Advertising campaign
IMC is the most cost-effective solution when compared to mass media advertising to interact with target consumers on a personal level.
IMC also benefits small businesses, as they are able to submerge their consumers with communication of various kinds in a way that pushes them through the research and buying stages creating a relationship and dialogue with their new customer.
[8] Digital communications tools include: websites, blogs, social media, email,[9] mobile, and search engines as a few examples.
[10] In the rapidly changing marketing and advertising environment, exposure to certain consumer groups and target audiences through traditional media channels has blurred.
With the transition in around 2006 – 2016 to digital information on phones, computers and tablets, the main demographic that is still exposed to traditional print media is older.
The advantages of newspaper advertising are that it is low cost, timely, the reader controls exposure, and it provides moderate coverage to the older generations in western society.
Magazines are similar in some cases, but as they are a niche product they increase segmentation potential; they also have high information content and longevity.
These are still relatively prominent in modern-day society, but with the emergence of online content such as YouTube and Instagram, it would be difficult to anticipate where the market is headed in the next decade.
Television's advantages are that it has mass coverage, high reach, quality reputation, low post per exposure and impacts human senses.
They can be categorized by several key characteristics: mainly gender, age, occupation, marital status, geographical location, behavioral,[15] level of income and education.
Analysing sales data and customer information helps businesses and individuals understand when their target market is increasing or decreasing.
Tools that can be used to achieve these objectives are advertising, public relations, personal selling, direct marketing, and sales promotion.
In order for products to be successful businesses must focus on the customer needs, competitive pressures, available communication channels and carefully crafted key messages.
This occurs when the information or meaning the source wants to convoy, is put into a form to easily be transmitted to the targeted audience.
Examples of this is Vodafone advertising on TV, bus stops and university campuses as students may be the intended consumer for the new plan.
Modern day advancements in various forms of technology have made it easier for consumers to engage with brands in numerous ways.
The most effective touch points, as found in Effie Award- winning campaigns, are: interactive (91%), followed by TV (63%), print (52%) and consumer involvement (51%).
[26] Multi sensory touch points are subconscious yet helps use to recognise brands through characteristic identified through human sensors.
A prime example of this is Red Bull who use the colour, shapes and size of their cans to best relate their product to success and winning.
[27] Guerrilla marketing is an advertising strategy which increases brand exposure through the use of unconventional campaigns which initiate social discussion and "buzz".
This can often be achieved with lower budgets than conventional advertising methods, allowing small and medium-sized businesses the chance to compete against larger competitors.
Guerrilla marketing is typically executed exclusively in public places, including streets, parks, shopping centres etc., to ensure maximum audience resulting in further discussion on social media.
The fourth element is to establish a statement that itemizes the marketing tools and methods planning to be used in the strategy (for example, radio advertising during 6.30am – 9am on weekday mornings or window displays that are regularly updated).
[34] "Advertising can be dated back to 4000 BC where Egyptians used papyrus to make sales messages and wall posters.
It is to make a campaign that is "shocking, funny, unique, outrageous, clever and creative that people can't stop talking about it" (Uk essays, 2016).
The term "guerrilla first appeared during the war of independence in Spain and Portugal at the beginning of the 19th century it can be translated as battle" (Uk essays, 2016).
"Collecting billions of people around the world through a series of status updates, tweets, and other rich media" ("Guerrilla Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses", 2013).
Guerrilla marketing strategies and tactics are a great and cost effective way to generate" awareness for business, products and services.
"When selecting audiences for a guerrilla message, a group that is already engaged with the product at some level is the best target; they will be quicker to recognize and respond to creative tactics, and more likely to share the experience with their friends, as social media has become a major feature of the market landscape, guerrilla marketing has shown to be particularly effective online.
Consumers who regularly use social media are more likely to share their interactions with guerrilla marketing, and creative advertising can quickly go viral.
