What is Integrated Marketing?
By Jennifer
Nonprofits today have a flood of choices when determining the best way to communicate with their donors and publics.Email advertising… Press Releases… Direct Mail Postcards… Radio ads?
Choosing the right option at the right time can be confusing and overwhelming. But worst of all - it can be ineffective. Combined correctly, however, they can become the ultimate communications campaign to increase donations, sell a product - or even get publicity (free media coverage!)
Integrated Marketing Campaigns are when an organization strategically unites all of the forms of communication so that messages and campaigns are consistent and more effective.
The Trend
Large companies often have two or three different communications branches: Marketing, Advertising and/or Public Relations. Let’s look at the differences:
Marketing:
Planning and implementing a mix of activities involved in the transfer of goods from the organization to the client. Examples: advertising, shipping, packaging, selling.
Advertising: A paid, public, non-personal, persuasive message by an organization to existing and potential clients. Examples: radio, television and pop-up ads.
Public Relations: The methods and activities used to establish and promote relationships with all of an organization’s publics. Publics include all the people who share a common interest with an organization, like customers, donors, employees, community leaders, the media, competitors, etc. Examples: donor development, media relations, crisis management.While the goal of Advertising and Marketing branches is to sell a product or service, Public Relations focuses mainly on relationships between the organization and those key publics and stakeholders. All of these branches play an important role in the growth of an organization.
The importance of integration (IMC)
With three branches going in all different directions, you can imagine how it would become difficult to have one goal. And with the branches not working together properly, a company’s relationship with its audience could be permanently damaged.
The solution? Integrated Marketing Campaigns.
Looking Out for Your Publics
Imagine your audience sitting in front of the television or surfing online—if they see your TV commercial or pass their mouse over a banner ad, no one stops to recognize the particular work of either the marketing, advertising or pubic relations department. What consumers recognize is limited to the company name, logo and basic idea. The best way to make the consumer’s connection with your company stronger is to keep everything consistent.
IMC and Your Nonprofit
You don’t have to hire an expensive company to conduct your IMC campaign. In fact, you don’t even have to major in communications to use this method! You can start with a few simple tools and a team dedicated to success.
Tool 1:
Media Planning Guide>The market strategy and planning worksheet available to our newsletter subscribers will take you through a six step method to outline your situation, strategy, identify your tactics and how to evaluate its effectiveness. Go to www.nonprofit-expressions.com/media-guide.html for your free copy.
Tool 2:
Putting It Together and Making It Work from Amazon.com>There are endless books on IMC and the method. Go to this Amazon.com book link for one example.
Tool 3
: Integrated Marketing White Paper>Integrated Online Marketing with Direct Mail Fundraising (Adding a New Communication and Donation Channel Increases Donations). Read the White Paper here.
Tool 4
: The Nonprofit Expressions Method of IMC>Nonprofit Expressions is not an advertising company. We are not a web design company. We are not a market research company. Nonprofit Expressions is in the business of communication. We want to make sure you know your audience and that your audience knows you, whether your target public is a businessman looking to support your ministry, or an internal support staff member. Nothing will happen without relationships and relationships are impossible without communication.For a free communications assessment or a complete list of resources, please contact the author at jennifer@nonprofit-expressions.com.
January 2nd, 2008 at 6:52 am
Sorry, but I have to disagree with your definition of “integrated marketing”. What you describe is “integrated marketing communication” which is just a small corner of the “integrated marketing” world.
In simple terms, integrated marcoms is about conveying a promise while integrated marketing is that plus the delivery of the promise, which is a far bigger subject. In fact, coms is just a tool that we use in the marketing process.
I’m in the middle of a discussion on another blog about this subject. The point being raised there is that client organisations are turning their backs on the integrated marketing proposition because it hasn’t worked for them. The reason, as I see it, for the failure is that the proposition has been made by marketing services firms such as advertising agencies who also have misrepresented the subject. Clients have been buying “integrated marketing” and when they got it home discovered that they only had “integrated marketing communications”.
To make matters worse advertising agencies aren’t equipped to provide marketing, integrated or any other kind.
See “Integrated marketing - if you don’t know what it is you probably aren’t doing it” and some of the other posts on my blog.
January 2nd, 2008 at 11:42 am
Thank you for pointing out the difference between the IM campaign and the communications aspect. You are correct when you say that we are describing the communications process, and do not touch on the delivery of the product. Although I believe that part of communications is the quality control of the service or product.
The bottom line is that nonprofits can communicate more effectively if they combine their efforts into one central campaign. In fact, we don’t even necessarily suggest outsourcing the IMC - there are so many simple tools you can use to create a more effective organization who is in touch with all publics and potential donors.