Integrated Marketing Communications - Presented to PRSA June 18, 2015

1. IMC Strategy and Implementation
Planning Campaigns Across Multiple Platforms to
Achieve Synergy and Success
June 18-19, 2015

2. Bonnie Harris
 Principal, Wax Marketing Inc.
 Adjunct Instructor IMC Program, West Virginia University
Reed College of Media
 www.waxmarketing.com
 waxmarketing@gmail.com @waxgirl333

3. Agenda
 The Case for IMC
 Branding and IMC
 Evaluating IMC
 Audiences
 Creative Strategy

4. Agenda
 IMC Planning
 Messaging Strategies
 Measurements
 Barriers to IMC

5. IMC and the
Communications
Professional
Today we are…
Messaging Experts
Marketing Strategists
Brand Journalists
Technology Consultants
Project Managers

6. Definition of IMC
According to the AMA (American Marketing Association) the
definition of Integrated Marketing Communications is:
“A planning process designed to assure that all
brand contacts received by a customer or
prospect for a product, service or organization
are relevant to that person and consistent over
time.”

7. Definition of Integrated
Combining or coordinating separate elements so as to
provide a harmonious, interrelated whole.
Organized or structured so that constituent units
function cooperatively.

8. Definition of IMC
An approach to achieving the
objectives of a marketing campaign
through a well-coordinated use of
different promotional methods
intended to reinforce each other.

9. Why are Brands Turning to IMC?
 Audience
 Messaging Channels
 Competition
 Technology
 Owned Media

10. Branding and IMC

11. How has branding changed
 Perception is everything
 Influence
 Consistency
 Persistence
 Planning

12. Messaging Sources
 Planned Messages
 Product Messages
 Service Messages
 Unplanned
Messages
 Employee Messages

13. Say Goodbye to the Four P’s

14. Marketing Mix
 Customer
 Cost
 Convenience
 Communication

15. Characteristics of a Strong IMC
Campaign
 Alignment of objectives from the top down
 Specific audience profiles including buyer
behavior and psychographics
 Strong project management including
synchronized tactics across components

16. Characteristics of a Strong IMC
Campaign
 Cross channel strategies
 Linked tactics
 Adaptive messages
 Robust results

17. The IMC Report Card
Grading Existing Marketing Campaigns

18. Audience Definition
 Demographics
 Psychographics
 Content acquisition
behavior
 Buying behavior
 Other segmentation
strategies
 Geo-demographic
 Ethnic
 Relationship
 Adopter

19. Audience Definition
Building Personas

20.  BACKGROUND:
• Head of Human
Resources
• Worked at the same
company for 10
years; worked her way up
from HR
Associate
• Married with 2 children (10
and 8)
 DEMOGRAPHICS:
• Skews female, 3-45
• Dual HH Income:
$140,000
• Suburban
 IDENTIFIERS:
• Calm demeanor
• Probably has an assistant
screening calls
• Asks to receive collateral
mailed/printed
• Uses Facebook socially
• Uses LInkedIn
professionally
• Schedules time for
continuous learning
• Reads industry articles
often
• Doesn’t like “salesy”
people
• Likes to do research
Sample Sally

21. Why are we looking at this guy?

22. Choosing Channels
 Carefully study audience
behavior
 Test iteratively for
effectiveness
 Shooting for synergy
 Constantly updated

23. Messaging Strategy
 Strategic
consistency
 Begin with one voice
 Core Strategy
Statements
 Adaptive messaging

24. Messaging Strategy
 Strategic consistency
 Begin with one voice
 Core/Integrated Strategy Statements
 Message translations

25. Sample Core Strategy Statement
CORE STATEMENT:
Vail Place provides services,
housing and skill building to reduce
isolation and improve the quality of
lives for those with serious and
persistent mental illness.

26. Subsequent Messaging
 MEDIA: Vail Place offers services, housing and skill building for those
with serious and persistent mental illness.
 MEMBERS: The Clubhouse Model provides mental health recovery in
an engaged and productive community. Community members are
encouraged to manage and control their own lives.
 SOCIAL WORKERS: Vail Place programs focus on mental health
recovery through the Clubhouse model, a community where members
learn to build relationships, increase self-confidence, and learn new
skills and abilities.

27. Message Translation
 Messages align with core strategy statement
 Key messages are NOT common across channels
 Written in persona’s language
 Delivered according to persona preference
 Optimized using keywords, phrases and long tail search terms
 Includes hashtags

28. Powerful Strategies
 Strategies stay consistent across the period though tactics may
change
 Drive toward increasing synergy between channels
 Should be deployed across channels
 Pay attention to buyer behavior and are specific to personas
 Combine traditional and online/social media

29. Strategies can focus on:
 Messaging – Changing
perception
 Timing – Seasonal
 Area – Hyper-local
 Word of Mouth – Viral
 Product/Service offering –
Call to action
 Traffic– Landing
pages/conversions/promoti
on
 Each strategy should focus
on one stage of the buying
cycle

30. Brand Strategies
 Earned media
 Word of mouth
 Cause marketing
 Thought
leadership/education
 Sponsorships
 Celebrity endorsements
 Brand journalism
 Online marketing
Brand strategies create awareness of a new brand, change
perception of an existing brand or create a brand extension.

31. Content Strategies
 Brand journalism
 Native advertising
 Social media
 Influencer marketing
 Multimedia messaging
 Education/Thought
Leadership
 Contests/Quiz
 Ambassadors/Celebrity
 Testimonials
Content strategies are used when with a longer sales cycle, the client or
customer is sophisticated and the brand needs credibility.

32. Promotional Strategies
 Events
 Sponsorships
 Contests
 Rewards/loyalty programs
 Cause marketing
 Digital/mobile promotions
 Add-ons/lost leaders
 Seasonal
Promotional strategies are used to influence the later steps in the buying
cycle, including post-purchase behavior

33. Geographical Strategies
Geographical strategies might be used for retail, medical practices,
franchises and other B2C businesses where the customer is not well-
known.
 Hyper-local marketing
 Outdoor/On the ground
 Micro-events
 Retail business partnerships

34. Powerful Linked Tactics
 Strong linked tactics are often combination of traditional and newer
media
 Can link two, three or even four tactics
 Synchronized for best effect
 Common message or tone

35. Simple Linked Tactics
 Earned placement+ social media
 Direct marketing + landing pages
 Email + signage
 Print + mobile
 Product placement + ads

36. Complex Linked Tactics
 Integrated product placement
 Music promotion
 Product launches
 PSA’s

37. BJP Party
Campaign
• Elected Modi in 2014
• Created a landslide
victory in India
• Core strategy statement
around change
• Common creative
• Understanding of
personas
• Linked traditional and
bleeding edge
technology

38. Measuring Tactics
 Iterative, ongoing measurement
 Website behavior
 Social media engagement
 Online clicks
 Unplanned messages

39. Our IMC Plan
 Audience Definition
 Persona
 Opportunities
 Objectives/Strategy/Tactic
s
 Integrated Strategy
Statement
 Selected Channels
 Timeline
 Measurement

40. 
Measurement

41. Measuring Objectives
 Within target audiences
 Mix of Quantitative/Qualitative
 Brand Awareness
 Attitude Change and Preference
 Customer Retention

42. Measuring Tactics
 Landing page conversions
 Website behavior
 Social media engagement
 Online clicks
 Unplanned messages

43. Measuring Behavior
 Content Acquisition
 Buying Behavior
 Customer Acquisition
 Loyalty