The Role and Importance of Integrated Marketing Communications in Advertising: Perceptions and Evaluations of the Advertising Industry
Özgül DağlıThe diversification of information gathering and application tools for brands and technology-oriented changes in the international market have necessitated renewed tactical coordination planning of all marketing communication activities and the integration of all marketing communication elements as a whole to establish integrity of messaging. The purpose of this research is to describe changes in the definition of the concept of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) in evaluations of the advertising industry and how the decision architecture has been shaped over time. This research examines whether the definition and control of advertising campaigns should be the responsibility of the advertiser or the agency; it also evaluates the applications of the concept and future projections in the field of marketing communication. The study presents a descriptive research model employing a questionnaire conducted with managers and agency employees in the advertising sector using the snowball sampling method through the application of Google Forms. The findings reveal how IMC practices, definitions, and control processes are implemented by advertising agency employees. The results indicate that the participants, most of whom are creative directors or agency managers, consider IMC to be the tactical coordination of advertising and public relations, assuming that all communication disciplines, particularly public relations, should be in cooperation with advertising. Another notable research finding is the high (29%) rate of advertising industry professionals’ agreement that IMC control should be the responsibility of the main advertising agency.
Reklamcılıkta Bütünleşik Pazarlama İletişiminin Yeri ve Önemi: Reklam Sektörünün Algı ve Değerlendirmeleri
Özgül DağlıMarkalar için bilgi toplama ve uygulama araçlarının çeşitlenmesi ve uluslararası pazarda yaşanan teknoloji odaklı değişimler, tüm pazarlama iletişimi faaliyetlerinin yeni bir taktiksel koordinasyon planlaması yapılması ve pazarlama iletişimi öğelerinin tümünün bir bütün halinde tek seslilik yaratmak için kullanılması gerekliliğini ortaya çıkarmıştır. Bu araştırmanın amacı, Bütünleşik Pazarlama İletişimi (BPİ) kavramının geçmişte ve günümüzde reklam sektörünün değerlendirmeleri ekseninde nasıl tanımlandığını ve karar mimarisinin nasıl şekillendiğini betimlemektir. BPİ’nin tanımlanması, kampanyalarda kontrolün reklamveren ya da ajans tarafında mı olması gerektiği, BPİ kampanyası uygulamaları ve alana ilişkin gelecek öngörülerine dair çok sayıda soruya yanıt aramaktadır. Çalışma, betimsel araştırma modelindedir. Kartopu örnekleme metodu ile reklam sektörü yöneticileri ve ajans çalışanları üzerinde gerçekleştirilen anketin uygulaması ise, Google Forms üzerinden gerçekleşmiştir. Anket bulguları, BPİ uygulamaları, tanımları ve kontrol sürecinin reklam ajansları çalışanları tarafından nasıl uygulandığını ortaya koyar niteliktedir. Sonuçlar, araştırmaya katılan çoğunluğu yaratıcı yönetmen ya da ajans yöneticisi olan katılımcıların çalıştıkları ajansların BPİ’nin reklam ve halkla ilişkilerin taktiksel koordinasyonunu sağlar nitelikte olduğu yönünde değerlendirildiğini ve tüm iletişim disiplerinin ve en başta halkla ilişkiler olmak üzere reklam ile işbirliği halinde olması gerektiğini düşündüklerine işaret etmektedir. Diğer önemli araştırma bulgusu da, reklam sektörü profesyonellerinin kontrolün ana reklam ajansında olması gerektiği yönündeki görüşlerin oranının oldukça yüksek olmasıdır (%29).
Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is a subject referred to with various terminology, bearing names such as “new advertising,” “orchestration,” “360 advertising,” “total branding,” “whole egg,” “seamless communication,” “one spirit,” “one voice,” “relationship marketing,” “synergy,” and “coordination” (Kliatchko, 2005, p.7). Considering the definitions related to IMC in the literature, some authors have agreed that it is a multidimensional construct. This study aims to explore the decision architecture of the IMC concept from the advertising industry perspective. The purpose of this research is to examine the IMC concept in general and to investigate and compare the differing perceptions between 2007 and 2021. In addition to these considerations, the study also endeavors to identify the opinions of advertising industry professionals regarding the applications and planning processes of IMC.
Related to the main purpose of this study, the questions listed below constituted the objectives of this exploratory study:
• How is the concept of IMC defined by advertising sector professionals?
• Do advertising agencies provide IMC services to brands that demand it?
• Who do advertising industry professionals consider to be in control of strategy, tactics, coordination, and evaluation processes at IMC stages?
• How is the role of different communication disciplines evaluated by advertising sector professionals in IMC practices?
• What are the advertising industry predictions and evaluations regarding the future of IMC?
The IMC approach applies customer-centered, rather than sales-centered, communication strategies. The communication phenomenon is at the heart of the approach to realizing interaction with consumers in two ways. IMC represents both a process and a concept. It is a process as it requires an approach that will reflect positively on long-term corporate identity and brand image and communication use in a managerial sense. Applications of IMC are considered a necessity for today’s advertising and this study is necessary for providing insights to researchers and advertising industry professionals studying the concept of IMC. The empirical results of the research lead to the conclusion that the use of broader marketing and promotion tools to communicate effectively with the target audience and to create a strong image in the target market is crucial for advertising and other marketing communication mix elements.
This study presents exploratory research that was conducted via a survey to investigate the perceptions of advertising agency professionals regarding the concept of IMC. The questionnaire poses 16 questions to measure the opinions and perceptions with the advertising industry regarding the concept of IMC. The permission was received from the owner and developer of the questionnaire via email and ethical committee approval was granted by the Üsküdar University Ethical Committee. The study participants are advertising industry professionals. A snowball sampling technique was employed. The president of the Advertising Creators Association (RYD) and other agency managers and sector professionals who volunteered to support and participate in the survey were contacted, and asked advertising agency employees to voluntarily respond to the questionnaire. A Google Forms program was used to gather data, and 79 questionnaires were answered by the respondents. The data gathered from the survey was analyzed using the SPSS 18 program.
The research findings reveal that the contributions of advertising and public relations and other communication disciplines to the IMC program are valued by advertising sector professionals, but they believe that advertising agencies should primarily control the IMC campaign process. Tracing the definition of IMC was another purpose of the research that formed the basis of this study. Another noteworthy result obtained is the inclusion of the benefit of the brand and the need for integration and synergy in the definition of IMC.