Question

Marketing Communications Mix:On page 560 the marketing communications mix is defined in terms of eight modes of communications. These eight models include: Advertising; public relations; sales promotion; events & experiences; online and social media; mobile marketing; direct and database marketing; and personal selling.

Select a favorite brand that you have purchased. Find two communications modes used by your chosen brand and share with us what you can from each communication (show links to ads, promotions, PR, etc). How were you influenced by the communication? What other communication mode would you recommend they use and why?

Answer 1

IMC or Integrated marketing communication is the marketing strategic plan, which is used by the marketing executives of a company, to brand the company’s offerings, promote them in the market and create comprehensive awareness about the features and functionality of the various products. Usually there are 6 critical elements in an IMC:

• Public Relations
• Advertising
• Sales promotions
• Personal Selling
• Events and experiences
• Direct and database marketing
• Mobile marketing
• Online and social media

The core objective or fundamental ideology with which a IMC plan for a product is developed by the company, is that the various modes or channels of the company’s communication strategy to the outside world, must collaborate and work in alignment to the culture of the company, in order to propagate and make the company brand, more strong and popular among the masses. IMC plans help in adding value to the business strategy by bringing the desired visibility to the products and services offered by the company.

Companies like Coca Cola capitalize on the potential of IMC to project its offerings in the market and increase the overall awareness level among consumers. Promotions opportunity analysis is conducted by the marketing department of the company to identify the target customers for the products and services, offered by the company. The marketing team tries to identify and grab the prevalent market opportunities for the product. Based on the market opportunities, the target customers for the product is identified and dedicated promotional plan is developed to attract the customer, towards the product. Coca Cola has integrated the following elements of IMC in its promotional activities:

• Online and social media marketing: The company has a dedicated website where the initiatives and new offerings of the company can be shared with the public. The company is quite active on social media platforms. The objective here is to attract the attention of the millennials.
• Public Relations: The company is known for interacting with customers on various public platforms

The social media marketing used by Coca Cola is quite interesting. The company comes up with innovative ways to create awareness among the consumers and keep them loyal to the brand.

As Coca Cola is a youth centric beverage company, they can focus on the millennials by indulging in events and experiences mode of communication. The company can organize events and competitions for the school kids and college students. This can be a great platform to interact with the customers and make them loyal to the brand.