THEMEANINGOFMARKETINGCOMMUNICATON 189
areusersandpotentialusersoftheproduct,thetargetaudiencemayencompassa much
largerorsmallergroupofpeople.Morespecifically,thetargetaudienceincludesallindi-
viduals,groups,andinstitutionsthatreceivethemarketingmessageandemploythisinfor-
mationeitherasa basisformakinga productdecisionorinsomewayemployit toevaluate
thesponsoringbusiness.Thus,thetargetmarketforE.P.T.pregnancytestsmightbewomen
betweentheagesof18-34,witha collegeeducation;thetargetaudiencemightalsoinclude
parentsoftheyoungestofthesewomen,whoeitherapproveordisapproveofthisproduct
basedonadvertisingmessages,governmentagencieswhoassessthetruthfulnessoftheprod-
uctclaims,andpotentialstockholderswhodeterminethefuturesuccessofthefirmbased
ontheperceivedqualityofthemessages.IMCmust identifyallmembersofthetargetaudi-
enceandmustconsiderhowthecommunicationstrategymustchangeinresponsetothis
membership.
Intheend,theroleofIMCistocommunicatewithtargetaudiencesina mannerthat
accuratelyandconvincinglyrelaysthemarketingstrategyofthefirm.
IntegratedMarketingCommunication
Insteadofa functionalapproach,IMCattemptstointegratethesefunctionsintoa collective
strategy.Ifconductedproperly,IMCresultsina moreeffectiveachievementofanorgani-
zation'scommunicationsobjectives.Althoughitisdifficulttodetermineexactlywhatprompted
themovetoIMC,expertsspeculateastoseveralpossibleinterrelatedcauses.Historically,
massmediahasbeencharacterizedbecauseofitsgeneralinabilitytomeasureitsresults,
especiallysales.Recently,theavailabilityofconsumerinformation(especiallypurchasepat-
terns)throughsingle-sourcetechnologysuchasstorescannersandotherrelatedtechnology
hasmeantthatmarketersarenowabletocorrelatepromotionalactivitieswithconsumerbehav-
ior.Duringthissameperiod,companieshavebeendownsizingtheiroperationsandtaskexpec-
tations have been expanded. This greater expectation has carried over in:o the
client-advertisingagencyreiationship.Agencyemployeescannolongerremainspecialists.
Rather, theymustunderstandallthefunctionsperformedfortheclient,aswellastheirown.
Inreality,IMCappearstobemuchthesameasa promotionalstrategy,a conceptthathas
beenaroundforseveralyears.Perhapstheterm"IMC"hasemergeddueto theconfusion
withtheterm" salespromotion"andthefailureofpromotiontobeadoptedbytheadver-
tisingindustry.OnlytimewilltellwhetherIMCwillbecomea salientpartofmarketingcom-
munication. (MorewassaidaboutIMCinthepreviousIntegratedMarketingbox.)
TheMeaningofMarketingCommunication
Definingtheconceptofrr.arketingcommunication(MC)isnotaneasytask,becauseina
realsense,everythingthecompanydoeshascommunicationpotential.Thepriceplacedon
a productcommunicatessomethingveryspecificabouttheproduct.A companythatchooses
todistributetheirproductsstrictlythroughdiscountstorestellstheconsumera greatdeal.
Yetif allofthesethingsareconsidered communication,thefollowingdefinitionis offered:
Marketingcommunicationincludesalltheidentifiableeffortsonthepartoftheseller
thatareintendedtohelppersuadebuyerstoaccepttheseller'smessageandstoreit
inretrievableform.
Notethatthecentralthemeofthecommunicationprocessispersuasion.Communication
ismostdefmitelygoal-directed.Itisnotintendedtobeanarbitrary,haphazardactivity.Each
ofthetoolsusedir.marketingcommunicationhasspecificpotentialitiesandcomplexities
