Leading Entrepreneurship

The buzz-phrase du jour - redefined.

Wikipedia quotes AMA’s definition of integrated marketing communications (IMC) as “a planning process designed to assure that all brand contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product, service, or organization are relevant to that person and consistent over time.”

I not only believe this definition misses the mark, I believe it missed the point.

IMC really ushured in the combination of traditional marketing strategy, promotional tactics and corporate communications. It blurred the lines between human resources, corporate development and the marketing department. It took the CEO, birds-eye level of marketing and crammed it down to every nook and cranny of the organization.

In simple terms, IMC made marketing the number 1 long-term strategic priority again.

We were all in danger. Danger of letting marketing be the branding band-aid that covered obvious flaws in a business model. As marketeers, we can now all breathe a sigh of relief that we are being listened to again.