Trigger 10

Investor relations

(PBL session 11, closing trigger 10. 3.12.2014)

Investor relations (IR) is the strategic management term, and a marketing tool, used to describe the actions of companies communicating with the investment communities. IR is required for publicly-traded companies. IR is a mixture of regulatory and voluntary activities integrating finance, communication, marketing and securities law compliance to enable the most effective two-way communication between the company, the financial community and other constitutes. IR is interacting with existing stakeholders, potential investors, analysts and journalists. Basically, IR functions provides company information to investors to help them make informed buy and sell decisions. 

The investor relations department reports to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) or Treasurer. It might also need to report too the CEO and Board of Directors/ President of the company. The department need to be able to understand and communicate the financial strategy and the broader strategic direction of the company and ensure that the image and reputation of the company is maintained.

In some companies the IR activities are managed by the public relations or the corporate communications departments, and can be referred to as financial public relations / financial communications. 

The primary target of IR are individual and institutional investors and money mangers and analysts. The secondary audience is the company employees, customers and communities.  

The responsibilities of an IR person are developing an overall strategy, setting goals and objectives, developing key messages to support the strategy, overseeing the program development and execution and providing feedback on the investment community to the management team. These tasks can be done using the communication tools like new releases, conference calls and webcasts, fact sheets, annual reports, IR websites, annual meetings, presentations and media relations. 

Turnaround strategy 

CRS Turnaround management (2011)

The goal of a turnaround strategy is to return a poorly performing company to normal in terms of acceptable levels of profitability, solvency, liquidity and cash flow. The objectives of a turnaround strategy are managing, stabilizing, funding and fixing the poorly performing or distressed company. They're applied over the natural stages of the strategy and achieved by reversing the cause of distress, resolving the financial crisis, improving in financial performance, regaining stakeholders' support and overcoming internal constraints and unfavorable industry characteristics. 

Kalyan City (2012)

Sources 

CRS Turnaround management. 2011. Turnaround strategy. Accessed: 30.11.2014

Trivedi, M. 9.11.2013. SlideShare. Investor relations. Accessed: 30.11.2014

Vollrath Associates. 30.11.2011. What is investor relations. Accessed: 30.11.2014

Wikipedia. 13.11.2014. Investor relations. Accessed: 30.11.2014

Trigger 9

Subliminal messaging

(PBL session 10, closing trigger 9. 26.11.2014)


Subliminal = affecting someone's mind without them being aware of it. 

Marlboro ad (2010)

These are forms of messages which escape our conscious perception, but reach through to the brain unconsciously. The most normal presentations of subliminal messages are visually or by audio. 

The first known subliminal advertising is from 1957 when phrases "Eat popcorn" and "Drink Coca-Cola" were shown in a movie. James Vicary, a market researcher came up with an idea to insert the words to a movie and show them only for a single frame, just enough for the subconscious to regognise it, but too short for a person to be aware of it. It was said that the ads increased Coke sales by 18,1 % and popcorn sales by 57,8 %. The results and the whole campaign later turned out to be false, but in some more recent experiments there are results of subliminal messages affecting people's behaviour in smaller ways. 

The author of The Exorcist, William Peter Blatty, has spoken against subliminal messages in movies after the movie adaption of his book was accused of containing subliminal messaging. He said, "There are no subliminal messages. If you can see it, it's not subliminal."

An example of a subliminal message in an advertisement is an AT&T ad where an unsuspecting viewer thinks to be just watching a sequence of random scenes when actually all the scenes are references to the bars showing the internet or cellphone service strenght in the given location. 

AT&T advertisement (2011)

A study from 2005 conducted by researchers in Utrecht University, demonstrated how subliminal messages affect people. The participants were subliminally primed with the words Lipton Ice were more likely to choose a Lipton Ice beverage when given a choice between two options. The effect only happened when the participants were already thirsty, though.  

In some countries, like the UK and Australia, subliminal advertising is completely banned. In the United States there's no specific laws addressing subliminal advertisins, but the advertising and broadcasting regulatory agencies are the ones ones dealing with the topic and its impact on the public. There are some court rulings on subliminal advertisement cases,  but because the nature of subliminal messaging is subconcious, where the viewer is not aware of receiving the message, it's extremely difficult to spot them. 

Subliminal messaging on the long run allegedly helps boost learning capacity and has a positive effect on the memory. It is a "good" way for companies to advertise their products/brand without being too direct and "pushy" about it.

There's no direct "bad" side to using subliminal advertising as part of your marketing strategy, however, the morality of it is questionable. Is it ethically right to indirectly manipulate one's mind to your liking?

Sources

Explorable.com. 15.1.2009. Subliminal messages

Dane, D., Johnson, K. Pauli, B., Philips, N. & Strausz, J. 2014. Subliminal messaging 

Dube Dwilson, S. 2014. Laws on subliminal marketing

Love, D. 26.5.2011. The shocking and incredible Coke history of subliminal advertising

Trigger 8

Social media

(PBL session 9, closing trigger 8. 19.11.2014)


Social media use has grown rapidly during the past few years. It has become one of the most important communication - and marketing - channels. Companies can use social media to create awareness and conversation and form relationships with consumers. The ROI can be difficult to see but social media is indeed effective method to reach consumers. 

J. DeMeres lists the Top10 benefits of social media marketing on Forbes.com:

1. Increased brand recognition
2. Improved brand royalty
3. More opportunities to convert 
4. Higher conversion rates
5. Higher brand athority
6. Increased inbound traffic
7. Decreased marketing costs
8. better search engine rankings
9. Richer customer experiences
10. Improved customer insights

Some companies might have prejudices towards social media as it is still so new and complex. But the longer they wait to join the more they have to lose. Their competition has probably already done that. Social media marketing, when done right, can lead to more customers, more traffic and more conversations. 

Social medias

Social media is not just Facebook. It's versatile, constantly changing online world. There are several different channels a company can use. The most important thing is to find the right ones for you. The content posted to LinkedIn is different than the content produced for Instagram. This is the reason it's important to find the utilise the most efficient and convenient channels for your company. 

Using social media requires constant updates and presence, otherwise you might get lost in the constant information flow and people'll forget you. There's not really any real disadvantages in social media, but of course there are some risks involved. When there's conversation with the consumers, there's also chance for negative issues to come up. Negative or bad reputation grows fast in eWOM and can harm the business for a longtime. 

Facebook is usually the first channel that comes up when talking about social media. It's the widest used platform in the world and an efficient marketing tool. for companies it is not completely free if you want to reach all the consumers, but it easy and simple to use. There is some talk that Facebook will lose its "power" and in a few years it'll be useless. For now though, it is still the biggest channel. 

Twitter is one of the most important ones, too. The hashtag (#) was created by Twitter and has now spread to most of the other channels. With the hashtag pictures and messages can be connected with ones with the same hashtag and also searched for. Twitter is used for short messages and is efficient for "breaking news" of commenting something. 

Youtube has become more and more used channel as video content has increased its popularity. Videobloggers, vloggers, are very popular with millions of subscribers and fans. They're channels are widely used for marketing. Just last week, few of the UK's biggest youtubers were chosen to take part in Bob Geldof's Band Aid 30, charity song "Do they know it's Christmas". They are not professional artists but they have more than 10 million subscribers between them which gives the song a huge audience. 

LinkedIn is a "professional Facebook", a platform for business users. LinkedIn is used in b2b-marketing, job seeking and other professional matters. 

Blogs, like vlogs, are more and more used by companies, either by their own blogs or via bloggers who promote products etc. 

Sources

DeMeres, J. 8.11.2014. Forbes.com. The Top 10 Benefits of Social Media Marketing.

Band Aid 30. 17.11.2014. Do they know it's Christmas

The Hubb. 21.4.2014. How to market your brand on every social media channel.

Trigger 7

Media agency

(PBL session 8, closing trigger 7. 12.11.2014)


A company's marketing can be outsourced to a media agency, whose job is to make sure that the message appears in the right place at the right time and reaches the right people with the best possible price.  

A media agency are supposed to understand the consumers more deeply, understand the media landscape better and have better relationships and more power with media owners than others in order to deliver better deals for their clients.  

Originally media agencies were focusing on buying media space cheaper and more efficiently than the mainstream advertising agencies. Later when the sector has developed planning skills and understanding the customer behaviour has been added the their skill set. By understanding what motivates a target group, the medias they follow, watch, read or hear, the media agencies became a vital source of communciations advice for all types of advertisers.

Media agencies ensure that the marketers truly understand the behaviour of their consumers; they make sure messages are targeted correctly and the marketers see the potential of the latest technology. Media agencies work with social networks, brands that produce their own content or communicate regularly with customers as well as the traditional media; newspapers, TV and radio. 

Research is the most crucial element of understanding how different countries behave in media. Each country have their own cultural behaviour, humour and ways of communicating etc.

Statistics show that of the entire marketing budget, on average 25% is spent for online advertising and 75% for offline advertising like print media. In B2B advertisement, business events are the most important channels. According to Mediacom.com 67% of companies consider event marketing to be the most effective marketing strategy. Also newsletters are important within the same industry. 

Media can be divided in three different sections, paid, owned and earned media. Owned media is the content the company creates themselves, their websites or social media profiles, for example. Earned media is word of mouth, articles written about the company or campaign, social media posts and shares. This type is considered to be more credible in the consumers’ eyes. As the name suggests, paid media is bought, which raises suspicion in consumers’ minds. Volume wise, paid media reaches a bigger audience. Not every company invests in paid media, for example Atria relies and invests more on earned media, which as worked for their benefit. 


Sources

Media.com. 2014. What is a media agency. 

Media.com. 2014. How does a media agency work.  

Media.com. 2014. What expertise do media agencies have. 

Media.com. 2014. What benefits does a media agency deliver. 



Prospects. 4/2014. Media planner job description. 

Trigger 6

  Communication plan

(PBL session 7, closing trigger 6. 15.10.2014)

 How to develop a communications plan? 

A communications plan is an important part of an organisations daily operation. It sets the standards for how and when communication takes place, internally and externally.

The steps of creating a communication plan are:

•  understanding of the target audience and how to reach them 
•  research past media coverage and public opinion
•  defining messages to be delivered and materials to be produced 
•  financial resources 
•  a written work plan 

A plan is never complete, it should adjusted when ever needed as the situations change. A good plan frames the media activities, clarifies the priorities, target audience, resources and staff assignments. It is important to identify these steps and elements and plan them carefully before implementing them into daily activities. In marketing the plan can and should include advertising, PR, direct response, interactive and sales promotion plans and event&sponsorship and personal selling plans.

The interactions can be verbal, written, electronic or face-to-face. The flow of information is important in order to be successful. If someone misses the information when something changes, there is a risk for mistakes or delays and failing to meet the requirements. 

The manager should set a tone for all communications which allows to maintain control of a certain project and ensure all stakeholders receive all the necessary information. When the standards of how participants communicate are set it's easier to controll and manage and communication stays consistent. When the communication is regular and consistent, the employees can work productively and the manager can lead the team to the the desired outcome.

 Why is a communication plan important for a company?

A good plan affirms the goals and outcomes of a organisation, its vision, mission statement and values and beliefs. 

Effective project communications require consistent, credible, and concise reporting of progress and status.  The sender is responsible for making sure that information is clear, concise, complete, and presented in a timely manner.  The receiver is responsible for providing information needs, media, timing, format and forum.  Of the facets of project management, communication planning is one of the most critical to success

Sources

Bonk, K., Griggs, H., & Tynes, E. 1999. Designing a Communications Plan, Chapter 4. 

Frost, S. 2014. Chron.com, How important are communication plans for project managers?  

Trigger 5

Brand Strategy 

(PBL session 6, closing trigger 5. 6.10.2014)

Brand strategy is the how, what, when, and to whom you plan on communicating your product or service. (Sorenson 2012)

Brand is more than just the product; it's selling the problem your business is solving. It's how you define your position in the market compared to your competitors. You should decide which aspect is the most important about your product or service, and make it a part of every aspect of your brand communication.

With a clear brand strategy the overall brand equity gets stronger; the way people perceive or feel your product or service and how much they're willing to invest in it. The added value allows a company to charge more for their brand than other identical companies with weaker brands.

When creating a brand strategy, decisions like "is your product the high-cost, high-quality option, or the low-cost, high-value option?" have to be made. A brand can't be both and it can't be everything for everyone.

The brand strategy brings competitive positioning to life, and works to position the brand as a certain “something” in the mind of their customers. Being an on-trend, relevant, inspiring, purposeful, innovative and community-centric brand is what makes people pay attention and remeber the brand.The elements of a brand strategy are everything from advertising and distribution channels to visual and verbal communication.

Marketingmo

Succesful brands connect emotionally with their costumers. When a cusotmer has a connection with a brand they'll choose that brand over another brand's product with the same features. This is what brand strategies aim for. Look at Harley Davidson, for example; many would choose a Harley Davidson over a cheaper bike with the same features, for example. Nike vs. "supermarket" sportgear and Luis Vuitton vs. normal leather bag, are good examples, too.

Glastonbury festival has such a strong brand, emotional connection and reputation that the  Glastonbury 2015 tickets were sold out in less than 30 minutes even though not a single artist to perform has been announced yet. (OConnor,The Independent, 2014)
  

Gigslutz

Brand Architecture 

 

Brand architecture is the strategic and logical structure for a group of brands, sub-brands and named products, a family tree so to speak. It is how an organization structures their various products, services or other entities within its portfolio and how they relate to one another. 

Mootee

When creating a brand architecture the organisation needs to decide between speciality and diversity; whether to focus on one brand for every product or several diversified brands. The advantage of using fewer brands or a singular brand is marketing efficiency in brand building and customer communication.

VanAuken (2014) defined four reasons why an organisation should (or should not) choose several different brands over a single brand. Firstly, if there any channel conflict issues, if key customers who resell to the end consumer want to offer something different from competitors. Second, if similar goods are sold at different price points; separate brands, or sub-brands, create more distance between the offerings. Next, if set of products are on different scales, one upscale/prerium and other standard/value products. Lastly, if one of the brads appeals to a very different market segment than the other. 

Sources 

Llopis. Forbes, 6 Brand strategies most CMOs fail to execute. 3.10.2014. Accessed 5.10.2014

Marketingmo, Guides- Brand strategy. 2014. Accessed 5.10.2014 

Mootee, Innovation playground. 7.9.2007. Accessed 5.10.2014 

O'Connor. The Independent, Glastonbury tickets. 5.10.2014. Accessed 5.10.2014

Sorenson. HubSpot, 7 Components that compromise a comprehensive brand strategy. 8.3.2012. Accessed: 5.10.2014 

VanAuken. Branding strategy insider, 4 reasons to maintain different brands. 13.8.2014. Accessed: 6.10.2014

Williams. Entrepreneur, The basics of branding. 16.5.2005. Accessed: 5.10.2014  

Trigger 4

Bran identity & image

(PBL session 5, closing trigger 4. 24.9.2014)


“Personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

In the same way, a brand is the result of an unbroken series of consistent gestures, encompassing both what it does and how it does it. (C. Phillips & J. Hopelain. 2012)


Brand identity
  
Brand identity is a set of strategic associations that the brand creates and tries to maintains. The identity explains how the brand supports the organisation's overall missions and objectives and what is the promise to the customers.

For the first time, brand identity as a concept was mentioned and specified by J. Kapferer in 1986. According to Kapferer the brand identity allows the brand to express why it is recognisable or different from the other brands. He divides it into six dimensions; physique, relationship, reflection, personality, culture and self image. (L. Kobsch. 2012) 


 

L. Kobsch. Heineken prism. 2012

Brand image 

Brand image on the other hand is the customers' perception of the brand whereas the identity was the organisation's. The image is a set of beliefs and images that reflects how a customer sees the brand. It's the expectations and experiences of the brand. A brand image is not created, and it cannot be, but it is automatically formed by the customers in their minds. It includes the appeal of the product/service, ease of use, functionality, fame and overall value.  (Management Study Guide. 2013)

vs.

Management Study Guide

Brand mantras (K. Keller)

Nike: Authentic Athletic Performance
Disney: Fun Family Entertainment
Ritz-Carlton: Ladies & Gentlemen Serving Ladies & Gentlemen
BMW: The Ultimate Driving Machine



Rebranding 

"Don’t change just for change’s sake, but keep your brand fresh. Your business depends on it."

Unless there's a very good reason, the brand should think twice before changing a well-known identity system. The main challenge with rebranding is trying to maintain familiarity and consistency so that the customers remember the brand. On the other hand brand updates can be crucial in order to keep the brand relevant to the consumers. 

Long-term, if the target audience changes, the markets evolve or the products and services change, it may the be the time for rebranding.

Changing a brand identity is risky because it has the potential to reduce brand recognition, recall and key associations, and because it could cause customer dissatisfaction. For example, Gap changed its logo back to the original one after so much consumer dissatisfaction with the new logo. Many other brands such as Kodak, Starbucks and Xerox changed their identities to some consumer push-back at first but in the end, people adapted to the new identities.  

Brand Strategy Insider, Starbucks. 2011

Rebooting your brand 

by M. Mcneilly (2013)

1. Tie the update to real change
 - Strongest brand updates are the ones that communicate the real change in the brand's strategy and experience

2. Nail the "right time"
 - Timing is everything. A possible need for update "if consumer feedback is inconsistent with your brand vision and aspiration."

3. Build on brand equities on your own - in customers' minds
 - Keep the attributes and graphic elements which resonates most strongly with consumers and which the brand still deliver well. Then think how to do them in a fresher way. 

4. Less is really more
 - Simplify. "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" (Leonardo da Vinci)

5. Don't try to be trendy 
 - Think ahead

6.Provide an "Easter egg"
 - Hidden meaning in the design, only if it's meaningful

7. Test it in context
 - Something might look great on a white paper but work totally different on a bilboard or at the side of a van

8. Be able to explain it
 - Give a reason to the rebranding

9. Judge success by how it supports your objectives long-term
 - Stand firm and think long-term

Sources 

Daye, D. Business Strategy Insider, New Starbucks logo: a bad idea? 6.1.2011. Accessed: 17.9.2014

Kobsch, L. Forget milk, got beer?, Kapferer's brand identity prism. 23.11.2012. Accessed: 23.9.2014 

Lamson, G. Creative Market, Designing a brand identity. 23.7.2013. Accessed: 17.9.2014 2. http://www.managementstudyguide.com/brand-image.htm

Larsen, Brand identity: When should you refresh? 2014. Accessed: 17.9.2014

Management Study Guide, Brand identity vs brand image. 2013. Accessed: 17.9.2014

Management Study Guide, Brand image. 2013. Accessed: 17.9.2014

Mcneilly, M. Fastcompany, Time to reboot your brand? 4.10.2014. Accessed 23.9.2014

Philips, C. & Hopelain, J. Brand Strategy Insider, Brand identity defined. 15.8.2012. Accessed: 17.9.2014    





VanAuken, B. Branding Strategy Insider, The risk of brand identity change. 11.1.2012. Accessed: 17.9.2012

Trigger 3

Visual Brand Identity

(PBL session 4, closing trigger 3. 17.9.2014)


We started by looking through a case study "Steep this" and how their logo and the visual brand was developing. There were several different steps starting from inspiration boards and sketching ending up with the finalised logo and visual brand. 


1. What are the elements of visual branding? 

Overall, branding creates credibility, consistency, trust and familiarity for the stakeholders. Visual branding is a big part of how a organisation presents itself to the employees and customers. The brand defines what people most commonly associate with an organisation.

"Great brands find relevant ways to tap the emotional drivers that already reside deep within us. A brand is a metaphorical story that connects with something very deep - a fundamental appreciation of mythology. Stories create the emotional context need to locate themselves in a larger experience." (Scott Bedbury, A New Brand World)

The elements that create a visual brand are; logo, websites, store signage, business cards, flyers, marketing materials, social media profiles and product photos. In more detail; the graphic design, the colour scheme, typography and the pictures used etc. Basically, everything that could be seen by the audience; the stakeholders. 

The Miniml

2. The importance of visual branding

It is important to stand out visually, as it's so easy to get lost in the crowd, and the content, colours and images of your brand are often the first things the audience will see and notice.  

The visual part of the brand is a reflection of the organisation is all about; uniqueness, differentiation and values. It has to present the same factors as in text, audio and/or video. If it doesn't match it'll lead to inconsistencies in the communication. (Artversion, 2014) 

How to integrate company's values/identity into visual branding?

Companies, especially small and medium-sized who might not have the resources should think about investing in a graphic designer/ outsourcing the creation of the visual brand to a PR/advertisement agency.

The Miniml

 
3. How to use visual branding effectively?

5 easy tips for visual branding in social media (The Next Web, E. Futterman. 2014) 

-Keep it consistent across all platforms used. 

-Be aware of the best practices for each platform.
 videos in Youtube, pictures in Instagram etc. 

-Simple and consistent profile picture
 The most visible part of the social media profile

-Keep the profile fresh 
 Old information gives a bad impression

-Use space creatively 

The Miniml

 


What aspects to consider when creating a visual brand identity?

5 key aspects of visual brand identity (Wave, G. Hardy. 2012) 

- Choose the right brand name 
Should sound and look nice

-  Create a consistent visual style 
Overall brand identity should be uniform, expectations can be done in individual advertising campaign

- Develop a compelling logo
"The flagship" 

- Pay attention to color 
Influences emotions and differentiates from competitors 

- Select appropriate typography 
Playful fonts don't work for serious businesses and the other way around, can affect whether the right message gets through



+ Failed 

Ikea Saudi Arabia 

Adweek

"The furniture retailer took some heat in September after Ikea Saudi Arabia decided to use Photoshop to remove all the women from its catalog. Ikea later apologized, saying, "We should have reacted and realized that excluding women from the Saudi Arabian version of the catalog is in conflict with the Ikea Group values." (Adweek, 2012)

Sources

Adweek, 20 biggest brand fails 2012. 2012. Accessed: 16.9.2014

Artversion, Visual branding and brand development. 2014. Accessed: 16.9.2014

Big Ideas Blog, S. Payton, How to build a strong visual brand. 26.62014. Accessed: 15.9.2014  

Slideshare, A. Pavkov, Visual Branding. 5.3.2012. Accessed: 16.9.2014 

The Miniml, Perfect visual brand identity examples. 30.3.2013. Accessed: 16.9.2014

The Next Web, E. Futterman, blog post: 5 easy tips for visual branding in social media. 26.6.2014. Accessed: 15.9.2014

Wave, G. Hardy, blog post: 5 key aspects of visual brand identity. 27.7.2012. Accessed: 16.9.2014

Trigger 2

Integrated Marketing Communication

(PBL session 3, closing trigger 2. 10.9.2014)

We read a case of a company trying to change consumers' perceptions on value and found out a problem and some learning objectives. 

How to implement Integrated Marketing Communication

1. What is IMC?

Integrated marketing strategies (Twylyfte)

"An approach to achieving the objectives of a marketing campaign, through well coordinated use of different promotional methods that are intended to reinforce each other."  (Business dictionary)

      What is the purpose?

IMC is "a management concept that is designed to make all aspects of marketing communication ... work together as a unified force, rather than permitting each to work in isolation". (about.com)

So, the purpose of IMC is to connect the different communication channels together and make the message clear, consistent and credible for the customer. Consistent images and relevant, useful, messages help nurture the long term relationships with customers. A good IMC plan can create competitive advantage, boost sales and profits, while saving money, time and stress. 

2. How does a company use IMC?

      What are the tools they use?

IMC

There are several different tools for IMC, including advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing. The tools used can be anything from traditional media, print, TV and radio; to social media or outdoor promoting.
      
    What challenges do they face? 

Even though there are great benefits of IMC there are also some challanges. The resistance to change and problems with communication to several different target groups are not the only problems; functional silos, stifled creativity, time scale conflicts and lack of management know-how can be obstacles which restrict IMC, too.  

The structure of a organisation can be a barrier to IMC; if the sales department is not connected with PR department the communication is not consistent trough all the channels. IMC can also restrict creativity; the wild and wacky sales promotions  are restricted if the overall marketing communications strategy fights against that. Long-term strategies can also conflict with a short-term campaign which is created to boost quartely sales, for example.  (MMC learning, 2009)

Golden rules (MMC learning, 2009)

1.  Get Senior Management Support for the initiative by ensuring they understand the benefits of IMC.
(2) Integrate At Different Levels of management.

(3) Ensure the Design Manual is used to maintain common visual standards for the use of logos, type faces, colours and so on. 

(4) Focus on a clear marketing communications strategy. 

(5) Start from scratch. Build a new communications plan. Specify what you need to do in order to achieve your objectives.

(6) Think Customers First. 

(7) Build Relationships and Brand Values. All communications should help to develop stronger and stronger relationships with customers. 

(8) Develop a Good Marketing Information System which defines who needs what information when. 

(9) Share Artwork and Other Media. 

(10) Be prepared to change it all. Learn from experience.  
 

Sources 

About.com, About money, IMC definition. Accessed 8.9.2014

Business dictionary, IMC definition. Accessed: 8.9.2014 

MMC learning, Marketing communications - What is IMC? 2009.Accessed 9.9.2014