Marketers embrace Integrated Marketing.

Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is now broadly embraced by marketers, according to a new survey of members of the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) fielded by CoActive Marketing Group. Results of the research indicate that 74 percent of marketers now employ IMC campaigns for most, if not all, of their brands. However, significant challenges to achieving optimal IMC performance remain, with only one quarter of marketers giving their firm’s IMC efforts a “very good” or “excellent” rating.

Key barriers cited to effective IMC are the existence of functional silos (59 percent) and the lack of strategic consistency across communications disciplines (42 percent). These problems were also cited in earlier versions of the study, conducted by the ANA in 2003 and 2006.

“Integrated marketing is more essential than ever, as power has shifted from the marketer to the consumer,” said Bob Liodice, President and CEO of the ANA. “However, marketers are still struggling with entrenched, parochial structures that inhibit these efforts from achieving their enormous promise. This third survey is extremely valuable in identifying key concerns that have changed from 2003 to 2006 to now, as well as highlighting those needs that have remained consistent.”

Beyond functional silos and strategic inconsistency, the survey also revealed these barriers to IMC success:

• Insufficient marketing budget (36%)

• Lack of a standard measurement process (36%)

• Lack of needed skill sets among marketing staff (33%)

• Need to develop the ‘big creative idea’ that can be leveraged across different media disciplines (32%)

In implementing integrated marketing campaigns, 87 percent of marketers, according to the survey, work with external agencies. Respondents point to two ways that agencies can make integrated programs more successful – by ensuring that IMC activities focus on strategic objectives (58 percent) and by working collaboratively and closely with the other agency partners as plans are developed and executed (55 percent).

Within their own organizations, marketers recognize the importance of creating an executive-level position with P&L/budget responsibility for integrated programs. Currently, 24 percent of firms surveyed have an IMC-specific job title and more than half of such titles have been in existence for two years or less. Two-thirds of these positions have budget or P&L responsibilities.

The survey revealed other opportunities to achieve greater marketing integration, such as improving internal stakeholder communications and incorporating specific IMC performance measures into employee performance reviews and agency evaluations. Only 20% of respondents indicate they use internal marketing to stakeholders all or most of the time, and two-fifths have specific performance measures incorporated into employee evaluations.

“Integrated marketing done correctly can drive immediate results, increase brand awareness and make the individual tactics themselves stronger,” explains Amy Fuller, Group Executive, Americas Marketing, MasterCard Worldwide, and chair of the Integrated Marketing committee at the ANA. “As a leader in the industry, the ANA, through the continued focus of the Integrated Marketing committee, is working to give marketers the tools they need to make these programs stronger. As responsibilities and metrics are updated to reflect the need for integrated marketing, we anticipate this continuing as a major area of concern in the future, with continued growth and investment.”

For more information at http://www.ana.net>

Skip to content