Philip J. Kitchen

The Emergence of IMC: A Theoretical Perspective

ABSTRACT Within a short period of just over a decade, IMC has swept around the world and become the accepted norm of businesses and apparently the agencies that service their needs. Here we critically consider IMC in terms of (1) development, (2) impact on marketing communications, (3) barriers to further progress, and (4) current location ideñtification and likely development in the future. Evidently, IMC is here to stay. But there are problems. Not least of these is the apparent reluctance of many businesses to adopt anything more than an inside-out approach to IMC- in other words, bundling promotional mix elements together so they look and sound alike. But, IMC has to move beyond this stage if it is to radically change the face of communications and marketing.

Internal communication during change management

Globalisation, “glocalisation”, deregulation, privatisation, mergers, acquisitions and a movement of labour toward less expensive economic locations, coupled with revolutionary advances in technology and simultaneous empowering of consumers coupled with changes in demand – are among the revolutionary forces impacting organisations around the world. In this dynamic context, organisations need to re‐evaluate their purpose and raison d’etre. This evaluative process will help them to decide which changes: strategic or operational, will have to be made in order to perpetuate survival and growth. While, undoubtedly, organisations realise the importance of good communications, they often find it hard to forge the link between “what gets said” and “what gets done”. Aims, initially therefore, to explore the nature of the link between change, change management and internal communications. Ultimately aims to explore how internal communications contribute to the “successful” implementation of change management progra...

IMC, brand communications, and corporate cultures: Client/advertising agency co‐ordination and cohesion

The concept of integrated marketing communication (IMC) has received considerable coverage in the literature, but even its most ardent supporters have noted problems in translating the concept into reality. Reports on an extensive two‐phase study of the New Zealand advertising and marketing industry, undertaken as part of an international series of studies of IMC implementation and usage, which was conducted over the 1997‐1998 period. The findings of the first phase, conducted in mid 1997, reveal a strong commitment to the integration of marketing communications (marcoms) by both marketers and advertising agencies. The study also revealed substantive differences in perception between these two groups as to how integrated marcom processes should be managed and/or outcomes evaluated. The second phase of the study was conducted in mid 1998. This focuses on an analysis of the extent to which leading organizations have implemented IMC. It also identifies and evaluates barriers and obstacles that have impeded progress in developing and implementing IMC programmes, and reviews ways in which such problems have been tackled.

A Response to ‘Theoretical Concept or Management Fashion’

ABSTRACT This paper, by two well known writers on IMC (Integrated Marketing Communications), is a response to Cornelissen and Lock (ref 34845, JAR Sept/Oct 2000), which contends that IMC is a management fashion rather than a developing academic theory. They refute the contention.

Balancing Marketing Education and Information Technology: Matching Needs or Needing a Better Match?:

The use of new information technology in marketing education has been widely, and often uncritically, accepted as both inevitable and beneficial with little in-depth analysis of this phenomenon, which is both a new mode of teaching (and learning) and a competency domain in its own right. This article examines both the potential advantages and dangers of information technology in the context of creating knowledge workers for the marketing industry. Research findings are presented to illustrate that students have distinctively different learning profiles and experiences, and these affect how students respond to traditional and new technological modes of teaching. The authors suggest that acceptance of new technologies in education by students will rely heavily on the ability of educational institutions to manage the change process.

IMC: New horizon/false dawn for a marketplace in turmoil?

Is integrated marketing communications (IMC) a new horizon or simply another false dawn for marketing communications that has failed to live up to its promises? This issue becomes critical in a marketplace in economic turmoil. Two leading IMC researchers and writers argue for a totally new view and a new agenda for IMC going forward to match the new economic realities faced by marketing organizations. Their views are driven by marketplace, consumer and technology changes enhanced by increasing globalization and a shift of marketplace power to the consumer, all heavily influenced by the current economic conditions.

Communication in postmodern integrated marketing

Successful marketing strategies in the twenty‐first century require successful communication strategies and this requires more creative thinking allied to an integrated approach to all communication activities. A postmodernist perspective and the influence of societal pressure now challenge the assertion that marketing is a rational formal process of analysis, planning, implementation and control.

Does culture matter on the web

Purpose – Investigating one aspect of the potential of firms to market their offerings internationally, this research seeks to explore the impact of that familiar topic – culture – on online international marketing. More precisely, whether the technologies of the web (manifest in the graphical user interface (GUI)) are culturally neutral, allowing for transparent communication between different cultures.Design/methodology/approach – Utilising the widely cited cultural dimensions of culture – “uncertainty avoidance” and “power distance” – comparative content analysis for a sample of web sites from two industry sectors (banking and education) across three countries (Germany, Greece, and the United Kingdom) was undertaken.Findings – The results of the analysis revealed differences in aspects of GUI design between the three country web sites in line with associated cultural dimensions. It also revealed similarities between the three countries in GUI design in apparent contradiction of their associated cultura...

Integrated marketing communications: Practice leads theory

ABSTRACT In the last 20 years, the integration of marketing functions has moved from theory to practice. Its specific applications may vary from market to market—indeed, from enterprise to enterprise—but integrated marketing communications (IMC) programs have become standard for marketing organizations, agencies, and the academic community. A review of the best IMC advertising and public relations practices in the United States, Korea, and Great Britain, however, reveals not just cultural divergence in adoption and practice, but also underlying weaknesses regarding IMC as a process and practice. The findings support the need to focus future IMC research within client organizations.

Managerial mindsets and the symbiotic relationship between sponsorship and advertising

Both advertising and sponsorship are key areas of marketing communications activity, though the latter has acted as a somewhat “Cinderella” subject. In the heightened and increasing consumer‐oriented marketing communications world of the 1990s, this paper asks whether these two marketing communications methods exist in an uneasy alliance or strategic symbiosis. Given the press (both practitioner and academic) coverage concerning integrated marketing communications, it may seem self‐evident that the latter alternative is preferred, but a rationale behind this preferstment is advanced. Notably, the shared conventions of the two communications activities constitute the text of their interactions. This sharing, or as we have termed it, a symbiotic relationship, leads in turn to the what can be described as the unity of a marketing communications culture, or its objective (managerial) mind.