Page 140 - Marketing the Basics 2nd

132 Marketing: the Basics
path, their presence has a significant impact on rural economies. And today’s rugged adventurer can evolve into tomorrow’s resort seeker. Tourism Malaysia correctly assumed that they could market the country as both a backpacking and resort haven as they selected channels that did not target both groups.
Tourism Malaysia employed a strategy called integrated marketing communications (IMC). Using this approach, the firm coordinates all promotion activities to ensure the same message about the company and its products are delivered to all points of contact the customer encounters. Note, that does not mean one cannot craft different messages to different segments, as our example above demonstrates. However, implementing IMC can be a complex business for a large consumer goods firm like Procter & Gamble, Unilever or Kao (Japan); it means that advertising on and in television, radio, newspapers, magazines, salespeople, distributors, and now blogs, podcasts and product placements in movies and television shows, all must send the same message – a tough thing to pull off. One of the first and primary lessons about IMC concerns authenticity. Customers expect to hear the real and honest voice of the firm. Listeners and readers want the truth.
DEVELOPING AN INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY
IDENTIFY THE TARGET AUDIENCE
The first step is to identify the target audience. The audience can be the general public, a special interest group, or even an individual. Choosing the target audience and the response sought are crucial because the content of the message, the manner in which it is relayed and the channels through which it travels are all dependent on the target audience.
CHOOSE THE DESIRED RESPONSE
The marketer can choose between informing the audience about a new product, reinforcing a brand or company image, or repositioning a product or the company itself. In most cases, however, marketers intend to have consumers make purchases. Consumers rarely make