Click the image for details Introduction Caution: This is dense content. It takes 15 minutes to read, days to years to fully understand, or perhaps never. Let's consider two examples first. First example: Shi Yuzhu said that when working on Nao Bai Jin, advertising held the most strategic position in the company, and his primary focus was on advertising, with little else mattering; but when developing the game "Zheng Tu," the product was paramount, and his focus shifted entirely to the product. Second example: In the early 1990s, most companies did not have a marketing department, but there was a similar department called the planning department, which brainstormed ideas around the boss and was highly valued. The first-generation planner He Yang became famous during this time, known as the "King of Ideas." There was even a crosstalk performance at the Spring Festival Gala called "Idea Company," showing how deeply this concept had penetrated the public consciousness. From the late 1990s until recent years, marketing departments began to emerge, but most of them struggled, often relegated to organizing event plans, materials, exhibitions, and liaising with advertising agencies and media. When sales performed well, they got no credit; when things went poorly, they were seen as the weak link. Slightly better marketing departments could participate in product management alongside the boss. In recent internet companies, there is a highly esteemed position called "Product Manager," who oversees everything from user research, experience, and feedback to product development, improvement, and promotion planning—a true master coordinator. This role has produced star product managers like Zhang Xiaolong and Yu Jun. While you ponder these two examples, let's discuss today's theme: "Marketing = Communication." As far as Lao Miao knows, the first person in China to propose the viewpoint "Marketing = Communication" was Ye Maozhong, about fifteen years ago. Master Ye's concept was to understand marketing through a communication lens, where elements like product, price, place, and promotion are all communication elements. They are not only information components but also communication channels. At that time, few understood this concept, and some even labeled Ye Maozhong as "advertising-only" or accused him of "deceiving clients into investing in ads." Good advice is wasted on those who are doomed; after discussing it for a year or two, Ye gave up on the matter. In recent years, represented by marketing guru Liu Chunxiong, the concept of "All 4Ps are Communication" has been proposed again, based on marketing changes in the internet era. This discussion has gone deeper, even suggesting the organizational function of changing a company's "marketing department to a communication department." Whether it's Master Ye's "Marketing = Communication" or Teacher Liu's "All 4Ps are Communication," the essence is an interpretation of Schultz's "Integrated Marketing Communications" theory. So, Lao Miao will discuss what Schultz's IMC actually says, which has led these two big names to value and advocate it so strongly. Among all classic marketing theories, "Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)" appeared the latest, and it is also the one Lao Miao finds most forward-looking and practical. The current marketing environment on the internet is almost a complete reproduction of what Mr. Schultz predicted 25 years ago. To understand IMC, you only need a few keywords to get a rough outline.
The first keyword is "All Touchpoints" IMC believes that all touchpoints between consumers and the company can serve as channels for information transmission, meaning all ways that influence consumer purchasing behavior can become channels and part of IMC. In the advertising world, Ogilvy's "360-degree Brand Stewardship" is a systematic brand management tool based on the all-touchpoints concept of IMC. The essence of all touchpoints is the relationship between users and the product (or brand or company), including how users approach the product, learn about it, their usage experience, feelings, and attitudes. The second keyword is "Information Flow" In the IMC concept, influencing consumer behavior is the marketing goal. Since influencing behavior relies on information, IMC believes that operating information is the core work in marketing. Schultz's original words: "IMC is a new way to look at the whole, where previously we only saw the parts, such as advertising, promotion, personal communication, point-of-sale advertising, etc. Now it is a re-orchestrated information communication, making it appear more in line with how consumers view information transmission, like an information flow from an indistinguishable source." The three elements of marketing: goods flow, money flow, and information flow. In all previous eras, people focused more on the transaction of goods and money, commonly known as "selling goods." But starting with IMC, the operation of information flow has been elevated as a more fundamental work beneath "selling goods." The third keyword is "Integrated Communication" , also known as "Speak With One Voice." This is the most easily misinterpreted part. Many people take a slogan or an image and use it on packaging, TV ads, at the point of sale, and on outdoor ads, thinking this is "speaking with one voice." This is the biggest misunderstanding of IMC. The true requirement of IMC's integrated communication is: "Every message should be integrated and mutually reinforcing to support other information or impressions about the brand. If this process succeeds, it will build brand equity by conveying the same brand message to consumers." Communication information is a planned whole, not a monotonous repetition of the same image or content. Communication without context is like a person speaking without regard for the occasion—it seems abnormal. The last keyword is Interaction. This might be the most important keyword. Interaction is the essence of IMC and its most advanced aspect. Consumer behavior research divides purchasing into three behavioral stages: "cognition, emotion, and behavior" (which aligns well with the three-layer structure of the brain). Based on these stages, several classic consumer response hierarchy models have been summarized. The most well-known is the AIDA model, which is Attention, Interest, Desire, Action, widely used in traditional marketing. IMC, however, created another model—the communication model: Exposure, Reception, Cognitive Response, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior. From this model, we see that the communicator and the audience are interactive, and the brand plans the next communication based on consumer reactions and attitudes. This is the same underlying logic as current internet content marketing: The audience participates in the communication, not only as the object but also as the subject of communication. Traditional one-way communication has become ineffective or highly inefficient, and the only efficient communication method today is interactive communication. Brand building used to be the company's business, at most spending money on media, advertising, and PR. But now, brand building requires the joint effort of the company, KOLs, the general public, media, and distributors—five parties coming together to put on a grand show. With these four keywords in mind, reading Schultz's "Integrated Marketing Communications" becomes very easy to understand, with a difficulty level similar to a martial arts novel. Because these four words are the premises and underlying logic of IMC, once understood, the CRM, relationship marketing, precise segmentation, and brand positioning in IMC theory all seem logical. After all this talk about IMC, Lao Miao is not here to popularize IMC theory, but rather, in this era where everyone is calling for transformation and everyone is overwhelmed, to provide a theoretical and methodological basis for bosses and marketers aiming to transform and upgrade. That is Schultz's IMC theory and its corresponding tools. As the youngest classic marketing theory, IMC has been almost entirely unused in previous marketing practices. What existed were only those who waved the banner of "integrated marketing communications" but were actually just doing "different marketing communication combinations." There are two reasons for this: First, it was too ahead of its time. Interactive communication, as the essence of IMC, could not be realized or was too costly to realize in traditional communication channels. Second, corporate awareness was insufficient. Most bosses and marketers were still immersed in the logic of selling goods through money-goods transactions, paying insufficient attention to or having no awareness of the information operation underlying sales. The use of any marketing theory or tool has its boundaries, and Master Schultz's conditions for IMC, such as precise segmentation, interactive communication, touchpoints as channels, and consumer attitudes, seem tailor-made for today's internet marketing environment. Moreover, the awareness of companies and marketers is incomparable to before. A few days ago, I discussed with an entrepreneur who is ten years older than Lao Miao and a typical traditional business owner. Yet, he designed a marketing model with people as the main body, information flow as the primary business goal, and goods flow and cash flow as the carriers—truly impressive creativity. It is the era and market environment that choose the matching marketing theories and tools, not the theories and tools that determine the market environment. Fifteen years ago, when Master Ye said "Marketing = Communication," most people didn't understand or accept it, which was normal and didn't seem to affect them. But now, against the backdrop of mobile internet and consumption upgrade, we are already in the seventh year of the second decade of the 21st century. IMC is approaching its 30th anniversary since its inception. Teacher Liu Chunxiong and Lao Miao are still introducing "All 4Ps are Communication" in detail. If marketers still don't understand, they will miss the most reliable theoretical and methodological basis for building a new marketing system. To put it elegantly: They might as well go to sleep! Click the image for details The Third (CFIC) China FMCG + Internet Conference will be held in Chongqing in October 2017. At this conference, New Distribution has invited 1000+ distributors, 500+ brand owners, founders of 200+ B2B platforms, and 100+ investment and financing institutions to participate. The theme of this conference: New Forces, New Ecosystem. We will invite well-known domestic B2B industry experts, mentors, and B2B platform founders to discuss the following topics: How can the FMCG industry leverage B2B to achieve new growth opportunities
How to build the new supply chain behind new retail
How can intra-city logistics help B2B achieve leapfrog development Highlights of this conference: The industry's first "2017 China FMCG B2B Industry Competitiveness White Paper"
Case sharing of excellent transforming and upgrading distributors
Conference + Exhibition upgrade: Hall 6 Internet Technology Exhibition strengthens networking
Leaders from Alibaba, Eternal Asia, Best Dianjia, GLP, Unilever, Haiding, and Yunmei Group will deliver speeches and share pioneering views. October 17-18, 2017 Chongqing International Expo Center Registration is now open. Long-press the QR code below or click "Read Original" to register. Early bird tickets before September 15 enjoy a 30% discount! Add friend with note "Conference Registration" Click the links below to review the highlights of the first and second FMCG + Internet conferences: 2016 "FMCG + Internet" Summit Forum 2017 (Second) China FMCG + Internet Conference Click the links below to review the highlights of the first and second FMCG + Internet conferences: 2016 "FMCG + Internet" Summit Forum -END-