Integrated Marketing Communications
Dr Omar Merlo
[Link]@[Link]
Course schedule, topics and readings
Session Topic Indicative content Case Study
Lecture 1 Fundamentals of Defining marketing and IMC [Link]
Customer value and customer relevancy in communications
13 March IMC The marketing mix and IMC
2 pm The fundamental tools of IMC and touch points
Lecture 2 The IMC Situation analysis Swatch
The consumer decision making process
17 March planning process Segmentation, targeting and positioning
7 pm
(Part 1) Jaka Levstek guest lecture
Lecture 3 The IMC Establishing communications objectives Old Spice
The communications process
20 March planning process Establishing distinctiveness
2 pm
(Part 2) Konstantin Theile guest lecture
Lecture 4 The IMC Creative strategy Mountain Dew
Media selection
24 March programme and Traditional marketing communications
7 pm
creativity Selecting creative output in IMC
Lecture 5 Digital Digital and online communications Molson
Non-traditional marketing
27 March marketing Dealing with customer apathy
2 pm Social media marketing
Lecture 6 Global marketing Global advertising and promotion Harmonie Water
IMC across borders
31 March communications Jaka Levstek guest lecture
7 pm
Lecture 7 Final
8 May
presentations
2 pm
2
The IMC programme
• Developing the IMC programme involves:
(a) Deciding the role and importance of each promotional-mix element
(b) Deciding on the key aspects of the communications approach:
1. Creative strategy: Determining the basic appeal and message to be
conveyed to target audience.
2. Media strategy: Determining which communication channels to use to deliver
the message.
3
Creative strategy
• Determines what the message will say or communicate: What is the big idea at the
heart of the story you want to tell?
• Influences the creative tactics: How will the message strategy be executed?
• Creativity in advertising: The ability to generate fresh, unique, and appropriate ideas
that can be used as solutions to communication problems. Has two main determinants:
1. Divergence
2. Relevance
4
Advertising creativity: 1. Divergence
• The extent to which an ad contains elements that are novel, different, or unusual.
• May be achieved through:
1. Originality
2. Flexibility
3. Elaboration
4. Synthesis
5. Artistic value
5
Advertising creativity: 2. Relevance
• The extent to which elements of an ad are meaningful, useful, or valuable to the
consumer.
• May be achieved through:
1. Ad-to-consumer relevance—Ad contains execution elements that are meaningful
to consumers.
2. Brand-to-consumer relevance—Advertised brand of product or service is of
personal interest to consumers.
6
Advertising creativity
• Studies of advertising creativity show that:
• Creativity impacts consumers’ responses across various stages of response
hierarchy.
• It draws more attention to the advertised brand, higher levels of recall, greater
motivation to process the information, and deeper levels of processing.
• Divergence is achieved through novelty/originality and/or elaboration is particularly
important.
7
Building brand equity through IMC
Customer-based brand equity has two key elements:
Strong,
High level of
favourable, and
awareness and
unique brand
familiarity
associations
8
Branding relies on story-telling through IMC
Consider this example…
9
Telling a powerful and consistent story
Brand archetypes
• When telling a story, relying on a pattern we are all familiar with, or a
mental image present in the collective unconscious (an archetype) can
simplify story-telling.
• Brand archetypes can help you tell your story in a form that everyone
recognises.
• The most effective stories are forged best by identifying solidly with just
one archetype.
10
Telling a powerful and consistent story
The brand archetypes framework
Compelled to create Seeks purity, goodness
and innovate and happiness
Takes control, Helps people to
creates order understand their world
Helps and protects Explores and
from harm discovers
OK as they are, Rebels and breaks
connects with others the rules
Has a god time but
conveys serious Transforms situations
message
Finds and gives love Acts courageously to
and sensual pleasure put things right
11
Brand archetypes
Examples
12
Telling the story in the IMC programme
The language of brand archetypes
The brand and
the archetype it
evokes should Create, innovate, vision,
Purity, goodness,
determine your invent, inspire, dream,
fantasy, experiment,
happiness, simple, trust,
honesty, rebirth,
story telling, the unconventional, beauty,
aesthetic
perfectionist, naïve, mystic
content of your Control, order, authority, Knowledge, wisdom,
power, substance, expert, truth, think,
message, the impressive, organiser, understand, interpret,
language and responsible, boss progress, mentor, teach
images you use, Care, help, protect, Discover, seek, wander,
etc. comfort, nurture, parent,
support, affection,
find out, adventure,
individual, pioneer,
empathy, commitment, freedom, risk, fearless,
friendly, concern. curious, experience
Rule breaker, rebel,
Connect, belong, friend,
revolutionary, disrupt,
down to earth, functional,
destroy, outrageous,
wholesome, realist, team
radical, unconventional,
spirit, unpretentious
outsider
Live for the moment, Vision, transform, change,
impulsive, entertain, win-win, charisma,
playful, clever, outrageous, miracles, makes dreams
light-hearted, fun. come true
Courage, challenge,
Partner, intimate, harmony,
competition, strong, powerful,
pleasure, intimacy, beautiful,
determination, prevail,
relationship, attractive,
persevere, warrior,
passion, gratitude, friendship
turnaround
13
The importance of keeping IMC focused and consistent
14
Examples of brand archetypes
Personal brand reinvention
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15
The brand equity pyramid
A framework to build brand equity
4. RELATIONSHIPS
RESONANCE What about you & me?
EMOTIONAL ROUTE
RATIONAL ROUTE
3. RESPONSE
JUDGMENTS FEELINGS What about you?
2. MEANING
PERFORMANCE IMAGERY What are you?
1. IDENTITY
SALIENCE
Who are you?
16
1. Identity
Salience dimensions
• There are two key elements:
1. Depth of brand awareness
• Ease of recognition and recall
2. Breadth of brand awareness
• Consumptions situations
17
2. Meaning
Performance dimensions
• Primary characteristics & supplementary features
• Product reliability, durability, and serviceability
• Service effectiveness, efficiency, and empathy
• Style and design
• Price
18
2. Meaning
Imagery dimensions
• The second type of brand meaning is concerned primarily with:
– User profiles
– Purchase & usage situations
– Personality and values
– History, heritage, & experiences
19
The brand equity pyramid
Response dimensions
4. RELATIONSHIPS
RESONANCE What about you & me?
3. RESPONSE
JUDGMENTS FEELINGS What about you?
2. MEANING
PERFORMANCE IMAGERY What are you?
1. IDENTITY
SALIENCE
Who are you?
20
3. Response
Judgment dimensions
• Personal opinions and evaluations of the brand based on the
following factors:
– Brand quality
– Brand credibility
– Brand consideration
– Brand superiority
21
3. Response
Feelings dimensions
• The emotional responses and reactions to the brand, which may involve
the following factors:
– Warmth
– Fun
– Excitement
– Security
– Social approval
– Self-respect
22
The brand equity pyramid
Relationship dimensions
4. RELATIONSHIPS
RESONANCE What about you & me?
3. RESPONSE
JUDGMENTS FEELINGS What about you?
2. MEANING
PERFORMANCE IMAGERY What are you?
1. IDENTITY
SALIENCE
Who are you?
23
4. Brand relationships dimensions
Resonance
• The ultimate relationship and level of identification that the
customer has with the brand.
– Behavioral loyalty
– Attitudinal attachment
– Sense of community
– Active engagement
24
The brand equity pyramid
Identifying branding objectives
Brand managers should aim
to develop…
…intense, active
loyalty
RESONANCE
…positive,
accessible
JUDGMENTS FEELINGS reactions
…points of parity
and difference
PERFORMANCE IMAGERY
…deep and broad
SALIENCE brand awareness
25
Designing the creative message
The ELM and the Transformational/Informational models of advertising
Low involvement purchases
Positive purchase motivation
Negative appeals
Peripheral Transformational
Route to persuasion Positive appeals
Central Informational
High involvement purchases
Negative purchase motivation
26
27
Evaluating brand communications
How do we assess creative output?
• What decision criteria do you think are important in evaluating a
brand’s advertising?
28
Evaluating Brand Communications
The Mountain Dew case study
• What decision criteria do you think are important in evaluating a
brand’s advertising?
• Evaluate the following ads:
1. Dew or Die
2. Cheetah
3. Labor of Love
4. Mock Opera
5. Showstopper
• Which ad do you think is best? Propose only one ad for screening
during the Super Bowl
29
