Measuring the results of promotions. After implementing the promotion plan, the communicator must measure the impact on the target audience. This includes asking the target audience if they recognize or remember the message that has been conveyed.
How many times have they seen it, what things do they remember, how did they feel about the message, and their past and present attitudes about the product and company.
The communicator must also collect behavioral measures from audience response, such as how many times people buy the product, whether they like it, and tell others about it.
Example of a good feedback measure. In brand A, we can see that 80% of consumers in the entire market are aware of brand A, 60% have tried it, and only 20% of those who have tried it were satisfied.
This indicates that the communication program was effective in building awareness, but the product failed to meet consumer expectations. In contrast, only 40% of consumers in the overall market are aware of brand B, and only 30% have tried it, but 80% of those who have tried it were satisfied.
In this case, the communication program needs to be strengthened to take advantage of the strength of the brand in creating satisfaction.
1. Managing and Coordinating Integrated Marketing Communications
Many companies still rely heavily on one or two communication tools to achieve their communication goals.
This practice continues, although it is currently disintegrating from a mass market into many small markets, each requiring a separate approach to communication; the development of various types of new media, and increasingly sophisticated consumers.
The wide variety of communication tools, messages, and audiences requires companies to think about using more modern, more optimal communication tools, as well as the alignment of these communication tools.
Today, more and more companies are using the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC). According to the definition of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As), IMC is:
….a marketing communications planning concept that recognizes the added value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic role of various communication disciplines, for example, general advertising, direct response, sales promotion , and public relations and combines these disciplines to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum communication impact through the thorough integration of disparate messages.
A 1991 study of top management and marketing executives in large consumer products companies showed that more than 70% favored the concept of integrated marketing communications as a way to improve their communication impact.
During this period, several large advertising agencies acquired major agencies specializing in sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing with the goal of providing one-stop shopping for one-stop marketing communications.
However, they were disappointed that most of their clients did not purchase the integrated marketing communications package, but instead preferred to deal with several different advertising agencies.
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2. Research on top management
A 1991 study of top management and marketing executives in large consumer products companies showed that more than 70% favored the concept of integrated marketing communications as a way to improve their communication impact.
During this period, several large advertising agencies acquired major agencies specializing in sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing with the goal of providing one-stop shopping for one-stop marketing communications.
However, they were disappointed that most of their clients did not purchase the integrated marketing communications package, but instead preferred to deal with several different advertising agencies.
Why did this rejection occur? Partly this is because large corporations use different communications specialists to work closely with corporate brand managers.
Any communications specialist will demand a larger budget. The sales manager wants to hire two additional salespeople at a cost of $80,000 while the advertising manager wants to spend the same amount on prime time television advertising.
The public relations manager was convinced that a publicity program would be more beneficial, while the telephone and direct mail marketing program specialists said they had the answer.
3. Communication of marketing
Brand managers themselves are often poorly trained in various forms of marketing communications. Generally only have traditional experience in advertising media. They know very little about direct marketing, sales promotion, or public relations.
The heads of each functional communication tool know little about the other communication tools. After all, chiefs of communications usually have a favorite specialist outside the agency and refuse to give all communications responsibility to super advertising alone.
They argue that companies should choose the best specialist agency for each objective, not second or third ranking agents just because they fall under that advertising super agency.
They believed that the advertising agencies also did not act together, but each department within the agency operated as a separate profit center. They believed that the advertising agency would still be putting the bulk of advertisers’ money into the advertising budget.
4. Integrated marketing communications.
Measuring the results of promotions. Will result in a more consistent message and greater sales impact. IMC put the onus on someone who previously wasn’t there to unify the brand image and corporate message that came through the thousands.
company activities. IMC will improve a company’s ability to reach the right customers with the right message at the right time in the right place.
