Marketing Communications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing Communications - Essay Example Marketing communication can be described as a tool which is utilised for the promotion and branding of a firm as well as its offerings (Govoni, 2004). The impact of organisation on the overall marketing process and marketing communication identifies the factors affecting those processes. Marketing communication can also be described as an assimilation of various ideas, designs, and campaigns in order to percolate a particular message to the target audiences. According to the traditional marketing communication, there are five major tools used in communication (Kotler, 2004). These are advertising, personal selling, sales promotions, direct marketing and public relations. Media can be described as the medium through which these communication tools reach the target audience. For a long time, a predictable and formulated mix has been used, for example, different communication and media mix is used for business-to-consumers and business-to-business audience (Williams and Cutis 2012). Tec hnology and social media have complicated the traditional marketing mix and organisations have now started to explore. Recent slowdown in the economy has increased the pressure on the already overloaded marketing department. Managers are now required to create innovative strategies with even lower budget. Every department is now accountable for the budget they get. This has also led to internal competition. Apart from that, organisations are increasingly realising the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ethics. Businesses have started incorporating these activities in most of their marketing and communications plans. The accountability and authenticity of these programs and campaigns are still questionable, it is clear that the marketing communication is rising from its traditional form to a more innovative, creative and comprehensive approach (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). In the current essay, a review will be done on the marketing communication tools and theories . The current disadvantages of these tools and future strategies will be discussed, with the help of relevant corporate cases. Theory and principles Based on numerous studies and research work, marketing communication theories are established. They are the result of years of consumer surveys, and analyses of the perception, changing preferences etc. The importance of these theories lies in the fact that, understanding of these theories is of immense help in formulating a strong communication strategy. Below are few of the established and widely used theories of marketing communication; AIDA Model This is one of the first models of communication strategy. AIDA stands for attention, interest, desire and action. Though in the year 1911, another factor, satisfaction was also added, the model is better known by its four factors; Attention- this is the first step of a communication process. Here the strategy is to get the attention of the customers. Presentations of revealing facts and fi gures or identification of a preliminary problem are few of the strategies which can be used in this step. Interest- once the marketer has gained attention, the next step is to generate interest and maintain it. The objective is to keep the interest of the consumer