8 Marketing Communication Functions

Eight marketing communication functions are: advertising, public relations, sales promotion, direct marketing, personal selling, packaging, events and sponsorships, and customer service. Those eight functions are used by marketers when they are designing marketing communication mix as one part of their marketing programs. Brand messages are delivered to customers via one, some, or all of those eight functions or 'methods'. Those eight functions need the right media to send brand messages effectively and efficiently. Let's see each of eight marketing communication functions:

What is IMC ?

IMC is an abbreviation for Integrated Marketing Communication, which is an integrated ways to communicate your marketing strategies, started from IMC planning, its implementation to its brand message delivery. IMC is related with synergy, creativity, and integration between marketing communication functions, media, and those continuous IMC processes. Briefly, the process model IMC can be seen in below figure.

What is Marketing Communication ?

Few or perhaps all of you know what the 4P (Product, Place, Price, Promotion) or 7P (4P++ Process, People and Physical Evidence) is. 4P and 7p is related with the creation of product and all things nearby product’s attraction so that the product has high quality and it is expected able to fulfill the customers’ needs or wants. The question is how the fate of a product if customers don’t know it? Is it going to be sold well? The most logic answer is that product will fail in markets. Do not expect even that much that its brand become popular, because the product can’t be sold well. Now then marketing communication is crucial here. Marketing communication is a mechanism to inform, introduce, or popularize qualities that a product has and its brand. The analogy related with writing world including blogging world is a person called “A” has brilliant ideas, and by writing his/her ideas in email groups, magazine, and also blog then A’s qualities and A as a personal brand become popular. What the marketing communication delivers is brand messages. Brand messages are not about the brand but also all things that the brand promises that can satisfy customers’ needs or wants. Brand messages are delivered to customers through eight marketing communication functions.