Marketing communications in Context

Marketing communications, the most visible of marketing functions, interacts subtlety with corporate communications to from what can be a formidable force for business and other organizations, and one that impacts strongly on society generally. We are apparently exposed to thousands of stimuli each day and many of these from the marketing and corporate communications arsenal belonging to myriad companies and other organizations, whether domestic, international or global. This includes the effects of branding, advertising, sales promotions, publicity and sponsorships, personal communications, packaging and so on. Marketers are faced with the challenge of integrating these activities in such a way as to maximize effective and efficient management.

1.Behaviour and relationships

• Communication, culture and other environmental influences on buyer behaviour

--Culture is important communication because it differs between societies.What may be very acceptable in one country might not be acceptable in another.This is because culture is learnt.Culture may be seen as sum total learned beliefs, values and customs.These then shape and influence the buyer behaviour of people in a particular societal cantext

• The complexity of behaviour and buyer learning theory

--The basic buying impulses of incebtive,purchasing power and availability are fairly siöplistic.Satisfying needs,whether physical,social,emotional and so on,can be seento be easily achieved through situational factors such as living in a particular envioronment that predetermines,for example what one eats....

• The buying decision-making process

--As was seen above fromconsideration of the types of buyer there are,consumers differ radically most of mine from the organizational,industrial or business to-business in many ways but especially in terms of heirbuying behaviour.Both of these decisions-making process are concidered below.

2. Theoretical underpinnings of marketing communication

• Communications and practitioners

--There is concern for the fundamental use of the very basic model of the communication process used by many writers of textbooks to suggest the availability of, the very least, a frame work for marketers to help manage their various forms of communication-whether mediated or interpersonal. Buttle provides a useful history of communication theory and points to the lack of explicitness regarding theory. The simple argument is that theory should inform practice otherwise it is pointless, but needs some theoretical underpinnings to provide stability.

• A model of mass communications

--Numerous models have been developed in this area that help further developthis general framework for understanding.Thecommonest from in the textbooks deals with the problems of one-way mass communication,although it does have a feedback look that indicates that the source is likely to search for,or expect some form of,recipient feedback.

3.The Marketing Communications Mix.

* Personal Selling.

* Sales Promotion.

* Public Relations (and publicity).

* Direct Marketing.

* Trade Fairs and Exhibitions.

* Advertising (above and below the line).

* Sponsorship.

* Packaging.

* Merchandising (and point-of-sale).

* EMarketing (and Internet promotions).

* Brands.

Integrated marketing communications see the elements of the communications mix 'integrated' into a coherent whole. This is known as the marketing communications mix, and forms the basis of a marketing communications campaign.