Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)

• Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) involves coordinating various promotional methods to ensure a consistent message across all channels, maximizing the impact on consumers.
• IMC includes advertising, sales promotions, public relations, direct marketing, and digital marketing.

Marketing Communication Types in IMC Campaigns

• Advertising: Paid promotion through various media channels.
• Sales Promotions: Incentives to encourage immediate purchases like coupons or discounts.
• Public Relations: Managing communication to maintain a positive brand image.
• Direct Marketing: Communicating directly with target customers such as email marketing, direct mail.
• Digital Marketing: Utilizing online channels like social media and websites.

Product Advertising vs Trade Advertising

• Product Advertising: Focuses on promoting specific products or services to consumers.
• Trade Advertising: Targets wholesalers, retailers, or distributors, emphasizing benefits for them.

Primary Goal of Sales Promotions

• To create an immediate increase in sales by incentivizing quick purchases.

Promotional Advertising

• Using various techniques to promote a product such as discounts, BOGO, samples, coupons, and contests.

Public Relations

• Managing and shaping public perception of a company or brand through activities like media relations, community involvement, and crisis management.
• Aims to build and maintain a positive image, credibility, and relationships with stakeholders.

Event Marketing

• Promoting products or services through participation in or sponsorship of events.
• Creates direct engagement with potential customers.

Sponsorship

• Providing financial or other support to an event, organization, or activity in exchange for brand visibility and association.

Current Issues and Trends Affecting Advertising

• Digitalization: Increased focus on digital channels and data-driven strategies.
• Personalization: Tailoring ads to individual consumer preferences.
• Privacy concerns: Navigating data privacy regulations and consumer expectations.
• AI and Automation: Using artificial intelligence to optimize advertising campaigns.

Database Management System

• A software system used to store, retrieve, and manage large volumes of data in an organized manner.
• Allows businesses to analyze data and improve decision-making.

Direct Response Communications

• Aims to elicit an immediate response from consumers, such as making a purchase or requesting information.
• Important for its measurability and ability to generate quick results.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

• Stands for Customer Relationship Management.
• It manages interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle.
• The goal is to improve customer service, retention, and drive sales growth.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

• Physiological Needs: Basic survival needs (food, water, shelter) – Products: groceries, basic clothing, housing.
• Safety Needs: Security and protection – Products: insurance, security systems, healthcare.
• Social Needs: Love, belonging, and acceptance – Products: social clubs, dating services, entertainment.
• Esteem Needs: Achievement, respect, and status – Products: luxury cars, designer clothing, high-end electronics.
• Self-Actualization Needs: Personal growth and fulfillment – Products: education, travel, hobbies.

Motive

• An internal factor that incites a person to act or exert effort toward the fulfillment of a need or want.

Self Concept Theory

• Real Self: How you actually see yourself.
• Ideal Self: How you would like to see yourself.
• Social Self: How you think others see you.
• Ideal Social Self: How you would like others to see you.
• Marketers commonly focus on Ideal Self and Ideal Social Self.

Attitudes

• Learned predispositions to respond to an object or class of objects in a consistently favorable or unfavorable way.
• Attitudes are formed through personal experience, influence of others, and information.

Selective Retention

• The tendency to remember information that aligns with existing beliefs and values, while forgetting inconsistent information.

Selective Exposure

• The process by which individuals tend to seek out and pay attention to information that confirms their existing beliefs.

Selective Perception

• The process of filtering information and interpreting it in a way that aligns with current beliefs and expectations.

Reference Group

• A group that an individual uses as a point of reference for evaluating their own beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.

Double Targeting

• Appealing to two distinct market segments with the same marketing campaign.

Consumer Market vs Business to Business Market

• Consumer Market: End consumers purchasing products for personal use.
• Business to Business Market: Businesses purchasing products for use in their operations.
• Consumer markets often involve emotional buying decisions, while B2B involves rational decisions.

Three Elements of Strategic Planning

• Determining the organization’s mission.
• Identifying strategic alternatives.
• Developing growth strategies.

Types of Competition

• Direct Competition: Similar products or services offered by different companies.
• Indirect Competition: Different products that satisfy the same need.
• Monopoly: One company dominates the market with no competition.

Elements of the External Environment (SLEPT Analysis)

• Social: Cultural trends, demographics.
• Legal: Laws, regulations.
• Economic: Economic growth, interest rates.
• Political: Political stability, government policies.
• Technological: New technologies, innovation.

Strategy vs Tactic

• Strategy: The overall plan to achieve long-term goals.
• Tactic: Specific actions taken to implement the strategy.

Direct vs Indirect Competition

• Direct Competition: Businesses offering identical or very similar products.
• Indirect Competition: Businesses offering different products that can satisfy the same customer need.

Consumer Generated Content

• Content created by consumers that reflects their opinions, experiences, and perspectives regarding a brand or product.

Mission Statement

• A formal summary that states the values and overall aims of the company.

Marketing Plan

• A comprehensive document outlining a company’s marketing strategy, objectives, and tactics to reach its target market.

Levels of Strategic Planning

• Corporate Level: Defines the overall mission and objectives of the company.
• Business Level: Focuses on specific products or business units.
• Functional Level: Involves marketing, finance, and operations.

Corporate Level Strategies

• Growth Strategy: Expanding the company’s market share.
• Stability Strategy: Maintaining the current market position.
• Retrenchment Strategy: Reducing operations to cut costs.
• Combination Strategy: Utilizing a mix of different strategic approaches.

SWOT Analysis

• Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
• Used to evaluate a company's competitive position.

Steps in the Marketing Planning Process

• Situation Analysis: Assessing the current market environment.
• Setting Objectives: Defining clear and measurable goals.
• Developing Strategies: Formulating how to achieve the objectives.
• Implementing Tactics: Executing the strategies.
• Monitoring and Controlling: Measuring results and making adjustments.

Demographics

• Statistical data relating to the population and particular groups within it (age, gender, income, education).

Psychographics

• The study and categorization of people according to their attitudes, aspirations, and other psychological criteria (lifestyle, values, interests).

Objective

• A specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goal that a business aims to achieve.

Ways to Determine Advertising Budgets

• Percentage of Sales: Allocating a percentage of past or projected sales.
• Competitive Parity: Matching the advertising spending of competitors.
• Objective and Task: Setting objectives and determining the advertising tasks needed to achieve them.
• Affordable Method: Allocating what the company can afford.

Product Analysis

• Evaluating the features, benefits, and competitive advantages of a product.

Target Market Analysis

• Identifying and analyzing the specific group of consumers a company aims to reach with its marketing efforts.

Market Analysis

• The process of researching and analyzing the characteristics, trends, and dynamics of a specific market or industry.

Brand

• A name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors.
• Elements of a Brand: Brand name, logo, slogan.

Stages of Brand Loyalty

• Brand Recognition: Customer is aware of the brand.
• Brand Preference: Customer chooses the brand over others if available.
• Brand Insistence: Customer will only accept the brand and will seek it out.

Brand Equity

• The value of a brand, based on consumer perceptions, loyalty, and awareness.

USP: Unique Selling Proposition

• Marketing concept that describes the value of your product and why it stands out greater than the competition.

Types of Positioning

• Head-On: Directly competing with competitors based on similar attributes.
• Differentiation: Highlighting unique features to stand out.
• Leadership: Positioning as the market leader.
• Benefit: Focusing in on specific consumer benefits.

Communication Process - Elements

• Sender: The party sending the message.
• Encoding: Converting the message into a symbolic form.
• Message: The set of symbols the sender transmits.
• Channel: The medium through which the message is sent.
• Decoding: The process by which the receiver assigns meaning to the symbols.
• Receiver: The party receiving the message.
• Response: The reactions of the receiver after seeing the message.
• Feedback: The receiver's response communicated back to the sender.
• Noise: Unplanned static or distortion during the communication process.

Attribute

• A characteristic or feature of a product, service, or brand.

Creative Brief

• A document that outlines essential information to guide the development of advertising or marketing campaigns.
• Typically includes objectives, target audience, key message, and budget.

ACCA

• Attention, Comprehension, Conviction, and Action.

Key Benefit Statement

• A concise statement that communicates the primary advantage a product or service offers to consumers.

Appeal Techniques

• Emotional: Appeals to feelings and emotions.
• Rational: Presents logical arguments and facts.
• Moral: Appeals to a sense of what is right.
• Fear: Highlights potential risks or negative consequences.
• Humor: Uses comedy to grab attention.