Ping Yu

The Implementation of Integrated

Marketing Communications in the
Automotive Industry

Metropolia University of Applied Sciences

Bachelor of Business Administration
International Business and Logistics
Bachelor’s thesis
2.11.2022
Abstract

Author: Ping Yu
Title: The Implementation of Integrated Marketing
Communications in the Automotive Industry
Number of Pages: 40 pages + 1 appendices
Date: 2 November 2022

Degree: Bachelor of Business Administration

Degree Programme: International Business Administration
Specialisation option: Finance
Instructor: John Greene, Senior Lecturer

The objective of this thesis was to investigate how automotive brands are
implementing Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) to enhance their brands
and ensure customers purchase their products or services.

Qualitative research was the fundamental methodology used in this thesis. The
preliminary data were gathered by conducting online semi-structured interviews with
marketing communication experts who provided knowledge of the implementation of
an IMC strategy within the automotive industry.

The key findings were that IMC required the car brand’s message to be consistently
conveyed to target audiences across all channels to ensure consumers recognized
the brand. The information transferred via different channels should be
complementary. The application of marketing communication instruments should
combine the automotive enterprise's overall strategy with the local strategy.
Customer databases play a vital role in IMC. Currently, vehicle firms still collect
consumer contact information from the dealer side. Therefore, auto companies
should prepare to build their customer databases to tailor segmentation and read
customer behaviors for the future.

Keywords: Integrated Marketing Communications, IMC, automotive

Contents

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Background 1
1.1 Research objectives and questions 2
1.2 Structure overview 2

2 Literature review 4

2.1 Definition of IMC 4

2.2 Brand positioning 10
2.2.1 Consumer research 10
2.2.2 The basic brand positioning principles 11
2.3 The communication process 11
2.4 Consumer database 13
2.5 Marketing communication tools 15
2.5.1 Advertising 15
2.5.2 Public relations 19
2.5.3 Direct marketing 21

3 Research methodology 25

3.1 Research design 25

3.2 Data collection methods 27

4 Limitations of the research 29

5 Analysis and findings 30

5.1 Development of marketing and IMC definition 30

5.2 Communication process and IMC strategy 31
5.3 Market communication tools 32

6 Conclusion 34

References 37

Appendices 41

The questions’ list of structured interviews 41

List of Figures

Figure 1. A structure of marketing strategies (Kotler et al. 2017: 47) 6

Figure 2. Basic communications process (Shannon & Weaver 1962) 12
Figure 3. The creativity in advertising of Volvo (①Bartosik 2019; ②Leurquin 2014;
③Waterhouse 2013) 17
Figure 4. The creativity advertisement of Nissan (Freeport Press 2015) 18
Figure 5. A Toyota Postcard (Bobnak 2021) 22
Figure 6. A Nissan promotional loyalty. (Bobnak 2021) 23
Figure 7. The process of marketing research (Kotler et al. 2017: 109) 26

List of Tables

Table 1. Evolution of IMC definitions 6

 1

1 Introduction

1.1 Background

Over the past decade, the marketing communications environment has

changed significantly. According to Marketing Charts (2022), budgets of the
communication industry is increasing due to the rising number of media types.
However, the effectiveness of advertising information transmission is on a
declining trend. Customers are not only sceptical but also tired of mass
marketing. (Oancea 2015) Therefore, companies should investigate new
strategies as the basis to strengthen their brands in the mind of their consumers

Redi (2002) outlines that Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is

becoming essential and compatible as the global marketing communications
environment changes. The digitalisation of media and communications has
resulted in a substantial shift in consumer requirements, enabling the need for
an integrated structure of marketing communications. IMC focuses on the
integration and utilisation of the enterprise's all resources. IMC's core value is
establishing an effective relationship between a brand and its consumers (Fill
2009: 267). IMC emphasises the coordination of internal and external activities
of the enterprise to maximise the influence of its marketing communications.
IMC is the integration of different channels to form a synergy of information
transmission to establish a distinct brand personality. The goal of IMC is to
make consumers trust the brand and keep it in the minds of consumers for the
long term (Fill 2009: 267).

The automobile is a high-involvement product, meaning buyers go through a

lengthy thinking process and analyse a lot of elements before purchasing.
Therefore, this study focused on the automotive market to comprehend the
significance of marketing communications deployment in such marketplaces. As
a significant contributor to the EU’s GDP, taxes from the automotive industry
represents 440.4 billion euros; the external commercial balance of the EU in
 2

passenger vehicles is 74 billion euros in 2020. (Eurasian Rail Alliance Index

2022)

1.1 Research objectives and questions

The purpose of IMC for manufacturers and distributors is to deliver the same
message and activities to their audiences through different channels to
strengthen their brand. Therefore, the objective of the thesis was to investigate
how automotive brands are implementing IMC to enhance their brands and
ensure customers purchase their products or services. The study aimed to
identify if an IMC strategy can help manufacturers and dealers establish an
effective communication connection with consumers so that consumers better
understand the actual value of cars. Moreover, additional research questions
were investigated to aid this study:

• What is IMC?

• What are the marketing communication tools?

• How are marketing communication tools combined and integrated to

effectively advance the automotive industry goals?

1.2 Structure overview

This thesis has six parts: introduction, IMC literature review, research
methodology, limitations of the thesis, discussion and findings, and conclusion.
The introduction describes the background of IMC and states research
objectives and questions to determine the study’s direction and scope. The
literature review formulates the definition and characteristics of IMC, the
communication process, brand positioning, customer databases, the marketing
communications tools and IMC's practice to achieve a preliminary theoretical
knowledge of IMC. The study methodology provides research designs and the
data collection approach to consider the reliability of the thesis. The discussion
presents the research findings through interviews with marketers who
 3

implement the marketing communications strategy in a multinational automotive

company. The last conclusion chapter summarizes the thesis and offers
suggestions for further investigation.
 4

2 Literature review

2.1 Definition of IMC

Grönroos (2004) defines marketing as a market-oriented approach, which is a

process of business activities to meet consumer needs and achieve corporate
goals, including marketing research, target market selection, product
development, product promotion and a series of market-related business
operations. The American Marketing Association (2017) approves the concept
of marketing, pointing out that marketing is a series of activities, processes and
systems which bring value to consumers and other stakeholders as a whole in
the creation, communication, dissemination and exchange of products or
services. Kotler and Keller (2016: 27) comment that marketing is a process in
which an enterprise obtains consumer benefits and returns to create customer
values and establish a solid relationship with them. They emphasize that
marketing is not only regarded as a sales technique but is highly valued as part
of the main task of enterprise management and operation.

Kotler, Armstrong, Harris & Piercy (2017: 194-215) developed a marketing

process model, as shown in Figure 1. The red centre position for marketing
represents the needs and desires of the consumer. The second layer shows the
marketing strategy based on segmentation, target market selection,
differentiation, and positioning to create customer value and achieve profitable
consumer relationships. Segmentation refers to an enterprise that divides
customers into several customer groups according to a certain standard. Target
is to evaluate the attractiveness of each segment and select one or several
segments as the target market. Differentiation and positioning mean
differentiated market offerings to occupy a clear, unique, and privileged place in
the minds of buyers. The positioning aims to provide particular points of interest
for this target market. A brand should plan for positioning to maximize its
superiority in its target markets and design the marketing mix.
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Based on the marketing strategy, the third layer is the integrated marketing mix,
including product, price, place, and promotion (4Ps). According to Kotler et al.
(2017: 263-305), the marketing mix is a collection of controllable elements that
enterprises can use to influence buyers’ decisions. The four variables in the
marketing mix help a business develop a unique selling point and build a brand
image. Product strategy refers to how a company achieves its marketing goals
by providing various tangible and intangible products suitable for consumer
needs to the target market. It includes the combination and application of
controllable elements such as styles, varieties, quality, specifications,
packaging, trademarks, features, brands, and different service measures
associated to the product. The promotion strategy is an approach for
enterprises to stimulate consumers’ desire to purchase their products through
various means of information dissemination. Pricing strategy refers to an
enterprise achieving its marketing objectives by setting prices and changing
prices according to market discipline, including discount prices, allowances,
payment terms, commercial credit, and pricing techniques. Place strategy can
combine and apply controllable factors such as distribution-related channel
coverage, commodity circulation links, intermediaries, network settings, storage
and transportation.

Marketing management analyses the environment to determine strategy

through analysis, planning, implementation, and control. It is necessary to
manage corrective action to achieve the best marketing strategy and the
integrated marketing mix. Accurately translating strategy into planning, then
smoothly implementing planning into action, finally measuring and evaluating
returns on investment.
 6

Figure 1. A structure of marketing strategies (Kotler et al. 2017: 47)

In a promotional strategy, companies should communicate their customer value

clearly and persuasively to achieve their sales goals. There are various tools for
promotion strategy. Enterprises need to build a consistent, clear, and
compelling message for their brands to engage and attract customers.

Marketing specialists should carefully study consumers' needs and wants to

develop products, provide reasonable prices, offer convenient distribution
channels, and formulate promotional or communication plans to attract
consumers' interest. The core function of IMC in the marketing model is to
deliver the brand's message to make a pleasant and memorable impression on
consumers. IMC is a significant concept in marketing since it helps companies
 7

effectively communicate with their target audiences and create long-term

relationships. (Pickton & Broderick 2005: 21)

In the late 1990s, the idea of IMC attracted extensive interest and attention in
academia. In 1993, the world’s first IMC monograph, “Integrated Marketing
Communication”, co-authored by Northwestern University Professors Don
Schultz, Stanley Tannenbaum, and Robert Lauterborn, was published in the
United States. It marked the formation of the theoretical concept of integrated
marketing. (Kliatchko 2005) There are many studies on the definition of IMC.
The following paragraphs are the influential definitions of IMC research in the
academic community, as Table 1 presented.

Table 1. Evolution of IMC definitions

Authors Date Definition

Schultz, IMC is a persuasive communication planning
Tannenbaum 1993 process that takes different forms to existing and
and Lauterborn, potential consumers over a long period of time.
The American
Association of IMC as a marketing communication concept that
1993
Advertising emphasizes added value.
Agencies
IMC refers to the development and coordination of
strategic communication activities by a company or
Duncan and brand to enable itself to communicate with
1997
Moriarty stakeholders through various media to establish
constructive relationships and strengthen mutually
beneficial relationships between them.
IMC is a strategic process of planning, developing,
executing, and evaluating measurables,
Schultz and
2004 coordinating, convincing communication processes
Schultz
with target consumers and other relevant internal
and external audiences.
 8

IMC is a communication method that pursues the

Kliatchko 2005 full utilisation of communication and the optimisation
of communication benefits.

Porcu, Del IMC is a strategy to communicate with target

Barrio-García 2012 audiences through integrated marketing mix with a
and Kitchen single voice concept.

Schultz et al. (1993) point out that IMC is a persuasive communication planning
process that takes different forms for existing and potential consumers. Its
purpose is to influence the behaviour of selected communication audiences
directly. According to Duncan and Evereet (1993), the American Association of
Advertising Agencies defines IMC as a marketing communication concept
emphasising added value. The philosophy highlights the integrated strategic
application of communication instruments such as direct marketing, advertising,
and sales promotion to provide a clear, consistent, and effective communication
impact (Eagel & Kitchen 2000).

Duncan and Moriarty (1997) introduced the concept of stakeholders to explain

IMC: “IMC refers to the development and coordination of strategic
communication activities by a company or brand to enable itself to communicate
with stakeholders (e.g., consumers, investors, employees, and the general
public) through various media to establish constructive relationships and
strengthen mutually beneficial relationships between them.” Schultz and Schultz
(2004) define the new concept of IMC as a strategic process for planning,
developing, executing, and evaluating measurable, coordinated, convinced
communication processes with target consumers and other relevant internal
and external audiences. Porcu et al. (2012) summarise that the purpose of IMC
is to communicate with target audiences through all marketing communications
approaches with one voice, one sound and one sight to establish a solid
corporate and brand image.
 9

It is feasible to synthesise a definition that will fit this thesis's aim based on
examining the above research IMC's definitions. IMC is a management process
that focuses on selected target audiences and integrates relevant audience
points of marketing communications activities to achieve greater message
consistency. The impact of IMC is more significant than the integration of
marketing communications mix or promotional elements. It involves the
management and organisation of all agencies, from analysing and planning to
implementing and controlling all marketing communications, promotional tools,
messaging and media for maximum cost-effectiveness and increased sales.

From the above definitions, Pickton and Broderick (2005: 28-30) summarize the
4Cs model as the characteristic of IMC, including consistency, coherence,
continuity and complementarity.

• Consistency: Corporates should communicate a brand’s core message to

target customers in all marketing activities. Consistency is the foundation of
all marketing activities. It plays an essential role in creating brand memories
when potential consumers browse a brand or product’s webpage, articles or
advertisement.
• Coherence: Corporates maintain the idea of logical interrelatedness when
formulating different messages. A brand should ensure that its statements
are connected through a variety of channels to achieve the goal of building a
long-lasting connection with its target audience.
• Continuity: While marketing content changes over time, the core content of a
brand can maintain long-term consistency. For example, successful
campaigns are all based on the same core idea or message, except for how
they use updated media tools.
• Complementarity: The elements of IMC seek synergy. Each part supports
the other to produce a balanced whole.
 10

2.2 Brand positioning

Effective brand positioning establishes the direction and goals for IMC. What
kind of brand value does integrated marketing want to achieve? What kind of
cultural information is spread out to consumers? Marketing communications are
the voice of the brand (De Pelsmacker, Geuens and Bergh 2021: 46). Brand
positioning is the foundation of marketing communications. The effectiveness of
brand positioning is reflected in consumers accepting and resonating with the
information transmitted by the brand (De Pelsmacker et al. 2021: 68). Without
the overall image design of the brand in advance, corporate marketing will lose
its direction.

Brand positioning is the process by which a company plans and demonstrates

the uniqueness of a brand (or product) to a target consumer group (Kotler et al.
2017: 244-245). It enables potential customers to interpret the brand correctly,
generating brand preference and purchase action. The main task of brand
positioning is to find, communicate and demonstrate the differentiation
advantages of one’s brand, meaning a kind of product manufactured by a
specific firm and marketed under a certain name (De Pelsmacker et al. 2021:
45).

2.2.1 Consumer research

Brand positioning aims to match the blank spots in the target consumer’s
mental model and make a deep impression in their minds. Therefore, studying
consumer behavior is a priority for businesses. As far as brand positioning is
concerned, consumer research focuses on the following three aspects:

• How consumers perceive brands and their products.

• Patterns in which consumers receive and interpret information
• Competitive brand investigation

Brand positioning is not about investigating what competitive brands are doing
but asking: How do consumers perceive competitors’ brands in their minds? Do
 11

consumers perceive the difference between a brand and its competitors? What
is the difference? Do consumers care about this difference? (Houraghan 2022)

2.2.2 The basic brand positioning principles

Brand positioning planners should have an interpretation of consumers’ minds

to achieve the goals of positioning. At the same time, it is also necessary for
companies to follow some bellow positioning principles, which will help
companies accurately position their brands.

• Realize brand value differentiation: A successful brand positioning

strategy should be able to create differences, create characteristics, and
make the brand stand out from many similar brands. If the brand value is
not significantly different from other competing brands, it will be difficult to
attract people’s attention.

• The positioning strategy should be market-oriented: enterprises need to

position their products in the position preferred by the target consumers
through a series of promotion activities so that audiences can notice the
brand and feel it is what they require.

• Positioning should be concise and focus on critical points: The

information that consumers can remember is minimal. Brand positioners
should seize one or two essential elements of the brand and express
them concisely and clearly so that consumers can easily interpret and
remember them. (Patel 2022)

2.3 The communication process

As IMC is about the consistent communication of value it is necessary to review

the communication process in advance. According to Egan (2007: 29),
communication refers to exchanging information by human beings through
symbols and media. Many communications are far from achieving their
 12

objectives since the seemingly simple communication process is often highly

complicated.

Schramm (1955), the founder of the communication study, regards messages

as a fundamental symbol. He believes that the premise of communication is
both parties must have a common cognition so that the message can be
accurately conveyed from one party to another. Shannon and Weaver (1962)
propose a linear mass communication model consisting of eight elements.
Various elements can be represented in Figure 2.

Overlapping fields of perception

E D
Source Receiver
n Medium e
c c
o Message
o
d d
e e
Noise

Feedback

Figure 2. Basic communications process (Shannon & Weaver 1962)

The sender chooses a specific symbolic form to represent the message it

conveys. The communication process begins, and this process is called
encoding. After encoding is information development, which contains the
message or content that the sender wants to convey. When receivers receive
the information, they must restore the sender’s information symbols to an idea
that can be accurately perceived. This process is the decode. It is a forward
 13

flow process from senders to receivers, which completes the information

expression in the communication process.

The process of communication must be disturbed by information from various

aspects, and this information interference is noise. When the message breaks
through the noise and reaches the receiver, the recipient’s action after sensing
the message is called the response. In the response, the part of the information
that goes back to the sender is the feedback. It closes the communication
process in a loop and enables the sender to monitor the decode and reception
of the information it sends.

The field of perception of the recipient has an impact on the decoding process,
which depends on the receiver’s perceptions, experiences, attitudes and values
(Blythe 2000: 2). The more overlap between the sender’s and receiver’s ‘field of
perception’, the more likely they will comprehend each other (Egan 2007: 30-
34).

2.4 Consumer database

Companies should build a database of customers and potential customers as

IMC's start and end, including demographic data, consumer psychological
statistics, consumer purchase records and consumer retention. The customer
database analysis is the basis for formulating the entire marketing
communication program (Fill 2009: 632). Continuous updating, changing, and
strengthening customer information flow is the soul and vitality of the customer
database (Blythe 2000: 165-169). Consumer databases are a powerful tool for
planning an overall marketing plan and controlling and measuring
communications campaigns. It can integrate relevant resources, such as email,
telephone, sales, third-party and other channels, and coordinate and dispatch in
a unified manner.

A good customer database allows users to query the status of customer orders
and track customer changes and needs. Therefore, the customer database
management system improves the ability of the sales representative
 14

responsible for customer service to communicate with the customer. (Kotler &
Keller 2016: 662-663) These service representatives can find out what
customers have ordered and what problems they have encountered. Such
knowledge helps them serve customers warmly and attentively, which in turn
increases customer retention. To improve the effectiveness of marketing
communications, companies should figure out how to optimise to utilise their
customer database. Marketing professionals need to recognise the role of
customer databases in the following areas (Blythe 2000: 167):

• How much does the business have to pay for IMC to attract a new
consumer?

• Does the business keep in touch with target customers when it conducts
IMC strategies?

• What resources does the company have to obtain data on current and
potential customers?

• Can the business identify such a potential customer? He or she is an

existing consumer of other brand, but he or she will be affected by your
marketing communications to purchase your products at the same time.

• Can businesses influence the lifestyles of their buyers?

The database can record customer history. If the buyers confirm their identity,
enterprises will establish their brief profiles. Then businesses are able to
personalise conversations for individual customers based on the consumers’
specific situations or requirements. If customer feedback, such as complaining,
complimenting, or asking, is properly quantified, it will help companies design
new products, solve problems, and develop IMC strategies. The database
reveals market changes. If a business continues to pay attention to its buyers, it
will inadvertently acquire consumers’ changing interests and tastes. (Shimp &
Andrews 2012: 412-414)
 15

Customer databases are an essential resource for IMC. The database needs to
focus on customer categorisation information, for example, new expectations
and loyalty, and use this information to remind users. The brand positioning and
market segmentation of products will rely on customer data analysis. Fully
grasping data and analysing effective results can directly guide customer
service operations to receive higher buyer satisfaction. (Fill 2009: 635-638) The
high satisfaction will undoubtedly drive a new round of sales behaviour,
enabling enterprises to create higher returns. Databases can create customers
and integrate integrated marketing communications with other business plans to
make companies more competitive (Shimp & Andrews 2012: 414). Therefore,
the customer database is a strategic hub that penetrates every enterprise
business unit.

2.5 Marketing communication tools

Marketing specialists recognize how important it is to use the marketing

communications methods most effective for a specific campaign when reaching
out to their target consumers. There are five marketing communication
instruments. Each instrument of the communications mix has a unique capacity
for communication and is employed to accomplish distinct goals. In this chapter,
three primary marketing communications instruments are introduced,
advertising, public relations, and direct marketing, since they are a collection of
diverse programmes designed to connect successfully with consumers (De
Pelsmacker et al. 2021: 3).

2.5.1 Advertising

The first primary instrument is advertising, an essential promotional tool and the
most widely recognized form of marketing communication. According to De
Pelsmacker et al. (2021: 200), advertising can be defined as the use of various
media by an organization or individual to transmit its goods, services, or ideas
to achieve the effect of promotion. It can reach many audiences with basic
 16

statements that help recipients interpret what a product is and what its principal
purpose is.

Advertising is an activity that introduces and promotes products, services,

organizations, or concepts through non-personal communication forms based
on payments by clear advertisers (Ralph 1965: 9). Paid means that the
advertising space or time slot needs to be purchased. Non-personal
communication refers to the media (such as magazines, the Internet, radio,
television, and newspapers) that advertisements can convey information to a
large number of groups. (Belch & Belch 2009: 272-276) However, it is difficult to
get feedback from the recipients of advertisement information on time.
Advertising has the following characteristics compared with other instruments of
marketing communications:

• An economical tool for communicating with audiences: because

advertising uses a relatively low-cost way of reaching the masses, it is
conducive to the introduction of new brands, increasing the demand for
existing brands, and establishing the primary concept of brands in
mature markets.

• Enhancing brand value: David Ogilvy, the Father of Advertising,

proposes that each advertisement is a long-term investment in the brand
image (Branding Strategy Insider 2022). Companies can increase the
value of their output through three approaches – innovation, improving
product quality, and changing consumer perceptions. These three
methods are interdependent. Advertising increases brand value by
influencing consumer perceptions.

• Assisting with other promotions: the role of advertising is to assist other

marketing communication tools. For example, advertising can be used as
coupons to attract consumers’ attention to products or services. When
the salesperson reaches the prospective customer, the advertisement
 17

can assist the sales representative in providing an essential product

introduction. (Pickton & Broderick 2005: 595-598)

People purchase cars for rational and emotional reasons. Consumers like
specific attributes of car, for example, gas consumption and accessories, but
they may also like the vehicle's appearance and the car's image. The more
benefits a brand provides to audiences, the more competitive advantage the
brand has. (Pickton & Broderick 2005: 604-606) Marketers should also pay
attention to brand value. In other words, other selling points should be based on
brand value as the core content. (Fill 2009: 496) One of the core values of the
Swedish vehicle brand Volvo is ‘safety’ (Volvo 2022). Target audiences can
receive the safety message from the Volvo brand in different advertisement

topics, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. The creativity in advertising of Volvo (①Bartosik 2019; ②Leurquin

2014; ③Waterhouse 2013)

When consumers open a browser or App, they are bombarded by various

advertisements. Thus, it is crucial for creative advertising to stand out from the
 18

continual barrage of materials. When a group of creatives collaborate to

produce a campaign that artistically and successfully communicates the
message of a business or organization, this is creative advertising (Reinartz &
Saffert 2013). The purpose of creativity is to help brands to promote their
products or services as well as create a following. A highly imaginative
advertisement is likely to create an impression on consumers, according to
Dahlén, Rosengren and Törn (2008). Customers perceive a brand as high-
quality and noteworthy since they are impressed with its creative advertising.
Nissan’s advertisement is one example of creative advertising, as Figure 4
llustrates. The ad, which shapes Nissan’s mini-version into the form of a running
shoe, directly captures the fun and excitement of the audience with its stunning
profile.

Figure 4. The creativity advertisement of Nissan (Freeport Press 2015)

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2.5.2 Public relations

The second primary instrument is public relations, like advertising, aims to

promote brands, organizations, products, and services. Kotler et al. (2017: 454)
defines PR as delivering positive brand messages to potential consumers
through unpaid media. The core function of PR is to enhance the brand value
and goods of the business.

There are two types of PR, proactive and reactive. Proactive PR is formulated
based on the company's marketing goals, which are characterized by attacking
rather than defending. The main scope of proactive PR is applied when
launching a new product or upgrading products. Proactive PR is integrated with
other IMC tools to increase product visibility, credibility, and news value.
(Pickton & Broderick 2005: 549-557) Viewers have a certain degree of
scepticism about the guiding tendency of advertising content because
advertising is paid. However, a publicity event has greater credibility because it
is free. (Moloney 2006) The selected models of vehicles by magazines such as
Auto Trends greatly influence potential vehicle buyers. Even niche media can
have a significant impact on audiences. For example, Pontiac was awarded the
Best Domestic Car by MotorWeek in Las Vegas in 2003. The show was 30
minutes long and aired on about 300 public radio stations. Chrysler also heavily
promoted the Jeep Cherokee, awarded by the 4-Wheel & Off-Road magazine. It
has become a common way for auto companies to brag about their
performance. (Belch & Belch 2009: 550)

The use of social engagement is an important task in proactive PR. Its purpose
is to bridge the dialogue between business and society (Kotler and Keller 2016:
631). There are many specific forms of participation, such as public welfare
activities and donation. It is conducive to forming a good public image of the
enterprise. The COVID-19 Donation Match, launched in response to Ford Motor
Company employees volunteering during the pandemic, has supported relief
efforts in 20 countries. (Dearborn 2020) The action has brought the relationship
 20

with consumers closer so that audiences can recognize the brand for the first
time.

Sponsorship is also an effective and standard tool for proactive PR. An

enterprise sponsors an event and provides funds to obtain the right to display a
brand name, logo, or advertising message. (Pickton & Broderick 2005: 574)
International events have always been a favoured opportunity for car
companies to cooperate. Hyundai Motor Group has closely collaborated with
the world's soccer governing body FIFA. In the 2002 World Cup, Hyundai Motor
paid 1.5 billion euros for sponsorship rights. Sixty billion people had viewed its
advertisements, and brand awareness had increased by 30%, equivalent to the
effect that could only be achieved with an investment of 5 billion dollars on
weekdays. (Jolley 2010)

Reactive PR is often used by companies in the face of unpredictable market or

external environment changes. The most commonly used is crisis management.
How reactive PR is handled affects the corporate image in the long term.
Enterprises should immediately put the factors that may directly impact the
results. (Belch & Belch 2009: 553-560)

The most prominent benefit of PR is the effectiveness of this communication

strategy in establishing open and trustworthy connections with customers. PR
can help the enterprise’s overall communications and marketing strategy reach
more audiences, making more people aware of the brand. The company’s
market position will begin to enjoy the extra advantage of qualified new leads as
PR starts to enhance its reputation and credibility. The reliability of an
organization is closely linked to how the public perceives its brand. When
someone else talks favourably about a firm’s brand, the brand’s trustworthiness
is bolstered, which is another significant advantage of PR.

PR offers several benefits, but also confront some obstacles in marketing.

Measuring the success of PR operations may be a challenging task. Firms are
able to track the number of published articles and media mentions, but it can be
 21

difficult to monitor the effect this has on their audiences. Even if a company
invests resources and time into composing a press release, procuring
appropriate photographs, and engaging in conversation with journalists, there is
no assurance that their story will be published. In contrast to advertising,
enterprises are unable to fully control how the media portrays their industry,
when and where their message will appear. (Hurley 2022)

2.5.3 Direct marketing

The third primary tool is direct marketing. While promotional mix tools such as
advertising and PR effectively shape the brand image and transmit a message,
direct marketing can directly communicate with consumers to generate
immediate behavioural responses (Kotler & Keller 2016: 657). According to
Blythe (2000: 160), the American Direct Marketing Association (ADMA) defines
direct marketing: as an enterprise that directly releases a product or service
message to target audiences for profit through the combination and optimization
of diversified media to seek a direct response from consumers. Direct marketing
is a marketing approach that comprehensively utilizes various media to control
marketing effects accurately. It focuses on the input-output ratio and strategy of
marketing effect. (Fill 2009: 624-626)

The biggest difference between direct marketing and other IMC tools is the
utilization of media, including direct mail, the Internet, etc. Direct mail refers to
the medium of advertising by selectively sending print advertisements directly to
users through the mailing network. Some common forms include catalogues,
manuals, price lists, postcards, brochures, corporate publications, posters, and
samples. (Pickton & Broderick 2005: 627) The marketer can freely address the
particular groups of customers, posting time and advertising content. Direct mail
advertising for the automotive industry is crucial for driving consumers to
service centres, websites, aftersales marketing suppliers, and dealerships. In
automotive aftersales marketing, marketers often offer coupons or special
discounts to consumers through direct mail advertising to encourage them to
return to the dealership for routine maintenance and services on the vehicle.
 22

Postcards are widely used in automotive direct mail campaigns because they
cost a reasonable amount to mail. As shown in Figure 5. the Toyota postcard
was mailed in summer of 2021. A top offer is highlighted in bold black letters
against a white background. The benefits are laid out in an easy-to-understand
bullet point format. The copy in the flash provides additional details about the
promotion. (Bobnak 2021)

Figure 5. A Toyota Postcard (Bobnak 2021)

Nissan mails loyalty in June 2021 very well. Two models are highlighted in the
huge photograph that spans the front of the postcard. The ‘Private Offer’
 23

capitalises on exclusivity via an emotive copy driver. A monetary reward of $

500 is offered.

Figure 6. A Nissan promotional loyalty. (Bobnak 2021)

Direct marketing has several advantages. The ability to target certain

demographic group with a tailored message is a key benefit of digital marketing.
Targeting online direct marketing to a particular target enables marketers to
establish attainable objectives and increase sales on a limited budget. When
using direct marketing, businesses can stay in touch with their clients and
continue to provide value to the connection. The marketing communication
team can directly measure the result of direct response campaigns.

Although direct marketing has various advantages, it also faces many

challenges. When a client receives a great volume of marketing emails or direct
mail, it may be difficult for firm communications to stand out from the
competition (Gaille 2016). Sometimes, consumers treat direct mail as junk mail
or telemarketing as spam. Customers who find the marketing strategies
unpleasant may form a bad connection with a brand and become less inclined
to purchase. This is more common when campaigns are less focused. There
are privacy and data protection rules governing direct marketing. (Robinson
 24

2022) Marketers must be certain that the mailing list comprises those who have
agreed to receive marketing communication from the enterprise.
 25

3 Research methodology

The methodology part includes the way of doing research and the fundamental
terminology associated with it to find out a correct approach to collect and
analyse data. The concept of research is any systematic, objective, and
structured investigation to make informed and timely judgments. It is carried out
by an individual or group with expertise and scientific approaches and performs
an open, honest and impartial study. (Sontakki 2009: 6)

3.1 Research design

The marketing research process comprises a wide range of activities. According

to Sontakki (2009: 7), the purpose of marketing research is at enterprise-
specific marketing issues, using scientific research methods to systematically
design, collect, organise, analyse, and report business-related data and
research results. It is necessary to collect data specific to the market segment
under consideration. Kotler and Keller (2016: 124) comment that a company
should examine and interpret the generated data to identify whether any
patterns or important data points will be applied in the decision-making process.
Marketing research should be undertaken objectively to produce reliable data
representing the actual circumstances' actual condition (Lumen 2022).

The research process can be broken down into four steps, as Figure 7 presents.
The starting point of a research procedure is defining marketing problems and
setting objectives. This drives the whole process to ensure that the study
targets the correct issue. The second step is formulating a research plan to
collect the necessary academic knowledge to accomplish the study objective. It
outlines the steps required to gather the data needed to construct a study that
tests the assumptions of interest, determines viable solutions to research
issues, and provides the data required to make decisions. The third stage is
data collection. There are many sources of information that businesses can
utilise and proactively seek out. Data can be divided into preliminary research
and secondary research. Preliminary data is the original data collected by the
 26

enterprise to investigate a specific problem. Secondary data means the data

already exists and is organised to study a particular situation. The last step is
the presenting report. It’s essential to consult with the marketing specialists who
have the most insight into the issues when interpreting the results at this stage.
The objective is to deliver the results to management in a form that aids
decision-making. (Kotler et al. 2017: 109-124)

Figure 7. The process of marketing research (Kotler et al. 2017: 109)

Exploratory, descriptive, and causal research are the three primary types of
research design. Exploratory research refers to collecting preliminary data to
point out the hypotheses and obtain the idea of solving the problem. Descriptive
research is a quantitative description of various market elements and corporate
marketing. Causal research investigates the mutual causal relationship of many
factors in marketing. (Kotler et al. 2017: 110)

Investigating a subject via a research approach is the most typical strategy to

enhance the researcher’s understanding. Qualitative and quantitative research
are the most prevalent methods of conducting research in different industries
(Alchemer 2020). Qualitative research is about gaining insight by uncovering
questions, understanding events, analysing human behaviour and perspectives,
and answering questions (Surbhi 2018). It is the way researchers use to define
a problem or deal with it. Quantitative research is the opposite concept of
qualitative research. It means mathematical tools will be introduced to analyse
the number of things to examine and study the data. Quantitative research is
nearly always necessary to extrapolate from a sample to the general population
to obtain a specific degree of accuracy in data sources to guarantee that it is
accurate (Suja 2008: 53).
 27

3.2 Data collection methods

In order to gather relevant data for this thesis, both exploratory and descriptive
research approaches will be applied. The primary purpose of exploratory
research is to provide information to help investigators recognize and
understand the problems they face. Descriptive research studies phenomena,
questions, and facts utilizing observation, investigation, and interview.
Qualitative research was the fundamental methodology used in this thesis, for
example, collecting relevant books, journals, and magazines, to interpret the
subject. The goal was to conduct interviews with two marketing communication
professionals with a comprehensive insight into the automotive industry's
marketing communication process to ensure that the data would be highly
relevant to the topic.

Gill, Stewart, Treasure, and Chadwick (2008) outlined the notion of semi-
structured interviews, which are vocally delivered surveys in which preset
questions are asked in response to comments that need more clarification. As a
result, they are reasonably fast and simple to conduct, and they may be
beneficial when specific issues need to be clarified. This study sought in-depth
interviews to learn about the professionals’ perspectives on corporate,
business, and marketing issues. Online semi-structured interviews were
organized as a qualitative approach to get knowledge and insight into applying
the IMC strategy in the automotive industry. The semi-structured interviews
were videotaped with the permission of marketing communication specialists to
be analyzed in detail. The conversations were summarized and provided in
written form. According to Sreejesh, Mohapatra and Anusree (2014: 48-50), a
semi-structured interview provides some freedom throughout the interview. The
interviewer’s responsibility in this form of interview is to ensure that the only
research relevant questions and topics are covered. In this method, the
interviewer will be able to schedule a specific time for each question and have
the flexibility to adjust to the various replies.
 28

The question list is located in the thesis's appendix. There are three parts to the
list. The first section, including questions 1-3, focuses on general questions
about the development of marketing and IMC. The goal is to understand the
interviewees' knowledge of the subjects and review how the subjects have
changed over time in their views and see if this correlates with the changes
noted in the literature. The second section, including questions 4-7,
concentrates on the communication process, brand positioning and IMC
strategy. The purpose is to get an insight into what marketing communication
plans, strategies, and follow-ups are in a vehicle marketing campaign. The third
section, including questions 8-10, focuses on marketing communication
instruments. The objective is to obtain information on how marketing
communication tools are integrated to achieve sales goals.

Two interviewees work in a Japanese motor corporation headquartered in

Finland, which employs about 175 professionals. The headquarters is an import
and marketing firm that operates in the Nordic and Baltic regions for its
automotive brand. One respondent is the Aftersales Marketing Manager, and
another is the Retail Marketing Manager. Both of them monitor marketing
communication strategies in their team. Due to the car company's confidential
policy, the brand's name is not allowed to be used in the research of a personal
thesis. Thus, the interviewees' names would not appear in this thesis.
 29

4 Limitations of the research

Sample size and time constraints were the significant limitations of this thesis.
The goal was to conduct semi-structured interviews with more professionals to
gain a comprehensive insight into how IMC is implemented in the automotive
industry. While the author would like to run as many interviews as possible for
the Bachelor’s thesis, time limitations prevented this. It is essential to
acknowledge that the sample size utilized in this thesis is insufficient to deliver
data that could support any generalizations regarding the entire automotive
industry.

Furthermore, the interviewees’ different experiences in the industry can affect

the quality of the data collected. In this thesis, one of the interviewees has
worked in marketing for over 20 years. She has worked as the Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) Manager. Her experience covered the head
office, regional office and local office experience. However, another has ten
years of experience in automotive marketing. He has moved to the Aftersales
Department in a car company for only one year. Also, when evaluating the
validity of this thesis, it is necessary to consider the possibility of misinterpreting
the collected data.
 30

5 Analysis and findings

5.1 Development of marketing and IMC definition

Both interviewers clearly defined the marketing, which is consistent with Figure
1. Marketing is the process of promoting and selling a product or service to
consumers, including market analysis and advertising. Marketing is one of the
most parts of every organization. It comprises activities like carrying out market
research, setting up business and market segmentation, creating product
descriptions, establishing webpages, and enhancing customer services. Many
businesses employ marketing tactics to accomplish their objectives, such as
promoting themselves and increasing product sales. Products and Services,
Place, Price, and Promotion (4P) are the four main elements of the marketing
strategy.

Regarding the concept of IMC, it is a way for businesses to convey a unified

message to their target audiences and successfully influence their behaviour
and attitudes. IMC is a component of promotional operations. Consequently,
IMC can be considered one of the parts of marketing. The goal of general
marketing is to raise brand recognition and produce revenue. However, the aim
of IMC is to maximize the effect of a company’s promotional instruments by
coordinating the usage of all of the channels and methods to offer a coherent
message.

The automotive industry is slow to become digitalized in marketing. However,

the pandemic has accelerated the digitalization in the automotive business. One
of the fundamental changes or differences is that brands have realized the
importance of having their customer data. Purchasing a car is the second most
significant investment in human beings' life in terms of value after a house or
apartment in Nordics. If a vehicle brand can capture customers once they have
made a significant investment and treat them well, it is more likely that the
consumers will remain with the car brand. Since the consumers feel safe and
less risky. But all of the communications on the marketing that the brand would
 31

like to do towards the consumers during the life cycle of the car ownership, it
depends on whether they have the customer content or the data about the
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). According to Burgess (2020),
GDPR is the world's strongest set of data privacy standards. It expands
individuals' rights to access their data and restricts how businesses may use
this information. Vehicle companies should be prepared well when GDPR
arrives, as they can no longer use customer contact information collected from
dealership networks. Obviously, car companies can segment buyers into a
more refined market, and analyze and compare the level of customer
satisfaction and competition in each segmentation, so as to recommend the
most suitable products or services to consumers. Car companies can segment
buyers into a more refined market, and analyze and compare the level of
customer satisfaction and competition in each segmentation to recommend the
most suitable products or services to consumers.

Another significant change is the kind of customers who are more educated
than 15 years ago in automotive marketing. Consumers already beforehand
have gathered so much information about vehicles from the Internet that
previously was not that available and they might already have a pre-list of
brands in their hands. Therefore, marketing communication specialists focused
more on digital and social media assets during the pandemic.

5.2 Communication process and IMC strategy

In a vehicle marketing campaign, the first step is the Nordic headquarters

analyses the last quarterly campaign results and customer satisfaction or
feedback to create a new quarterly campaign plan. In the second step, the
Nordic headquarter will offer the promotional template to each Country team
who can confirm the campaign items and raise the budget depending on the
local marketing and policies. In the third step, the Nordic headquarter will
present the next quarterly marketing campaign planning and declare the
budget. In the fourth step, when the European headquarter approves the
campaign validation, the Nordic headquarters will communicate with the
 32

advertising agency and country teams to prepare marketing communication

materials. Finally, the country team will successfully launch the marketing
communication materials for the new quarter with the advertising agency on
time. During the marketing campaign planning project, all the involved internal
stakeholders actively participated in the communication process to ensure the
consistency of information.

Since it is a regional business unit where the marketing communication strategy

comes from the European level. However, Nordic Automotive Headquarters
also considers the country team's geographic factors when developing its
marketing communications strategy. The key elements of the IMC strategy for
the automotive industry are target audiences, brand, budget, implementation,
and control. The global brand positioning strategy is relatively fixed since it
looks at the long-term visions and plans to remind consumers. Due to
semiconductor uncertainty, sometimes, new car models cannot launch on time.
Therefore, the marketing communications teams must refine their approach to
gain new business.

5.3 Market communication tools

The tools of marketing communication should be diversified to consumers.

Some actions help build or strengthen a brand. Some activities work towards
improving customer satisfaction and customer experience. Some
communications can be quarterly or focus on the product. Therefore, marketing
communication tools depend on the IMC strategy. The advertisements
consumers find on TV are all created and designed by the European
headquarters of the car brand, and the language is different in each country.
Automobile companies' other marketing communication tool to communicate
with end consumers is digital direct marketing. The digital department analyses
quarterly communications results, such as the amount of downloading the
brochure, click-through rate, unsubscribe rates, and open rate, so that the
marketing communications team updates or modifies the strategy in time.
 33

It is easy to get results from sales data when the communication activity is
focused on the product. However, a customer satisfaction-related action is less
measurable. When the unsubscribe rate is higher than the company’s
benchmark in digital direct marketing, it does not mean the firm has lost the
buyer. Auto businesses can try to send follow-up emails to keep consumers
engaged outside of email, for example, offering other methods (e.g., Twitter or
Instagram) to subscribe or asking the reason for the unsubscribing.
 34

6 Conclusion

In this thesis, the author studies the position and role of IMC from the structure
of marketing strategies (Figure 1) and sorts the evolution of IMC to interpret the
concept of IMC comprehensively. An IMC strategy aims to produce and deliver
a unified, persuasive sales message across all marketing intended promotional
channels to engage the consumers. IMC serves as the voice of a brand and
enables interaction with consumers. The fundamental objective of IMC is to
enhance brand equity.

Automobile companies operate with the brand as a long-term asset. In IMC,

consumer databases will play an even more critical role. Currently, auto
companies still collect customer contact information from dealership networks.
Therefore, car firms should prepare to build vital consumer databases to
analyze and tailor segmentations in the future. Sufficient customer data reflects
market demand and product feature requirements, guiding the company's
design direction. The product's function, performance and price requirements
will directly affect the design and production process of the development. Since
the customer database is an information system, companies need a
management expert who understands how information technology operates and
how it can improve marketing communications programs. One of the most
important tasks for marketing professionals is to develop a strong working
relationship with one or more people in the information technology department.
With an IMC strategy, auto marketers can simplify their marketing activities to
save time and money, enhance lead generation and vehicle sales with a
consistent message, and strengthen customer loyalty across numerous
channels.

Whether direct selling, PR or advertising, they are all marketing

communications with one purpose - to ensure the success of implementing
IMC. How to efficiently integrate marketing communication instruments should
be combined with the marketing objectives, target audiences, environments,
local policies, competitors, etc. An IMC strategy emphasizes strategic
 35

orientation and tactical continuity. The orientation of the strategy shows that all
physical and psychological elements in a marketing strategy should be
consistent, which can combine the overall strategy and local strategy of the auto
enterprise. Continuity of tactics means that all information communicated in
different media through different marketing communication tools should be
related and serve a common goal.

When a brand can communicate with its target audience more than once
through different marketing communication approaches, the messages start to
connect with its consumers. A consumer is more likely to identify and trust a
brand if its message is consistently conveyed across all channels. An IMC
approach allows for such a reliable supply. Without IMC, the audience has a
disconnected brand experience, and the intended message is less likely to
transfer.

A fundamental challenge of IMC is how to strategically develop a brand image

while maintaining the coherence of these image-carrying brand messages. IMC
requires that all advertising, sponsorships, publicity, direct mail and packaging
present the same look when launching the campaign in order to give audiences
a unified brand message and culture. The most critical organizational and
management work of IMC is coordination to ensure the entire information is
consistent in IMC. Consistency can reduce self-consumption in different
marketing communication processes and make brand information clearer while
narrowing down marketing communication budgets.

An outstanding feature of IMC which is different from general marketing

communication is that its communication objects are not only consumers and
potential customers, but also other relevant interest groups, including the
internal personnel of the enterprise. Therefore, the task of the IMC department,
in addition to external communication, should also communicate with relevant
departments within the company to maintain information coordination. At the
same time, this information must be communicated to all departments of the
company in time. In the interview, when the automotive market experts learned
 36

that due to the shortage of semiconductors in the market, the vehicle models
cannot be launched on time. All employees and stakeholders of the vehicle
company need to know this information in order to coordinate with the new car
sales department to refine its own department’s product market communication
plan.
 37

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Appendix 1

Appendices

The questions’ list of structured interviews

Section 1

1. What does the term marketing mean to you? How has marketing
changed over your career?
2. Have you heard of integrated marketing communication (IMC)?
Could you give your definition?
3. Do you see a difference between IMC and general or traditional
marketing or how do you see the connection between the two?

Section 2

4. What is the communication process for automotive marketing

campaigns? How does it work?
5. How do you create brand positioning with your communication or
are you following the head office’s marketing communication
team?
6. Have you implemented an IMC strategy in your team? If not, what
is the marketing communication strategy of your team?
7. How often do you improve the strategy?

Section 3

8. What communication tools have you used for your marketing

campaigns for the consumers? Where can you track the results?
9. It is often stated that consumers do not react favourably to direct
mail – what is your view on this, and what role do you see direct
mail playing in your organization’s marketing or IMC process?
 42
Appendix 1

10. How are marketing communication tools integrated to advance

automotive industry goals effectively?