Integrated Communication

8	Integrated Marketing Communication: Examining Planning and Executional Considerations

Lisa A. PetrisonPaul WangNorthwestern University

INTRODUCTION

Integrated marketing—or the idea that all the marketing activities conducted by a particular company should be consistent or coordinated—is hardly a new concept. The issue has been a recurring theme in the marketing industry for at least 25 years, and last became of particular interest in the mid-1970s, when the theory of some practitioners was that rather than sticking with only one activity (such as advertising or direct marketing), maximum effectiveness could be obtained by combining a variety of approaches (4).

The issue of integration has reemerged during the past few years, at least in ...