In these times of information overload any hope of achieving Integrated Marketing looks even more impossible. This presentation describes the difficulties but highlights the advantages why we should 'aim for integration'.

1. Integrated Marketing or why the C’s beat the P’s “...the concept under which a company carefully integrates and coordinates its many communications channels to deliver a clear, consistent message“ Kotler

2. Consumers are exposed to thousands of mixed media messages every day In 2009 the Radicati Research Group measured that 247 billion email messages per day were transmitted worldwide meaning more than 2.8 million emails are sent every second. Around 80% are spam In the US alone 2.5 billion text messages are sent each day according to Neustar Research 2009 Earlier in 2010 Twitter COO Dick Costolo announced that Twitter generates 65 million Tweets a day A Nielsen report released in 2010 indicated the average American watches approximately 5 hours of TV every day In 2010 YouTube announced it received 2 billion views a day

3. Perceptions In an age of information overload, the consumer has developed ‘shielding mechanisms’ to deal with the amount of information being received. To the consumer, perception is truth. A perception may not be correct, but it is what they know, and what they know is all they need to know. This new ‘sound bite’ approach to gathering marketing information demands that a marketer's statements about products or services must be clear, concise, consistent, and comprehensible through all forms of communication or the consumer will simply ignore them. Any minor inconsistency that does not match the existing ‘mind map’ will be ignored. Furthermore the marketer should have an intimate understanding of the ‘emotional triggers’ that serve to formulate the consumers perceptions. These should form the core message.

4. The Problem...it’s all too hard! Strategic<>Tactical timescale/objective conflicts Lack of a senior marketing champion Web and online marketing managed separately Parts of the marketing are outsourced Change in management causes changeable ‘buy-in’ Everyone does their own individual social media See-Saw budgets mean promotions become ‘knee-jerk’ Message bombardment = why bother crystallizing ours?

5. So Why bother Integrating? Each communications 'touch' builds on the other, delivering a consistent brand message to customers over time. It can create competitive advantage, boost sales and profits, while saving money, time and stress. Internal clarity and focus, ‘same wavelength’ mentality. The company with a identifiable persona gets remembered! Once Upon a time...it’s not just a fairytale, the audience could get a mail piece with the same message that sits on the web, with the same message that went to the media with the same message you just tweeted...Let’s get it together -You shall go to the ball!

6. The Principles: Some C’s to Consider Coherence - Do your various marketing communications make sense together as a whole? Each message within your Marketing Communication Mix should be part of the "bigger picture" in how it relates to other messages and your core sales and marketing theme. Consistency - Are your various marketing communications saying the same thing? The messages your customers receive through your various promotional efforts should not be contradictory and should all repeat your core sales and marketing theme. Continuity - How does your marketing message change over time? As well as coordinating communication tools and messages to be consistent, thought must be given to how the message you convey evolves through various stages in the sales cycle. Complementary - How do the sum of the parts of your communication effort come together? The beauty of a well-managed Integrated Marketing Communication effort is when the complementary synergy you create overall exceeds any one effort.

7. The Principles: More C’s to Consider Customer-Centric - How do each of your marketing communication efforts measure up in terms of being customer-centric? Integrated Marketing Communications should be synchronized with customer perceptions, attitudes and behaviour. Is it ‘all about you?’ or do your various marketing communications begin and end with the customer and their needs? Your marketing communications should engage customers in their language. Characteristics – How well do you know your customers? Being customer-centric begins with knowing their characteristics. A data-driven Integrated Marketing Communication approach is based on profiling research and analysis to help you better understand your customers. How and why they buy? What are their goals and preoccupations? What are the best ways of reaching them in a co-ordinated fashion? I could keep going with the C’s, Collaboration maybe? But truly Comprehending the mindspace of the target then Creating the most persuasive messages is the Challenge we must Comprehend!

8. Why the C’s beat the P’s Customer not ProductUnderstand what the consumer wants and needs. You can no longer sell whatever you can make. The product characteristics must now match what someone specifically wants to buy. And crucially, part of what the consumer is buying is the ‘personal buying experience’. Cost not PriceUnderstand the consumer's cost to satisfy the want or need. The product price may be only one part of the consumer's cost structure. Removing the cost challenges helps remove the focus on price. Convenience not PlaceEvaluate the convenience of the buying experience and then relate that to a delivery mechanism. Consider all possible definitions of ‘convenience’ as it relates to satisfying the consumer's wants and needs. Consider he physical or virtual location, access, transaction time and hours of availability. Communication not PromotionMany mediums working together to present a unified message with a feedback mechanism to make the communication two-way. And be sure to include an understanding of non-traditional mediums, such as word of mouth and how it can influence your position in the consumer's mind. How many ways can a customer hear (or see) the same message through the course of the day, each message touchpoint reinforcing the last.

9. 10 to do’s Recognise you have a problem Undertake a communications review with all channels involved Focus planning on strategic outcomes rather than tactical Create a brand guide Create a communications plan Create a shared marketing information system Audit messages and align them Integrate at the customer level Use metrics to focus the ROI and track outcomes Test – adjust, Test – Adjust...until it works

10. The Secret Weapon you can keep firing Create regular major and minor physical and virtual ‘get togethers’ that literally integrate the relevant stakeholders activities in a shared dynamic marketing environment. The many C’s of Integrated Marketing Communications should underlie and focus topics, directions and outcomes.The goal is worth the effort - the organisation simultaneously consolidates its image, develops a pure meaningful dialogue and nurtures credible relationships with customers and prospects alike. The key is that not only the message but the response itself is integrated.

11. Paul FrenchGo-To-MarketingT.0061 07 5573 5823 http://au.linkedin.com/in/pauljohnfrench http://twitter.com/GoToMarketing pauljohnfrench@bigpond.com