Key Marketing Communication Methods: Advertising, Promotions & IMC

Posted on Sep 5, 2025 in Marketing

Traditional Advertising Methods

Traditional advertising encompasses various strategies to reach consumers and businesses through established media channels.

Consumer-Oriented Brand Advertising (COBA)

Consumer-Oriented Brand Advertising (COBA) focuses directly on individuals, delivered via a wide range of possible media. This Business-to-Consumer (B2C) approach typically utilizes mass media such as television, radio, and newspapers, especially for national and international advertisers. Television is often considered the best medium for its driving and multi-sensory nature. For delivering multiple messages, other media must be used in conjunction.

Retail Advertising Strategies

Retail advertising involves promoting both the store’s image and the products/services offered, usually through local media. This B2C strategy focuses on the image of the store and/or the products/services it offers. Most retail advertising’s primary tool is strategic promotion. Some retail advertising is paid by manufacturers of the products advertised; this is known as co-op advertising and is a form of promotion. Most retail advertising is local, primarily using newspapers as the main medium.

Business-to-Business (B2B) Advertising

Business-to-Business (B2B) advertising addresses both customers (other businesses) and the trade. It generally uses specific media directed at target segments. B2B advertising targets individuals who are decision-makers for purchasing products/services for companies. The target audience for B2B campaigns is typically much smaller than for most COBA campaigns.

Corporate Image Advertising

Corporate image advertising promotes the company itself rather than specific brands or products/services. This type of advertising aims to build identity and reputation, and it is highly relevant for the target audience. The voice of the media will vary depending on both the size of the target market and the size of the company.

Trade-Oriented Promotions

Understanding Trade Promotions

Trade promotions are short-term deals offered to supply chain members to stimulate stocking items or to promote a brand.

The brand’s goals and the trade’s goals are often different:

  • The trade makes its money from category sales; they are indifferent to any specific brands as long as their margins are sufficient.
  • The brand is only interested in its own sales performance.

Regarding investment, spending on trade promotion accounts for about 50% of all marketing communication expenditure. The key reason for this is marketers’ attempts to use promotion to “buy market share” in order to satisfy immediate sales goals.

Types of Trade Promotions

  • Allowances promotions
  • Display material promotions
  • Trade premiums and incentives

Other Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Options

Personal Selling in IMC

Personal selling is often the primary form of marketing communication for industrial marketers. It provides an opportunity to demonstrate product benefits that might be difficult to convey with other forms of IMC.

For IMC, the role of the salesperson in delivering and reinforcing the brand’s positioning and marketing communication objectives is crucial. The message delivered must be consistent with the overall IMC program, while also being adaptable to address specific target audience concerns.

Trade Shows: Advertising & Personal Selling

Trade shows combine elements of advertising and personal selling. They offer opportunities for advertising activities and direct contact with current and potential customers. They provide a chance to identify and meet new customers, as well as to entertain existing ones.

There is some debate about the effectiveness of trade shows:

  • There are no universally set criteria for success.
  • While they generate awareness and interest, leading to sales, quantifying the exact impact can be challenging.

Public Relations (PR) in Marketing

Public Relations (PR) is a process of planning, executing, and evaluating programs that encourage purchase and consumer satisfaction through credible communicators of information and impressions. PR identifies companies and their products with the needs, wants, concerns, and interests of consumers. Marketing Public Relations (MPR) specifically helps in defining and communicating the brand’s positioning.

Advantages of Public Relations:

  • Low Cost: There are no direct media costs involved.
  • Targeted Reach: Can reach highly specific target audiences.
  • Message Credibility: Messages often carry higher credibility.

Disadvantages of Public Relations:

  • Lack of Control: Limited control over the final message.
  • Brand Linkage: Target audience may not always link the message directly to the brand.

Direct Marketing Strategies

Basic Characteristics of Direct Marketing

  • Response-Oriented: The primary goal is to elicit an immediate purchase intention, functioning as a promotion-like strategy.
  • Efficient Targeting: Databases help target specific individuals or small groups effectively.
  • Accountability: Tracking responses allows for control over content and cost, enabling the determination of actual costs associated with particular responses and the opportunity for predicting and measuring outcomes.
  • Interactive Process: Feedback helps modify future messages, often through A/B testing.
  • Database-Driven: A robust database is used to identify the target audience and track responses.

Direct Print Mail

Direct print mail provides the greatest flexibility in targeting audiences and offers many advantages over other direct marketing media:

  • Precise Targeting: Ability to reach very specific segments.
  • Message Personalization: Messages can be tailored with the recipient’s name and individual details.
  • Unlimited Format Choice: Offers a great range of creative options.
  • High Control: Significant control over timings and content.
  • Undivided Attention: If someone reads the mail, there is no direct competition for their attention.
  • Technological Integration: Modern direct print mail can integrate QR codes, NFC, pen drives, virtual reality, video, and personalized landing pages.

Telemarketing

Telemarketing involves direct marketing via telephone, allowing for immediate interaction and feedback with potential customers.

The Database in Direct Marketing

The database is the heart of direct marketing. It is a collection of interrelated data for storing and managing information, distinct from a simple list (like an Excel file) for storing and analyzing. Its most effective use is within a closed-loop system, which tracks who has been contacted, when, and at what cost, allowing for evaluation of results based on these costs.