Marketing communications are messages and related media used to
communicate with a market. Marketing communications is the "promotion" part of the "marketing mix" or the "four Ps": price, place, promotion, and product. It can also refer to the strategy used by a company or individual to reach their target market through various types of communication. Model and stages Level 1: Tactical Coordination and Marketing Communications Initial IMC focus is on the tactical coordination of diverse marketing such as advertising, promotion, direct response, public relations, and special events. This level focuses on delivering one sight, one sound via marketing communication. Level 2: Redefining the Scope of Marketing Communication The organization begins to examine communications from the customers point of view. Marketing communication begins to give consideration to all sources of brand and company contact a customer has with the product or service. Management broadens the scope of communication activities to encompass and coordinate internal marketing employees, suppliers, and other business partners and align with the existing external communication programs. Level 3: Application of Information Technology An organizations application of empirical data using information technology to provide a basis identity, value, and monitor the impact of integrated internal and external communication programs to key customer segments over time. Level 4: Financial and Strategic Integration The emphasis shifts to using the skills and data generated in the earlier stages to drive corporate strategic planning using customer information and insights. Organizations re-evaluate their financial information infrastructure. Steps or elements of communication process 1. Developing idea by the sender: In the first step, the communicator develops or conceptualizes an idea to be sent. It is also known as the planning stage since in this stage the communicator plans the subject matter of communication. 2. Encoding: Encoding means converting or translation the idea into a perceivable form that can be communicated to others. 3. Developing the message: After encoding the sender gets a message that can be transmitted to the receiver. The message can be oral, written, symbolic or nonverbal. For example, when people talk, speech is the message; when people write a letter, the words and sentences are the message; when people cries, the crying is the message. 4. Selecting the medium: Medium is the channel or means of transmitting the message to the receiver. Once the sender has encoded his into a message, the next step is to select a suitable medium for transmitting it to the receiver. The medium of communication can be speaking, writing, signaling, gesturing etc.
5. Transmission of message: In this step, the sender actually transmits the
message through chosen medium. In the communication cycle, the tasks of the sender end with the transmission of the message. 6. Receiving the message by receiver: This stage simply involves the reception of senders message by the receiver. The message can be received in the form of hearing, seeing, feeling and so on. 7. Decoding: Decoding is the receivers interpretation of the senders message. Here the receiver converts the message into thoughts and tries to analyze and understand it. Effective communication can occur only when both the sender and the receiver assign the same or similar meanings to the message. 8. Feedback: The final step of communication process is feedback. Feedback means receivers response to senders message. It increases the effectiveness of communication. It ensures that the receiver has correctly understood the message. Feedback is the essence of two-way communication. CHARACTERISTICS OF MARKETING COMMUNICATION 1. ADVERTISING 2. SALES PROMOTION 3. PUBLIC RELATIONS AND PUBLICITY 4. EVENTS AND EXPERIENCES 5. DIRECT MARKETING 6. PERSONAL SELLING
THE KIND AND FORM OF AN ADVERTISING
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