24210 Chap.2 IMC Tools, POEM Media and Strategic Consistency
IMC Tools, POEM Media and Strategic Consistency
The tools
Lecture 2 defines advertising, public relations, publicity, sales promotion, direct marketing, personal selling and sponsorship by who pays, whether the sponsor is identified and whether the contact is personal.
Integration and consistency
Integration is how organisations manage the flow of communication into stakeholders’ minds, through message, strategic and organisational integration.
Duncan and Moriarty’s triangle checks that what a brand says, does and has confirmed by others agree, and synergy is the extra effect when they do.
Media and theory
POEM sorts media into paid, owned and earned, and congruity theory explains why consistent signals are liked while surprising ones are remembered, through self-brand, brand-user and brand-usage fit.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Seven tools of the IMC mix
- 02
Advertising versus publicity
- 03
Three types of integration
- 04
Say, do and confirm
- 05
Paid, owned and earned media
- 06
Congruity theory and endorsers
Worked example · free
Test a phone brand on say, do and confirm
- 1Say: the paid and owned messages promise two days, so message consistency holds across TV and the website.
- 1Do: the product delivers one day, so behaviour does not match the message; this corner breaks first.
- 1Confirm: reviewers and owners repeat the shortfall, so unplanned messages now contradict the promise; respond quickly with a fix or a corrected claim.
Key terms
- Publicity
- Non-personal news, editorial or announcements about a brand that it did not directly pay for or openly sponsor.
- Owned Media
- Channels a brand owns and controls, such as its website, social accounts and email list.
- Congruity Theory
- The idea that people seek consistent thinking, so congruent messages are evaluated well and incongruent ones are remembered.
IMC Tools, POEM Media and Strategic Consistency FAQ
What separates advertising from publicity?
Both are non-personal. Advertising is paid for by a sponsor the audience can name, while publicity is coverage such as a news story or editorial that the organisation did not directly pay for or openly sponsor. If the brand bought the space, the lecture would class it as advertising however editorial it looks.
What are the three types of integration?
Message integration keeps content and look aligned, strategic integration aligns the objectives and choices behind the messages, and organisational integration lines up the people and processes that produce them. A brand can be strong on the first and weak on the third.
What does the strategic consistency triangle check?
It checks three corners: what the brand says through paid and owned media, what it does through product and service, and what customers, reviewers and the media confirm. The lecture’s iPhone example shows that confirming messages are unplanned, so the brand must earn them and respond when they turn negative.
Is an influencer post paid or earned media?
It depends on the money and the control. A paid partnership is paid media, while a genuine unpaid review or enthusiastic post is earned. The lecture’s Barbie example puts paid influencer content in paid media and unpaid celebrity enthusiasm in earned media.
How does congruity theory apply to choosing an endorser?
Test three fits: self-brand congruity between the endorser’s personality and the brand image, brand-user congruity with the brand’s typical users, and brand-usage congruity with how the product is actually used. Harley-Davidson’s 2021 ad with Jason Momoa is the lecture’s example of all three.
What creates synergy in a campaign?
The lecture names three sources: related messages repeated and connected, shared themes arriving from several platforms and sources, and the build-up of those messages in memory. To show synergy you compare the combined campaign with what each channel achieved alone, which needs measures set before launch.
What is the difference between consumer and trade sales promotion?
Consumer-oriented promotion targets the end buyer with offers such as discounts and point-of-purchase material. Trade-oriented promotion targets the sales force and intermediaries, for example with sales contests and price deals. Both add value or an incentive meant to stimulate sales quickly.
Assessment move
Classify ten real activities you see this week into the seven tools and into paid, owned or earned media, and write the deciding feature beside each. Then pick one brand and test it on say, do and confirm. When you choose an ambassador for your group campaign, write the three congruities out in full.
When you plan the group campaign, write one line per tool stating its job, its deciding feature and whether its media will be paid, owned or earned.
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