Integrated Marketing Communications: Understanding the Premise, Fulfilling the Promise Gary Bridi, Managing Director, S&H NJ Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is not a new idea. But while it has been discussed in academic and industry circles since the early 90s, its full benefit in the marketplace has gone unrealized. In the IMC world, promotional spending yields a greater return for every dollar spent. Customers are surrounded by coordinated communications, delivered only through relevant media. Communication is a two-way street, so customer responses are captured and used to continue the dialogue between a brand and its customer. Defining IMC There are as many definitions of IMC as there are marketing communications textbooks and business articles. That said, most highlight the following needs: customer-centric planning, relevance of media, message consistency across media, customer-relationship building, and affecting customer behavior — the ultimate goal. • Customer-Centric Planning. IMC recognizes that different customers have different needs. Therefore, different messages and media may be appropriate for different customer segments. Research should determine the most appropriate message and delivery medium for customer segments. • Relevance of Media. IMC employs the most relevant forms of contact for a given customer segment as determined in customer research. Therefore, media are not predetermined in the planning process. Surrounding customers with relevant brand messages (also called 360˚ branding) allows customers to gather, process, and use the information in a way that is most useful to them. • Message Consistency Across Media. IMC achieves synergy through consistency across media. All elements of the communications plan — sales calls, advertising, conventions, etc. — should present unified brand messages and branding. • Customer-Relationship Building. IMC builds relationships between a brand and its customers. Relationship-building requires two-way communication, which should be facilitated through a database that captures customer contacts, messages, and feedback. • Affecting Customer Behavior. Simply raising brand awareness is not enough. Some form of customer action must by elicited by the communication. IMC is a marketing methodology that relies on customer insight and feedback to deliver integrated, coordinated, two-way communications to customers and elicits a behavioral response. The end benefit for marketers is a bigger bang for their promotional buck. Adopting IMC Pharmaceutical companies, like those in many other industries, have had marketing departments structured on functional responsibilities. Certain individuals are responsible for sales representative materials, others for advertising, others for medical education, and so forth. Responsible groups do not always talk to each other, or talk well, resulting in inconsistent, uncoordinated messages. The same holds true for ad agencies. Many lack the capabilities to deliver an integrated campaign. Although many have added consumer and e-media divisions, their core competencies remain in developing sales literature and advertising. Considering the wide array of media that can be relevant to customers — CME, event marketing, PR, direct mail, telemarketing, database marketing, etc. — there are many possibilities that require integration. Delivering IMC Many ad agencies claim to have “strategic partners” to handle areas outside their comfort zones. They do this in the hope of reassuring their clients that integration will occur (when it well may not). True, full-service agencies are part of integrated global networks, which include companies under the same reporting structure that come together in a seamless alignment of resources to deliver a coordinated campaign for clients. It is important to understand the true capabilities of any agency and network members before considering them for an assignment. Marketers need to know if the network is capable of working as one unit or if they are, in fact, separate nonaffiliated “strategic partners” that require a great deal of client oversight to ensure integration. Questions to Ask a Prospective Agency 1. Has the agency demonstrated the ability to deliver integrated programs globally? 2. Are the agency network members competent in their respective disciplines? 3. Is the agency network aligned in a reporting structure so that each company reports into a global network leader? 4. Can the agency demonstrate multiple instances where network affiliates with different disciplines have worked together successfully? Sudler & Hennessey New Jersey, a Sudler & Hennessey company, is a full-service healthcare marketing communications agency. For more information, call Gary Bridi at (908) 673-1717. September 2005 VIEW on Marketing Agency Services

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