Marketing = communication. Whether you like it or not, this era has come.

Let us first consider two examples.

The first example: Shi Yuzhu said that when he was developing Nongfu Spring, advertising had the most strategic position in the company, and he focused most on advertising and didn’t need to worry about anything else; but when he was developing the game Zhengtu , the product was the most important, and he focused most on the product.

The second example: In the early 1990s, most companies did not have a marketing department, but they had a similar department called the Planning Department, which surrounded the boss to give advice and was highly valued by the boss. The first-generation planner He Yang became famous at that time and was known as the "Idea King". There was also a crosstalk on the Spring Festival Gala called "Idea Company", which shows that it was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, marketing departments began to rise, but most of them were in a mess. They usually made event plans, prepared materials, organized exhibitions, connected with advertising companies and media, etc. If the performance was good, they got no credit, and if the performance was not good, they were just poor teammates. Slightly better marketing departments could participate in product management together with the boss. In recent years, there has been an extremely awesome position in Internet companies called " product manager ". This person is the big boss who coordinates everything from user research, experience, and feedback to product development, improvement, and promotion planning. There have also been star product managers such as Zhang Xiaolong and Yu Jun.

Please consider these two examples first, and then let’s talk about today’s topic “ Marketing = Communication”.

As far as Lao Miao knows, the first person in China to propose the view that "marketing = communication" was Ye Maozhong, about fifteen years ago. Master Ye's idea was: use communication thinking to understand marketing. Elements such as products, prices, channels , and promotions are all communication elements. They are not only information structures, but also communication channels.

At that time, few people understood such a concept. Some people even accused Ye Maozhong of being "advertising-only" and "deceiving clients into investing in advertising". Good advice cannot persuade a damned person, and after one or two years, Mr. Ye gave up on the matter.

In recent years, Liu Chunxiong, a big name in the marketing industry, has once again proposed the concept of "4Ps are all communication" based on the changes in marketing in the Internet era. The discussion has been more in-depth, and he has also proposed the idea of ​​changing the organizational function of the company's "marketing department to the communication department."

Whether it is Master Ye’s “Marketing = Communication” or Teacher Liu’s “4Ps are all communication”, their essence is the interpretation of Schultz’s “Integrated Marketing Communication” theory. Then Lao Miao will talk to you about what Schultz’s integrated marketing communications actually said that made the two big names attach so much importance to it and strongly promote it.

Among all the classic marketing theories, "Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)" appeared the latest, and Lao Miao also thinks it is the most forward-looking and practical theory. Marketing in the current Internet environment is simply a complete reproduction of what Mr. Schultz predicted 25 years ago.

To understand IMC, you only need a few keywords to have a general understanding.

The first keyword is "all touch points"

IMC believes that all contact points between consumers and enterprises can serve as channels for information transmission, that is, all ways that influence consumer purchasing behavior can become channels and can become part of IMC.

The advertising industry is aware of Ogilvy's "360-degree brand manager", which is a systematic brand management tool based on the concept of all contact points of IMC.

The essence of all contact points is the relationship between users and products (or brands or companies), including how users approach products, understand products, usage experience, feelings and attitudes, etc.

The second keyword is " information flow "

In the integrated marketing communication concept, influencing consumer behavior is the marketing goal. Influencing people's behavior depends on information, so IMC believes that operating information is the core work of marketing.

Schultz's original words were: "Integrated marketing communications is a new way of looking at the whole of things. In the past, we only saw the individual parts, such as advertising, promotion, personal communication, point-of-sale advertising, etc. Now it is a re-arrangement of information communication to make it look more in line with the way consumers view information communication, like a stream of information flowing from an unidentifiable source."

The three elements of marketing: the flow of goods, the flow of money and the flow of information. In all previous eras, people were more concerned about the transaction of money and goods, commonly known as "selling goods." Starting from IMC, the operation of information flow has been taken seriously as a more essential job under "selling goods".

The third keyword is "unified communication", also known as "Speak With One Voice".

This is the area most susceptible to being taken out of context. Many people take a slogan or an image and use it on packaging, TV commercials, terminals, and outdoor advertisements, thinking that they are "speaking with the same voice." This is the biggest misunderstanding about integrated marketing communications.

The real requirement of unified IMC communication is: "Each piece of information should be integrated and echoed to support other information or impressions about the brand. If this process is successful, it will build brand assets by conveying the same brand information to consumers."

The dissemination of information is a planned whole, rather than a monotonous dissemination of the same image and the same content without considering the context, just like a person speaking without considering the occasion, which looks like a disease.

The last keyword is interaction.

This may be the most important keyword. Interaction is the essence of IMC and also its most advanced aspect.

Consumer behavior research divides purchases into three behavioral stages, namely "cognition, emotion, and behavior" (very consistent with the three-layer structure of the brain). Based on these three stages, many classic consumer response hierarchy models have been summarized.

The most well-known of these is the AI ​​DA model, which stands for Attention Interest Desire Action, and is widely used in traditional marketing.

Integrated marketing communications created another model - the communication model: awareness, acceptance, cognitive response, attitude, intention and behavior. From this model, we can see that communicators and audiences are interactive, and the brand will carry out the next communication based on consumers' reactions and attitudes.

This is the same underlying logic as current Internet content marketing : the audience participates in the communication and is not only the object of communication but also the subject of communication. Traditional indoctrination-based communication has become ineffective or extremely inefficient. The only efficient means of communication at present is interactive communication.
In the past, brand building was the responsibility of enterprises, which at most would spend money to buy some media and do advertising and public relations. But now, brand building requires the joint efforts of enterprises, KOLs , the general public, media, and sellers to perform the same big show.

After understanding these four key words, when you read Schultz's "Integrated Marketing Communications", you will find it very easy to understand and its difficulty level is similar to that of martial arts novels. Because these four words are the premise and underlying logic of IMC. Once you understand them, the CRM, relationship marketing, precise segmentation and brand positioning in IMC theory will seem to be a natural progression.

After talking so much about integrated marketing communications, Lao Miao is certainly not here to popularize IMC theory, but to provide a theoretical and methodological basis for a path to transformation and upgrading for bosses and marketers in this era when everyone is calling for transformation and everyone is worried. That is Schultz's integrated marketing communications theory and its corresponding tools.

As the youngest classic marketing theory, IMC has almost no application in previous marketing. Some of it is just under the banner of "integrated marketing communications", but in reality it is just marketing with "different marketing communication combinations".

There are two reasons for this: one is that it is too advanced. Interactive communication, as the essence of IMC, cannot be achieved in traditional communication channels or the cost of achieving it is too high; the other is that corporate awareness is insufficient. Most bosses and marketers are still immersed in the sales logic of money-for-goods transactions, and do not pay enough attention to the underlying information operations of sales or have no awareness at all.

The use of any marketing theory and tool has its limits, and Master Schultz's setting of integrated marketing communication conditions, such as precise segmentation, interactive communication, contact points as channels, and consumer attitudes, are simply tailor-made for the current Internet marketing environment.

The cognition of enterprises and marketers is no longer the same as before. I discussed with an entrepreneur a few days ago. This guy is ten years older than Lao Miao. He is a typical traditional business owner, but he has designed a marketing model with people as the main body, information flow as the main business goal, and goods flow and cash flow as the carrier. His creativity is really amazing.

The times and market environment should be used to choose marketing theories and tools that match them, rather than the marketing theories and tools determining the market environment. Fifteen years ago, Master Ye said that "marketing = communication", and it was normal that most people did not understand it, and it did not seem to affect them at all.

But now, against the backdrop of mobile Internet and consumption upgrading, the second decade of the 21st century is already in its seventh year, and IMC is almost thirty years old since its birth. Teacher Liu Chunxiong and the old experts are still introducing the "4Ps are all communication" to everyone. If marketers don't understand it, they will miss the most reliable theoretical and methodological basis for building a new marketing system.

To put it more politely: You can go to bed now!