the world of the Integrated Marketing

Week One LectureIntegrated Marketing CommunicationsWelcome to the world of the Integrated Marketing Communication! Since we know there is not one "right"way to communicate with an organization’s customers and potential customers, organizations must studycarefully the options and venues available to reach their targeted market segments. While there are 4 P’sin the marketing mix (price, product, place, promotion), our course will focus on the "promotion" aspect ofthe marketing mix.Ogden & Ogden (2014) state marketing communications is a subset of marketing (section 1.1). Forpurposes of our course, we will use Hutton’s (as cited in Ogden & Ogden, 2014) definition of integratedmarketing communication (IMC), “the process of coordinating and integrating all marketingcommunication tools into a seamless program to help the company achieve its objectives” (section 1.1).Companies frequently abbreviate marketing communications as “marcom.” Since the purpose ofmarketing communications is to build a relationship with potential customers, it is critical organizationsspend resources and thought when developing their marcom.What does all this mean? It means the marketing manager must carefully consider the organizationalobjectives and constraints when selecting communication venues. It also means the organization shouldcommunicate one message to the public from every single area within the organization. This takes a lot ofcoordination. Below we will discuss corporate image, branding, and the effect of consumer attitudes.A corporate image is how consumers and other businesses feel about an organization and the brands ofits individual product lines. A corporate image also summarizes what the organization stands for and howit is known in the marketplace. For instance, Clow and Baak (2012) use the examples of the "good hands"of Allstate or the "good neighbor" of State Farm. We know immediately the insurance organizations’ standfor reassurance and safety, which contributes to their corporate image. Since this is based on individualconsumer perception, how might an organization set about creating its corporate image?BrandingOne way an organization creates its corporate image is by branding. The difference between corporateimage and branding is simple: corporate image covers the entire organization and its reputation among itsconsumers, whereas branding covers a single product line or a group of complementary product lines.Hormel Foods is the corporate brand, and brand names of Dinty Moore and Jennie-O Turkey Store asproduct lines. Can you think of another corporate image with individual brands? What about Kraft?Proctor & Gamble? Coca-Cola? Johnson & Johnson? Take a look at the infographic below. Some of thebrands for each corporation are listed:We recognize many of the brands from each corporation. The right name can differentiate anorganization’s brand from its competitors with a single word (Manning, 2014). A good name should beinteresting and memorable; generic-sounding names will not separate a brand from its competitors, so itis imperative the organization gets it right. On the other hand, intentionally selecting a name that is difficultto pronounce and/or spell can have a negative impact. A brand name requires an extensive search(Felber, 2012); however, used correctly, a brand name can evoke respect and create a sustainability toobtain and keep market share (Stephens, 2014).AttitudesWhat are attitudes? On the surface, this concept seems simple: an attitude is something we think,believe, or feel. Yet can there be more to an attitude? And how is a person’s attitude so influential towardconsumer behavior?In order to determine what affects an attitude and how it is formed, it is first important to understand whatattitude is: a “learned predisposition to behave in a consistently favorable or unfavorable way with respectto a given object” (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2007, p. 268). An object can be a product, a product genre, acommercial, a service, etc. There are four broad categories of attitude models discussed in our text; thefollowing will highlight additional research and insight into how an attitude is formed.Unlike many believe, a person’s behavior and attitude resemble the times more than the teachings fromhis or her childhood. Meredit and Schewe (1994) suggest our attitude is formed by our cohort group, fromthe experiences of our youth (see Appendix A). Ryder (1964) further suggests the cohort effect is definedas a group of people “born over a relatively short and contiguous time period as a ‘generational cohort’that is deeply influenced and bound together by the events of their ‘formative years’ (p. 843).What does this mean for marketers? In the United States, the passage of adulthood occurs approximatelybetween the ages of 17 and 21 (Meredith & Schewe, 1994, p. 24). Economic and national events thathappen during this time tend to affect the lifelong attitude and, thus, consumer buyer behavior.Psychologists find these core values and attitudes remain largely unchanged throughout life (Meredith &Schewe).One illustration of attitudes and its effect on consumer behavior would be an organization positioning itselfto appeal to a specific generation – if you are Pepsi, positioning yourself as a baby boomer’s soft drinkwould not be smart. Studies by Pepsi show Generation X and Generation Y tend to drink Pepsi, whilebaby boomers tend to drink Coca-Cola. The moral of the story? Find your customer, study their attitudes,and customize your marketing and advertising campaigns around ideas and events to which they will beable to relate!Remember the commercial with the person representing the IBM-based PC?(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibwWYEV0tEU) He was middle aged and conservative, whereas theperson representing the Apple Mac was young, casually dressed, and portrayed as being open to changeand growth – does this remind anyone of one of Apple’s co-founders, Steve Jobs?Forbes School of Business FacultyReferences:Apple Videos. Mac vs. PC commercial: Meant for work [Video file]. Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibwWYEV0tEUClow, K. E., & Baack, D. (2012). Integrated advertising, promotion, and marketing communications (5thed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.Felber, B. (2012, July). What’s in a name? Beware before you brand. Public Relations Tactics, 19(7), 7.Manning, S. (2014, January). What’s in a name? Entrepreneur, 42(1), 74-75.Meredith, G. & Schewe, C. (1994, December). The power of cohorts. American Demographics, 16(12),22-31.Ogden, J. R., & Ogden, D. T. (2014). Utilizing a strategic marketing approach to managing marketingcommunications. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.Stephens, T. (2014, January). What’s in a name? Private Label Buyer, 28(1), 26.