Chapter 16: IMC Management
All of these approaches fall into three groups: 1) tight central international control,
2) centralized resources with moderate control, or 3) a match of the client’s
organization – if the client is highly centralized, then the agency account structure
will be highly centralized.
Strategic Decisions
The problem of managing brand consistency limits most objectives to awareness and
recall, two effective yet easily attainable marketing communication measures, although
more specific objectives may be needed in individual markets.
Setting the Budget
All of the budgeting techniques previously mentioned apply to foreign markets. When
preparing a single plan for multiple markets, many companies use an objective-task
budgeting approach that entails a separate budget for each foreign market. This
technique adds some flexibility to localize campaigns as needed.
However, local practices also may affect the budget decision. Most notably, the
exchange rate from country to country may affect not only the amount of money
spent in a particular market but also the timing of the expenditures.
Central Control versus Local Adaptation
How are global campaigns created? International advertising campaigns have two
basic starting points: (1) success in one country and (2) a centrally conceived strategy.
Planning approaches also include variations on the central campaign and bottom-up
creativity.
Local initiative. A successful campaign conceived for national application is
Centrally conceived campaigns. The second approach, a centrally conceived
campaign, was pioneered by Coca-Cola and is now used increasingly in global
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Variations on central campaigns. Variations on the centrally conceived campaign
also exist. The office that develops the approved campaign would be designated the
lead agency. It would develop all of the necessary elements of the campaign and
prepare a standards manual for use in other countries. Because photography, artwork,
television production, and color printing are costly, developing these items in one
location and then overlaying new copy or re-recording the voice track in the local
language saves money.
Executing an International Campaign
The execution of a global campaign is usually more complex than a national plan.
The creative may need to be reshot with local models and settings, as well as
language translation. Language is always a problem for a campaign that is dependent
on words rather than visuals as the primary meaning carrier. A team of language
experts may be needed to adjust the terms and carry over the meanings in the
different languages.
Social responsibility is taken seriously in some countries and with the internet and
email, consumer concerns can create a huge issue. For example, consumers in Spain,
Italy, and the United States complained that the ad trivialized violence against
women, and the many email complaints led the company to drop it.
The IMC Factor in International Campaign Planning
To create a coherent brand impression on the global level requires horizontal and
vertical coordination. The vertical effort represents the coordination of the key
Because of this complexity, it takes a dedicated manager to ensure that all of the
various marketing communication activities remain consistent to the brand and
campaign strategy. IMC planners often use planning grids to plot strategic
coordination of messages across countries and across marcom programs.
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MANAGING 360-DEGREE COMMUNICATION PROGRAMS
Tom Duncan, one of the architects of IMC, explained that IMC practice originally
focused on creating “one voice, one look” campaigns, but companies broadened that
focus as they realized the need for greater consistency for all aspects of brand
communication that lead to customer relationships.
Mission Marketing
Concern for social issues is increasingly important for for-profit companies because
they want to be seen as socially responsible. Adopting a good cause and helping in its
fundraising and other community-oriented efforts is called cause marketing.
Carol Cone, the founder of the Cone Agency, which specializes in cause marketing,
more recently started a consultancy called Carol Cone on Purpose, which focuses on
company and brand purpose. Her mission is to link brands to causes for which people
feel passion.
Mission marketing is when a commitment reflects a company’s core business
strategy. It links a company’s mission and core values to a cause that connects with
its consumers’ interests. It is more of a commitment than cause marketing because it
reflects a long-term brand building perspective and the mission becomes a point of
passion for all stakeholders, as well as the focal point for integrating all of the
company’s marketing communication.
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Internal Integration
The problem of departmental silos with each marcom function going its own way is a
barrier to integrated planning both at the marketer level and within agencies. The
solution is cross-functional management with a team of functional area
representatives who coordinate all of their activities. This organizational structure is
described as ‘a team of colleagues who have the responsibility, vision, understanding,
and commitment to engage in a media-agnostic planning process.’
Another concern is coordinating all the agencies involved in creating the various
brand messages. It’s a particular problem facing holding companies with many
To implement such a management effort, a cross-functional brand focused team must
be created involving members from all of the relevant parts of a company that interact
with customers, other stakeholders, and outside agencies. Its members represent all of
the areas and tools that control contact points and brand interactions.
Who is in charge of planning all of these brand-building opportunities? One is the
marketing and communication managers on the client side, who must work in
partnership with agency managers, who also provide guidance about IMC strategies.
Ed Chambliss discusses in this chapter’s A Matter of Principle feature how his
partnership works as well as the qualifications needed to be an IMC manager,
whether on the client or the agency side.
An Organizational Case Study
An example of the organizational structure behind an IMC program comes from the
Tokyo-based Dentsu agency, which has provided total communication service to its
st
To truly operate with an IMC orientation, Dentsu underwent a total reorganization
and designed a comprehensive new IMC tool kit, which it calls IMC 2.0. It defines
IMC 2.0 as ‘an ongoing systematic process for creatively planning, producing, and
evaluating brand communication that creates customer relationships, builds strong
brands, and increases sales and profits.’
To engineer this turnaround, it first held an IMC audit to determine the agency’s IMC
Chapter 16: IMC Management
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An IMC Planning Center with 350 people from a variety of media and marcom areas
was established. The staff members assigned to this department were given intensive
IMC training so that they have the skills to work in cross-functional IMC teams on
client projects brought to them by various account groups. These planners help
educate clients on the goals of IMC and establish a common language for planning.
END-OF-CHAPTER SUPPORT
REVIEW QUESTIONS
16-3. Explain the difference between planning an IMC campaign and planning a
360-degree total communication program.
360-degree total communication programs take a much broader, long term approach than
a typical IMC campaign. 360-degree total communication programs work to ensure that a
unifying brand vision surrounds all of the brand’s interactions with all of its stakeholders
16-4. What do we mean when we say that media planning in an IMC campaign plan
moves from channels to contact points?
16-5. Why is a brand an integrated perception?
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16-10. What is internal integration?
To achieve internal integration, a cross-functional team that operates with a singular
brand vision as it plans marketing communication, monitors its impact, and tracks
consumer response is required.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
16-11. Choose a restaurant in your community and develop a campaign plan. What types
of people does the restaurant target? Would you recommend that its advertising focus on
price or image? What is (or should be) its image? Which media or marcom area should it
use?
16-12. You have gotten a new assignment to be on the launch team for an upscale pen
made in Switzerland under the brand name of Pinnacle. Its primary advantage is that it
has an extremely long-lasting cartridge, one that is guaranteed to last for at least five
years. The pen is available in a variety of forms, including roller ball, felt tip, and a
variety of widths from fine to wide stroke. Analyze the globalization or localization
options for launching this pen first in Europe and then globally. What would your
recommendation be on standardizing the brand communication?
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16-13. You work for a sporting goods chain that would like to focus all of its local
philanthropic activities in one area. You believe the company could benefit from a
mission marketing program. What should be in a proposal for the marketing VP that
explains mission marketing? Why do you think a mission marketing project might work
for the company?
16-14. Luna Pizza is a regional producer of frozen pizza. Its only major competitor is
Brutus Bros. The following is a brief excerpt from Luna’s situation analysis for the next
fiscal year. Estimate the next year’s advertising budgets for Luna under each of the
following circumstances:
a. Luna follows a historical method by spending 40 cents per unit sold in advertising,
with a 5 percent increase for inflation.
b. Luna follows a fixed percentage of projected sales method, using 7 percent.
c. Luna follows a share-of-voice method. Brutus, their primary competitor, is expected
to use 6 percent of sales for its advertising budget in the next year.
Actual
Last Year
Estimates
Next Year
a. Luna’s advertising budget for next year, using the historical method:
Chapter 16: IMC Management
Luna’s projected budget for the next year using a historical 5 percent increase
$48,000 + ($48,000 x 5%) = $50,400
OR
$120,000 x [.40 + (.40 x 5%)] = $50,400
b. Luna’s advertising budget for next year based on 7 percent of projected sales:
580,000 x 7% = $40,600
c. To calculate a share-of-voice budget, the sales of the frozen pizza category
are needed. Using the data available, however, if Luna were to emulate
Brutus and use 6 percent of the sales figure, they would establish a budget of
$34,800 (580,000 x 6%), compared to Brutus’ $49,800 (830,000 x 6%).
TAKE-HOME PROJECTS
16-15. Portfolio Project: Compare the brand positioning and customer-focused content
of three of the following corporate sites: www.accenture.com, www.ibm.com,
www.nielsen.com, www.forrester.com, and www.strategicbusinessinsights.com. Analyze
the three sites you selected in terms of their brand vision and position, as well as their
commitment to a customer focus philosophy. What would you recommend to improve
their online brand presence?
