What Is The Imc Marketing Essay Communication, which can be described as the paste that keeps combined a channel of distribution. The function of communication within channel of marketing is an important issue from both a theoretical and managerial point of view. Communication in marketing channel can function as the process by which influential information is transmitted (Frazier and Summers, 1984). Though the Marketing literature admits that communication plays a vigorous role in channel functioning (Grabner and Rosenberg, 1969; Stern and El- Ansary, 1988), it provides no integrated theory for channel communication. Communication has been connected conceptually to both behavioral issues (e.g. power and climate) and structural issues (e. g. the pattern of exchange relationship) in the channel, yet empirical research on channel communication is scanty.

What is IMC?

Schultz (1993) defined IMC as concept of marketing communication planning that combine and evaluate strategic role of different communication discipline to get the clarity, consistency and greater impact. According to Percy, Rossitor and Elliott (2001) planning and execution of all marketing communications are required in a same way to meet the objective. IMC is the process of producing and applying the different communication programs with the customers and probability to happen in future over time, overall IMC process starts with the customer and work back to determine and define the methods and forms to develop the influential communications programs (Schultz, 1993). It is the process of strategic business which is used to plan, develop, execute and evaluate the coordinated and assessable influential marketing communication programs relevant to external and internal audience over time (www.researchandmarkets.com). Raman and Naik (2005) defined the IMC in following words, “An IMC program plans and executes various marketing activities with consistency so that its total impact exceeds the sum of each activity.” It is a strategy in which different communication tools like advertising, public relations, sales promotion, direct marketing and personnel selling work together to maximize the communication impact on target consumers (www.en.wikipedia.com). In another definition, it has been mentioned as a management concept in which IMC is designed to make unified force of different aspects of marketing communication such as sales promotion, public relations, advertising and direct marketing, rather than to work in isolation (www.marketing.about.com).

Components of IMC:

IMC strategy is consisted of three main elements: the consumer, the channels and the evaluation of results. Consumers interrogate how consumers get information as well as how the delivery of that exchange of information affects the message's form and contents. Communication channels interrogate the several channels and how much effectively apiece is used in an IMC strategy. A result considers how the level of intricacy in IMC strategies leads marketers to measure result by designing new ways.

Importance:

IMC is supposed as key competitive advantage in many organizations (Kitchen and Schultz, 2001; Weilbacher, 2001; Smith, 2002). Sales and profit can be increased while saving the time, money and stress by applying IMC (Smith, 2002). Real contribution of promotional mix can move communication from tactical promotional component to strategic business unit. IMC gives new dynamic model that facilitate the business movement to marketing communication according to consumer interest (Kitchen, Brignell, Li and Jones, 2004). IMC made positive impact on communications, made creativity effective and gave the consistency of communications. Agency executive considered IMC as