Integrated Marketing Communications: How Companies are Assessing Carbon Consciousness among Consumers - Research Paper Example

Integrated Marketing Communications How Companies are Assessing Carbon Consciousness among Consumers? Abstract The current research has aimed at analyzing various aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) in an attempt to shed light on the activities that modern organizations generally undertake in order to assess carbon consciousness among their consumers. An extensive literature review has been conducted to discuss the elements of corporate image, issue advertising, the B2C perspective, brand positioning, brand recognition, establishment of goodwill, and eco-friendly practices, from the perspectives of various scholars. Once the categorical analysis of the above mentioned organizational aspects have been accomplished, the concluding remarks have been provided to bring the report to an end. Introduction Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) has been defined as “a cohesive combination of marketing communications activities, techniques, and media designed to deliver a coordinated message to a target market with a powerful and synergistic effect, while achieving a common objective or set of objectives” (Govoni, 2004, “I”). This definition is helpful in outlining the immensely crucial role that this comparatively new concept plays in redefining the organizational initiatives in terms of marketing communications (marcom) and hence, marketing strategies. The definition also hints at the fact that IMC calls for internal synergy between the various departments of an organization; furthermore being a holistic approach, IMC activities also necessitate representatives of organizational managements to participate actively in the process of aligning various internal resources with the corporate as well as marketing objectives. It is important to note that although every organization employs marcom to varying degrees, there are instances wherein it may be observed that these efforts are not sufficiently directed at the target customers; moreover, it may often so happen that organizations fail to draw the attention of the customers of their rivals. It goes without saying that marcom constitutes one of the most critical aspects of organizational marketing objectives, and it is also a key determining factor on which the success or failure of marketing strategies are largely dependent. So much is the significance of marcom in defining the marketing competencies of organizations that “all organizations – whether firms involved in B2B exchanges, companies engaged in B2C marketing, or organizations delivering not-for-profit services (museums, symphony orchestras charitable organizations, etc.) – use various marketing communications tools to promote their offerings and achieve financial and nonfinancial goals” (Shimp, 2009, “The Tools of Marketing Communications”). In the light of these aspects of marcom as well as IMC, the current report will attempt to shed light on the interrelationships between IMC and corporate image, issue advertising, brand positioning and brand recognition. The report will be based primarily on the B2C perspective in order to evaluate the strategies adopted by companies in assessing carbon consciousness among consumers; it will also make an effort to lay emphasis on other organizational aspects such as the establishment of goodwill, social acceptance, and eco-friendly practices. All through the course of research a number of scholarly literatures will be extensively referred to in order to add significant weight to its fundamental premise. Literature Review Corporate Image Having defined corporate image as “an important organizational resource that enables to create, strengthen and sustain competitive advantage”, Šmaižien and Oržekauskas (2006) have also asserted that “seeking to avoid negative consequences of spontaneously emerged uncontrolled image and maximally shot opportunities of positive image, it is necessary to measure and evaluate organizational image periodically” (Šmaižien & Oržekauskas, 2006, “Introduction”). However, it is worth mentioning that even though organizations have realized its importance and have been taking initiatives to administer it systematically as well as persistently, scientific methods for quantifying and appraising corporate image are yet to be substantially developed. Corporate communication, as opined by Abdullah (2009) “is a complex and distinctive management discipline, which refers to public relations management incorporating all strategic and managerial functions of communication in light of corporate identity, image, reputation, crisis and risk, and marketing communication” (Abdullah, 2009, “Introduction”), and it has been found to play a crucial role in organizational success. It is evident that IMC being a specialized component of corporate communication tools plays a prominent role in shaping as well as augmenting corporate image, and hence organizations are necessitated to be aware of the fact that corporate communications – through the various unique roles that they play – have redefined the operations of multinational enterprises (MNEs). Bikker and Regt (2001) have observed that “the world has been transformed from a traditional, industrial economy to an attention economy”, a shift that Kitchen and Schultz (2001) believe to be “precisely from selling product branding to selling corporate branding in order to venture into globalization challenges” (Abdullah, 2009, “Introduction”). Argenti (1998) has clearly pointed out that in the contemporary global business environment which is characteristically competitive, corporate image as well as identity is extremely vital for the sustainability of organizations; in addition, he has advocated the development of advertising campaigns and advised organizations to recognize them as key intangible assets that must not be overlooked (Abdullah, 2009, “Corporate Identity, Image and Reputation”). Issue Advertising Issue advertising has been defined as “advertising that is not intended to sell a product or service, but rather to change people's opinions or behavior” (The Financial Times Ltd., 2009, “Issue Advertising”). While recognizing that “the macro aspects of sustainability are vital”, Laric and Lynagh (2010) have argued that “if the world is going to be a more sustainable place, then corporations and other organizations must adapt to the new reality and adopt IMC as a vehicle to be used to get this point across” (Laric & Lynagh, 2010, “Sustainability and the Macro Environment”). It may be mentioned in this context that shareholders generally demand internal costs to be reflected in the accounting reports of organizations; however, in the present business scenario, stakeholders expect shareholders to become aware of various external costs associated with the cleaning of polluted air and/or water. Furthermore, stakeholders also expect that “recycling the waste generated which was considered ‘someone else’s’ problem, be treated as corporate responsibility” (Laric & Lynagh, 2010, “Sustainability and the Macro Environment”). In keeping with these organizational aspects, managements are necessitated to create awareness among their consumers as well as the general public about the measures that should be collectively adopted towards the achievement of a greener environment. The marcom activities undertaken for this purpose constitute issue advertising. It is becoming increasingly evident that significant levels of global interest are being generated for the promotion of sustainability; and it has been argued that “the effective use of the tools of IMC, blended together in a strategic manner that helps make the concept become a reality” (Laric & Lynagh, 2010, “Sustainability and the Micro Sustainability”). Laszlo (2008) has spelled out eight disciplines that he feels to be critical for organizational success in the contemporary business environment; by following these disciplines organizations “(1) understand current value position, (2) anticipate future expectations, (3) set sustainable value goals, (4) design value creation natives, (5) develop the business case, (6) capture the value, (7) validate results and capture learning, [and] (8) build sustainable value organizational capacity” (Laszlo, 2008, “The Eight Disciplines”). Laric and Lynagh (2010) being supporters of Laszlo’s philosophy believe that “effective IMC will make that dream of a greener world become a reality”; furthermore they have opined that “on this macro level all parts of IMC work together to promote sustainability” (Laric & Lynagh, 2010, “Sustainability and IMC”). The B2C Perspective Business-to-consumer/customer (B2C) communications represent the sphere of marcom that is “aimed directly at end-user consumers and most closely associated with pull strategies” (Hughes & Fill, 2007, “Consumer and B2B Marketing Communications”). Owing to the fact that interactive technologies (e.g. the Internet, call centers, etc.) enable organizations to interrelate with consumers in ways that are highly cost-efficient, the latter make a continual attempt to incorporate these interfaces into their business and address the issues associated with customer relationships. It has been observed that “one of the very first relationship-building efforts undertaken at many B2C companies involves the consumer-accessible Web site, and coordinating the interactions that take place on the Web site with the interactions that take place at the call center or at the point of sale” (Peppers & Rogers, 2004, “Interacting with Customers: Customer Collaboration Strategy”). Laric and Lynagh (2010) have reported that the Korean electronics giant Samsung has devised a plan called “Eco Management 2013” that aims at making it an important eco friendly organization by the year 2013; furthermore, while suggesting probable communication strategies of Samsung in this context, they have asserted that apart from institutionalizing a green commitment, “a creative IMC program must be master-minded to get their message across to consumers” (Laric & Lynagh, 2010, “Business Organizations”). As has already been mentioned, a Web site may be developed as a starting point, and subsequently it should be “combined with other parts of the IMC mix to synergistically get their green message across to the target market” (Laric & Lynagh, 2010, “Business Organizations”), and in turn manifest the desired end-results. It is likely that organizations adopting these strategies will be successful in sending across their carbon consciousness messages to a wide base of target audience. That “it has never been so chic to be eco-friendly” will provide the greatest fillip to these initiatives; and it has been observed that “politicians are falling over themselves to establish their "green credentials," and banks are plowing money into developing trading platforms for carbon credits, or the right to emit specified amounts of greenhouse gases” (Norton, 2007, “Carbon Consciousness Hits Consumers”). The amount of interest that is being generated by carbon consciousness may be assessed from the fact that “more than a dozen investment banks, including Barclays Capital (BCS) and Deutsche Bank (DB) teamed up with five organizations involved in carbon trading to create a new pan-European association for emissions trading, called European Carbon Investors and Services (ECIS), whose goal is to spur standardization and internationalization of carbon trading” (Norton, 2006, “The Big Money Pouring into Carbon Trading”). Brand Positioning Brand positioning plays an important role in determining the organizational advertising strategy. While positioning a brand, organizations are required to recognize “the role that it plays in the minds of its current and potential customers”; furthermore, it is extremely important to “develop a solid brand benefit positioning” (Yeshin, 1998, “Brand Positioning”) that in turn requires organizations to identify the needs as well as wants of consumers and compare them with the attributes of their products. Figure 1: Linkage between Brand Identity, Brand Positioning and Brand Image (Source: Pike, 2008, “Destination Image”) The figure appended above illustrates the interrelationship between three vital elements of advertising, viz. (1) brand identity, (2) brand positioning, and (3) brand image. It may be comprehended from this figure that brand positioning consists of all those activities that organizations undertake in order to create a successful brand image among their target audiences. Once firms envision a preferred brand image (i.e. the organizational brand identity), they work towards communicating the same to its consumers through various positioning activities. It has been observed that brand themes concern “the need to manage the distinctive brand values and personality as they are expressed through all communication, from corporate to product-market communications”, by focusing on all the perceptible aspects of a brand; in this context, it has been propounded that “there should be particular themes which reflect and portray the brand positioning that can run through all marketing communication for a given brand to ensure that the brand is recognized and its positioning is distinctive” (Hackley, 2010, “Two Dimensions of Integration for Brand Communication: Themes and Channels”). Referring to the figure provided above, it may be mentioned that brand image differs from the brand identity that is originally conceived by organizations; it goes without saying that, in order to minimize the difference, organizations should undertake brand positioning with stupendous efficiency. Brand Recognition While it has been observed that “brand recognition is more than mere brand awareness”, this aspect of marcom has been conceptualized as “a result of the brand perception” (van Gelder, 2005, “The Brand Recognition”), thereby differentiating it from brand awareness which is a function associated with communications only. The knowledge about the way a brand is perceived by consumers helps organizations assess the extent to which it is preferred over other brands; on a more precise note, it may be said that “brand recognition has to do with how a brand is distinguished from and related to other brands” (van Gelder, 2005, “The Brand Recognition”). Macdonald and Sharp (2003) have argued that brand recognition takes place “in stimulus-based situations” which, according to Lynch and Srull (1982), are circumstances in which “all the relevant brand and attribute information is physically present”; in addition, they have drawn inspiration from Alba et al. (1991) and asserted that brand recognition also occurs in situations of mixed-choice, i.e. “where some of the information is physically present, and some must be recalled from memory” (Macdonald & Sharp, 2003, “Why is Brand Awareness Misunderstood?”). In the light of this discourse, it may also be quoted from Keller (n.d.) that “brand recognition relates to consumers’ ability to identify the brand under a variety of circumstances and can involve identification of any of the brand elements” (Grover & Vriens, “Measuring Brand Equity”). Establishment of Goodwill Corporate goodwill depends heavily on brand recognition, i.e. the more consumers are drawn towards and satisfied by an organization’s product(s), the more successful the organization becomes in augmenting its goodwill. In the context of modern business practices, it has been observed in instances more than one that “corporate image advertising attempts to increase a firm’s name recognition, establish goodwill for the company and its products, or identify itself with some meaningful and socially acceptable activity” (Shimp, 2009, “Corporate Image Advertising”). However, some authors believe that this is a function which is specifically associated with marketing public relations (MPR). While and Gibson (1987) have opined that “public relations is the process of finding out how a marketer is perceived its different publics…then developing a program to gain the goodwill or support of these publics”, Kotler (2000) has argued that “public relations involves a variety of programs designed to promote or protect a company’s image or its individual products” (Kitchen & de Pelsmacker, 2004, “Marketing, Public Relations, Publicity, and MPR”). Irrespective of these arguments, it is evident that corporate goodwill can only be established if organizations adopt effective measures to ensure successful brand positioning as well as brand recognition. Several scholars such as Mayer et al. (1992) have affirmed that “accompanying the increased consumer concern regarding the environment in the late 1980s and early 1990s, there occurred a growth in green marketing practices and, specifically, green advertising” (Carlson, Grove, Laczniak & Kangun, 1996, “Green Advertising”); in the light of this statement, it may be further suggested that organizations should opt for this avenue in order to respond to the growing public awareness in terms of environmental issues, and thus add fillip to their social acceptance as well as goodwill. Eco-friendly Practices Albeit it has been discussed that organizations are required to adopt strong measures while formulating as well as implementing IMC plans with respect to carbon consciousness and other eco-friendly initiatives, it is an essential prerequisite for organizations to practice what they preach. Generally the activities associated with green marketing include (1) targeting, (2) green design, (3) green positioning, (4) green pricing, (5) green logistics, (6) green promotion, (7) green alliance, and (8) reduction of marketing waste (Grundey & Zaharia, 2008, “Green Marketing and the Strategic Greening Concept”). It may be mentioned in this context that by adopting different types of environmental responsibility, organizations have actually been benefitted immensely. According to the findings of Marshall and Mayer (1992) “the green image generates a more positive public image which can, in turn, enhance sales, increase stock prices, and open access to public capital markets”; furthermore, Ottman and Terry (1998) have opined that “a green image may enhance the overall perception of product quality and when coupled with the environmental benefits inherent in a product and/or its use may provide the added value that consumers would favor” (Grundey & Zaharia, 2008, “Strategic Implications for Modern Businesses”). Conclusion During the course of this research, it has been found that IMC has been recognized by most of the contemporary business organizations as a potent marcom tool that may be employed in order to address a wide spectrum of advertising issues. It has been observed that the current business scenario environmental issues play a prominent role in defining the nature as well as scope of corporate operations. In an attempt to shed light on the IMC activities that organizations undertake to assess carbon consciousness among consumers, the interrelationship between various functions, viz. corporate image, issue advertising, the B2C perspective, brand positioning, brand recognition, establishment of goodwill, and eco-friendly practices have been categorically discussed. It has been observed that corporate image is an invaluable organizational resource that needs to be maintained and augmented through various processes such as issue advertising, brand positioning, and brand recognition. Once these are successfully accomplished the goodwill of organizations is established. In addition, organizations may be recommended to have a strong penchant for eco-friendly activities in order to invoke patronage from their consumers. References 1. Abdullah, Z. Beyond Corporate Image: Projecting International Reputation Management as a New Theoretical Approach in a Transitional Country. 2009. 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