Public Relations in Integrated Marketing Communiation

In recent years there has been a shift from the emphasis on the individual spectrums of advertising, marketing, and PR to movement toward IMC. Its goal? To create a unified message. To find one efficient definition of IMC is hard to come by; however, loosely defined Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is:

The process of building and reinforcing mutually profitable relationships with employees, customers, other stake holders, and the general public by developing and coordinating a strategic communications program that enabl

Public relation’s role in the IMC synergy model varies with each aspect. PR withing the unified voice is the basic crux of what IMC is all about, working together toward a single goal. Consistency, which is concerned with brand image, is more concerned with advertising and promotion, although PR advice is sometimes needed to determine what the consistent message should be. PR is incorporated into the Good Listener model because of the extent to which it values two-way communication. Two-way communication allows for a constant flow of organization to consumer communication, and constant feedback, working in a cyclical fashion. This process aides in maintaining relationships with consumers and publics, because it shows true concern on an organization’s part to please the individual, one of the main concepts behind PR. Finally the last component of the IMC synergy model, world class citizen applies to PR through the customer/organizational relations, but also the employee/management relations within an organization. The morals and missions of a company are more than just words on a paper here, instead they are the means in which each employee interacts with one another and its publics with the objective of promoting the company in a positive light. This creates a good “corporate image,” which is one of the most important aspects of PR. Companies like Disney and Hallmark use this model, and rely heavily on effective PR and event planning and less on advertising. In this strategy, high level PR is necessary in determining the mission strategy and creates buy-in throughout the organization (42).

Tom Duncan, former director of the IMC grad program at the University of Colorado, Boulder, identified four levels of integration that companies use-consciously or unconsciously-in IMC. These four levels, known collectively as the IMC synergy model, are: (1) Unified Image, in which the approach is focused on a brand’s image; ‘one look, one voice’ this “approach emphasizes unity among various communication and promotional tools to reflect a single positioning strategy at the outset of a promotional campaign” (Carlson, Dorsch, and Grove, 395); (2) Consistent Voice where messages are consistent in tone and look; coordinated toward various audiences; (3) Good Listener, which is mildly interactive and solicits two-way communication for long periods of time, thus allowing feedback through different media (surveys, toll-free calls, etc.); and (4) World Class Citizen, which is very interactive, social and based in strong company morals and culture; the focus is the community at large. (Moriarty, 40-41)

Planned messages are deliberate, traditional communication and generally have

Some topics in this essay:
Ken Reich, Disney Hallmark, Message Typology, PR Public, Marketing Communication, Public Relations, IT10 Initially, PR Finally, Based Planning, PR IMC, pr professionals, unplanned messages, based planning, zero based, zero based planning, marketing communication, advertising marketing, imc synergy model, imc message, public relations, two-way communication, message typology, imc message typology, integrated marketing communication, based planning strategy,