Beyond Integrated Marketing Communication: What next…?

The strategy of using different modes of communication synergistically to provide a holistic appeal to the target audience has become a norm today. This integration of marketing communication has lead us to a scenario where when Big B endorses Maggi noodles, he is seen endorsing it everywhere from the idiot box to the magazines high on gloss and low on substance. From hoardings staring at us on traffic junctions to in-store promotional material of Maggi where the size of his image dwarfs the product itself.

Now, if this is what each and every brand is doing today in the name of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC), the end result is not far to fathom.  We all are headed towards integrated marketing clutter. The level of sensory adaptation that this scenario is creating is numbing our senses and there is a desperate cry for innovation. So what new should we do…well, that’s a million dollar question. Should we take the integrated marketing communication to next level??? “Elementary my dear Watson!” as good old Holmes would say…but the question is what is this next level? Are we talking about MEGA IMC? I.e. to further integrate the prevalent marketing communication than it currently is. May be McDonalds’ snacks start to come only in ‘M’ shapes. A passenger wearing the Indigo colored dress is not charged by the particular airline in question. All these might seem nincompoop thoughts, but that is exactly my point…who defines the limit of this mega IMC? Common sense you say; well, we all know that this six letter word starting with C is not that common.

A 180-degree deviation from the current flow of thoughts can lead us to open another Pandora’s Box. How about de-integrated (not disintegrated) marketing communication? Wouldn’t the clutter be broken if each mode of communication has its own distinct appeal for the prospective client? In-store hoardings endorsing Maggi noodles might just show us the variants of the offered product and nothing else. Maggi’s TV ads would gloss only about it’s taste, Maggi’s print medium ads would only be about its beneficial health related information and the packaging can be distinct - showcasing just the product and its ingredients. Hence, each mode of communication conveys a different message and might generate a distinctive impact on the consumer. But then what about synergy here? Aren’t we taking our ad strategy back to the stone-age and negating the progress that has been made through the decades in this dynamic field of advertising?

So, what’s the next step? This is the big question that is staring at us today. When the teacher himself doesn’t know the answer or when he wants his pupil to think before gorging at the ready-made answer, he will leave his audience with the question to ponder over. Well, as they say…”the truth is out there”…so get going!!!