Digital Campaigns and IMC: Revolutionising Customer Connections

Welcome back to weekly marketing digest! In this week’s blog post, we’ll be discussing the fascinating world of digital campaigns and integrated marketing communications (IMC) – a game changer for business owners in the way they connect with customers

So exactly what is IMC you may ask?

IMC, as defined by the American Marketing Association is a planning process designed to ensure all brand messages are consistent throughout your business media channels. Traditional IMC consists of both digital and traditional elements. IMC encourages businesses to be consistent and clear across multiple communication channels. There are many other benefits of IMC, but it’s important to realise that without consistency across media channels, your customers will be confused.

The evolution of IMC

Nowadays, the IMC paradigm has shifted, giving consumers significant power, which has driven the emergence of ‘negotiated brands. In this shift, we can see consumers and businesses co-create value together (Vollero et al 2018), which highlights the need for hybrid communication mix. Inviting customers to participate in design or problem-solving process is an effective way to produce a mutually valued outcome. Co creation has been implemented successfully by companies such as IKEA, LEGO , DeWalt, Heineken, Coca-Cola and many more.

The hybrid communication mix combines mass media advertising with user-generated content from brand communities, making it an essential component of IMC in response-driven categories. A great example is Coca-Cola’s ‘Liquid & Linked’ Initiative, which successfully blends traditional advertising with digital channels (Parfitt, 2011).

Delivering a Successful IMC Campaign

Building a successful IMC campaign involves the following steps:

1. Establish your overarching campaign goal
2. Choose your marketing channels and set goals for each one
3. Define your buyer personas by channel
4. Identify your channel managers
5. Create adaptable marketing assets and messaging
6. Establish your plan for collecting leads
7. Launch, measure, and iterate your campaign

If you want to learn more about these steps and the ramifications of common IMC mistakes click here

Digital campaigns and IMC have revolutionised the way we connect with our customers. Implementing IMC strategies can create stronger customer relationships, increase brand value, and achieve long-term success. So, go ahead and embrace the power of IMC to foster meaningful and consistent connections across a range of channels with your customers!