Integrated Marketing Communications Research Articles

Measuring integrated marketing communication by taking a broad organisational approach

PurposeThe purpose of this research is twofold: first, to conceptualise integrated marketing communication (IMC) by adopting a more inclusive and broader organisational perspective, and second, to empirically develop and validate a new measurement scale to assess firm-wide IMC.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is based on a multistage research design adopting qualitative and quantitative approaches. First, a comprehensive literature review and a two-round Delphi study served as the primary basis for the development of the IMC theoretical framework, including generation of items and content validation. Second, a pilot study (n = 39) enabled us to purify the measurement tool. Third, the data gathered via an online survey conducted among CEOs and other senior managers (n = 180) led to empirical validation of the proposed firm-wide IMC scale applying second-order confirmatory factor and structural equation modelling analyses.FindingsThis research produced the firm-wide IMC scale, a 25-item Likert-format measure exhibiting adequate dimensionality, reliability and construct (convergent, discriminant and nomological) validity.Originality/valueThe need for a more holistic approach emerged from both the academic literature and the professional arena. However, even very recent attempts to measure integration have involved the adoption of a narrow marketing communications-centred approach. Thus, the value and uniqueness of this paper lies in its novel definition of IMC as a four-dimensional construct and the development of a theoretically consistent, valid and reliable measurement tool for the assessment of integration based on a firm-wide organisational approach.

The internal and external challenges facing clients in implementing IMC

PurposeAlthough integrated marketing communication (IMC) is generally accepted as the way forward by academics and practitioners, there is a shortage of research into the challenges that clients face in implementing the process, particularly in the UK. This paper aims to address these issues by examining how UK clients perceive the barriers to implementation, with reference to the conflict theory of decision-making and the social exchange theory from the change management literature.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a critical realism approach and collected data through an on-line questionnaire to an expert panel of UK clients, which generated some rich qualitative data. The experts were asked to comment on four statements developed from the literature which captured the main challenges identified in previous research.FindingsThe results indicate that UK clients are facing similar barriers to those evident in other countries more than a decade ago. Three main obstacles are identified. First, some clients still find IMC difficult to understand and therefore may avoid change because of the high level of risk involved. Second, marketing departments lack control or influence over other parts of the organisation, due in some cases to lack of representation at board level. Finally, agencies do not have a clear role in the implementation of IMC.Originality/valueThe paper is of value because it specifically investigates the UK client perspective, which is presently sparse in the literature and updates the knowledge on barriers to implementation. It underpins this discussion with reference to change management theories. The paper also examines the support being provided by industry bodies and questions their effectiveness.

Communication-in-use: customer-integrated marketing communication

PurposeThis conceptual paper aims at developing a customer-centric marketing communications approach that takes the starting point in the customer ecosystem.Design/methodology/approachAfter a critical analysis of existing marketing communications and integrated marketing communication (IMC) approaches, a customer-driven view of marketing communications is developed using recent developments in relationship communication, customer-dominant logic and the notion of customer value formation as value-in-use.FindingsA customer-integrated marketing communication (CIMC) approach centred on a communication-in-use concept is conceptually developed and introduced. The analysis results in a CIMC model, where a customer in his or her individual ecosystem, based on integration of a set of messages from different sources, makes sense of the many messages he or she is exposed to.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper presents a customer-driven perspective on marketing communication and IMC. The analysis is conceptual and should trigger future empirical grounding. It indicates the need for a change in mindset in research.Practical implicationsCIMC requires a turnaround in the mindset that steers how companies and their marketers communicate with customers. The CIMC model provides guidelines for planning marketing communication.Originality/valueThe customer-driven communication-in-use concept and the CIMC model challenge traditional inside-out approaches to planning and implementing marketing communication.

Trends of marketing communications development under the influence of industrial revolution 4.0.

The article investigates the trends in the marketing communications development under the influence of the Industry 4.0. Particular attention is paid to the study of the relationship between virtual and real economic space through the Internet of things, in which modern firms are developing marketing activities. The advantages of integrated marketing communications (IMC) are defined as a fundamentally new approach in the development of marketing strategies. An increasing role of low-control sources of influence and dissemination of information is noted. Particular importance is given to the study of consumer behavior in the Industry 4.0. The transition to consumption individualization is the main trend in the formation of interactive two-way marketing communications.

Upstream social marketing strategy: An integrated marketing communications approach

This article provides an organized approach for managers to develop social marketing strategies that target upstream decision and policy makers. A conceptual application model and five-stage process is presented for an upstream social marketing strategy based on integrated marketing communications (IMC). IMC concepts are described in the context of social marketing, as well as specific stages for creating an IMC social marketing strategy; these include target audience research and determination, channel selection and integration, strategic message creation, and measurement and control. A central and novel feature of the IMC social marketing strategy model is the simultaneous targeting of an upstream decision maker and influential peripheral (upstream) audiences in order to triangulate and increase campaign effectiveness. An IMC approach to upstream social marketing ensures consistent, persuasive messages specifically crafted for the selected target audiences and coordinated through precise channels to maximize impact. This multi-channel, multi-audience approach to message creation and channel selection produces synergies that increase the potential to influence an upstream decision/policy maker.

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) di PT Halo Rumah Bernyanyi

Abstract: This research aims to describe the effectiveness of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) in PT Halo Rumah Bernyanyi which, from the perspective of marketing strategy, could be studied by analyzing the segmentation, targeting, and positioning. Using case-study method with in-depth interview, the result shows that the implementation of IMC at PT Halo Rumah Bernyayi is arranged in one single strategy and tend to neglect the complexities of running multi-brand family karaoke-house. This considers as ineffective because it leads to “cannibalization” among brands, especially when costumer’s targetting is overlooked before drafting the IMC plan.Keywords: Business, Integrated Marketing Communication, Marketing Abstrak: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan efektivitas penerapan Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) yang dilihat dari aspek segmentation, targeting dan positioning. Metode penelitian adalah studi kasus dengan menggunakan wawancara mendalam. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa penerapan IMC di PT Halo Rumah Bernyanyi dibuat dalam satu strategi dan tidak memerhatikan kompleksitas dari aspek segmentation, targeting dan positioning sebagai pedoman dasar. Langkah tersebut dinilai tidak efektif karena dapat mengakibatkan “kanibalisasi” antar brand, terlebih jika perhatian terhadap target konsumen diabaikan sebelum menyusun perencanaan IMC.Kata Kunci: Bisnis, Integrated Marketing Communications, Pemasaran

Just doing it: theorising integrated marketing communications (IMC) practices

PurposeThis paper aims to elaborate on the concept of “integrated marketing communication (IMC) practice” and provide an empirical exposition of how integration is enacted in the lifeworlds of marketing practitioners, drawing from the “practice turn” in management studies. Although IMC is a well-known conceptual idea in academia, there is insufficient theorisation of what it means “to do” IMC. Despite broad acceptance for IMC, there has been scant application of available organisational and sociological theories to illuminate actual IMC practices in the field.Design/methodology/approachThe paper introduces practice theory as a lens through which to study and analyse IMC practices. Using qualitative coding and interpretative analysis, the framework was operationalised and applied to a two-year organisational ethnography encompassing IMC planning activities in at a leading Swedish retailer.FindingsFindings demonstrate how practitioners develop explicit and implicit strategies to enact strategic integration. The study conceptualises IMC as a set of interrelated practices, or routinised behaviours, which are repeated and organised by some social or formal rules and conventions. In the ethnographic context of the study, “IMC as practice” is exhibited in the forms of routines, material set-ups, rules and procedures, cultural templates and teleoaffective structures.Originality/valueThe paper proposes a novel set of theoretical and methodological tools that can be used to understand how IMC lives as a set of practices inside organisations. It specifically conceptualises the link between mental and objectified, materialised and routinised activities that has previously been escaping the sphere of theorisation. By creating language and tools to capture hitherto unmodellable phenomena, the paper opens many new avenues for future research.

How engineering consultants should communicate with their clients: an Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) perspective

As engineering consultancy service quality offerings approach levels of parity in the market place, establishing an effective communication strategy is increasingly becoming the fundamental marketing function that can create and maintain service differentiation and brand equity, leading to a sustainable competitive advantage. However, certain cultural and attitudinal barriers, borne out of perceptions, exist that inhibit marketing practices within this industry. This research was undertaken to challenge these perceptions, evaluate the scope for improvement in communications and examine how an integrated marketing communication strategy can improve the consultant’s competitive advantage within a business-to-business context. In addition to an extensive review of extant academic literature relevant to the industry, this study used survey-questionaries to examine client-perceptions of the marketing communication channels available to engineering consultants. Furthermore, using a subjective review of consultant websites as a proxy, it assessed the level of alignment between existing consultant communication strategies and the previously established client-perceptions.

Nonprofit Course Offerings in U.S. Integrated Marketing Communications Programs

Nonprofit Course Offerings in U.S. Integrated Marketing Communications Programs

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) A Comparative study of Arabic and International Research Literature with a Special Focus on The Sultanate of Oman

Due to the interdisciplinary complicated nature of the concept Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) that has only emerged in the communication field three decades ago and has ever since witnessed dramatic developments in itself and the related fields, the current research paper aims at: shedding more light onto the nature of IMC and the sciences that the concept emerged from; undergoing meta-analysis on a total of 122 Arabic and foreign research papers to track IMC research trends worldwide and discussing the notable gap between IMC research in the Sultanate of Oman and its practice. Findings indicated that IMC is an interdisciplinary relatively new concept combining communication and marketing, then evolved further to include branding as an independent discipline. A quantitative and qualitative gap between Arabic and international research literature concerning IMC was noted, due to the limitations and difficulties of conducting such research in the Arab World. IMC research in the Sultanate falls short, although serious attempts were made in the marketing and branding research fields. Practical wise, most companies working in Oman are practicing the concept without putting it into proper evaluation.

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) A Comparative study of Arabic and International Research Literature with a Special Focus on The Sultanate of Oman

Due to the interdisciplinary complicated nature of the concept Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) that has only emerged in the communication field three decades ago and has ever since witnessed dramatic developments in itself and the related fields, the current research paper aims at: shedding more light onto the nature of IMC and the sciences that the concept emerged from; undergoing meta-analysis on a total of 122 Arabic and foreign research papers to track IMC research trends worldwide and discussing the notable gap between IMC research in the Sultanate of Oman and its practice. Findings indicated that IMC is an interdisciplinary relatively new concept combining communication and marketing, then evolved further to include branding as an independent discipline. A quantitative and qualitative gap between Arabic and international research literature concerning IMC was noted, due to the limitations and difficulties of conducting such research in the Arab World. IMC research in the Sultanate falls short, although serious attempts were made in the marketing and branding research fields. Practical wise, most companies working in Oman are practicing the concept without putting it into proper evaluation.

Integrated Marketing Communication and Brand Image in Saudi Private Sector Hospitals: An Empirical Investigation

This research aims to explore how integrated marketing communication (IMC) impacts on brand image in private hospitals in Saudi Arabia. A purposive sampling technique was used to recruit 290 patients in four different hospitals. This research showed that IMC dimensions (advertising, personal selling, public relations, and WOM) had a positive effect on brand image of the private hospitals, and only one dimension, represented by sales promotion, had no effect on brand image. The paper contributes to previous research by adding to existing knowledge regarding IMC dimensions and brand image. The paper makes key recommendations towards adoption of IMC dimensions to develop and enhance the brand image of private hospitals in Saudi Arabia. re and communication values (Warner-Søderholm, 2012) are applied in this present study in order to explore to what degree cultural values impact how we form, deliver and receive an organization’s business communication messages within the Nordic cluster. Thus, this supports the proposition that better cross-cultural business communication practices contribute to an organization’s bottom line in the management game of communication today. Moreover, we contribute to the field with an analysis of the differences between managers’ cultural practices and wished for values.

Student Ratings of Teaching Effectiveness: An Importance - Performance Analysis (IPA)

The aims of this study were to identify effective teaching attributes using the Students’ Evaluation of Educational Quality (SEEQ) questionnaire and evaluate students’ level of satisfaction using the Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) technique. Data were collected from three groups of students enrolled in three different courses i.e. Business Ethics (BE), Business Presentation Skills (BPS) and Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) at a Malaysian polytechnic. The total number of students involved were sixty seven and each course was taught by a different lecturer. A shorter version of the SEEQ questionnaire (22 items) was used to assess the teaching attributes according to students’ perceived satisfaction and importance. A five-point Likert-type scale ranging from “very dissatisfied” to “very satisfied” was used to measure students’ perceived satisfaction. Similarly, a five-point Likert-type scale ranging from “not important at all” to “very important” was used to measure students’ perceived importance. By plotting the importance-performance rating of each lecturer in the four quadrants of the Importance-Performance Matrix, for the BE course, gaps were found in nine attributes related to motivational and pedagogical factors. Similarly, gaps were also found for BPS and IMC courses where these gaps were related to instructor’s friendliness, accessibility and instructor-student interaction. For all three courses, students were satisfied with the given assignments which they agreed facilitated their learning. The majority of the students also expressed satisfaction on the lecturers’ knowledge of the courses. The findings of this study have identified the less satisfactory teaching attributes and these could be used to modify teaching strategies to enhance students’ learning. Thus it is recommended that Malaysian polytechnics use the dual approach i.e. the SEEQ questionnaire and the IPA technique to assess teaching effectiveness. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2016.v6n3p33

Are two arguments always better than one?

Purpose This research aims to examine the moderating role of consumers’ persuasion knowledge (PK) on the persuasive effect of combined advertising and publicity within the same medium. The synergistic effect experienced when two messages are thus combined is reversed for readers with high PK who are first exposed to publicity then to advertising. Believability of the message is found to be a mediator within this context. Design/methodology/approach Based on a review of the appropriate literatures on PK and integrated marketing communication (IMC), this paper tests the hypotheses using two experimental studies. Findings The results of two experiments show that publicity-then-advertising yields poorer persuasion than advertising-then-publicity, especially under a high PK condition. The reduced synergistic effect of combinations of advertising and publicity is found especially when consumers activate temporary PK and/or when they have chronically high PK. A mediator for a decrease in the synergistic effect of combinations of advertising and publicity, believability, is examined. Practical implications This study contains significant managerial implications for marketing communicators about how to most effectively combine and coordinate publicity and advertising in the implementation of an IMC strategy. Originality/value Other than making a contribution to the IMCs’ literature, this research extends understanding of the power of PK within an IMC framework. The research contributes yet another extension to the original PK model of Friestad and Wright (1994) by suggesting an underlying theoretical mechanism to explain how PK works in the IMC domain.

Unlocking the Power of Integrated Marketing Communications: How Integrated Is Your IMC Program?

The future of advertising and marketing communications will be marked by an increasingly diverse collection of new digital options added to the traditional media and communication options already available to marketers. By taking advantage of the unique strengths of different communication options, and combining them and sequencing them strategically, marketers have the opportunity to drive sales and build brands in ways never before possible. Doing so, however, will require new concepts, new tools, and new thinking. Toward that goal, this article describes seven integrated marketing communications (IMC) choice criteria that marketers can use to judge how effectively and efficiently they have assembled their IMC programs. The article also outlines five priority areas for future research to help further guide the successful design and implementation of IMC programs.

Teach students to communicate a brand story with transmedia storytelling

Purpose This paper aims to introduce a new integrated marketing communication (IMC) strategy, not yet appearing in textbooks, into the classroom. Design/methodology/approach A thorough review of the limited sources so far available introduces the subject. This is followed by a report on the results of the author’s own introduction of the topic into his course. Findings Students reacted very favorably to learning this new and challenging marketing communication strategy. They also reinforced their own understanding of other principles, e.g. content management, taught earlier in the course. Practical implications Adoption of transmedia storytelling will advance the teaching of IMC in the classroom. Originality/value This paper proposes a formal definition of marketing transmedia storytelling. No pedagogic paper has previously been published on this new IMC strategy.

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS (IMC) IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDONESIA

IMC has been globally accepted as well as in Indonesia. Not just on practical aspects, but in academic domain since widely taught as a subject of undergraduate program in Indonesia. While literature review shows that conceptualization of IMC from various international publications still marked pros and cons, but a lesser amount of publications involve educators as one of stakeholders. Actually, educators are avant-garde of IMC deployment to the next generation and their authority in defining IMC in the classroom. In order to recognize the development of IMC thought, acceptance, and its variations of meaning, it is important to analysis the IMC syllabus as a manifestation of educator thought. To get widely perspective, these results should be compared and linked with perceptions of educators who teach IMC or other relevant subjects. Therefore, this study aims to determine how educator’ perceptions of IMC concept that has been built over time in various international publications, and how IMC defined in syllabus as a manifestation of educator’ understanding. This study uses mixed method, where the perception of educators measured quantitatively by conducting survey of 51 respondents. Meanwhile, syllabus analyzed qualitatively. Both results are then compared and linked to answer research questions.

Do adhocracy and market cultures facilitate firm-wide integrated marketing communication (IMC)?

The conceptualization of integrated marketing communication (IMC) has evolved from the marketing communications-centered approach (in the early 1990s) to a broader, firm-wide organizational perspective. The latter is adopted in this research to define IMC as a multidimensional concept. This study was conducted to develop a measurement instrument to assess IMC and examine the role of organizational culture in IMC implementation. Data were gathered via an online survey conducted among CEOs and other senior managers. The findings provide evidence of the reliability and validity of the proposed IMC scale and demonstrate that the dominance of an adhocracy (vs. market) culture contributes to building a more IMC-friendly organizational environment.

Design & Development the IMC Model for Chain Store

This study presents several dimensional conceptualizations of integrated marketing communications (IMC) and empirically develops its measurement instrument in chain store of Iran. These dimensions not only encompass important IMC activities identified in previous studies, but also include a newly identified dimension, relationship communications with existing customers. In this literature survey & focus group recognition the several constructs that effect the brand performance. Rigorous methodological guidelines were followed, including systematic steps of field interviews & Questionnaire, refinement, purification, and an empirical validation with a: large-scale survey with IMC practitioners and researchers in Iran Chain store. The objective of action research to Design & modify the IMC Model. The measurement instrument exhibits stable reliability and validity.

Integrated Marketing Communications and Their Effects on Customer Switching Intention

ABSTRACTThis research investigates the path from integrated marketing communications to switching cost, satisfaction, commitment, and switching intention among mobile telecommunications customers. This research is based on extant literature that brand awareness, image, and personality created by company integrated marketing communications influence consumer expectations. Exploratory research finds that consumers will be satisfied if the provider can fulfil its promises and meet customer expectations. Sales promotion has a direct relationship with switching costs. In turn, switching costs affects the level of commitment, which can be augmented by high consumer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction, commitment, and switching cost are direct antecedents of switching intention.