Week 5 Discussion Post
September 25, 2014
Read/watch this week’s assigned readings/videos prior to completing this. We will be reviewing in class the overall concept of IMC as well if you want to wait until then.
- Explain what integrated marketing communications is in your own words.
- Why is visual identity/brand identity important to IMC?
- What are your thoughts on how a designer needs to account for multiple multimedia channels and IMC when it comes to planning a design strategy?
Use at least one outside source besides the readings to support your viewpoint.
An Integrated Marketing Campaign (IMC), or what my organization calls a UCI (Unified Campaign Integration), is an integral part of our marketing plan and communication strategy. It forms our organization’s rallying cry around a specific brand, brand segment, or project and is both innovative and instantly recognizable.
From my perspective, an IMC is an overlay to an organization’s brand that communicates a specific singular or set of CTAs. It uses consistent voice, tone, and imagery that is flexible enough to apply to various channels and consumer engagements.
Overall, visual identity and brand identity are important to an IMC in that these are the foundational elements that make a IMC recognizable to a specific brand. For example, the Coca-Cola “Open Happiness” campaign that carries the recognizable coke bottle image but is capable of communicating any brand within their entire beverage portfolio. With the foundation of a brand identity, the IMC is able to layer on and integrate into the brand’s essence.
In an article on how to develop an IMC, the key takeaway is made clear, “The authentic ‘integration’ of marketing communications can only be attained by way of strong links among various decision processes made by you (corporate, marketing, marketing communications levels).“ (The Strategist, T.J. Marino)
A designer should keep the core brand in mind, inclusive of the brand’s style guide and key elements. He or she should look for input and direction from the client and all primary and secondary executions of the campaign and develop creative that can support extensions of the IMC should additional funding or opportunities arise for such expansion. In my experience, IMCs with a build-out DNA stylesheet that overlays to the brand’s style guide help provide direction and facilitates ease when IMCs are extended or expanded.
Post Tags:
Design, IMC, Integrated Marketing Campaign, Layout, VIC5325,