The rate at which “the curriculum” is moving is very hard to catch up with. My very own field of communications is shifting gears like a safari rally. For example, Marketing and Public Relations had been distinct and clear tasks for some decades. For those who may not know, before the 1980s marketing and public relations (PR) operated independently. Marketing focused on selling products, while PR cultivated goodwill (Cornelissen, 2017).
Afterwards, several models emerged. Model A had PR leading, with marketing supporting PR activities. I think this is where PR terminology lost credibility.
Model B saw marketing take the lead, with PR becoming part of marketing, focusing on promotions and sponsorships.
Model C merged PR and marketing into a single external communications function (Cornelissen, 2017). Now, I’m not even sure where we stand with influencers, comedians, brand ambassadors, and digital citizens constantly reminding us to “subscribe to our channel.”
One thing that is not changing, however, is the concept and need for integrated marketing communications (IMC). This will remain relevant because it promotes clarity, consistency, and coordinated messaging that build a strong corporate identity. IMC ensures that all touchpoints, such as marketing, operations, HR, legal, and programs, align to send out the same message (Cornelissen, 2017).
Interestingly, some of these principles apply even at a personal level. For example, integrated communication in families means aligning values, messages, and actions so that all family members understand and live by shared principles.
I often tell my children not to shout but to talk to each other politely. Recently, one of them got on my nerves because of “government policies, lack of infrastructure, and climate change.” I shouted, and my younger one asked: “Dad, why are you shouting?” I realized that despite consistently communicating family expectations in words, my actions sent mixed signals, and Integrated marketing communication came to mind.
Organizations face a similar challenge. Many are working hard to present a unified storytelling approach, ensuring that fundraising campaigns, program reports, social media, and donor communications all tell a consistent story about their impact. That’s the bare minimum. If an organization is not doing this, we cannot even discuss the next level of communication maturity.
But often, employee behaviour is ignored. Word of mouth from staff can easily water down multi-million-dollar strategic communication efforts and campaigns. Yes, communicating the same message across all channels is great but sometimes, all that is needed is internal alignment, achieved through simple acts like providing talking points to staff, volunteers, and board members.
Therefore, even though we may not catch up with every new curriculum and model, we can focus on mastering the principles, which, thankfully, do not change as often. Integrated Marketing Communication is one of those principles that seeks to align words and actions to reduce conflict, strengthen unity and build a strong identity.
Reference
Cornelissen, J. (2017). Corporate communication: A guide to theory and practice (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.