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What is integrated marketing communications. Integrated marketing communications: essence and process of formation

The modern shift in interests from mass to targeted marketing, as well as the rapid development of communication channels and promotion tools, have posed a new challenge for marketers. Today's consumer is exposed to numerous and varied information about and from a company.

In the buyer’s mind, the information he receives from various advertising media: television, magazines, real-time sales computer service- merges into one whole.

The messages they receive through various means—advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, or direct marketing—create an overall impression of the company.

If information coming from different sources is contradictory, this provokes distrust in the company and its products. Companies often fail to properly coordinate the activities of their communication channels. As a result, the consumer cannot make sense of the jumble of messages.

Today the transition to such a concept as a complex integrated marketing communications (IMC), which became the response of marketing theory to the increasing complexity of promoting goods and services in the modern market.

Philip Kotler, a modern marketing classic, suggests calling integrated Marketing communications“promotion complex” and defines this term as follows: “integrated marketing communications - a concept according to which a company carefully thinks through and coordinates the work of its numerous communication channels - advertising by means mass media, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing and product packaging - to develop a clear, consistent and compelling message about the company and its products."

Another formulation of this concept is given in the monograph “Marketing Communications. Integration achievements" by one of the founders of the theory of integrated marketing communications, Paul Smith, where he defined IMC as "the interaction of all forms of a complex of communications, in which each form of communication must be integrated with other marketing tools and supported by them to achieve maximum economic efficiency» .

The use of the method of integrated marketing communications in the commercial activities of enterprises allows the most harmonious combination of the market interests of the enterprise and the consumer (Fig. 2).

Fig.2

Benefits of integrated marketing communications:

1. Achieving greater impact efficiency while reducing costs;

2. Use of technological advantages that allow the transition to individualized targeted communication;

3. Ensuring coordinated activities to promote and perceive market signals;

4. Coordination of internal and external communications;

5. Coordinated communication strategy;

6. Unified financing of the product promotion center.

Experts identify four main components in the complex of integrated marketing communications:

2. Sales promotion - sales stimulation.

3. Public relations - public relations.

The first three communications are of a mass nature, the fourth is individual.

The company plans the role of each means of influence and the duration of its action. She compiles a list and schedule of individual events, tracks the effect of investment in the product itself, in the means of its promotion, in maintaining its stage life cycle goods in order to further improve the incentive package.

In order for the integration of external communications to be effective, internal communication activities are coordinated first.

There are 3 main principles of the integrated marketing communications strategy:

1. Integration of choice: it is most effective to combine various means of communication to achieve your goals.

2. Integration of positioning: each type of communication must be consistent with the positioning of the brand in terms of their synergistic (i.e., the result exceeds the simple sum of its parts) interaction.

3. Plan-schedule integration: having determined your market segment, influence the speed of decision-making in favor of the company’s brand.

Thus, the modern approach to organizing effective commercial activities is to use an integrated communication complex as the most rationalized and optimized impact of the manufacturer on the consumer decision-making process.

Ministry of Education and Science Russian Federation

Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution

higher professional education

"Altaic State University"

International Institute economics, management and information systems

Department of "Economics of Entrepreneurship and Marketing"

Test

discipline: "Marketing Communications"

Barnaul 2013

Bibliography

1. The concept of integrated marketing communications

Integrated marketing communications is a concept for planning marketing communications, based on the need to assess the strategic role of individual means of marketing communications (advertising, public relations, sales promotion, direct marketing). The main purpose of the application is to find the optimal combination of them to ensure clarity, consistency and maximize the impact of communication programs through the consistent integration of all individual communicator messages.

According to the definition of J. Rositer and L. Percy: “integrated marketing communications means:

) correspondence general set communication goals for a given brand or, more precisely, a special “macro positioning” of the brand;

) integration of methods and means of RS, taking into account the time and interests of buyers.

The concept of integrated marketing communications involves solving two interrelated problems:

1.creating a system of communication messages using various means of the marketing communications system (MSC), which would not contradict each other and would be coordinated with each other, forming a single favorable image of the communicator.

2.the main goal is to maximize the effectiveness of marketing communications by searching for optimal combinations of basic and synthetic QMS tools, as well as individual techniques and tools for each of these tools.

All the numerous factors that determine the optimal structure of a marketing communications system can be combined into the following main groups:

1.The goals of the company and the strategies it uses;

2.Type of product or market;

.State of the consumer audience;

Traditions established in the communication policy of the company and its main competitors. Let's look at each of these groups of factors in more detail.

To the greatest extent, the structure of a company's QMS depends on the determination by its top management of goals relating to sales volume and its dynamics; entering new markets; formation or change of the existing image of the company; positioning or non-positioning of manufactured goods and others. To achieve these goals, a set of long-term, large-scale activities is being developed, taking the form of a unified marketing strategy for the company. This or that marketing strategy may suggest a different role for the QMS.

The process of introducing the IMC concept into the practice of firms is hampered by the following factors:

1.lack of understanding of the importance of using IMC in the process of increasing the effectiveness of marketing communications;

2.contradictions between various functional departments of the communicator services (advertising, PR, sales and others departments). Often, the personal interests of their employees are higher than those of the company;

Despite the difficulties that stand in the way of introducing the IMC concept into the practice of companies, it should be noted that it is becoming increasingly recognized. The latest communication technologies (interactive communications, the use of databases in establishing connections with recipients, the use computer technology, primarily the Internet and others) contribute to increasing the effectiveness of the integrated marketing communications approach.

So, integrated communications is a concept for managing communication of a particular structure, which is based on the following principles:

1.Accounting for all main sources of information about the organization and the subjects of its activities (including unorganized);

2.Integration of communications from these sources in various communication environments and using various communication technologies (PR, advertising, marketing, sales promotion, event organization, etc.) based on a coordinated approach;

.An equal approach to managing communication with all groups important to the organization (consumers, shareholders, government, investors, staff, voters and others) - both within the organization itself and externally;

.Ability to use consistent but different messages for different audiences;

Communication management is carried out on the basis of received data (about the audience, consumer, consumer behavior, competitors, accounting various factors market).

1.be perceived positively by the target audience;

2.attract attention;

.remain in the consumer’s memory;

.convince the consumer of the merits of the advertising object (change attitude towards it);

.push to certain actions (send a coupon to the specified address, take part in a drawing, try a product, make a purchase).

Accordingly, the assessment of the communicative effectiveness of advertising includes the following components: determining how advertising is perceived (positively or negatively), the degree of attracting attention, the degree of memorization, the degree of persuasion, the ability to lead to certain actions (and, above all, to lead to a purchase).

During advertising campaign check the perception of advertising in natural conditions. This is done in order to promptly identify shortcomings and make adjustments, correct the situation, while there is still an opportunity for this.

After an advertising campaign, the communication effectiveness of advertising is assessed in order to conclude whether the goal of the campaign has been achieved or not. In addition, this makes it possible to identify all the strengths and weaknesses of advertising and take them into account in further advertising campaigns.

To assess the communicative effectiveness of advertising, methods of observation, experimentation, surveys, and expert assessments are used. Let's look at some common techniques.

1.Method for assessing psychological perception. Using this method, a control group of consumers is asked to consider alternative advertising options and give a score to each option on a certain scale. For example, consumers are asked to rate 2-4 ad options on a 5-10 scale. A higher rating indicates more effective advertising. It is important that the consumer likes the advertising, so that it is perceived positively, only in this case will it lead to a purchase.

2.Method for assessing memorability. It is known that people buy a brand they remember more often. In addition, it is very important that the consumer remembers the main idea of the advertisement. A group of people (a certain contingent of typical representatives of the target audience) is invited to the office. They are asked to view or listen to a selection of advertising messages (text, audio or video). Then they are asked to remember which advertisement they remember and its content (advantages of the product, manufacturer's brand). Thus, the level of advertising memorization is determined. In an advertising campaign, they rely on the most memorable advertisement. Surveys reveal not only advertising memorability, but also a wider range of information. After viewing, participants can fill out a questionnaire and a discussion can then take place. As a result, positive and negative sides advertising, its ability to be understood, the persuasiveness of its arguments.

.Method of expert assessments. Allows you to determine the best ad from several alternative parameters based on a combination of parameters. When using this method, the degree of perception of the advertising message is assessed by members of the expert commission. They provide points in the corresponding questionnaire. The questionnaire may contain the following questions: the degree of attraction of attention, the degree of memorability, the persuasiveness of advertising arguments, etc. For each ad, the ratings are summed up and the best ad is selected.

.Research through experiments. An experiment is an experiment conducted on an incomplete, truncated scale. With the help of an experiment, first of all, you can trust and roughly evaluate a future advertising campaign. An experiment that precedes major advertising campaigns is called piloting. The purpose of aerobatics is to improve advertising campaigns. Often, before launching a large-scale advertising campaign, such pilot studies are carried out. The test is carried out by launching advertising in the amount of 10% of the scale of the entire advertising campaign. For example, the memorability and degree of impact of advertising, and the correct choice of a particular advertising medium are checked.

During the experiment, one or more factors may change. At the same time, the influence of this change on the result is examined. Analysis of the pilot allows us to draw a conclusion about the possibility of continuing advertising in the form that was planned, or about the need to make any adjustments.

Focus group method. Allows you to evaluate consumers’ perception of an advertising idea and identify purchase motives.

1.A method for determining the degree to which advertising attracts attention. Observations are used for this purpose. Observation is passive. The observer simply records the number of people who paid attention to the advertisement (store window, exhibition stand or outdoor advertising) and keeps a count of the total number of people who passed by.

The degree of attracting attention to this type of advertising (B) is determined by the following formula:

where B is the degree of attracting the attention of passersby;

P is the total number of people who passed by the advertisement during the same period.

2.Method for assessing customer flow. This method is used to determine the ratio of the number of visitors to a company (restaurant, travel agency, store, hotel) during the advertising period to the usual, average number of visitors. Visitor data is obtained using photocells or simple counting. It should be taken into account that on weekends and holidays the intensity of customer flows increases. The method allows you to determine the extent to which advertising is capable of prompting certain actions.

3.A method for identifying the advertisement that has the most impact on the consumer (experimental method). Using this method, two different versions of an advertisement are placed in a publication (newspaper or magazine) in different halves of the circulation (with the attachment of tear-off coupons, cut-off coupons with the right to a discount or an offer to receive a free sample of the product). By sending these coupons or coupons to the specified address, the consumer can receive a free sample of the product, a discount on the purchase of the product, Additional information, prospectus, catalogue. In this case, the coupons must differ in some way (phone number or office number). By comparing the number of coupons or vouchers returned to the company, the best (more impactful) advertisements are determined and subsequently bet on them. Using this method, you can determine a more effective advertising medium. To do this, one version of the advertising message with coupons is placed in different advertising media. In order to identify different funds, you can change the telephone or office number in advertisements.

.Survey method. The simplest survey option: the caller is asked where he saw the advertisement. This is how the best advertising medium is most often determined. However, using this method you can obtain a wide range of information. This method is considered one of the most reliable, as it allows the buyer to directly identify his attitude towards advertising in general and to individual design elements. For this purpose, questionnaires are compiled and distributed among consumers. This is done in personal surveys and even through radio or television. But conducting surveys requires a significant investment of time and the involvement of a large number of people in this work. According to experts, optimal size group of people surveyed to determine the effectiveness of advertising - 125 people. With a population of less than 100 people, test results are unreliable. Increasing the number to 150-200 people leads to a sharp increase in research costs without significantly affecting the accuracy of the results.

Unassisted recall method. It is used to determine attitude towards a product or advertisement. Respondents are asked questions regarding the advertised product, reaction to advertising, etc. To answer the questions, they are offered several pairs of antonyms-definitions, reflecting opposing points of view on a product or advertisement. For example: “positive” - “negative”, “strong” - “weak”. Between them there is a scale. The respondent must reflect his/her attitude by checking the appropriate box.

The Gallup-Robinson method, which is used to assess the recognition and memorability of advertising messages. It consists of the fact that a few days after the promotional events (on fresh tracks) 200 persons selected from the target audience are presented with a list brands. Each of the respondents must answer the question whether he remembers seeing an advertisement for the brand being tested in a certain publication (radio or television program).

Starch method. Using this method, each respondent views publications and notes those advertisements that he has seen previously. At the same time, a distinction is made between readers who: have only seen the advertisement; it was partially read and the advertiser was identified; read almost the entire content of the advertisement.

The cache method is designed to test the memorability of an ad. When testing, real advertisements are used, from which the brand of the advertised company or product is removed. Respondents must indicate which brand is missing. As quantitative indicators of the effectiveness of advertising memorability, the indicator of advertising penetration proposed by R. Reeves and the indicator of involvement in consumption through advertising are used. The advertising penetration rate (Advertising Indicator) is defined as the quotient of the number of people who remembered the advertisement and the brand divided by the number of people who did not remember it. If the indicator value is greater than one, the advertising effectiveness is assessed as high, if less than one - low.

The indicator of involvement in consumption through advertising (B) is determined by the formula

If the indicator is positive, the advertising effectiveness is high; if it is negative, the advertising is ineffective. Buyers are surveyed

To do this, before the start of an advertising campaign, by surveying the target audience, it is necessary to measure the state of these factors. To determine the psychological effect after the end of the campaign, a randomly selected group of consumers must be surveyed again.

If, for example, a company wanted to increase brand awareness from 20 to 50% and this happened, then the goal has been achieved. If received more low level, then something was done wrong: there was an insufficient advertising budget, unsuccessful advertising messages.

Visiting one of the ongoing exhibitions, analyzing the organization of the exposition of a company and evaluating the work of the booth staff

An exhibition stand is the face of a company. The success of an enterprise's participation in an exhibition event depends on the art of exhibition design. Therefore, it is necessary to make every effort, ingenuity, experience, and intelligence to make this event memorable.

The first question that arises before a company after deciding to participate in the exhibition is what size booth is needed.

The next issue is the design of exhibits, attractive advertising, well-coordinated work of stand staff, and attentive attitude towards visitors. The size of the stand does not affect the work; the quality of the information provided is also important.

The ability to design a stand in an original way and make it interesting for visitors - this seems to be the most important thing.

When organizing stands, two concepts are used: one is typical for the stand of companies from Latin American, Asian and Middle Eastern countries, based on the visual aspect. Usually such stands are luxuriously decorated. Certain game elements are used to attract the attention of visitors.

The second concept gives preference to information aspects. This stand presents tastefully designed points for distributing advertising products and information. There is no specific recommendation for stand design, so the company must clearly define thematic plan its exposition. The attractiveness of the stand is achieved by a catchy part of the exposition, which would attract attention from afar. When decorating exhibition stands, compositions of greenery and flowers are of great importance.

The entire exhibition composition is divided into several zones:

1.Public (the largest in area, where exhibits are located, provides contact with visitors, and has booth staff).

2.Workroom (a place for negotiations between company representatives and potential partners and clients).

.Service room (auxiliary premises and areas for storing exhibits, promotional literature, employee rest, clothing, preparing drinks).

A supply of such materials should be available at the exhibition stand. Advertising for distribution to visitors may consist of flyers, booklets, prospectuses, catalogs, and souvenirs. Its goal is to leave materials with visitors for later, more detailed acquaintance. In addition to publicly available materials at the stand, there are advertising and information materials for regular and established clients and managers of other companies visiting the stand.

Inscriptions on the frieze of the stand (company name, trademark).

Posters for stand decoration.

Screens with a ticker or an image are placed near the exhibition stand.

Monitors for showing commercials. The main goal of such advertising is to attract visitors, interest them, and force them to show interest in further acquaintance with the proposed product. The work on stand design should never be considered completed after the opening of the exhibition.

If any errors were noticed, it is necessary to take this into account so as not to repeat it at the next exhibition event.

Any exhibition is also a learning process. The company's employees learn, and their competitors and business partners learn. The design and design changes every time.

Stand type and size

Stand - is a complex area (in square meters). Which the fair organizer rents out to the interested participant, as well as design/design elements with the help of which the latter achieves his participation in this event.

A stand is a miniature image of an exhibiting enterprise, embodying its general entrepreneurial culture. In this regard, the stand must:

Highlight the enterprise.

Attract without being provocative.

Arouse interest.

The number and type of exhibits, ensuring the desired location of the stand are among the serious problems faced by the exhibitor. Each exhibitor should strive to position his stand:

Opposite and to the right of the main entrance.

On the central internal passages.

In the corners.

Close to "active" exhibitors and special event spaces.

Conversely, stand placement should be avoided:

Away from exits and central passages.

At the back of the hall.

Behind large columns and stairs.

Facing in the opposite direction from where the action is taking place various events.

We will evaluate the exhibition "Beauty Industry", held in 2012 in the city of Barnaul. We will evaluate the stand of the Lilic-Magic company entitled "High-speed acrylic design. Chinese acrylic painting." The stand is located next to the event.

Pros of the stand:

1.Has a large number of points of concentration so that attention does not dissipate;

2.Has individuality, creates a clear understanding of his company and its commercial offers among others;

.Has a “face” (company name, logo, graphic color), which helps differentiate the company and creates the prerequisites for its recognition in the future;

.Has an appropriate layout that allows you to accommodate the expected number of visitors;

.Commensurate with the level and composition of expected visitors;

.Convenient to install and disassemble;

Traditional linear stand 6 meters deep and 3 meters wide.

The front of communication with visitors is 3 meters, in the second 9. In addition, there are more display cases on the corner stand area.

The fact that the stand is a miniature display of the enterprise. obliges to pay special attention to the method of placement and methods of presentation of goods.

During the exhibition, specialists responsible for the exhibition were present at the stand.

The selection of personnel should be taken with due care. There are three categories of workers who must be present at the exhibition.

Specialists with deep knowledge of the technical and marketing features of the products offered.

In general, the stand meets all requirements.

Bibliography

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2.Head A.G. Integrated marketing communications // Marketing in Russia and abroad. -2006. - No. 10. - pp. 37-46.

3.Kolesnik F. Mistakes from the exhibition // The secret of the company. 2003. No. 12.

4.Mazilkina E.I. Marketing communications: Tutorial/ E.I. Mazilkina. - M.: Eksmo, 2010. - 240 p.

5.Musician V.L. Integrated marketing communications: Textbook / V.L. Musician. - M.: IC RIOR, SIC INFRA-M, 2013. - 216 p.

6.Romanov A.A. Marketing communications: Textbook / A.A. Romanov, I.M. Sinyaeva, V.A. Polyakov. - M.: University textbook, INFRA-M, 2012. - 384 p.

.Sinyaeva I.M., Zemlyak S.V., Sinyaev V.V. Marketing communications: Textbook. - M.: Dashkov and K, 2008 - 384 p.

8.Srebnik B.V. Marketing: Textbook. - M.: Higher School, 2005. -360 s.

9.Khodyachenko V.B. Marketing: Textbook, manual - St. Petersburg: Publishing house of St. Petersburg. Univ., 2001. - 324 p.

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Since the late nineties, the concept of “integrated communications” has become increasingly popular. PR specialists were most active in developing this concept, considering it as a development of ideas and concepts of strategic PR. At the same time, marketing specialists considered “integrated communications” as a development of “integrated marketing communications”. For both, business needs were primary, and to a lesser extent GR and political needs. At the same time, in our opinion, the developing concept of “integrated communications” has managed to combine the needs for the conceptualization of an integrated approach to communications both in the field of business (from both PR and marketing) and politics. Undoubtedly, the question of the applicability of the concept of “integrated communications” in politics requires a separate discussion, which we will present below.

In order to move to “integrated communications” (IC), we will look at the concept of “integrated marketing communications” (IMC), the use of which has been one of the main trends in marketing of the last decade and which we will need for the transition to "integrated communications".

Despite the spread of the term itself and the approach associated with it, there are a large number of definitions that emphasize different aspects of the concept. For example, well-known specialists D. Schultz, S. Tannenbaum, R. Leuterborn define IMC as “a new way of understanding the whole, which we see as composed of such individual parts, such as advertising, public relations, sales promotion, logistics, employee relations, etc., IMC rebuilds marketing communications in order to see them the way they are seen by the consumer - as a flow of information from a single source.”

Pat Whalen views IMC as “a strategic approach that manages all aspects of communication to important groups within an organization to improve the company's brand, reputation and profitability. It utilizes modern trends and emphasizes strategic management to gain competitive advantage.”

Chris M. Bluth defines IMC as “a strategic management approach that coordinates all aspects of communication with groups important to a company in order to effectively improve their overall brand, reputation and profitability,” in Northwestern University (Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism) defines IMC as "a marketing communications planning concept that is concerned with the overall plan that evaluates the strategic role of the communication disciplines of advertising, promotion, and PR, and connects these disciplines to ensure clarity." consistency and maximum communication impact”, etc.

Analyzing various definitions, which in some cases contradict each other, we can highlight the following elements of the IMC Journal of Integrated Communications definition, 1997-2002:

Has a strategic nature;
manages all aspects of communication, synthesis and communication environments;
consumer focused;

Interacts with all groups important to the organization;
aimed at improving and maintaining the brand and reputation;
aimed at increasing profits and added value;
aimed at improving consumer loyalty;
aimed at achieving a competitive advantage for the company, formalizing the company’s mission;
leads to integration and alignment of the company's mission and strategy;
aimed at satisfying consumers, creating and maintaining relationships, ensuring that communication departments are not isolated;
based on data accounting;
participates in key .

It is interesting to note that IMC is also defined as “a deliberately vague and vague concept created to incorporate various innovative ideas” by Chris Kneeland.

An important point is the need to manage communications directed not only externally, but also internally, noted by a number of specialists (A. Gronstedt, C. Alenbau, D. Schultz, etc.): “with the growth and change of communication systems, the task of integration has become more complex and complex . Since organizations began to recognize that IC can be a key factor in the marketplace, they have learned that IC includes both internal and external audiences and all forms of groups important to the company." Don E. Schultz The Evolving Nature of Integrated Communications, Journal of integrated communications 1997-1998/, “... they [integrated communications] must include employee relations...” / David R. Drobis, “Integrated Marketing Communi-cations Redefined” , Journal of integrated communications, 1997-1998/. The concept of “marketing” has always been associated with external communications; moreover, a number of IMC definitions imply exclusively external communications.

In our opinion, we can say that, in a certain sense, the IMC concept in its richness has become more advanced and adequate to modern business than the term “marketing” itself, or, rather, the concept of “integrated marketing communications” has begun to outgrow the concept of “marketing” in its own title. A number of specialists came to this conclusion in an attempt to advance their understanding of how to build effective organizational communication: “... after a short time we expanded the study of the issue beyond the letter M in IMC, which focused attention on consumers and prospective clients...” / Thomas E. Eppes, Rebirth of an Agency: Challenges and Implications of Operating in an IMC Framework, Journal of Integrated communications 1998-1999/. Or: “... in the PR industry, we have never fully imagined how we can continue the process of integration beyond the field of marketing, connecting the full range of communication disciplines and helping management better maintain corporate reputation” (D. Drobis). Or: “...integrated communications must go beyond marketing” (D. Drobis). The need for greater consistency between advanced technologies, ideas of “integrated marketing communications” and terminology has become one of several reasons for the need for a new, more adequate terminological apparatus.

This need began to arise from practical cases - despite the presence of a number of different disciplines in the field of communications, it has increasingly become difficult to attribute certain programs to certain disciplines. For example, according to A. Gronstedt, specialists from the Saturn department of General Motors faced such a situation, who managed to involve both their staff and their distributors in the communication process: “...the question arose before them - what to call it? Marketing or PR? Employee relations or community outreach? Customer service or event management? According to the researcher, the way out of this situation also lies in the transition to a new concept: “This is all of the above and even more. In a nutshell - this is integrated communications” /Gronstedt, Anders. The customer century: lessons from world-class companies in integrated marketing and communications/.

As a number of experts suggest, one of the reasons for the certain obsolescence of the IMC concept was the constant friction between specialists in the field of PR and marketing: “since the former use IMC as a justification for the absorption of PR” / Wightman, Ben, Integrated Communications: Organization and Education /. “Until now, a discipline potentially prone to greatness has faded from the chronic stress associated with misunderstanding on the part of PR specialists, most of whom have viewed the role of PR in integrated marketing communications too narrowly” (D. Drobis). Or: “PR specialists are satisfied with the term “integrated communications.”

The above undoubtedly influenced the emergence and popularity of the concept of “integrated communications”. However, in our opinion, this factor cannot be explained only by the struggle between PR specialists and marketing specialists for influence in their companies. This is rather due to the fact that at this stage of integration and advancement, the PR approach turned out to be more in demand in a situation where for companies various groups have become no less, and sometimes more important, than consumers.

“Integrated Marketing Communications” is certainly a fruitful concept, which, developing over the last decade and adapting to the changing market and society, has indeed incorporated a number of innovative ideas and added more and more concepts and additions to itself. At the same time, this led to the lack of a certain integrity of the concept. For example, there is a certain contradiction, or rather inconsistency, between the requirements of “customer focus” and the need to “interact with all groups important to the organization.” We can easily find an example when, for the successful development of a company at a certain stage, interaction with its own shareholders and an increase in the price of its shares was incomparably more important than with consumers of the product - for example, this case included the overwhelming number of “dot-com” companies during the Internet boom. It should be noted that for companies that have placed their shares on the market, and in the USA, for example, these include the overwhelming majority largest companies, a big priority is interaction with shareholders, and only then with consumers.

In such more than general cases, we, strictly speaking, go beyond the boundaries of pure marketing, focused primarily on the consumer, and enter the areas of PR, maintaining communications, etc. Introducing the concept of “third force,” renowned business communications expert David Drobis writes on this topic: “The growing influence of special interest groups has led to an increased importance of trust in third forces. Today, recipients of information need confirmation that the source of information is trustworthy. Obtaining confirmation from a third party, such as large media organizations or professional trade organizations, leads to the fact that target audiences perceive it with greater confidence... Everyone must understand that the way a company responds to incoming information can do more harm or benefit to the company's reputation than all the controlled communications that the company has. It is necessary to fully understand the importance and role that third forces play in managing the perception of a company. Need to create strong connections and dialogue with groups that are important to the company. There is a need to fully understand the importance of third forces and the role they play in managing the perception of a company...PR is based on its ability to manage third forces. Moreover, PR has always focused on a two-step communication model, as part of a long-term dialogue to build relationships with target groups. PR professionals are in a better position to manage integrated communications because, compared to other communication disciplines, they are involved in almost every aspect of an organization's activities. It is their job to listen and respond to the entire spectrum of groups important to the organization” (D. Drobis).

The need to take this trend into account is emphasized by Ben Wightman: “Despite the fact that many are skeptical about the exclusion of marketing from the name, considering it only as a formal attempt to appease critics on the part of PR, the term IC has great prospects. This term was coined to symbolize a shift in focus to integrating communications with all groups associated with the company, not just customers." It is important to note that this formulation of the issue for Russia is perhaps even more relevant than for the West: it is the opportunity to build communication with authorities executive power, pressure groups, and the media may be more important for a company than direct work with customers, namely proper organization This process can give a company a competitive advantage.

Another impetus for the emergence of the term “integrated communications” was, in a sense, the excessive popularity of the term to the detriment of the content: “does not work because we could not decide whether it is a way to sell the services of advertising and PR agencies or whether it is a real, independent branch of knowledge in the field of communications" (D. Drobis). Experts also note serious problems in the application of IMC ideas: “companies find it difficult to successfully use them: budget restrictions, vertical communication within divided departments, management reluctance to wide changes, insufficient agreement on the issue of organizational structure.”

A well-known specialist in the field of integrated communications, D. Schultz, gives the following reasons for the emergence of the concept of “integrated communications”: “The need for change comes from two different but clear reasons. The first is external to the organization - this is information technology in all its variants. The second is internal - these are new requirements of company management for reporting and management in the field of communication.”

At the same time, I would like to note that integrated communications are an evolutionary development of the idea of integration: “...in the opinion of both practitioners and theorists, “nothing has changed” for them. Some practitioners believe that they have been practicing IC for many years. They combined advertising, product promotion, direct marketing and even PR into a common flow of communication aimed at the buyer and intended consumer through all forms of mass media” (D. Schultz). “While many view IC as a comparative new tool, others say that it has already existed for some time. Victoria From, creative director of WING Latino Group, believes that integrated communications is a pre-existing concept: “... for the last ten years we have been an integrated advertising agency, offering promotion, PR, research, etc.” Moreover, in some cases, the terms “integrated marketing communications” and “integrated communications” do not differentiate: “strategic alignment, however, is the focus of IMC, a term used on the marketing side, or IC, a term used on the PR side, and denotes all interactions a company or brand has with groups that are important to the company.”

Despite this, we can say that “integrated communications” have a number of differences from “integrated marketing communications”:

1. Consider one of the few clear definitions of integrated communications, which belongs to A. Gronstedt: “Integrated communications establish relationships with customers - it costs less to maintain loyal customers, they pay less attention to price, they are more willing to give recommendations to others. Integrated communications establish relationships with groups important to the company, which generates additional income through attracting investors, highly qualified personnel, positive media coverage and reduces the costs of regulatory sanctions, legal fees, and boycotts. Integrated communications are more effective because they give companies greater control over messages and touchpoints with recipients—customers and groups important to the company. This allows companies to better manage their relationships. Integrated communications are more efficient - they save time and money - efforts are focused - there is no duplication and wasted resources. Integrated communications create stronger connections with staff - influencing and giving meaning to their sentiments, smartly allocating human resources and providing them with the information they need to do their jobs."

He also proposed a visual model of “integrated communications”: “The model views your company as a triangle, with management at the top, middle staff in the middle and ordinary employees at the bottom. The triangle next to the back symbolizes the various groups important to the company: media, investors, government, local community, etc. Last triangle- buyers." Considering integration processes, A. Gronstedt divides them into three groups:

External integration - creating relationships and connections between the company and groups important to it, and between the company and customers;
vertical integration - integration of communications within the company in the direction from ordinary employees to senior management;
horizontal integration - communication between departments and people of the company at all levels (top management, middle management, ordinary employees). So, first of all, we see a clearer emphasis on the need to interact with all groups important to the company, without overwhelming priority to buyers, and a focus on integrated communications both externally and internally.

2. Another important difference is the new understanding of message consistency. Part of the concept of IMC was the principle of “one vision, one voice” or “messages intended for consumers and intermediaries (including investors, the media, employers, etc.) are no different from messages intended for other audiences.” At this stage, many experts in the field of “integrated communications” recognize the inadequacy of this approach: “The old approach was designed to make the organization look the same to everyone, and if successful, this would lead to consistency between the corporate view and the consumer view. But this approach leads to mass generalization, so that one message becomes so general that it loses its meaning for everyone. Traditional IMC has been frustrating for many organizations. Now, with IC or relationship management - as we define it at Price/McNabb - we call for a much more comprehensive strategy that requires using different messages to as many audiences as makes sense. Each of them must be consistent with the corporate brand.” “The fact that it is necessary to interact with so many audiences practically taking into account their individual characteristics is one of the fundamental changes that have occurred in the field of communications... control over communication has largely moved from the sender of the message to the recipient” (D. Drobis). “The goal will be to explore when, in what form, at what time, under what conditions and what customers want to hear. The message delivery system will be based on what customers want to hear, not on what we, the experts, want to tell them. This makes the concept much more complex than the simple combination and coordination of external communication programs in the desire to implement the principle of “one vision - one voice” (D. Schultz).

Basic elements of the concept and concept of “integrated communications”

So, integrated communications is a concept for managing communication of a particular structure, which is based on the following principles:

1. Accounting for all main sources of information about the organization and the subjects of its activities (including unorganized);
2. Integration of communications from these sources in various communication environments and using various communication technologies (PR, advertising, marketing, sales promotion, event organization, etc.) based on a coordinated approach;
3. An equal approach to managing communication with all groups important to the organization (consumers, shareholders, authorities, investors, staff, voters, etc.) - both within the organization itself and externally;
4. Ability to use consistent but different messages for different audiences;
5. Communication management is carried out on the basis of received data (about the audience, consumer, consumer behavior, competitors, taking into account various market factors, etc.)

The legality of applying the concept of “integrated communications”

Let us consider the question of the legality of applying the basic elements and approaches of the concept of “integrated communications” in relation to the political field, for which we will consider the legality of transferring each of its elements.

1. The principle of “Taking into account the main sources about the organization and the subjects of its activities” is transferred without reservation - it is obvious that it is as important for the political field as for the business field: even insignificant information about a particular politician, party or government activity can be extremely important for them.
2. In the use of various communication environments, we also do not see a significant difference between business and politics - spectrum various communications, used in each of the areas is so wide that in their diversity they practically coincide with each other.
3. A number of communication technologies are also, often without even changing the name, used both in business and in politics - PR, advertising, organizing special events, etc. (we will touch on the issue of marketing in politics separately).
4. There is also no question about the use of different messages for different audiences in the field of politics - this has long been part of political practice, technologies of election campaigns.
5. The principle of managing communications based on received data has also long been an integral part of political and electoral technologies - the practice of conducting surveys and other sociological research, measuring ratings, identifying target audiences, planning PR campaigns based on the analysis of these data has taken a strong place in politics.
6. In terms of the “approach to interaction in managing communications with all groups,” we see two parts: a part that is undoubtedly already used in politics and a part for which this issue needs to be considered in more detail.

The first part is related to issues of interaction with various groups important to the organization - most of these issues relate to the field of PR, which firmly occupies its place in politics; Some of the issues already lie in the sphere of politics - for example, interaction with government structures and various political or.

The second concerns the issue of communications with consumers, which cannot be transferred to the political sphere without a separate discussion and conceptual apparatus. So, for the legitimacy of considering the concept of “integrated communications” as a general approach, both for business and for politics, we only have to consider the issue of marketing and the analogue of the concept of “consumer” in politics.

Let's look at the various definitions of marketing. For example, the famous marketing specialist Leslie Gofton defines marketing as “the management process responsible for identifying, predicting and satisfying consumer needs in a profitable manner.” Big Soviet encyclopedia considers marketing as “one of the management systems of a capitalist enterprise, which involves careful consideration of the processes occurring in the market for making economic decisions”, “the purpose of marketing is to create conditions for adapting production to public demand, market requirements, to develop a system of organizational and technical measures for studying the market , intensification of sales, increasing the competitiveness of goods in order to obtain maximum profits.Main: studying demand, pricing issues, advertising and sales promotion, planning the product range, sales and trade operations, activities related to storage, transportation of goods, management of sales and commercial personnel, consumer service organization. The Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary also sees marketing as one of the “management systems for the production and marketing activities of enterprises and firms, based on a comprehensive market analysis. Includes the study and forecasting of demand, prices, organization of research and development work to create new types of products, advertising , coordination of intra-company planning and financing, etc." The Entrepreneur's Legal Dictionary defines marketing as "a complex system and principle of organization of research and development, production, sales and after sales service, depending on the requirements of real market demand and its development trends. Includes the study of markets, competitors, prices, supply and demand, the formation of an intra-company pricing policy, stimulation of demand and advertising, optimization of the structure, territorial location of production, sales and service services. The most important element of the management system."

Generalizing the concept of marketing from the point of view of communications, we can say that “practical marketing is a wide range of activities to conquer the market, create and maintain sustainable demand for products. This includes market research technologies, PR technologies, and technologies for creating a positive image organizations, and technologies for promoting goods through various means of marketing communications. General marketing activities also include the use of lobbying practices" /Analysis, forecast, technologies in modern politics/.

How legitimate is it to transfer marketing concepts and technologies into the political sphere?

Let us cite the opinion of the famous specialist in the field of marketing F. Kotler in relation to election campaigns: “Although between selling a candidate and stimulating retail sales soap or razor blades exist huge difference, some attributes of commercial advertising have become firmly established in the political process" /F. Kotler, Fundamentals of Marketing/. Moreover, it is on the transfer of a number of methods and principles of marketing that the approach of "political marketing" has been built, developing since the 50-60s: ".. .in the broadest sense, the concept of marketing in politics should be as follows: reflection of the interests of society in the goals and content of the work of the producer of a political product, which is a necessary condition for its stable position in the political market... Based on this, political marketing, that is, the use of marketing technologies in politics and public administration... is a complex of marketing technologies that have their own characteristics in terms of tasks, content and functional focus. The main marketing technologies in politics are: marketing technologies for researching the political market, PR technologies for maintaining communication in the political environment and forming public opinion, technologies for forming and maintaining a positive image of political subjects, technologies for political lobbying, etc.”

We have examined the applicability of other elements of the concept and concept of integrated marketing to the policy area. By considering the practice of "political marketing", taking into account the concept of "political goods" and considering the citizens of a society as conforming consumers of this product, we give meaning to the concept of "communication with a group of consumers" and show that the concept of "integrated communications" is applicable to the field of politics. According to the experts of the PR Management Consulting Group, using the concept of “integrated communications”, we have the opportunity to consider the impact on the necessary objects on the basis of a unified approach in politics, as in business, not only at the level of principles, but also on the basis of common technologies and techniques.

So, in this article we formulated the main elements of the concept of integrated communications, its difference from other trends, and also showed the legitimacy of considering it as a general approach not only to the field of business, but also to the field of politics.

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Levels of integrated marketing communications

All of the communication tools mentioned above work more effectively if they interact harmoniously rather than being isolated from each other. Their sum is greater than their individual components, but only if they constantly work in unison.

The effect can be even greater when integration goes beyond basic communication tools. There are many other levels of integration—horizontal, vertical, internal, external, and data integration. Let's look at how they can strengthen integrated communications.

Horizontal integration is formed in the field of marketing program programs, as well as in the field of activity of enterprise divisions. For example, production, financing, distribution and communications must interact and ensure that the appropriate messages are conveyed to consumers regarding decisions and actions taken.

In addition, different departments—sales, direct mail, and advertising—can also support each other in data integration. To do this, you need to create a marketing information system, which will collect and distribute relevant data among different departments.

Vertical integration implies that marketing and communication goals must support the corporation's goals and mission high level. Meanwhile, internal integration requires internal marketing - ensuring that staff are properly informed and motivated regarding new developments - from new advertising campaigns to new corporate identity principles, new service standards, new strategic partners, etc.

External integration requires maintaining relationships with external partners, for example, advertising and PR agencies, and close contacts with them to develop homogeneous solutions– linked messages – and complex messages.

Problems of integrated marketing communications

Despite the many benefits, integrated marketing communications also pose many barriers. In addition to the constant resistance to change, as well as the specific communication problems associated with different types target audience, there are many obstacles limiting the activities of IMC.

It can be:

vertical company structure
limitation of the creative process
time scale contradiction
lack of management know-how.

Take, for example, the vertical structure of a company. Rigid organizational structures are filled with managers who protect budgets and the fundamental principles of the organization. Unfortunately, in some organizations, communications, data, and even managers become isolated from each other.

For example, the PR department often does not provide reports to the marketing department. Salespeople rarely communicate with people from advertising or sales promotion departments, etc. Imagine what could happen if sellers were not informed about new promotional offers!

And all of this can be exacerbated by internal wars when individual managers refuse to consider other opinions (or budget constraints) under the influence of an employee working in another department.

In this regard, two questions arise:

What does a truly integrated marketing department look like?
How might this impact creativity?

It usually doesn't matter who comes up with a certain creative idea, but sometimes it can be important. The advertising agency may not be enthusiastic about creative idea, born, for example, a PR or marketing consultant.

An integrated marketing communications system can limit creativity. There will no longer be any wild and eccentric promotions unless they are in accordance with overall strategy marketing communications.

Unbridled creativity may now be somewhat more restrained, but the creative task at hand can be more complex and effective if it is more capacious, complex and creative.

If you set different time limits for different creative tasks, you will see how forecasting horizons pose an additional barrier to the implementation of IMC.

For example, imagine that an advertising campaign design designed to support a brand over a long period conflicts with a promotion or sales promotion program intended to last longer. short term and designed to increase the level of quarterly sales.

However, these two objectives can be aligned with each other if the overall integrated marketing communications mix is carefully planned.

However, this type of planning is not generally accepted. The results of a study of the situation in the mid-90s demonstrated that most managers did not have experience in the field of IMC. And these were not only individual managers, but even entire agencies.

The number of agencies specializing in providing one service has grown rapidly. There are too few people left with experience managing all marketing disciplines as a whole. The lack of know-how was followed by a lack of desire to work in the field.

Today, understanding the barriers is the first step towards successful implementation of BCI.

10 golden rules of integrated marketing communications

With the Ten Golden Rules of Integration, you can determine whether you could create end-to-end communications and ensure they remain seamlessly connected.

#1 To get senior managers to support the initiative, make sure they understand the benefits of IMC.

#2 Integration should be carried out at different levels of management. Incorporate the issue of integration into the agenda of various management team meetings, whether annual reviews or creative sessions.

Horizontal - Make sure all managers, not just marketing managers, understand the importance of consistent messaging - both at the vehicle level and at the product quality level.

Also make sure that advertising, PR, and sales promotion staff unify their messages. To do this, you need to carefully plan internal communications, that is, conduct good internal marketing.

#3 Make sure the design guide or even the brand book promotes common visual standards when using logos, fonts, colors, etc.

#4 Focus on a clear marketing communications strategy. Establish crystal clear communication goals, clear positioning objectives, and link core values to all communications.

Ensure that all communications enhance (not detract from) the brand or organization. Explore areas of sustainable competitive advantage.

#5 Start with a zero budget. Start at the starting point. Develop a new communications plan. Determine what you need to do to achieve your goals. Are the budget funds allocated to you really less than those needed? That is, do you need to identify priority areas for communication activities?

Develop a sequence of communications activities that will help the consumer easily move through all stages.

#7 Create connections and reinforce brand values. All communications should help establish stronger connections with consumers. Find out how each communication tool can do this. Remember: retaining an existing customer is just as important as winning a new one.

#8 Build a robust marketing information system that allows you to determine who needs what information, when, and when. A consumer database, for example, can be useful in telesales, direct marketing and sales activities. Integrated marketing communications can help identify, collect and disseminate vital information.

#9 Combine creative activities with other media. Determine how, for example, the advertising image can be used in direct mail campaigns, exhibition stands, Christmas greeting cards, news releases and websites.

#10 Be ready to change everything. Study for own experience. Constantly search for the optimal marketing program.

Thus, integrated marketing communications is systems approach in running a business, allowing you to make maximum use of all the business tools available today.

P.S. Want to know which business ideas make money? Watch this video!

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