{"id":15701,"date":"2017-10-18T04:00:17","date_gmt":"2017-10-18T09:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rocksdigital.com\/?p=15701"},"modified":"2025-06-17T09:21:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T14:21:08","slug":"integrated-marketing-communications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocksdigital.com\/integrated-marketing-communications\/","title":{"rendered":"A Look at Integrated Marketing Communications in the 21st Century"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Integrated<\/a>
Vitalii Vodolazskyi\/shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Better hear me out on Integrated Marketing Communications<\/a>. Why? Well, I\u2019m an old man. I took Pascal in high school. (Go ahead and Google it, I\u2019ll wait.)<\/p>\n

I typed my college papers on a typewriter\/word processor hybrid. I hung out in MUDs and MOOs before there were chat rooms. And I\u2019m lucky enough to have lived my bachelor days before the onslaught of social media.<\/p>\n

One of the things that has stood the test of time \u2013 unlike my hairline \u2013 is Integrated Marketing Communications. But while IMC (that\u2019s what us industry insiders<\/em> call it \u2013 clever, huh?) is still an important concept for marketers, it\u2019s had to change as our communications technology landscape has changed.<\/p>\n

So, What is Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)?<\/h2>\n

Before we can talk about what it is today, let\u2019s take a moment to talk about what it used <\/em>to be.<\/p>\n

Integrated Marketing Communications<\/a> is pretty much exactly what it sounds like \u2013 the combination of many different forms of communication for marketing purposes. The idea is to create a focused, on-brand marketing campaign that uses every communication tool possible to market a company\u2019s products\/services.<\/p>\n

For example, Hats by Harley (\u2122 pending) might be introducing a new line of ultra-lightweight, breathable baseball caps that filter out UV rays. (This is especially helpful for bald\/balding men.)<\/p>\n

A couple decades ago, HbH would create an Integrated Marketing Communications plan for this new product line \u2013 with our \u201cConquer the Sun\u201d theme (\u2122 pending) \u2013 including all of the old-school channels:<\/p>\n