Integrated marketing communication

IMC as the name suggests is a cohesive marketing and communication strategy that gels along with the various elements in it. 

1. Advertising:

For a low value product like Ship matchboxes, advertising would prove to be a disaster as demand is mostly inelastic. Besides, advertising for matchboxes could be considered as surrogate advertising for cigarettes and ITC would never take that risk.

2. Sales promotion:

For its long line of distributors, Wimco, now owned by ITC, provides many incentives to generate better sales. In fact this is one of the only ways in which ITC can promote the sale of its matchboxes. 

Incentives offered to distributors include:

vacations at exotic destinations for achieving sales targets. 

Discount on wholesale purchase

motivation to complementary products of ITC as a bundled package.

3. Direct selling:

this involves the direct communication with specific customers for placing specific orders and making the catalogue available to them. This form of communication uses telephone, fax, e-mail or Internet to reach the customers and obtain favourable responses from them. This is generally used for high value items and so not quite applicable to our product.

4. Personal selling:

This involves interacting with your consumer and ensuring that he or she is well parked with the idea of purchasing your product. This is the traditional role of a sales person who communicates directly with customers. This type of selling is also not applicable to ship matchboxes. 

5. Public relations:

Getting good publicity on todays dynamic media can make all the difference to the upkeep of any brand. Wimco had in the past participated in such activities by announcing to the world that they plant more trees than they cut down to make matches. Of late, there seems to be no PR coverage for ship matchboxes.

6. Experiential marketing:

This is the most innovative form of marketing where a brand can directly step up and have the potential consumer experience the brand. It presents itself in a tangible and physical form that people can see, experience and react to.