Sally Laurie

‘IMC is dead. Long live IMC’: Academics' versus practitioners' views

Abstract The purpose of this research is to establish whether academics and practitioners are similar in their perceptions of what Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is and the role it has to play in todays dynamic landscape. This objective is achieved first by examining the IMC literature to establish the main themes that underpin the construct and to identify the topics that have been most discussed over the past 10 years. These findings are then utilised to perform a content analysis of 10 essays that were published by Campaign magazine in December 2010 by high-profile practitioners under the heading of ‘Whats Next in Integration’. The findings indicate that there are differences in the perception of academics and practitioners on IMC, mainly in the area of internal audiences and its strategic role within an organisation. These findings are of interest to academics, clients, and agencies, as these areas of misunderstanding may be acting as a barrier to IMC implementation. This research identifies significant differences in how IMC is perceived by academics and practitioners in the advertising industry. This identification is important because organisations can only benefit from IMC fully if there is a common understanding across clients, agencies, and academics of what it is and how it works. Misunderstandings can create barriers to full implementation, and it is the responsibility of the industry as a whole to address this and enable meaningful dialogue to take place and progress to be made.

The internal and external challenges facing clients in implementing IMC

Purpose Although integrated marketing communication (IMC) is generally accepted as the way forward by academics and practitioners, there is a shortage of research into the challenges that clients face in implementing the process, particularly in the UK. This paper aims to address these issues by examining how UK clients perceive the barriers to implementation, with reference to the conflict theory of decision-making and the social exchange theory from the change management literature. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a critical realism approach and collected data through an on-line questionnaire to an expert panel of UK clients, which generated some rich qualitative data. The experts were asked to comment on four statements developed from the literature which captured the main challenges identified in previous research. Findings The results indicate that UK clients are facing similar barriers to those evident in other countries more than a decade ago. Three main obstacles are identified. First, some clients still find IMC difficult to understand and therefore may avoid change because of the high level of risk involved. Second, marketing departments lack control or influence over other parts of the organisation, due in some cases to lack of representation at board level. Finally, agencies do not have a clear role in the implementation of IMC. Originality/value The paper is of value because it specifically investigates the UK client perspective, which is presently sparse in the literature and updates the knowledge on barriers to implementation. It underpins this discussion with reference to change management theories. The paper also examines the support being provided by industry bodies and questions their effectiveness.

Partner or supplier: An examination of client/agency relationships in an IMC context

Abstract There is growing evidence from practitioners that the advertising industry is in a state of crisis. As campaigns become more integrated and multi-disciplinary, the relationship between advertising agencies and clients is being tested to its limits and is presently considered to be at an all-time low. Agencies feel less valued and are being excluded from C-suite discussion. Clients feel that agencies do not appreciate the changing landscape and how the customer experience is now key. Both sides recognise the need for more trust and collaboration. This study applies the agency theory and the social power theory to understand the pressures that the relationship is under. It looks for evidence that IMC is creating a movement away from a business alliance relationship by comparing qualitative data collected from both agencies and clients, using NVivo to identify themes. The findings identify four themes which illustrate this shift towards a supplier relationship: the client ownership of the customer journey, the lack of a strategic role of agencies, the challenges of agency collaboration and difficulties of agency specialisation.