What is Integrated Marketing?

Integrated Marketing is a strategy that provides marketers with the ability to deliver a cohesive narrative about their brand and achieve a greater impact. In today’s world, which has more channels available to influence buyers than ever before, ensuring consistency has become a priority. Businesses can use integrated marketing to offer a consistent story about their brand and generate more impact with their efforts. With more channels than ever accessible to influence purchasers, it’s vital to optimise the impact of these channels as much as feasible.

About Integrated Marketing

Integrated Marketing aims to deliver a unified, holistic message across all marketing channels used by the brand. It provides consistency wherever customers choose to interact with the brand through SEO, Social Media, or online and offline advertisements. It is necessary to keep your message consistent; else, your brand can appear disorganized and fragmented. This is not limited to advertisements only. Chatbots set up to interact with users should provide the same takeaways as a human representative would.

Why Use Integrated Marketing Strategy? 

• To Maintain a Consistent Narrative – Today, with many channels to promote your business available, both online and offline, consistency is key. Integrated Marketing comes into play by ensuring that the business advertisements, from Google SEO, Social Media or Offline Forms of Advertisement like Newspaper Ads or Billboards, give you the same narrative. Otherwise, the brand can appear disorganized and fragmented. 
• Improved Marketing Campaign Performance – Greater consistency will lead to better overall campaign performance. In our day-to-day lives, we come across many advertisements, both online and offline. Having a consistent message across all channels ensures more exposure to people who might not have come across this earlier. Prospective customers will recall a billboard better when its content reminds them of another ad they saw online.
• Reduces Cost and Increase in Value- It will be cheaper since you can reuse the same content.
• Consistent Customer Experience – The consistency and predictability of the brand will be appreciated by the customers as the added familiarity will make it easier for them to understand what you do and how you can help them. 

Check Out – Universities in London for Marketing

How to Create an Integrated Marketing Strategy?

• Combine your marketing channels
• Collect and analyse customer data
• Lean into inter-department expertise
• Use a marketing automation platform
• Craft engaging narratives

What is an Integrated Marketing Communications Plan?

An Integrated Marketing Communications plan (IMC plan) incorporates market research, strategic planning, audience segmentation, marketing channel selection, creative briefs and campaign messaging, budgeting, ROI analysis, and a campaign metrics and evaluation system to achieve maximum impact of marketing objectives.

An effective IMC will outline a core message, highlight your competitive advantage, address the appropriate target market, and tailor the message to fit supportive media channels.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an Integrated Marketing Plan

• Establish your goals
• Outline your marketing channels
• Assign responsibilities
• Create a content plan
• Prepare for liftoff

Bachelor’s Programmes in IMC

Bachelor’s degrees in Integrated Marketing Communication provide students with a foundational understanding of all the key elements of a comprehensive marketing strategy for an organization. Students are taught how to integrate all the key elements to meet the goal of a consistent narrative spread across multiple platforms that address the needs and interests of current and potential consumers. 

Some programmes include completing an IMC Capstone Project, which will allow students to apply the knowledge and skills they have learned in their courses to make a marketing campaign or some other marketing-related project. In some cases, these programmes might partner up with real clients who need a comprehensive IMC Plan.

Depending on the program, students might also be required to complete an IMC capstone project. This project allows students to apply the knowledge and skills they have learned in their courses to a concrete marketing campaign or other marketing-related projects. In some cases, the program might partner with real clients in need of a comprehensive IMC plan so that students can work with as realistic parameters as possible for their project.

University	Programme
University of Nicosia, Cyprus	BBA: Marketing Communications
Cleveland State University	BBA Marketing Communications
Southeast Missouri State University	BSBA Marketing: Integrated Marketing Communications
University of Wisconsin-Whitewasher	BBA Marketing: Integrated Marketing Communications
National University	Integrated Marketing Communications
London Metropolitan University	BA (Hons) Advertising, Marketing Communications, and Public Relations
Bournemouth University, UK	BA (Hons) Marketing Communications, BA(Hons) Marketing Communications + Advertisement
Berlin School of Business and Innovation	BSc(Hons) Digital Marketing and Social Media

Also Read: MSc Strategic Marketing in UK

Master’s Programmes 

A MA in IMC Programmes covers the principles, concepts, and practices relevant to designing and implementing a comprehensive marketing strategy for an organization, similar to a Bachelor’s. 

However, in contrast to bachelor’s programmes, master’s programmes comprise coursework devoted exclusively to topics in the IMC field, allowing students to delve more deeply into the field of IMC and specialize further in the broad field. 

Students of master’s in integrated marketing communication programs gain an understanding of the practices and strategies used to create, launch, and measure effective marketing initiatives that engage with today’s consumers (and other stakeholders) across different media channels. 

These programs cover the major elements of marketing communication. (e.g. advertising, public relations, display marketing), and teach students how to forge these distinct elements into a unified brand message and experience for consumers.

Students develop skills in audience-based research analysis, strategic communication techniques, social media strategies, business-to-business communication, and business-to-consumer communication, public relations, brand development and promotion, and more.

Depending on the program, students may complete their capstone individually or in groups. They typically consult with one or more faculty advisors who provide support as they complete their capstone project. The courses featured in integrated marketing communication master’s programs explore topics throughout marketing communications. Many master’s programs in integrated marketing communication culminate in a capstone experience; commonly, this capstone is in the form of an industry-oriented marketing campaign.

Some programs may allow students to complete a thesis or research paper instead of a professional capstone project; however, as IMC is a highly industry-focused field, the vast majority of programs require a professional project.

University	Programme
University of Nicosia, Cyprus	MA Digital Marketing and Communication
NYU School of Professional Studies	MS in Integrated Marketing
The University of West Alabama	MA Integrated Marketing Communications
University of Greenwich	MA Strategic Marketing Communications
University of Hong Kong	MSc Marketing
Bournemouth University, UK	MA Marketing Communications
Imperial College Business School	MSc Strategic Marketing

Career Scope  

With a degree in Integrated Marketing, there are plenty of options you can pursue when finding a job. Some of the most famous ones are:-

Position	Profile
Public Relations Director	Public relations directors manage the creation of marketing messages that positively raise the public image of their employer or clients
Marketing Director	Marketing Directors manage the marketing process from research and planning to execution and analysis
Marketing Specialist	Marketing Specialists are responsible for brainstorming ideas for marketing campaigns, creating brand messages to improve brand awareness, researching and analyzing data, and developing sales presentations
Director of Consumer Affairs	The Director of Consumer Affairs is responsible for providing assistance to consumers with regard to complaints and trying to resolve the complaints peacefully. They also perform daily supervision to office staff
Marketing Assistant	Marketing assistants are responsible for compiling and distributing financial and statistical information such as budget spreadsheets. analyzing questionnaires alongside writing reports, company brochures, and similar documents and organizing and hosting presentations and customer visits.
Talent Acquisition Manager	A Talent Acquisition Manager is responsible for finding, recruiting, hiring, and retaining talented candidates.
Web Content Manager	A web content manager is responsible for overseeing the planning, organization, creation, and publishing of all content. They work closely with the Leadership and Sales teams in their organization in order to develop content that is valuable to their desired target audience.

Check Out – Types of Digital Marketing

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