Mastering Marketing Communications

Using Different Marketing Channels and Tools: A Comprehensive Overview

• Marketing Communications (MC) uses a combination of different marketing channels and tools to communicate a message to a desired market or the market in general.

• MC includes advertising, personal selling, direct marketing, sponsorship, communication, public relations, social media, customer journey, and promotion.

• MC is part of the marketing mix, which is made up of the 4P's or 7P's.

• The marketing plan identifies key opportunities, threats, weaknesses, and strengths, sets objectives, and develops an action plan to achieve marketing goals.

• There are four different fundamental types of communication: one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one, and many-to-many.

• The Elaboration Likelihood Model is used to demonstrate how persuasion occurs in marketing communication.

• Linguistic devices such as simple language, phonetic symbolism, numbers, sound repetition, and pronunciation can be used to persuade the targeted audience.

• Communication can be defined as the process of using word, sound, or visual cues to supply information to one or more people.

• Opinion leaders and opinion formers are consumers who have a large influence over the purchasing behavior of other consumers.

• Television, radio, and print are different types of mass media used in marketing communication.

• Radio advertising is extremely effective at reinforcing messages encountered in other channels, such as television.

• Printed media is the most basic form of media advertising, but it can be effective in efficient, clear information communication and message delivery.Overview of Marketing Communications

• Print media such as billboards, newspapers, magazines, and posters are used to advertise products and services to target audiences.

• Print media is highly customizable, varying in print size, font, positioning and color combination.

• Magazines are often segmented by subjects such as women's health, automotive or fashion and therefore effectively reach a particular target market.

• Traditional forms of media are losing effectiveness as more contemporary forms become more popular due to audience fragmentation and ability to choose commercial content.

• Communication platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Skype, or other types of media have become an extremely important means of communication.

• Social media are flexible communication tools that go beyond the traditional means of advertising and allow brands to interact with their audience personally or professionally.

• The Internet has become one of the most dominant sources of information for most consumers.

• Email marketing is directly marketing a commercial message to a group of people using email.

• In-product communication (or in-product marketing) delivers marketing content directly to a user's internet-connected device or software application.

• Guerrilla Marketing is usually a low-cost way of generating buzz through creative or unexpected communication platforms.

• Touch points can be either physical or a human interaction between a brand and the consumer which influence customer decision-making process during pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase.

• Consumer experiences are shared through user-generated content (UGC) networks and word of mouth communication, highlighting a trend in integration of consumer behavior with marketing communications.Overview of Marketing Communications Strategies

• Traditional models viewed paid media platforms as the primary source of information.

• Technology has enabled dialogue within a consumer-centric communication platform.

• Co-creation takes place when customers help in designing and developing products.

• Direct marketing is a growing form of marketing communication and is designed to build the relationship between the customer and the brand.

• Direct mail is a letter, card, catalog, or sample sent through post, email, fax, or courier.

• Telemarketing is marketing communication via telephone and can be used as a customer service strategy to boost sales.

• Mail order marketing is a catalog of products that customers can order to receive in the mail.

• Direct-response advertising is a message transmitted through traditional communications media that requires the reader, viewer, listener or customer to respond directly to the organization.

• Cellular marketing uses the audience's mobile phone and SMS to promote a product or brand.

• CD and DVD discs can be used as part of e-communications.

• Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is the use of marketing strategies to optimize the communication of a consistent message of the company's brands to stakeholders.

• The impetus to rethink marketing communications came from a number of environmental changes that were becoming increasingly apparent throughout the mid to late 1980s.Integrated Marketing Communications: A Summary

• Message integration is important in ensuring consistency in executions within and across marketing communications, and every piece of promotion should be recognizable as part of the same livery.

• Media integration is concerned with coordinating different media channels to optimize the effectiveness of marketing communications programs.

• Research studies suggest that consumers learn more quickly when exposed to messages via different media, and a multimedia strategy is more effective.

• Integration of timing refers to the timing messages so that they operate to support each other and reach potential customers at different junctures.

• Other types of integration include cross-functional planning, outside-in approach, and inside-out approach.

• The inside-out approach is criticized for its one-sided viewpoint, while the outside-in approach seeks to understand the needs and wants of the consumer.

• The cross-functional planning approach does not center around the concept of marketing promotional elements, but instead focuses on restructuring the organization to increase a customer-centric environment.

• Barriers to implementation include a lack of support from senior management, confusion about the concept, too much specialization, and conflict within the organization.

• Integrated marketing communications can benefit a business by understanding who the sender and receiver is and what tools the sender can use to pass a message on to the receiver.

• The 4C's model of marketing focuses on consumer, communication, convenience, and cost, taking into consideration the needs and wants of consumers.

• Communication-based relationship marketing is a sequential three-stage process that focuses on an interactive two-way approach that builds rapport with stakeholders.

• Branding goes beyond having a logo and is how businesses communicate on behalf of their company, verbally and visually. To build brand loyalty is to build a trusting relationship with a brand that creates a sophisticated brand personality in the minds of consumers.

Are you looking to improve your marketing skills and expand your knowledge of marketing communications? Take our comprehensive overview quiz on using different marketing channels and tools! Test your understanding of the marketing mix, types of communication, persuasion tactics, and the latest trends in social media and digital marketing. Learn about the different forms of advertising, including print media, direct marketing, and guerrilla marketing. Explore the benefits of integrated marketing communications and the importance of message, media, and timing integration. Discover how to build brand loyalty