Integrated Marketing Communications

Citation

Pickton, D. and Broderick, A. (2001), "Integrated Marketing Communications", Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 53-54. https://doi.org/10.1108/ccij.2001.6.1.53.2

Probably one of the best designed and user‐friendly textbooks for teachers and learners to be seen for a long while. The editors have pulled together a coherent text with an eclectic mix of writers to produce this valuable resource on what they call the field of integrated marketing communications. A companion Web site is offered whereby students can utilise extensive Web links through an Internet resource locator while lecturers can access a comprehensive resource which includes a syllabus manager to build and host individual course Web pages.

As a reviewer with over 30 years of public, private and academic corporate communication experience, it therefore seems peevish for me to exorl the book for its excellence on the one hand and knock it for what seem to be minor details on the other hand. However, it is the minor details which lead the reader straight to the heart of a debate taking place around the concept and conditions which make for a rigorous vocational discipline. The joint editors believe the term corporate communications is a fad or fashion and argue merely that the difference between marketing communication and corporate communication is one of content not method. They justify using the term corporate communication as a subsidiary to marketing communication by suggesting that “what the reader of this book should recognise is that marketing communications have to cover not only promotions of goods and services but also corporate promotions as well. This is because images and impressions of the organisation have profound effects on the success or otherwise of individual goods and services.” They go on to say “certainly this applies to political marketing in which members of political parties are promoted as heavily, if not more so than the policies they represent (see book review above)”. The projects or case study exercises cited are occasionally superficially based on data available from home pages and press releases.

Clearly the marketing profession will have recourse to use the skills and expertise from public relations and advertising and indeed the authors have produced a “wheel model” of integrated marketing communication which will undoubtedly become a classic to marketing academics and practitioners as did the summary model of the elements of strategic management by G. Johnson and K. Scholes in the 1980s. However, as a here and now activity, integrated marketing communication has been accepted by the Chartered Institute of Marketing as a core component of their marketing diploma programme and for that purpose, this book is a quality product. Setting aside the inaccuracies around the politics, philosophy, economic and historical aspects of the relationship between marketing communication and corporate communication, this book is well worth the money for students and practitioners alike. As far as the academic community is concerned, the issues raised cause serious pedagogic concerns, not least in respect of classification for the UK research assessment exercise.