ARSALAAN RAHIM

BMS 3A
IMC (304)-CA1

What is IMC? What are the various tools of

IMC?
Integrated marketing communications
(IMC) is a process of managing customer relationships that drive
brand value primarily through communication efforts. IMC is a concept of
marketing
communication planning that recognises the added value of a
comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of
communication discipline.

Various tools of IMC are as follows:

Advertising:
Advertisement is a non-personal presentation of an idea or a
product (where as personal selling or salesmanship help in
personal promotional.) Advertisement supplements personal selling
to a great extent. Advertising has, acquired great importance in the
modern India characterized by tough competition in the market and
fast changes in technology, and fashion and taste customers. It
creates an active role in integrated marketing communication mix
as it creates.
• Good image
• Top of the mind awareness
• Counterclaim the competitors
• Reinforce positive attitude

Publicity:
Publicity is the non-personal presentation. It originates from the
desk of the editor. It aims at only informing the public about the
events, person, firm etc. There is no control on the publicity by the
advertiser as it comes from the media owner. Publicity can be
favourable or unfavourable. Large firms have separate publicity or
public relation department for publicity and cordial public relation.
The secret of the publicity is to get placement in the desired media.
Thus, the use of publicity provides various advantages to the seller
they are:
• It is available free of cost
• It provides more information than advertising as it comes
from the editor’s desk
• Consumer believe publicity more than advertising

Public relation:
A Public relation is defined as a management function which
identifies, establishes, and maintains mutually beneficial
relationships between an organization and the publics. Public
relations consider multiple audiences (consumers, employees,
suppliers, vendors, etc.) and uses two-way communication to
monitor feedback and adjust both its message and the
organization's actions for maximum benefit. It is used to generate
goodwill for the organization. Public relation helps the company and
its public by relating each other for mutual benefits. The main
objective of public relation is:
• To remove misunderstanding, doubts, confusion, and wrong
impression in the minds of different social groups
• To maintain good corporate image.
• To have the public support to the future of the company.
• To fulfil social responsibility.

Sales promotion:
Sales promotions are direct inducements that offer extra
incentives to enhance or accelerate the product's movement from
producer to consumer. Sales promotion constitutes devices like
contests, coupons, free samples, premium, and point of purchase
material. Sales promotion is action oriented. It motivates customers
to buy the goods under incentive plans. Sales promotion not only
covers consumers but also dealers and wholesalers. It acts as a
connecting link between advertising and salesmanship. Thus, in a
competitive marketing sales promotion act as an effective tool to an
advertiser to solve several short-term hurdles in marketing.

Personal Selling:
Personal selling includes all person-to-person contact with
customers with the purpose of introducing the product to the
customer, convincing him or her of the product's value, and closing
the sale. The role of personal selling varies from organization to
organization, depending on the nature and size of the company, the
industry, and the products or services it is marketing. Many
marketing executives realize that both sales and non-sales
employees act as salespeople for their organization in one way or
another.
Personal selling is the most effective way to make a sale
because of the interpersonal communication between the
salesperson and the prospect. Messages can be tailored to
particular situations, immediate feedback can be processed, and
message strategies can be changed to accommodate the
feedback.

Packaging:
A properly designed package can induce the prospects to buy
the product. A well-designed package can communicate the type
and quality of the product. Packaging plays an important role in
converting the minds of the consumers as it provides
• Providing information of the product.
• Protection of goods while transportation and handling
• Preservation of quality of the products.
• Promotion of the product.
Internet:
Just as direct marketing has become a prominent player in the
promotional mix, so too has the Internet. Virtually unheard of in the
1980s, the 1990s saw this new medium explode onto the scene,
being adopted by families, businesses and other organizations
more quickly than any other medium in history. Web sites provide a
new way of transmitting information, entertainment, and advertising,
and have generated a new dimension in marketing: electronic
commerce. E-commerce is the term used to describe the act of
selling goods and services over the Internet. In other words, the
Internet has become more that a communication channel; it is a
marketing channel itself with companies such as Amazon.com,
CDNow, eBay, and others selling goods via the Internet to
individuals around the globe.
The interactivity of the Internet is perhaps its greatest asset. By
communicating with customers, prospects, and others one-on-one,
firms can build databases that help them meet specific needs of
individuals, thus building a loyal customer base.

Sponsorships:
Many advertisers heavily rely on sponsorship in order to create
positive feelings toward a company. Sponsorships increase
awareness of a company or product, build loyalty with a specific
target audience, help differentiate a product from its competitors,
provide merchandising opportunities, demonstrate commitment to a
community or ethnic group, or impact the bottom line.
Like advertising, sponsorships are initiated to build long-term
associations. Organizations sometimes compare sponsorships with
advertising by using gross impressions or cost-per-thousand
measurements. However, the value of sponsorships can be very
difficult to measure. Companies considering sponsorships should
consider the short-term public relations value of sponsorships and
the long-term goals of the organization. Sports sponsorships make
up about two-thirds of all sponsorships.

Trade shows and Exhibition:

It is one of the oldest forms of promoting the sales of products.
Trade shows and exhibition provide opportunities for face-to-face
contact with prospects, enable new companies to create a viable
customer base in a short period of time, and allow small and
midsize companies that may not be visited on a regular basis by
salespeople to become familiar with suppliers and vendors.
Because many trade shows generate media attention, they have
also become popular venues for introducing new products and
providing a stage for executives to gain visibility. In India, India
trade promotion organization (ITPO) has been set up by the
government to organized trade fairs and exhibitions.