Many marketing professionals are eager to make history and hope to be the world’s first person to integrate digital CD/DVD/Blu-ray Disc solution into the brand’s integrated marketing communications (IMC). Can they? You will find out the answer after reading this article. If they just “put it together and make it work” (Don E. Schultz , Stanley I. Tannenbaum and Robert F. Lauterborn, 1993), they can’t be the world’s first person. Why? It is because they are not a good IMC symphony player. “The World Is Flat” (Thomas Friedman) and everything is digital. Probably you can deliver your message to target audiences through advertising, public relations, personal selling, sales promotion, direct response, event marketing, Internet marketing, social media, sponsorship and database marketing. Can you integrate all IMC elements, promotion mix into marketing mix (6 P: product, price, place, promotion, politics and public relations), corporate vision & mission, business goals and marcom goals? Can they integrate digital CD/DVD/Blu-ray Disc into the traditional promotion mix? Can they employ CD/DVD/Blu-ray Disc to take the lead to integrate with other marketing tools? How to play a real digital IMC symphony? The real IMC symphony elements may include integrated marketing communications (IMC), marketing, branding, 4 P’s, positioning, market segmentation, 4 C’s, 3-D communications, consistency, interaction, single-minded voice, coordination, interrelation, cohesion and synergy. Many marketing professionals only specialize one or two of the promotion tools and they don’t know to create, develop, manage and execute a real IMC plan. That is why it is not easy to be the world’s first person.
In 1993 when I established South China’s first foreign marketing public relations company (Guangzhou Office of world-class top-10 PR communication agency) approved by the Guangzhou Commission for Foreign Economic Relations and Trade, “Father of IMC” Don E. Schultz published the very first book on the concept of IMC together with Stanley I. Tannenbaum and Robert F. Lauterborn: Putting It Together and Making It Work. In 2004 when I went to Hong Kong Baptist University to do a Master of Arts in communication, Don E. Schultz and his wife Heidi Schultz published “IMC, The Next Generation: Five Steps for Delivering Value and Measuring Returns Using Marketing Communication”. The whole IMC theory was created and developed. But, is it just a beautiful concept? Can we use the theory to deliver value? Which promotion tool should take the lead when playing IMC symphony? Can they work together in harmony? Can digital disc take the lead to integrate with other promotion tools in digital times? Can you become the world’s first person who can integrate CD/DVD/Blu-ray Disc with other marketing tools? Why not contact Sam Hui who can help you make things happen?
When you use a disc to deliver your World Cup promotional message to your target audiences, when your audiences use Blu-ray Disc’s BD-Live function to enjoy the worldwide TV channels World Cup match, when your audiences use BD-Live to see your advertisement and promotional message from the worldwide TV channels, when your audiences use BD-Live to play popular games relating to your branding and World Cup promotional messages, when you can use digital disc to interact with your target audiences, when your target audiences use a digital disc to get involved in your all well-planned advertising, public relations, personal selling, sales promotion, direct response, event marketing and internet marketing, when you use a disc to promote your brand or new product road show, when you tell journalists that you are the world’s first person to use disc to do digital IMC campaign at the press conference, when all promotion mix, marketing mix and your business goals are integrated to “provide clarity, consistency, and maximum communication impact” (The American Association of Advertising Agencies) and to “plan, develop, execute and evaluate coordinated, measurable, persuasive brand communication programs over time with consumers, prospects, and other targeted, relevant external and internal audiences” (Don E. Schultz, Heidi F. Schultz, 2004), it is all about IMC and it is all about how you can be a world’s first person to use digital disc to do IMC campaign in our digital times.
What is the definition of IMC? Please see:
“IMC is a strategic business process used to plan, develop, execute and evaluate coordinated, measurable, persuasive brand communication programs over time with consumers, prospects and other targeted, relevant external and internal audiences.” (Don E. Schultz, Heidi F. Schultz, 2004)
“IMC recognizes the value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication disciplines – advertising, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion – and combines them to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum communication impact.” (The American Association of Advertising Agencies)
When we play IMC symphony, please do remember the keywords like objective, target audience, integration, interaction, interrelation, cohesion, synergy, clarity, consistency, relevancy, single-minded voice, “one voice, one look”, horizontal integration, vertical integration, internal integration, external integration, data integration, harmony, relationship marketing, branding, sensory, affective and creative associations. They are the soul of IMC.
We can’t be “master of the game” if we just focus on the ” four P’s theory” which was very hot in 1960 and the “positioning theory” (Jack Trout, Al Ries, 1972). George E. Belch and Michael A. Belch (2004) described the evolution of IMC. During 1980s many marketing practitioners realized the value of the integration of their promotional tools and showed much interest in the process of IMC and the coordination of all promotional elements. Belch’s discussion & the concept of the process and the coordination are important because IMC is not just the integration of messages but also the integration of process and coordination.
Tom Duncan and Sandra Moriarty (1992) stated that messages could be developed by three levels including corporate, marketing and marketing communications since all levels are related to communication dimensions. They emphasized that practitioners need to create coherent perceptions among customers and other stakeholders and it requires integration of all marcom’s messages and the functions of ad agencies, public relations firms, sales promotion specialists, package design firms, direct-response specialists and interactive agencies. I think that it is not easy to coordinate the functions of various promotional facilitators because they come from different companies and each of them is good at own area only. Who can take the lead to integrate the message, process, coordination and function effectively and efficiently? It is a big question. Can you solve this question?
Tom Brannan (1995, 1998) described that you need to develop a single-minded message and apply it to each matter with best creative ideas. That is what IMC means. He asked a good question: is integration always necessary? His answer is yes and no. How about your answer?
Esther Thorson and Jeri Moore (1996) pointed out several questions about IMC. It needs to know the interrelation among various media communication tools and it is important to know which tool should take the lead. My question is: can disc take the lead? Tom Duncan and Clake Caywood (1992) pointed out the IMC with seven stages including awareness integration, image integration, function integration, coordination integration, consumer focus integration, stakeholder focus integration and relationship management integration. I think that relationship integration is the ultimate goal. Don Schultz and Heidi Schultz (2004) pointed out that the next generation IMC will develop from communication tactic to profit building strategy. The drivers of IMC include technology, branding, globalization and new challenges. They discussed about the five major changes – “a move to brands and branding, a five step implementation process, a focus on individuals, not market segments, a move toward measurement and accountability and a global approach.” They continued to stress the customer-centric approach and the Total Customer Experience. They realized that it is also extremely important to develop good horizontal communication systems and to work together with external communication groups.
Are you interested in 3D movies? IMC also has 3D concept developed by Anders Gronstedt (2000). Let’s see his IMC definition first: “Integrated communication is the strategic management process of facilitating a designed meaning of the company and its brands by creating unity of effort at every point of contact with key customers and stakeholders for the purpose of building profitable relationships with them.” Probably that is why he developed integrated communication in 3D. The first dimension is integrated external communications, the second dimension is integrated communications and the third dimension is integrated horizontal communications.
Tony Yeshin (1998) stressed that “IMC aims to ensure cohesion and the delivery of a single-minded message to the target audience.” Yeshin stated that IMC means a centralized messaging function to communicate a common theme and positioning. Now it is time for you to play commercial disc…
Let’s see how we help make your dream come true. We are your strategic communications partner who can help you achieve your business goals and objectives through the high quality and cost-effective digital multimedia approach. PrimeDisc is a leading global one-stop service provider of CD/DVD/Blu-ray Disc solutions. PrimeDisc Group covers the markets in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America and has production sites in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China.
As a strategic partner of lots of multinationals and world-class brands, PrimeDisc can help clients deliver the key message your marketing content solutions to your target markets via the most cost-effective and powerful optical media solutions. Most importantly, PrimeDisc can help you make history and boost your sales and profits rapidly through IMC approach. Please free to get back in touch with Sam Hui (samhui@primedisc.com.hk) if you love to hear more on how you can make things happen. Please remember to share your dream through the popular social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Articlesbase, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, Wikipedia, Blog, Pigg, Delicious and Stumbleupon. Enjoy and take action now…
Topic: blu ray disc, don e schultz, fifa world cup, integrated marketing communications, market segmentation, media sponsorship, robert f lauterborn, stanley i tannenbaum, thomas friedman, traditional promotion