Integrated Communication Strategies in Marketing

Posted on Sep 16, 2024 in Other subjects

Communication: A Strategic Tool for Businesses

Communication is a crucial strategic tool for any company aiming to establish a strong market position. While not the sole key to success, it plays a vital role, and its absence can lead to failure. Through integrated communication, companies can project their desired image, enabling them to stand out in a competitive landscape.

The Importance of a Good Communication Strategy

A well-defined communication strategy is essential. It can be built using various marketing tools, but the core element remains consistent: the message conveyed to the market. This message shapes the company’s positioning and differentiates it from competitors. Choosing the right message is paramount for an effective communication strategy.

Main Areas of Integrated Communication:

  • Advertising
  • Sponsorship
  • Promotion
  • Merchandising
  • Direct Marketing
  • Internet Marketing

Due to its significance in our industry, we will focus on advertising.

1. Advertising

Advertising is a non-personal, paid form of presenting ideas, products, or services with the aim of influencing individual behavior.

Key Features of Advertising:
  • Mass Character: It can reach a large portion of the target audience.
  • Speed: Its actions yield immediate results.
  • Cost-Effectiveness: While initially expensive, the cost per useful impact is low.
  • Effectiveness: It generates immediate responses, whether the goal is increased sales, brand recognition, or enhanced company reputation.
Key Figures in Advertising:
  • The Advertiser: The entity needing to communicate, typically paying for it. They determine the message, target audience, timing, and budget.
  • Advertising Agency: Specialists who create ads for a fee.
  • Advertising Channels: Responsible for disseminating ads, including television, press, radio, magazines, and emerging online platforms.
  • The Receiver: The recipient of the message.
Advertising Media Channels:

1. Mass Media: These include press, radio, television, and increasingly, the internet.

  • Television: High-cost but offers the combination of words, images, movement, sound, and color. It can quickly create desire for a product.
  • Radio: More affordable than television. It’s important to consider the role of broadcasters in targeting specific audiences.
  • Press and Magazines: The reading public is typically more focused. This medium relies on reading and visuals, which can be advantageous. It’s relatively affordable.
  • Internet: Has introduced concepts like interactivity, personalization, globalization, and created new opportunities for businesses. It blends communication with marketing, sales, and distribution, offering new ways to understand and engage with audiences.

Each medium has its pros and cons, and costs vary significantly.

2. Outdoor Advertising: This encompasses various supports used to convey advertising messages within the urban landscape.

  • Billboards: Stationary displays in cities and on roads, featuring short messages designed for quick comprehension.
  • Public Transport Advertising: Ads placed inside and outside public transport.
  • Mobile and Semi-Mobile Advertising: Billboards on authorized vehicles or screens in urban areas.
  • Aerial Advertising: Banners towed by airplanes.
  • Sports Venue Advertising: Static ads in stadiums and arenas.
  • Other Static Advertising: Ads on bus shelters, phone booths, bins, public clocks, streetlights, and other urban fixtures.

3. Mailings: Advertising delivered directly to mailboxes, targeting specific audiences. It’s cost-effective but relies on the message reaching and being read by the intended recipient.

Advertising in the Tourism Sector:
  • Specialized Magazines
  • Trade Shows and Exhibitions
  • Sponsorship
  • Online Platforms
  • Brochures
Clear Communication Objectives:

Companies launching new or existing products should define clear communication objectives, including:

  • Providing information about product characteristics and benefits.
  • Highlighting improvements or new uses for existing products.
  • Communicating distribution channels.
  • Supporting sales teams.
Communication Plan
Steps to Draft a Communication Plan:

A. Setting Goals: The advertising department head must understand the company’s objectives to create a needs-based campaign. Common business goals include:

  • Maintaining market share.
  • Supporting sales team management.
  • Informing the target audience about company developments.
  • Attracting new customers.
  • Gaining market share from competitors.
  • Reaching potential consumers.
  • Promoting the company’s image.
  • Building customer loyalty.

Types of Advertising Based on Objectives:

  • Informative Advertising: Introduces new products or services or recommends existing ones.
  • Persuasive Advertising: Creates selective demand by highlighting product features and benefits.
  • Reminder Advertising: Reminds consumers about existing products and their qualities.
  • Reinforcement Advertising: Reinforces customer satisfaction with their purchase decision.

B. Briefing Creation: The briefing document defines the characteristics of each communication measure. It should be concise but comprehensive, including:

  • Target audience definition.
  • Product definition.
  • Market characteristics and potential.
  • Competitive environment analysis.
  • Company details.
  • Marketing channel indication.
  • Historical analysis of advertising experiences.
  • Communication objectives.
  • Budget information.

C. Base Proposal: Based on the briefing, the agency develops a campaign proposal highlighting product benefits. This proposal is then presented to the client company.

Message Development

Once the campaign’s core benefits are identified, the message needs to be developed. Its design is crucial as it’s the final communication that reaches the public. The message should clearly convey the product or service’s benefits, reasons for these benefits, and supporting evidence. To mitigate risks, a campaign pretest through focus groups is recommended.

Media Plan Development

With the message, budget, and target audience defined, the next step is to determine the most cost-effective and efficient media channels to reach the target audience. This involves analyzing media consumption habits, reach, frequency, and cost per impression. Based on this data, a media plan is developed, specifying formats, frequency, and scheduling.

Message Adaptation to Media

Effective communication requires adapting the message to different media channels, formats, and audiences. While the central message remains consistent, it needs to be tailored to maximize the advantages of each medium. For example, television ads can leverage visuals and broad reach, while billboard ads need to consider size, color, and location.

Campaign Launch

The campaign launch is the ultimate test. Once live, feedback from the market starts flowing in, indicating the message’s acceptance. While stopping a campaign due to high costs is generally not advisable, it might be necessary in cases of message misinterpretation or damage to the corporate image.

Control Systems

Campaign success is often measured by net sales increase. However, other metrics, such as brand awareness and recall, can also indicate effectiveness. If sales don’t increase despite positive feedback on other metrics, it’s crucial to analyze other marketing variables to identify the root cause. Regardless of the outcome, campaign results should be carefully analyzed to learn and improve future strategies.