Integrated Communication

18	The Circle of Synergy: Synergy Theoretical Perspectives and an Evolving IMC Research Agenda

Sandra E. MoriartyUniversity of Colorado

The idea behind integrated marketing communication (IMC) is coordination of messages for maximum impact. This impact is created through synergy—linkages created in a receiver’s mind as a result of messages that connect. Synergy suggests that an entire structure of messages—with its links and repetition—creates impact beyond the power of any one message on its own and this happens even in situations where there might be little attention paid to conventional advertising. Integration occurs at several levels—in strategy and planning, in conceptually linked executions, and in coordinated uses of traditional and ...