Marketing Plans, 9th Edition

CHAPTER 7THE INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN

SUMMARY

• Defining communications objectives
• Designing the customer journey
• Choosing the communications mix
• Detailed communications planning
• Digital communications
• Sales promotion
• Public relations
• Sponsorship
• Exercises to turn the theory into practice

INTRODUCTION

Now that we have explored the central area of marketing objectives and strategies, let us turn our attention to the question of how we communicate with customers, both current and potential. See Figure 7.1 for a summary of how the integrated marketing communications plan fits in with the wider marketing plan.

The number of ways of communicating with customers has increased dramatically with the profusion of digital channels, although it is still possible to distinguish the following two main categories of communications:

1. Impersonal communications, e.g. offline advertising, point-of-sale displays, sales promotions, public relations and digital ads including display ads, search engine ads and paid social ads.

   

   Figure 7.1: Integrated marketing communications in the context of the marketing planning process.

2. Personal communications, e.g. sales meetings, personal emails, online chat and company moderated online forums.

Another important distinction is between broadcast media, such as traditional television, radio and press advertising, and interactive ...