ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the value of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) for brand marketing and describes the six major categories of IMC. It examines the structure of the IMC industry and explains the IMC planning cycle. The six major categories are: advertising, sales promotion, brand visibility, public relations, digital platforms, and personal contact. Each category has its own purpose and functions for marketing products and services. The IMC industry structure is divided into five major parts: advertisers, agencies, media, suppliers, and technology. IMC is a complex process that involves a sequential completion of different activities. They include: marketing assessment, budget formulation, research activities, strategic decisions, IMC objectives, allocation of expenditures, creative concepts, media proposals, review and approval, implementation of programs, measurement of performance, and revisions and improvement. IMC is the process of creating and delivering a planned series of consistent, relevant, meaningful brand messages to target audiences. The primary goal is to combine effective creative concepts with efficient media delivery methods.
