spring up,

ranging from a matter-of-fact selling relationship to a deep personal

friendship.

iii. Response:

Personal selling makes the buyers feel under some obligation for

having listened to the sales talk.

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3. Sales Promotion:

Companies use sales promotion tools - coupons, contests, premiums,

& the like - to draw a stronger & quicker buyer response. Sales promotion can be

used for short run effects such as to highlight product offers & boost sagging

sales. Sales promotion tools offer three distinctive benefits:

i. Communication:

They gain attention & may lead the consumer to the product.

ii. Incentive:

They incorporate some concession, inducement or contribution

that gives value to the consumer.

iii. Invitation:

They include a distinct invitation to engage in the transaction now.

4. Public Relations:

Marketers tend to underuse public relations, yet a well-thought-out

program co-ordinate with the other communication mix elements can be

extremely effective. The appeal for public relations & publicity is based on three

distinctive qualities:

i. High Credibility:

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News stories & features are more authentic & credible to readers than ads.

ii. Ability to catch buyers off guard:

Public relations can reach prospects that prefer to avoid

salespeople & advertisements.

iii. Dramatization:

Public relations have potential for dramatizing a company or

product.

5. Direct Marketing:

The many forms of direct marketing - direct mail, telemarketing,

internet marketing – share three distinctive characteristics. Direct marketing is:

i. Customized: The message can prepare to appeal to the addressed individual.

ii. Up-to-date: A message can be prepared very quickly.

iii. Interactive: The message can be changed depending on the person’s

response.

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Nature of Each Promotion Tool:

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AdvertisingReaches Many Buyers, Expressive

Impersonal

AdvertisingReaches Many Buyers, Expressive

ImpersonalPersonal SellingPersonal Interaction, Builds Relationships

Costly

Personal SellingPersonal Interaction, Builds Relationships

CostlySales PromotionProvides Strong Incentives to Buy

Short-Lived

Sales PromotionProvides Strong Incentives to Buy

Short-LivedPublic RelationsBelievable, Effective, EconomicalUnderused by Many Companies

Public RelationsBelievable, Effective, EconomicalUnderused by Many CompaniesDirect MarketingNonpublic, Immediate, Customized,

Interactive

Direct MarketingNonpublic, Immediate, Customized,

Interactive

Steps Involved in Developing Effective Communication

In order to develop an effective integrated communication

& promotion programme, the marketing communicator must do the following 6

steps as shown in figure:

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Step 1. Identifying the Target AudienceStep 1. Identifying the Target Audience

Step 2. Determining the Communication ObjectivesBuyer Readiness Stages

Step 2. Determining the Communication ObjectivesBuyer Readiness Stages

PurchasePurchaseConviction

PreferenceLiking

KnowledgeAwareness

Step 1- Identify the Target Audience:

The process must start with a clear target audience in mind:

potential buyers of the company’s product, current users, deciders or influencers,

individuals, groups, particular publics, or the general public. The target audience

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Step 3. Designing a MessageStep 3. Designing a Message

AttentionAttention InterestInterest DesireDesire

Message ContentRational Appeals

Emotional AppealsMoral Appeals

Message StructureDraw Conclusions

Argument TypeArgument Order

Message FormatHeadline, Copy, Color,

Words, & Sounds,Body LanguageActionAction

Nonpersonal CommunicationChannels

Step 4. Choosing MediaStep 4. Choosing Media

Personal CommunicationChannels

Step 5. Selecting the Message SourceStep 5. Selecting the Message Source

Step 6. Collecting FeedbackStep 6. Collecting Feedback

is a critical influence on the communicators decision o what to say, when to say,

where to say & whom to say it.

The target audience can potentially be profiled in terms of any of

the market segments. It is often useful to define target audience in terms of usage

& loyalty. Is the target new to the category or a current user? Is the target loyal to

the brand, loyal to a competitor, or someone who switches between brands? If the

target is a brand user, is he or she a heavy or light user? Communication strategy

will differ depending on the answer. Image analysis can be conducted to profile

the target audience in terms of brand knowledge to provide further insight.

Images are “sticky”: they persist long after the organization has changed.

Image persistence is explained by the fact that once people have a certain image,

they perceive what consistent with that image. It will take highly disconfirming

information to raise doubts & open their minds, especially when people do not

have continuous or new first hand experiences with the changed object.

Step 2- Determine the Communication Objective:

As showed with the example of a new brand to remove the

problem of cracked heels, marketers can set communication objectives. Rossiter

& Percy identify four possible objectives, as follows:

1. Category need:

Establishing a product or service category as necessary to remove or

satisfy a perceived discrepancy between a current motivational state & desired

emotional state. A new-to-the-world product such as electric cars would always

begin with a communications objective of establishing category need.

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2. Brand Awareness:

Ability to identify (recognize or recall) the brand within the category, in

sufficient detail to make a purchase. Recognition is easier to achieve than recall-

consumers are more likely to recognize the distinctive red-and-white packages of

Colgate Dental Cream than recall the brand if asked to think of a brand of

toothpaste. Brand recall is important outside the store, brand reorganization is

important inside the store. Brand awareness provides a foundation for brand

equity.

3. Brand Attitude:

Evaluation of the brand with respect to its perceived ability to meet a

currently relevant need. Relevant brand needs may be negatively oriented

(problem removal, problem avoidance, incomplete satisfaction, normal depletion)

or positively oriented (sensory gratification, intellectual stimulation, or social

approval). Household cleaning product often use problem solution: food

products, on the other hand, often use sensory-oriented ads emphasizing appetite

appeal.

4. Brand Purchase Intention:

Self instruction to purchase the brand or to take purchase related

action. Promotional offers in the form of coupons or two-for-one deals encourage

consumers to make a mental commitment to buy a product. But many consumers

do not have an expressed category need & may not be in the market when

exposed to an ad, making intentions less likely to be formed.

Step 3- Designing a Message:

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An effective message should get attention, hold interest, arouse desire,

& obtain action (AIDA model). In practice, few messages take the consumer all

the way from awareness to purchase, but the AIDA framework suggests the

desirable qualities of a good message. In putting the message together, the

marketing communicator must decide what to say & how to say it.

According to ‘AIDA’ model, A marketer should begin by winning

attention or gaining awareness, creating interest, inspiring desire and

precipitating the action for purchase, in the prospects in order to enable its

product to be adopted by the target public.

(a)Message Content:

The communicator has to figure out an appeal or a theme that will produce

the desired response. There are three types of appeals:

i. Rational Appeals

ii. Emotional Appeals

iii. Moral Appeals

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i. Rational Appeals:

It relate to the audiences’ self interest. Be sure that the product will

produce the desired benefits, for an example message showing a product quality,

economy, value or performance.

ii. Emotional Appeals:

It attempt to stir up either negative or positive emotions that can

motivate purchase. Communicators may use positive emotional appeals such as

love, pride, joy & humor. Humorous messages claim that they attract more

attention and create more linking and belief in the sponsor.

iii. Moral Appeals:

It is directed to the audience’s sense of what is right & proper. They

are often used to urge people to support social causes such as cleaner

environment, better race, relations, and equal rights for women, and aid to the

disadvantaged.

b) Message structure:

The effectiveness depending upon the structure as well as the content of

the message. The first is whether to draw a conclusion oriented to the audience.

Research showed that drawing a conclusion was usually more effective. The

second message structure issue is whether to present a one sided argument r two

sided argument. The third message structure is issue is whether to present the

strongest argument first or last. Presenting them first may get strong attention.

c) Message format:

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The communicator must develop a strong message format. In the print

ad, the communicator has to decide on headline, copy, illustrations & color. If the

message to be carried over the radio, the communicator has to choose words,

voice qualities & vocalizations. The sound often announcer promoting banking

services should be different from one promoting quality furniture. If the message

is carried on the product or its package the communicator has to watch texture,

scent, color, size & shape.

Step 4- Choose the Media through which to Send the Message:

There are two broad types of communication channels – Personal and

Non personal.

(a)Personal Communication Channels:

In personal Communication channels, two or more people communicate

directly with each other. They might communicate face-to-face, over the

telephone, through the mail or even through an internet chat. Personal

Communication channels are effective because they are allowed for personal

addressing the feedback.

Personal influence carries great weight for expensive, risky or highly

visible products. For example, buyers of automobiles often go beyond mass

media sources to seek the opinions of knowledgeable people.

(b)Non Personal Communication Channels:

Non personal communication channels include media at most yearend

events. Media consists of:

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1. Print media –newspapers, magazines, direct mail etc.

2. Broadcast media-radio, television etc.

3. Electronic media-audiotapes, videotapes, CD-ROM, web page etc.

4. Display media-billboards, signs, posters, banners, hoardings etc.

Most of the non personal messages come through paid media.

Atmospheres are package environments that create or reinforce the buyer’s

leanings towards buying a product. E.g.: A luxury hotel will use elegant

chandeliers, and other tangible signs of luxury to communicate audience.

Step 5- Selecting the message source:

In personal or non personal communication, the messages impact on

the target audience is also affected by how the audience views the communicator.

Messages if delivered by highly creditable sources are more

persuasive. Thus, marketers hire celebrity endorsers-well known athletes, actors,

and even cartoon characters- to deliver their messages. Many food companies

hire doctors, dentists and other health care providers to motivate and recommend

their products to the patients. For E.g. Boost is being endorsed by sport

personalities like Sachin Tendulkar and Sehwag, Lux by Priyanka chopra, Vivel

by kareena kapoor etc.

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Internationally, Avon concentrates its promotional fund on personal

selling, whereas Revlon spends heavily on advertising. Electrolux spends heavily

on door-to-door sales forces, whereas Hoover relies more on advertising.

Step 6- Collecting feedback:

After sending the message, the communicator must find its

effect on the target audience with the help of Dagmar (Defining advertising goals

for measuring advertising results) which was given by Russell Colley in the year

1961. This involves asking the target audience members whether they remember

the message, how many times they saw it, what points they recall, how they felt

about the message, and the past and the present attitudes towards the product and

the company. The communicator would also like to measure the behavior

resulting from the message how many people bought a product, talk to others

about it or visited the store.

Feedback on marketing communications may suggest changes in the

promotion programme or in the product offer itself. For E.g. Indian Airlines uses

television and newspaper advertising to inform area consumers about the airline,

its routes and fares.

Factors In Setting The Marketing Communication Mix:

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Companies must consider several factors in developing their

communication mix. They are as follows:

1. Type of product market.

2. Push or pull strategy.

3. Buyer readiness stage.

4. Product life cycle stage.

5. The company’s market rank.

1. Type of Product Market:

Communications mix allocations vary between consumers &

markets. Consumer marketers tend to spend comparatively more on sales

promotion & advertising; business marketers tend to spend comparatively more

on personal selling. In general, personal selling is used more with complex,

expensive & risky goods in markets with fewer & larger sellers (hence, business

markets).

Although advertising is used less than sales calls in business markets, it

still plays a significant role. Advertising can perform the following functions in

business market:

i. Advertising can prove an introduction to the company & its products.

ii. If the product has new features, advertising can explain them.

iii. Reminder advertising is more economical than sales calls.

iv. Advertisements offering brochures & carrying the company’s phone number

are an effective way to generate leads for sales representatives.

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v. Sales representatives can use tear sheets of the company’s ads to legitimize

their company & products.

vi. Advertising can remind customers of how to use the product & reassure them

about their purchase.

2. Push or Pull Strategy:

The promotional mix is heavily influenced by whether the company

chooses the push or pulls strategy to create sales. Push strategy involves the

manufacturer using sales force & trade promotion to induce intermediaries to

carry, promote & sell the product to end users. Push strategy is especially

appropriate where there is no brand loyalty in the category, brand choices made

in the stores, the product is an impulse item, & the product benefits are well

understood.

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A pull strategy involves the manufacturer using advertising in

consumer promotion in order to induce consumers who asks the intermediaries to

order it. A pull strategy is appropriate when there is high brand loyalty & high

involvement in the category, people pursue differences between brands & people

choose the brand before they go to the shop. Companies in the same industry may

differ in their emphasis on push or pull.

For instance: Procter & Gamble relies more on pull strategy whereas the

Lever Brothers rely more on push strategy. Top marketing companies such as

coca-cola, Intel and Nike skillfully employ both push and pull strategy.

PUSH vs. PULL

a) PUSH:

Producer marketing activities to Retailers and Wholesalers

who resell to Consumers. Personal selling, trade promotion by producer

and personal selling, advertising and sales promotion by

wholesaler/retailer…

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b) PULL:

Producer marketing activities directed at consumer to create

demand from retailers and wholesalers that then creates demand from

producer. Consumer advertising, sales promotion.

3. Buyer Readiness Stage:

Communication tools vary in cost effectiveness at different stages of

buyer readiness. Advertising & publicity play the most important roles in the

awareness building stage. Customer comprehension is primarily affected by

advertising & personal selling. Customer conviction is influenced mostly by

personal selling. Closing the sale is influenced mostly by personal selling & sales

promotion. Reordering is also affected mostly by personal selling & sales

promotion, & somewhat by reminder advertising.

4. Product Life Cycle Stage:

The promotional tools also vary in cost effectiveness at different stages

of the product life cycle.

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i. In introduction stage, advertising and publicity have the highest cost

effectiveness followed by personal selling in order to gain distribution

coverage and sales promotion to induce trial.

ii. At the growth stage all the tools can be toned down because demand has its

own momentum through word of mouth.

iii. In the maturity stage, sales promotion, advertising & personal selling all grow

more important in that order.

iv. In the decline stage, sales promotion continues strong, advertising & publicity

are reduced & sales people give the product only minimal attention.

5. The Company’s Market Rank:

After implementing the promotional plan, the communicator must

measure its impact on the target audience. Members of the target audience are

asked whether they recognize or recall the message, how many times they saw it,

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what points they recall, how they felt about the message, & the previous &

current attitudes towards the product & company. The communicator should also

collect behavioral measures of audience response, such as how many people

bought the product, liked it & talk to other about it.

Characteristics Integrated Marketing Communication

1) Customers feel that all their brand experiences come from one identity.

2) Customers trust the brand’s promises (and pass them on through word of

mouth).

3) The brand treats different kinds of customers in ways appropriate to them.

4) Whenever appropriate, the brand recognizes individual customers wherever

they interact or do business.

5) Customers are happy with the brand experience.

6) There is a service-oriented ideal that encourages aligned commitment across

the organization.

7) Everyone nurtures what the brand means to committed customers

8) Future vision is consistent with core truths of the brand

9) The values we experience in our company culture support the values we

express in the Brand .

10) The brand organisation is excellent at realizing high value propositions from

idea to Implementation.

11) Quality is understood as that which is good for the customer, employee(s)

and company.

12) (All business) Objectives are coherent with our [brand/company’s]

competence.

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13) There are no silos (across the organisation).

14) Practices ensure shared learning across the organization.

15) The organisation works in effective partnership with the members of its value

stream.

16) The culture encourages people to release their creative potential.

17) Business processes are actively aligned to the brand value position.

18) Quality customer information is available in a timely way at every point of

need.

19) Leaders promote what they practice.

20) The Marketing function is organized primarily around customer groups with

their different needs and opportunities, not marketing disciplines.

21) Senior marketing people are skilled in multiple communication disciplines.

22) Customer management focuses on the value of customers over their lifetime.

23) All communication to all constituencies at all touch points uses the same

planning and evaluation framework.

24) The company and agencies all work together in partnership.

25) Communication is creatively aligned through "big media neutral ideas"

26) Evaluation is managed as a learning discipline across the participants.

27) The key evaluation processes are primarily designed to increase knowledge

about what most efficiently creates value for customers.

28) Local and international marketing management collaborate effectively.

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4P's vs. 4C's

i. Not PRODUCT, but CONSUMER:

Understand what the consumer wants and needs. Times have changed and

you can no longer sell whatever you can make. The product characteristics

must now match what someone specifically wants to buy. And part of what

the consumer is buying is the personal "buying experience."

ii. Not PRICE, but COST:

Understand the consumer's cost to satisfy the want or need. The product

price may be only one part of the consumer's cost structure. Often it's the

cost of time to drive somewhere, the cost of conscience of what you eat,

and the cost of guilt for not treating the kids.

iii. Not PLACE, but CONVENIENCE:

As above, turn the standard logic around. Think convenience of the

buying experience and then relate that to a delivery mechanism. Consider

all possible definitions of "convenience" as it relates to satisfying the

consumer's wants and needs. Convenience may include aspects of the

physical or virtual location, transaction service time and hours of

availability.

iv. Not PROMOTION, but COMMUNICATION:

Communicate, communicate, communicate. Many mediums working

together to present a unified message with a feedback mechanism to make

the communication two-way. And be sure to include an understanding of

non-traditional mediums, such as word of mouth and how it can influence

your position in the consumer's mind.

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Needs For Integrated Marketing Communications

Integrated marketing communication is the company

carefully integrates and coordinates its many communication channels to

deliver a clear, consistent, and compelling message about the organization

and its brands. IMC builds a strong brand identity in the marketplace by

tying together and reinforcing all your images and messages.

a. Conflicting messages from different sources or promotional approaches can

confuse company or brand images.

b. The problem is particularly prevalent when functional specialists handle

individual forms of marketing communications.

c. The Web alone cannot be used to build brands; brand awareness potential is

limited.

d. Best bet is to wed traditional branding efforts with the interactivity and service

capabilities of online communications.

Benefits of Integrated Marketing Communication

Research by the Centre for Integrated Marketing determined

that the typical scale of benefit for marketers adopting Integrated Marketing was

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a 10 – 25% enhancement in business performance. This gain is achieved from a

number of inter-related factors:

1) Improvements in customer attitudes and behaviors arising from improved and

more consistent experiences of brand value.

2) Synergy and multiplier effects on profitability from improvements in

customer attitudes and behaviors.

3) More efficient (and effective) media choices and mixes as well as better

deployment of communication disciplines.

4) More flowing, efficient (and effective) business processes, creating higher

added value.

5) Substantially enhanced evaluation and improved applied learning across the

brand organization.

6) Improvements in staff morale, work rate, cohesion, stress and creativity.

7) Reduced employee replacement costs, employee cost/benefit synergies and an

enhanced employee cost/customer value ratio.

8) Reduction in internal fragmentation and cost holes.

9) More cost effective use of agencies and business partners with better team

results.

10) Cost effective synergies.

Although Integrated Marketing Communications requires a lot of

effort it delivers many benefits. It can create competitive advantage, boost sales

and profits, while saving money, time and stress.

IMC also increases profits through increased effectiveness. At

its most basic level, a unified message has more impact than a disjointed myriad

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of messages. In a busy world, a consistent, consolidated and crystal clear

message has a better chance of cutting through the 'noise' of over five hundred

commercial messages which bombard customers each and every day.

Finally, IMC saves money as it eliminates duplication in

areas such as graphics and photography since they can be shared and used in say,

advertising, exhibitions and sales literature. Agency fees are reduced by using a

single agency for all communications and even if there are several agencies, time

is saved when meetings bring all the agencies together - for briefings, creative

sessions, tactical or strategic planning. This reduces workload and subsequent

stress levels - one of the many benefits of IMC.

Participants in the Integrated Marketing Communication Process

The different categories of participants are:

1. Advertiser or Client:

They have the product, service or causes to be marketed and they

provide the funds that pay for the advertising and promotions.

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2. Advertising Agency:

This is an outside firm that specializes in the creation, production,

and/or placement of the communication message and that may provide other

services to facilitate the marketing and promotions process. Many large

advertisers retain the services of a number of agencies when they market a

number of products.

3. Media Organizations:

The primary function of media organizations is to provide

information or entertainment to their subscribers, viewers or readers but from

the point of view of the promotion planner, the purpose of the media is to

provide an environment for the firm’s marketing communication programs.

4. Specialist Marketing Communication Specialist organizations are of

different categories:

i. Direct-response agencies.

ii. Sales Promotion agencies.

iii. Interactive Agencies.

iv. Public Relation firms.

Importance of Integrated Marketing Communication

In today's world when there is a trend towards old wine in a new

bottle thinking many a people don't take integrated marketing seriously. They

~ 34 ~

simply consider it to bet yet another fad, here today gone tomorrow.

However, this is not the case. In fact, integrated marketing is an

amalgamation of all the marketing roles, resources and responsibilities catering to

all kinds of customers. These customers could be present or future, internal or

external. The function of integrated marketing is to attract the customers through

marketing, promotional and customer service activities. It is due to the far-

reaching approach of integrated marketing that many companies consider it to be

the smart option.

There are various models of marketing followed by different

companies. Some companies have separate departments for advertising, public

relations, marketing and sales, this is a very old model, where energies of

different departments work at separate levels and may not be using all the

resources to their optimum.

Integrated marketing helps the company to project a unified

message and image of the company, and help to keep a strong brand image.

Different divisions handling there own marketing activities will lead to sales

people giving out a different a marketing message and the corporate department

giving out another message. If this kind of situation is there in your company

then you need to take corrective steps now - integrate the marketing activities of

your company as soon as possible.

Reasons For The Growing Importance Of Integrated Marketing

Communication

Several shifts in the advertising and media industry have

caused IMC to develop into a primary strategy for marketers:

~ 35 ~

1. From media advertising to multiple forms of communication.

2. From mass media to more specialized (niche) media, which are centered

around specific target audiences.

3. From a manufacturer-dominated market to a retailer-dominated, consumer-

controlled market.

4. From general-focus advertising and marketing to data-based marketing.

5. From low agency accountability to greater agency accountability, particularly

in advertising.

6. From traditional compensation to performance-based compensation.

7. From limited Internet access to 24/7 Internet availability and access to goods

and services.

8. Shift from media advertising to other forms of marketing communication

9. Movement away from advertising focused- approaches that emphasize mass

media.

10. Shift in power from manufacturers to retailers.

11. Rapid growth of database marketing and Internet.

12. Demands for greater ad agency accountability.

13. Changes in agency compensation.

Relationship to Integrated Marketing Communications

As a marketing strategy, Integrated Marketing is closely related

to and inter-dependent with Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC).

~ 36 ~

Indeed, many observers use the term integrated marketing when they probably

mean integrated marketing communications. Whereas IMC aims to ensure

consistency of message and the complementary use of media, integrated

marketing is concerned with the alignment and focus of the whole organization.

Schultz and Kitchen (2000) identified four stages of IMC

concluding with an integrated value-based model. According to this

interpretation, as the organization becomes more committed to achieving

consistency and differentiation across all customer contact points the business

management challenge moves from marketing and marketing communication to

the whole organization, requiring a cultural and systemic infrastructure for

integration. This in turn calls on new practices and higher-order levels of

organization management. For example, at this point IMC and CRM are

effectively merged.

In some organizations such as FMCG/packaged goods brands

(e.g. chocolate, baked beans), IMC needs little more than marketing

communications integration. In others, such as organizations with a high level of

service content (e.g. banks, automobile firms and their dealerships, and hotel

chains), the challenge becomes much more difficult. It is in this latter case that

integrated marketing is most important, providing the contextual platform for

stage 4 IMC, implementation of which is also one of its goals.

Selecting The Most Effective Communication Elements

~ 37 ~

The goal of selecting the elements of proposed integrated

marketing communications is to create a campaign that is effective and consistent

across media platforms. Some marketers may want only ads with the greatest

breadth of appeal: the executions that, when combined, provide the greatest

number of attention-getting, branded, and motivational moments. Others may

only want ads with the greatest depth of appeal: the ads with the greatest number

of attention-getting, branded, and motivational points within each.

Although integrated marketing communications is more than

just an advertising campaign, the bulk of marketing dollars is spent on the

creation and distribution of advertisements. Hence, the bulk of the research

budget is also spent on these elements of the campaign. Once the key marketing

pieces have been tested, the researched elements can then be applied to other

contact points: letterhead, packaging, logistics, customer service training, and

more, to complete the IMC cycle.

Model for Integrated Marketing Communication

~ 38 ~

Integrated Marketing Communication is more than the

coordination of a company's outgoing message between different media and the

consistency of the message throughout. It is an aggressive marketing plan that

captures and uses an extensive amount of customer information in setting and

tracking marketing strategy. Steps in an Integrated Marketing system are:

1. Customer Database: An essential element to implementing Integrated

Marketing that helps to segment and analyze customer buying habits.

2. Strategies: Insight from analysis of customer data is used to shape

marketing, sales, and communications strategies.

3. Tactics: Once the basic strategy is determined the appropriate marketing

tactics can be specified which best targets the specific markets.

4. Evaluate Results: Customer responses and new information about buying

habits are collected and analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the

strategy and tactics.

Creating an Integrated Marketing Communications Plan

~ 39 ~

The best marketing strategy in the world will ultimately fail

if you are unable to get the right message to your potential customers at the

right place and the right time. An integrated marketing communications

plan matches your available budget of time and money to the most

effective means for distributing your message. No matter how great your

product or service, if your potential customers don't know it exists, there

will never be a sale.

Implementation Of IMC

According to Jenkinson, Sain and Bishop, successful integrated

marketing requires management of three business drivers:

1. Identity, which is seen as the core strategic element of differentiated value.

2. Development and alignment of organizational culture and mobilization all

employees behind authentic identity and unique value, with lean, value-

focused business processes and good resources. Shared learning is an

important element of success.

3. Integrated contact management (integrated communications, creating

valuable experiences for customers).

~ 40 ~

Barriers to Integrated Marketing Communication

Despite its many benefits, Integrated Marketing Communications, or

IMC, has many barriers. In addition to the usual resistance to change and the

special problems of communicating with a wide variety of target audiences, there

are many other obstacles which restrict IMC. These include: Functional Silos;

Stifled Creativity; Time Scale Conflicts and a lack of Management know-how.

Take functional silos. Rigid organizational structures are infested

with managers who protect both their budgets and their power base. But this kind

of planning is not common. A survey in 1995 revealed that most managers lack

expertise in IMC. But its not just managers, but also agencies. There is a

proliferation of single discipline agencies. There appear to be very few people

who have real experience of all the marketing communications disciplines. This

lack of know how is then compounded by a lack of commitment.

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Ideas Involved In IMC Approach

Despite the increasing use of the term IMC approach by both

practitioners and academics in recent years, there is little agreement on what the

term actually means. According to one recent review, at least two related ideas

are involved:

The different elements of the communications mix have to be used in

a way that the strengths of one are used to offset the weakness of another.

I. One-voice Marketing Communications: As consumers increasingly being to be

addressed by the same marketer in a variety of different ways ( i.e. through 5

tools of promotion) - there is a need to ensure a consistency of positioning,

message, and tone across these different media. These different

communications must reach consumers with one voice.

II. Integrated Communications : A marketer’s consumer communications need to

not only raise brand awareness, or create or change brand preference and

image, or to get sales trial or repurchase, but to do all of the above at the same

time. Increasing image without getting a sales result is not good enough and

getting short-term sales (e.g. via sales promotion) at the expense of a brand’s

long-term image is also courting disaster. Thus , all marketing communications

should attempt to simultaneously achieve targeted communication goals (e.g.

raising attitudes or building image) and lead to some behavioral action (e.g.

trial or repurchase).

~ 42 ~

Objective of the IMC approach

The objective of the IMC approach is to co-ordinate the

company’s marketing and promotional activities to project a consistent and

unified image to the marketplace. IMC is a way of looking at the whole

marketing Process From the viewpoint of the receiver.

Integrated Marketing Communications is a simple concept. It

ensures that all forms of communications and messages are carefully linked

together. At its most basic level, Integrated Marketing Communications, or IMC,

as we'll call it, means integrating all the promotional tools, so that they work

together in harmony.

Commitment Integrated Marketing Communication

Finally, in the most successful organizations, individuals

bring their whole commitment. This comes from the sense of coherence and

meaningfulness that binds people together in common purpose and in creative,

learning engagement. At the extreme, it amounts to the difference between the

alignment and productivity of the chain gang versus the alignment and

productivity of an Olympic rowing team. In contrast to the all too common

toxic organization, our research companies showed that coherence leads to the

energetic qualities of a fit and healthy organism.

~ 43 ~

Evolution Of Integrated Marketing Communication

Integrated marketing communication (IMC) is a strategic-

business process used to plan, develop, execute, and evaluate coordinated and

measurable persuasive brand communication programs over time with

consumers, customers, prospects, and other targeted, relevant external and

internal audiences.

IMC grew out of the need for marketing organizations to move

beyond functionally driven, internally focused approaches to marketing and

communication. It attempts to shift focus from an “inside-out,” internal

orientation to one that is “outside- in”. It employs a variety of traditional and

nontraditional communication tools and methods to deliver messages to

customers, prospects, and other important audiences, coordinating all activities to

achieve consistency and synergy. However, IMC, as it has been practiced by

leading organizations, does not end with coordinated message delivery. The

ultimate goals of IMC are to institute customer-oriented sensibilities and business

processes in all aspects of the organization and its operations to add value for

customers, provide a framework for resource allocation, and achieve sustainable

competitive advantages.

~ 44 ~

Integrated Marketing Campaigns  

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC)  is a concept of

marketing that recognizes the added value of a comprehensive plan of a number

of communication disciplines (for example, general advertising, direct response,

sales promotion, and public relations) and combines these disciplines to provide

clarity, consistency and maximum communication impact.

Current scenario: isolated marketing communication

Customers are bombarded with multiple advertisements through

multiple mediums with multiple propositions. Since most companies resort to

using more than one channel of communication, the customer is left confused due

to lack of consistency in marketing messages.

Ideal scenario: integrated marketing communication

By practicing an integrated marketing approach, companies like yours

can get across single proposition across multiple media and benefit from

customers' consistent brand experience. An integrated marketing approach can

rejuvenate your organization's marketing communication initiatives, which will

experience a positive impact.

~ 45 ~

Mission of The Integrated Marketing Communication

From time to time, every community needs to take a look at the

ideas that drive its enterprise. In our research so far, we have found that most

senior marketers are looking for new ideas, particularly in the field of

integration.

That is therefore the mission of the Centre for Integrated

Marketing. Our brief is to produce rigorously researched, practical tools and

insights for senior practitioner on both the agency and client side, and in

particular the 500 leading UK brands and their agencies. It is fitting, therefore,

that the Centre is part of Luton University, whose motto is Education that

works. The effectiveness of the university's own alignment and integration

with this ideal is demonstrated by the fact that it is the most successful of all

British universities in transforming students into people with jobs.

I should also say that our mission is more than simply to produce

rigorously researched, practical tools and insights. Our quest is to make a

difference to the enterprise of the Marketing community, enhancing the

experience of the accomplishing something worthwhile.

~ 46 ~

Vision Of Integrated Marketing Communication

Let them introduce Integrated Marketing with the help

of a blockbuster ninety-second TV ad dating from the merger of Lloyds and

TSB and created by Saatchi & Saatchi. They will probably recollect that it

was launched in 1999 to 19 million people on its first showing, a mass

audience more common in previous decades. They have chosen this example

from the launch of a new enterprise to help with the launch today of the

Centre for Integrated Marketing because they think it reveals four important

points about Integrated Marketing, points that will feature in more detail later.

The first is that the advertisement is designed to change the

way people think and feel about the brand, and a considerable investment has

been put into this because it is something that really matters to both the brand,

or in this case brands, and the people involved, who include not only

customers but also employees and other stakeholders. Clearly the merger of

two major banks, each of which has its own heritage and customer base, is a

major marketing event and potentially one of some importance for good or ill

to many millions of people.

First, it needs to be supported by a range of other

communications, including those that reinforce the message and others that

provide customers with more detailed information and knowledge. Even the

launch of a new soap powder needs at least the support of on-pack messaging.

Finally, Integrated Marketing serves the whole business and all its

stakeholders. It is a discipline concentrated on creating value.

~ 47 ~

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC): It Is Not Just

Marketing Services Anymore.

There was a time when companies had secreted away in their

annexes marketing services organizations that essentially acted as a go-between

with the creative brain trusts at "The Advertising Agency." The agency was a

ones top shop for just about everything—especially advertising and media

buying. Of course, time changes everything and so does the Internet.

The majority of consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies

have traditionally focused solely on their customers. Now, traditional companies

are also collaborating with online giants, such as Google and Yahoo!, as well as

Other media and direct marketing agencies to increase their market share.

Features:

i. Relevant case material covering a wide range of sectors & marketing

scenario.

ii. Applied, real world example, including viewpoints from leading

practitioners and academies.

iii. Robust pedagogy in each chapter, including viewpoints, objectives,

summaries, self review and discussion question, & end of book glossaries.

iv. Unprecedented all coverage of all elements of the marketing

communications mix with covering internet marketing, international

~ 48 ~

marketing communications, direct and database marketing, image and

brand management and measuring integrated marketing communications.

Golden Rules for integrated marketing communication

Despite the many benefits of Integrated Marketing

Communications (or IMC); there are also many barriers. Here's how you can

ensure you become integrated and stay integrated - 10 Golden Rules of

Integration.

(1) Get Senior Management Support for the initiative by ensuring they

understand the benefits of IMC.

(2) Integrate At Different Levels of management. Put 'integration' on the agenda

for various types of management meetings - whether annual reviews or creative

sessions. Horizontally - ensure that all managers, not just marketing managers

understand the importance of a consistent message - whether on delivery trucks

or product quality. Also ensure that Advertising, PR, Sales Promotions staff are

integrating their messages. To do this you must have carefully planned internal

communications, that is, good internal marketing.

(3) Ensure the Design Manual or even a Brand Book is used to maintain common

visual standards for the use of logos, typefaces, colors and so on.

(4) Focus on a clear marketing communications strategy. Have crystal clear

communications objectives; clear positioning statements. Link core values into

every communication. Ensure all communications add value to (instead of dilute)

the brand or organization. Exploit areas of sustainable competitive advantage.

~ 49 ~

(5) Start with a Zero Budget. Start from scratch. Build a new communications

plan. Specify what you need to do in order to achieve your objectives. In reality,

the budget you get is often less than you ideally need, so you may have to

priorities communications activities accordingly.

(6) Think Customers First. Wrap communications around the customer's buying

process. Identify the stages they go through before, during and after a purchase.

Select communication tools which are right for each stage. Develop a sequence

of communications activities which help the customer to move easily through

each stage.

(7) Build Relationships and Brand Values. All communications should help to

develop stronger and stronger relationships with customers. Ask how each

communication tool helps to do this. Remember: customer retention is as

important as customer acquisition.

(8) Develop a Good Marketing Information System which defines who needs

what information when. A customer database for example, can help the telesales,

direct marketing and sales force. IMC can help to define, collect and share vital

information.

(9) Share Artwork and Other Media. Consider how, say, advertising imagery can

be used in mail shots, exhibition stands, Christmas cards, news releases and web

sites.

~ 50 ~

Integrated Marketing Communication In Global Arena

The concept of integrated marketing communications to

international communications and develops a modified concept, globally

integrated marketing communications. To define globally integrated marketing

communications, three definitions of integrated marketing communications are

considered and modifications are offered. The major extension provided by the

new definition is a focus on the horizontal (across countries) dimension of

marketing communications.

This merges the integrated marketing communications approach

with the international marketing strategy and communications perspectives.

Based on the derived definition and analysis of the standardized adaption issue in

global communications, a contingency approach to globally integrated marketing

communications is provided which incorporates both horizontal (across

countries) and vertical (across promotion disciplines) factors that impact on

global communications strategy decisions. Applications are developed and

implications are drawn for managerially implementing globally integrated

marketing communications and conducting further research and theory

development.

~ 51 ~

Case study

Case study 1. “Integrated Marketing Communication Of Lux Soap By

Hindustan Unilever Limited”

a) Promotion:

The great Indian brand wagon started nearly four decades ago.

Great brands sometimes outlast their ambassadors as proven by Lux which

celebrated its 75th anniversary in India. The first ambassador, Leela Chitnis

featured in a Lux advertisement which flagged off the Lux wagon. She gave way

to a galaxy of stars which includes Juhi Chawla, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai

and Kareena Kapoor etc. The last frontier for most actors aspiring to stardom is

becoming a Lux ambassador. The brand has outlasted much soap. From the

beginning, Lux became a household name across the country.

b) Sales Promotion:

Sales promotion, a key ingredient in marketing campaigns, consists of

a collection of incentive tools, mostly short term, designed to stimulate quicker or

greater purchase of particular products or services by consumers or the

trade.Whereas advertising offers a reason to buy, sales promotion offers an

incentive to buy.

~ 52 ~

c) Public Relations:

Not only must the company relate constructively to customers,

suppliers and dealers, it must also relate to a large number of interested publics.

A public is any group that has an actual or potential interest in or impact on a

company‘s ability to achieve its objectives. PR involves a variety of programs

designed to promote or protect a company‘s image or its individual products.

d) Advertisements:

The message that the product reflects in its advertisements is the

one that is usually narrated by the corporate itself. Advertising is any paid form

of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods and services by an

identified sponsor. Ads can be a cost effective way to disseminate messages,

whether to build a brand preference or to educate people.

~ 53 ~

Case study 2. Coca Cola India Launches Intgrated Marketing

Communication For 2007

Coca-Cola, India’s largest beverage company continues its trend

of creating the most powerful and appealing brand messaging for its consumers

in the country. Having made “Thanda” synonymous with “Coca-Cola”, the

company announced the launch of an intensive integrated marketing

communication program for the summer of 2007. Based on the theme “Sabka

Thanda Ek”, the campaign has been designed to build the Coca-Cola brand from

its refreshment platform to a higher order of emotional benefit by establishing it

as the universal choice which brings people together.

As part of the integrated communication plan, a range of

initiatives including mass media advertising and leveraging the digital space like

the internet are being rolled out. The new TV commercial to feature- who else

but Aamir Khan, the Coca-Cola brand ambassador in an all new avatar. In the ad,

Aamir appears as a no nonsense attendant traveling in a train, connecting

consumers with Coca-Cola. The campaign has been conceptualized by the,

Chairman & National Creative Director. The company also plans to leverage the

internet by building and promoting online communities. According to Venkatesh

Kini, Vice President- Marketing, Coca-Cola India, "Over the years we have made

‘Thanda’ and refreshment synonymous with Coca-Cola. The new campaign

‘Sabka Thanda Ek’ strenghtens the universal appeal of the brand amongst

consumers. It offers a higher order of emotional benefit of bringing people

together. And who else to better communicate this message, but our brand

ambassador Aamir Khan, in a never been seen appearance.”

~ 54 ~

Case Study 3. IMC On a Small Daily Newspaper

This is a multi-method case study of a small, local

newspaper, which in the last several years has developed innovative product

design changes and experienced an increase in its circulation. Quantitative and

qualitative data were gathered through several phases of research including

interviews and a survey. Several major findings emerged from the study. First,

the results extend application of theory in mass communication and integrated

marketing communication (IMC), particularly the work done by Philip Meyer,

Don Schultz and the Readership Institute at Northwestern University.

Second, this study provides a complete picture of the

marketing mix for this newspaper, which extends current literature that addresses

only individual aspects. Third, in evaluating these contact points, this study

contributes customer insights specific to not only this newspaper but also to

broader industrial applications. Fourth, this study provides benchmarking tools

for additional research including a reader behavioral score (RBS) and ranking of

RBS-motivating experiences. Fifth, the results of this study build the knowledge

of readership with possible insight for other small newspapers.

~ 55 ~

Conclusion of Integrated Marketing Communication

Integrated Marketing is here to stay and to develop. The name

might change, but the concept will not. It is a way of thinking and operating that

enhances value for customers, employees and the organization and leads to the

resolution of many of the current frustrations within the marketing industry. We

aim to make a significant contribution and value the opportunity to work with

you and others committed to developing best practice in this. Thank you for

attending and I hope that you have been inspired to act on at least one idea, for

everything comes from our ideas and what we do with them.

Communication is an act of involving transmission of information,

ideas, and emotions by the use of verbal and non-verbal means of

communication. A concept of marketing communications planning that

recognizes the added value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic

roles of a variety of communication disciplines and combines these disciplines to

provide clarity, consistency and maximum communications impact.

~ 56 ~

ABN-AMRO BANK

Introduction Of ABN AMRO Bank

ABN AMRO was created by the merger between ABN Bank

and AMRO Bank on 22 September 1991 in Amsterdam. The date of

incorporation of ABN AMRO is 29 March 1824 in the Hague. On that day

Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij (Netherlands Trading Society, NTS) was

established by Royal Decree of King Willem I. With effect from 3 October 1964

after the merger with Twentsche Bank, NTS changed her name to Algemene

Bank Nederland (ABN Bank). After the merger with AMRO Bank in 1991, ABN

changed its name to ABN AMRO.

The Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij (Netherlands Trading

Society) was established by Royal Decree of King Willem I on 29 March 1824.

The chairmen of ABN Bank and AMRO Bank before and after the merger in

1991 were Role of Nelissen (AMRO Bank) and Rob Hazel off (ABN Bank).

Netherlands-based ABN AMRO is a leading international

bank with total assets of EUR 1,120.1 bln (as at 30 June 2007). It has more than

4,500 branches in 53 countries, and has a staff of more than 107,000 full-time

equivalents worldwide. ABN AMRO is listed on Euronext and on the New York

Stock Exchange. ABN AMRO Transaction Banking delivers cash, trade and

supply chain, and card products and services, to corporations and businesses,

financial institutions, retail customers and private clients globally. These services

~ 57 ~

are available in some 3,000 locations in some 50 countries. Underpinning this

extensive global network is integrated technology supporting billions of payment,

trade and card transactions every year.

ABN AMRO has been acquired by a consortium of Fortis, RBS and

Santander, and the integration of its various businesses with their new owners is

underway.

ABN AMRO Bank India started functioning in 1991 in Delhi

and till date it has branches in Chennai, Pune, Baroda, Hyderabad, Bangalore and

Noida servicing multiproduct relationship with customers. It formed AA

Securities [I] Pvt. Ltd. in September 1998.

ABN AMRO Bank is among the top 10 banks in the world in size and

strength with assets over US$504 and an AA credit rating. In more than 320

cities, it is having over 1,00,000 well qualified staffs.

The services of ABN AMRO Bank is organized globally in three

business lines:

I. Wholesale Clients

II. Consumer & Commercial Clients

III. Private Clients & Asset Management

ABN AMRO Bank in India enjoys a strong image as a corporate bank

with comprehensive Global Transaction Services. The investment banking

services of the bank is delivered through ABN AMRO (India) Corporate Finance

and the Global Financial Market Teams which strive to maintain the permanent

position in the marketplace.

~ 58 ~

Origin Of ABN AMRO Bank

The ABN AMRO name is derived from the initials ABN

(Algemene Bank Nederland) and AMRO (Amsterdam-Rotterdam Bank), the

founding banks of ABN AMRO in 1991. In 1990, the logo plus typography and

typeface was designed by Landor Associates. The shield symbolizes reliability,

tradition, protection and security, the color combination green (turquoise), yellow

and grey sets it apart from logos of predecessors and rivals while at the same time

being very modern, distinguished and clear.

History Of ABN AMRO Bank

ABN AMRO is a Dutch bank. ABN AMRO is now owned

by RBS, Santander and the Dutch government. ABN AMRO is helping to

promote the sustainable development on which all our futures depend in an

increasingly global economy.

ABN AMRO formally embraced the sustainability concept by

placing environmental, social and ethical (ESE) matters at the heart of its

business. Along with its pioneering role in the development of the Equator

Principles, ABN AMRO’s leading position on sustainability has positively

influenced the international financial services industry’s approach to

sustainability practices, and has been recognized through awards such as the FT

Sustainable Bank of the Year.

~ 59 ~

Foundation of ABN AMRO Bank

In addition to these activities, run by our Bus in many different

locations, we have a global community investment programme run by the ABN

AMRO Foundation. The Foundation receives an annual grant from the bank to

support projects that stimulate entrepreneurship, offer vocational training and

increase the business strength of small businesses and expand the markets in

which poorer people can do business. In 2007, several projects were added in

countries.

Such as China, Kazakhstan, Romania, Argentina, Paraguay and

Uruguay. By early 2008, the Foundation was supporting more than 90 projects in

25 countries. For example:

I. In China we partner with Mercy Corp to support the only private non-

profit secondary school in the Beijing area for children of Chinese

migrants who left farming in search of work in the city.

II. In Brazil, Chile and Romania, volunteers take part in NESsT (Nonprofit

Enterprise and Self sustainability Team) project, helping social

enterprises to set up business plans and get started.

Although the Foundation formally winds up its operations in

2008, the consortium banks have agreed that they will honour the Foundation’s

outstanding commitments and continue to build on the spirit of the Foundation’s

work.

~ 60 ~

Mission Of ABN AMRO Bank

"The mission of ABN AMRO Bank is to create maximum economic

value for our shareholders through a constant relationship focus on the financial

services needs of our chosen client segments and a strict adherence to our

financial targets. We are operating in three principal customer segments, whereby

the objective is to maximize the value of each of these businesses as well as the

synergies between them. Excellence of service to our clients and leadership in

our chosen markets are of paramount importance to our long-term success. The

Bank's corporate values play an integral role in the fulfillment of our mission."

Achievements Of ABN AMRO Bank

i. "Best at Cash Management Award in September 2001" - The Banker

ii. Corporate Finance India : Ranked Second in M&A in the Investment Banking

arena in 2001 - Economic Times.

iii. ABN AMRO Securities India: Best Foreign Bond House; No 1 Arranger in

Private Sector: Euro money 2000.

iv. Top Bank on "Management Quality" parameter: Business India 'Best Banks

Survey 2000'.

v. 7th Most Admired Commercial Bank in the World: Fortune Magazine, 2000.

vi. Top Foreign Bank in India: Economic Times - CMIE survey 1999. Second

overall in Banking Industry: Financial Express - BRIS survey 1999.

~ 61 ~

Products offered by ABN AMRO Bank

1. Personal Banking:

i. Personal Loans

ii. Credit Cards

iii. Mortgages

iv. Savings

v. Retirement Planning

vi. Educational Planning

vii. Personal Internet Banking

viii. Insurance

ix. Online Trading

2. Private Banking:

i. Banking

ii. Investment Advisory

iii. Discretionary Portfolio Management

iv. Investment Funds

v. International Estate Planning

vi. Trust

3. Business & Commercial Clients:

i. Our services can help client finance their business, manage their cash

flows, trade internationally, succeed in e-commerce and find new

opportunities.

~ 62 ~

4. Corporate & Institutional Clients:

i. We can deliver a full-range of high quality advisory, financing and

operational services, tailored to best meet our clients current needs and

long-term goals.

ii. The sectors we have developed expert insights in include healthcare and

chemicals, general manufacturing, integrated energy, industrial, consumer

and telecoms, media and technology. We also deliver corporate and

investment banking services to some of the world’s leading banks,

insurance companies, investment managers and public sector organizations.

~ 63 ~

Sustainability at ABN AMRO in 2007

Teams throughout the bank made good progress in 2007 in

implementing ABN AMRO’s Sustainability Strategy to embed sustainability

further into our core business by:

i. Building a network of dedicated professionals in our business units (BUs)

and Group Functions. Since mid-2007, we have also convened a

Sustainability Council, drawn from BU representatives working alongside

the central Sustainability and Risk Advisory teams.

ii. Capturing sustainability-related business opportunities – for example, by

launching a new Eco-Markets business – while continuing to improve our

management of environmental, social and ethical risks.

iii. Embedding sustainability in our business by informing and involving staff

through communication and training. The bank remained a fi nancial

services leader in the sustainability indices and won the global Financial

Times Sustainable Bank of the Year Award.

~ 64 ~

ABN AMRO’s Sustainability Strategy

Our sustainability strategy has been built on our values, on sound

risk management and good business sense, and on a desire to create future value

for all our stakeholders – including clients, employees, shareholders and the

communities in which we operate. We have focused on six key areas that we can

influence as a financial institution and an international organization:

1. Being accountable and transparent: Building trust; creating a dialogue

with stakeholders; reporting openly on our performance.

2. Protecting our assets: Managing environmental, social and ethical

(ESE) risks.

3. Providing responsible financial services: Understanding our clients’

needs; lending responsibly; providing socially responsible and eco-related

products and services.

4. Being an employer of choice: Engaging and retaining employees;

creating an inspiring, healthy and inclusive work environment.

5. Minimizing our impact on the environment: Reducing waste and

resource consumption and influencing our suppliers’ environmental performance.

6. Supporting local communities: Contributing to the communities we

operate in through sponsoring, projects and employee volunteering.

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Branches of ABN AMRO Bank In India

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Overview of ABN AMRO Bank

ABN AMRO Bank focuses on consumer, commercial,

and private banking activities worldwide. It operates in four segments: Personal

Banking, Private Banking, Business and Commercial, and Corporate and

Institutional. The Personal Banking segment offers a range of products that meet

the financial needs of individuals, which include personal loans, credit cards,

mortgages, savings, retirement planning, education planning, personal internet

banking, insurance, online trading. It also provides a relationship-banking

approach for mass-affluent customers, professionals, and business owners. The

Private Banking segment offers banking, investment advisory, discretionary

portfolio management, and investment.

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ABN AMRO Has Chosen The AIMS Software Suite To

Orchestrate Its Multi-Channel Integrated Marketing.

ABN AMRO is the largest bank in The Netherlands and has been

doing business there since 1824. With assets of over 590 billion Euros, it ranks

8th among European banks and 17th in the world. It has over 2000 outlets in 75

countries and employs approximately 110,000 people. ABN AMRO is also the

largest foreign bank in the United States, France and Brazil.

The bank has set an ambitious objective of joining the exclusive

group of the top banks in the world within four years. ABN AMRO was

reorganized into three autonomous strategic units on January 1st, 2001: the

Business Investment Bank, the Private Asset Management Bank and the Retail

Bank. One of the key components of the new ABN AMRO strategy, called

“change for profitable growth”, is to pay more attention to its customers. For its

Retail Bank, ABN AMRO has completed its multi-channel integrated marketing

project in the last half of 2001. The project automates its operational marketing

Campaigns.

According to Mr. Rob Almering, ABN AMRO Contact

Management Vice-President, four fundamental objectives have been assigned to

the project: “First, orchestrate contacts with our customers based on their needs

and not on bank priorities. Second, target our customer base better and more

precisely in order to prioritize messages and avoid over communicating. Then,

make the information available to all our sales channels. And finally, guarantee

our customers that they will receive more coherent information no matter which

media is used for communicating with us.” But a key step still needed to be

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taken: “… with already over 2,500 marketing campaigns per year and still

growing rapidly, just for surface mail, call center and web channels, …”

The conclusions of the ABN AMRO acquisition process from the

world-wide Marketing Automation sector has been the selection of the AIMS

software suite from the European Editor AIMS-Software. For Erik Van de Water,

AIMS-Software Operations Manager in The Netherlands: “... Adding this

prestigious reference is particularly significant because it is the result of a truly

thorough selection process where numerous functional and technical criteria were

evaluated. It proves that the AIMS software suite is a true expert-system in the

Marketing sector …” Rob Almering adds to this, “It was very clear for us even

before we started the procurement process that only a ‘best-of-breed’ solution,

that is, a solution dedicated to the EMA (Enterprise Marketing Automation)

process, could meet our needs …” He continued, “Our campaigns were becoming

more and more specific.

Finally, Rob Almering insists on one of his favorite factors for

success, “AIMS was installed by a relatively limited number of ABN AMRO

specialists, from four to ten according to the project phase, being helped by a

team of 2 to 4 AIMS-Software consultants. We have thus been able to effectively

control implementation while maintaining high motivation for all, because we

have stressed aspects of communication of objectives and benefits of the project.”

The application is driven by the Contact and Campaign Management unit, within

the Marketing Intelligence Department that includes also three other units :

Market Research, Database Marketing and Database Services.

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Content

Sr. No: Topic: Page No: Part-1 Integrated Marketing Communication

(IMC)1 to 50

1. Introduction of IMC2. Meaning of IMC3. Definition of IMC4. History of IMC5. Tools of IMC6. Steps involved in IMC7. Factors contributing to IMC8. Characteristics of IMC approach9. Needs for IMC10. Benefits of IMC 11. Mission of IMC12. Golden rules of IMC

010305070813222730314548

Part-2 Case Study 51 to 541. IMC of LUX soap by Hindustan Unilever

Ltd.2. Coca cola lunches IMC for 2007.3. IMC on Small Daily News paper.

515354

Part-3 ABN AMRO Bank 56 to 651. Introduction of Bank.2. Origin of Bank.3. Foundation of Bank.4. Mission of Banks.5. Products offered by Banks.6. Branches of Banks in India.7. Overview of Bank

56585960616566

Part-4 ABN AMRO has chosen the aims software suite to orchestrate its multi-channel 66 to 68

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integrated marketing.

Executive summary

Integrated Marketing is a comprehensive approach to internal and

external organizational communication. In IMC general advertising, sales

promotion, direct response provide clarity, consistency and maximum

communication impact.

IMC is a concerned with the strategic coordination of all the messages

and media used by an organization to influence the prospectus. In the IMC

approach the different communication are in the form of arcs making up a 360-

degree circle, at the center of which lies the customer.

IMC is concerned with the 4c’s and 4p’s ie.

1. Not PROUCT But CONSUMER

2. Not PRICE But COST

3. Not PLACE But CONVENIENCE

4. Not PROMOTION But COMMUNICATION

The heart of IMC lies in the FIVE POWER CONCEPTS that makes the

communication efficient and effective ie.

1. Consumer focus

2. Customer empowerment

3. Immersive marketing

4. Brand resonance

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5. Emotional bonding

Lastly, “Integrated Marketing Communication” are like a band.

The different communication instruments. Advertising, public relations, data

base, marketing, media specialist, sponsorship, interactive, even marketing and

the rest are just like the different musical instruments: piano, trumped, trombone,

violin, clarinet, percussion and the rest. This analogy is neither as silly nor as

simple as it sounds.

The corporate focus of integrated marketing must be on relationship

marketing must be on relationships and on more audiences than just customers.

Only in this way can an organization have a unified brand image and eliminate

the fragmentation that can destroy its brand corporate reputation.

For companies that currently embrace IMC, the new economy

mega trends translate into opportunities. Placing the customer and other key

stakeholders at the center of your business strategy has never been more

important. The highly competitive market place has made relationship building

paramount in the quest for success. For companies who do not see IMC as vital,

it is time to reconsider.

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webibliography:

www.google.com

www.yahoo.com

www.wikipedia.com

www.msn.com

www.about.com

www.indiatimes.com

www.imarketing.com

www.indiainfo.com

www.abnamro.com

www.imc.com

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Bibliography:

Books and Authors:

1. Promotion and IMC

- Richard J. semenik ( Thomson )

2. Marketing Management

- S. A. Shelekar ( Himalaya Publishing House)

- Philip Kotler

- Kevin Lane Keller

3. Advertising and IMC ( second edition )

- Tom Duncan.

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