PROMOTION: PULL STRATEGY AND INTEGRATED

MARKETING COMMUNICATION

CONCEPTS OF PROMOTION, PULL STRATEGY AND INTEGRATED MARKETING

COMMUNICATION (IMC)
Pull Marketing Strategy And Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) With Its
Heavy Reliance On Advertising
PULL MARKETING STRATEGY
- also called a pull promotional strategy, refers to a strategy in which a firm aims to
increase the demand for its products and draw (“pull”) consumers to the product
- Pull marketing strategies revolve around getting consumers to want a particular
product
- A pull marketing strategy can be used by itself or in conjunction with a push
marketing strategy
- In a pull marketing strategy, the goal is to make a consumer actively seek a product
and get retailers to stock the product in response to direct consumer demand
- A pull strategy stimulates demand and motivates customers to actively seek out a
specific product. It is aimed primarily at the end users. A strong and visible brand
is needed to ensure the success of a pull strategy. The different ways a company
can use a pull strategy to promote a brand include:
o Advertising strategies that include mass media promotion of a product
o Customer relationship management that makes existing customers aware
of new products that will fill a specific need
o Referrals
o Sales promotions and discount

Other Examples:
In a pull marketing strategy, a firm markets its product directly to consumers. The
consumers then seek out the products to purchase. There are several pull marketing
methods available today, including:
• Social media networks
• Word of mouth
• Media coverage
• Sales promotions and discounts
• Advertising
• Email marketing
Using these strategies will create a demand for the product. With that demand, retailers
will be encouraged to seek out the product and stock it on their shelves. For instance,
Apple successfully uses pull strategies to launch iPhones or iPads. Likewise, music has
also fallen under pull strategies due to digitization and the emergence of social networking
websites. Music platforms such as iTunes, Grooveshark and Spotify are reflective of the
power shift from providers to consumers. Merchants must adapt their strategies to pull in
demand, rather than push products--in this case, music--to consumers.

Illustration of a Pull Marketing Strategy

As illustrated, a pull marketing strategy involves a business using marketing activities to

pull consumers to its products. With reference to the illustration, for example, a production
company runs marketing campaigns directly to consumers. Due to the marketing
campaigns, consumers seek out a particular product and go to retailers looking to
purchase the product. Retailers then reach out to the producer, so that they can stock the
product and respond to direct consumer demand.

Advantages
• Able to establish direct contact with consumers and build consumer loyalty
• Stronger bargaining power with retailers and distributors
• Focuses on creating brand equity and product value
• Consumers are actively seeking out the product, which removes much of the
pressure of conducting outbound marketing
• Can be used to test a product’s acceptance in the market and obtain consumer
feedback on the product
Disadvantages
Potential disadvantages to using a pull strategy include the following:
• Usually works effectively only when there is high brand loyalty
• Lead time is long, as consumers are comparing alternatives before making a
purchase
• Requires creating a high demand for a product, which can be difficult in a highly
competitive marketplace landscape
• Requires strong marketing efforts to convince consumers to actively seek out the
product (they may, instead, just decide to settle for whatever similar product a
retailer has in stock, rather than insisting on getting your product)

Example Company
• Apple Company adapting Pull Strategy
A few years ago, Apple was most aggressive with products capable of making technology
more relevant and personal (iPhone and Apple Watch). The Apple Watch and iPhone
were Apple’s clear priorities while the iPad, Mac portables, and Mac desktops ended up
facing a battle for management attention as if they were located at the end of the rope
that was Apple management was pulling. Apple changed from a “pull” strategy in which
some products like the iPad and Mac seemed to be having a hard time keeping up to a
push strategy characterized by every major product category moving forward
simultaneously. This shift appears to have been born in 2017, which would explain why
we are still seeing the initial fruit of the effort. The iPad and Mac product categories have
benefited the most from this revised “push” product strategy with more frequent and
noteworthy updates.

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION (IMC)

In today’s marketing environment, promotion involves integrated marketing
communication (IMC). In a nutshell, IMC involves bringing together a variety of different
communication tools to deliver a common message and make a desired impact on
customers’ perceptions and behavior. As an experienced consumer in the English-
speaking world, you have almost certainly been the target of IMC activities. (Practically
every time you “like” a TV show, article, or a meme on Facebook, you are participating in
an IMC effort!)

What Is Marketing Communication?

- Marketing communication includes all the messages, media, and activities used
by an organization to communicate with the market and help persuade target
audiences to accept its messages and take action accordingly
 - Marketing communication refers to activities deliberately focused on promoting an
offering among target audiences. Example was the price placed on a product
communicates something very specific about the product .A company that chooses
to distribute its products strictly through discount stores sends a distinct message
to the market
Integrated marketing communication
- is the process of coordinating all this activity
across different communication methods. Note that a central theme of
- Effective marketing communication is goal
this definition is persuasion:
directed, and it is aligned with an organization’s
persuading people to believe
marketing strategy.
something, to desire something,
- It aims to deliver a particular message to a
specific audience with a targeted purpose of and/or to do something.
altering perceptions and/or behavior.
- Integrated marketing communication (IMC)
makes this marketing activity more efficient and
effective because it relies on multiple communication methods and customer touch
points to deliver a consistent message in more ways and in more compelling ways.
- involves the idea that a firm’s promotional efforts should be coordinated to achieve
the best combined effects of the firm’s efforts.
- Resources are allocated to achieve those outcomes that the firm values the most.
Promotion involves a number of tools we can use to increase demand. The most
well-known component of promotion is advertising, but we can also use tools such
as the following:

a. Public relations (PR)

The purpose of public relations is to create goodwill between an organization (or
the things it promotes) and the “public” or target segments it is trying to reach. This
happens through unpaid or earned promotional opportunities: articles, press and
media coverage, winning awards, giving presentations at conferences and events,
and otherwise getting favorable attention through vehicles not paid for by the
sponsor. Although organizations earn rather than pay for the PR attention they
receive, they may spend significant resources on the activities, events, and people
who generate this attention.

b. Personal selling
Personal selling uses people to develop relationships with target audiences for the
purpose of selling products and services. Personal selling puts an emphasis on
face-to-face interaction, understanding the customer’s needs, and demonstrating
how the product or service provides value
 c. Sales promotion
Sales promotions are marketing activities that aim to temporarily boost sales of a
product or service by adding to the basic value offered, such as “buy one get one
free” offers to consumers or “buy twelve cases and get a 10 percent discount” to
wholesalers, retailers, or distributors.

d. Direct marketing
This method aims to sell products or services directly to consumers rather than
going through retailer. Catalogs, telemarketing, mailed brochures, or promotional
materials and television home shopping channels are all common traditional direct
marketing tools. Email and mobile marketing are two next-generation direct
marketing channels.

e. Digital marketing
Digital marketing covers a lot of ground, from Web sites to search-engine, content,
and social media marketing. Digital marketing tools and techniques evolve rapidly
with technological advances, but this umbrella term covers all of the ways in which
digital technologies are used to market and sell organizations, products, services,
ideas, and experiences.

f. Guerrilla marketing
This newer category of marketing communication involves unconventional,
innovative, and usually low-cost marketing tactics to engage consumers in the
marketing activity, generate attention and achieve maximum exposure for an
organization, its products, and/or services. Generally, guerrilla marketing is
experiential: it creates a novel situation or memorable experience consumers
connect to a product or brand.

Objectives of Marketing Communication

The basic objectives of all marketing communication methods are
a. to communicate,
b. to compete, and
c. to convince.

In order to be effective, organizations should ensure that whatever information they

communicate is clear, accurate, truthful, and useful to the stakeholders involved. In fact,
being truthful and accurate in marketing communications is more than a matter of
integrity; it’s also a matter of legality, since fraudulent marketing communications can end
in lawsuits and even the criminal justice system.

Ideally, marketing communication is convincing: it should present ideas, products,

or services in such a compelling way that target segments are led to take a desired action.
The ability to persuade and convince is essential to winning new business, but it may also
be necessary to re-convince and retain many consumers and customers. Just because a
customer buys a particular brand once or a dozen times, or even for a dozen years, there
is no guarantee that the person will stick with the original product. That is why marketers
want to make sure he or she is constantly reminded of the product’s unique benefits.

Benefits of Incorporating an Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Strategy

In Your Business

1. Improved Efficiency
Adopting an IMC strategy will improve efficiency by providing a streamlined
process. It ensures that the company’s harmonious message is carried across various
channels and time isn’t wasted on repetitive messages or communicating with others for
information.
IMC is not just for your consumer; it is also beneficial for effective internal
communications with your team. Internal collaboration across the business including
customer service must use the same tone of voice, style and convey a consistent
message.
Before any business content is launched you want to be on the same page as your
team, maintaining consistent communication and distributing a clear message to the
public. This can be achieved by using an integrated communication platform such as
Slack to centralize all messages and making sure everyone understands the brand and
follows a set guideline.

2. Accessibility to Larger Audiences

Using a range of communication channels allows your company access to a larger
audience and widens your reach. This means there is a higher probability of reaching
your target audience and attracting the right consumers to your brand. However,
remember it is important to maintain a consistent target audience and key message
throughout your channels.

3. Cost-effective
Distributing content across numerous channels can be a costly process. By
adopting an IMC strategy, this removes the need for replication of content, saving you
both time and money by adopting the same images across your website and multiple
social media profiles.

4. Builds Trust
Implementing an IMC strategy builds consumer trust and allows for brand recall as
messaging is consistent and integrated amongst several channels. A consumer will begin
reigniting with a brand when these three criteria are satisfied:
• Reaches the intended target audience
 • Consistent messaging
• Across various channels
If key messages aren’t communicated consistently across channels, the consumer will
receive a disjointed brand experience and will less likely build trust and consumer
confidence.

Drawbacks of IMC
• It is not easy as you will have to think of various marketing techniques as different
terms.
• You will have to work in close coordination with your web analytics and design
teams.
• A lot of homework has to be done to identify potential customer and they find
motivating.

How Organizations Use IMC To Support Their Marketing Strategies

Determining which marketing communication methods and tools to use and how best to
combine them is a challenge for any marketer planning a promotional strategy. To aid the
planning process, marketing managers often use a campaign approach. A campaign is a
planned, coordinated series of marketing communication efforts built around a single
theme or idea and designed to reach a particular goal. For years, the term “campaign”
has been used in connection with advertising, and this term applies equally well to the
entire IMC program.
For example, when Disney released a new movie property they would unleash a
marketing juggernaut across their business empire. Ads and trailers for the new movie
would be run on Disney T.V. channels and Disney movies currently in theaters. Posters
and merchandise would populate Disney theme parks- even new rides would be
constructed with the new property theme. Videos would be run in Disney retail stores with
posters and merchandise available for purchase. Disney licensees would partner with
large national retailers to coordinate the movie release with in-store promotions and
displays. Utilizing T.V., movies, retail stores, theme parks, and national retail promotion,
it is easy to see why the Walt Disney Company has been so successful with its marketing
efforts.
Organizations may conduct many types of IMC campaigns, and several may be run
concurrently. Geographically, a firm may have a local, regional, or national campaign,
depending upon the available funds, objectives, and market scope. One campaign may
be aimed at consumers and another at wholesalers and retailers. Different marketing
campaigns might target different segments simultaneously, delivering messages and
using communication tools tailored to each segment. Marketers use a marketing plan
(sometimes called an IMC plan) to track and execute a set of campaigns over a given
period of time.
Example Company:
• Apple Company: Integrated Marketing Communication Strategy
Apple Inc. uses different communication channels to popularize its iPhones. The objective
of using an integrated marketing communication is to reach many customers and boost
the sales volume. The company uses promotional and advertising instruments to draw
the attention, desire, and interest of the clients (Holm, 2006). Besides, Apple posts sleek
images of iPhones on its website to attract customers. According to Holm (2006), Apple
uses print and broadcast media to market iPhones. Other communication strategies that
the company uses include digital media, point-of-purchase, direct marketing, personal
selling, sales promotion, and public relations among others.

Role of Management Accountant In Formulating Advertising Budgets, Budget

Models, Controlling Advertising Outlays And Evaluating Advertising
Effectiveness
• The management accountant's job entails gathering, recording, and reporting
financial data from various units within a business, as well as observing and
analyzing their budget and recommending funding and allocation.
This comprises cost estimates for raw materials, labor, production, sales and
advertising, social media networking, lobbying, and internal firm costs.

• A management accountant must work with all relevant departments to provide an

overall study of the company's operating capital and cash flow, and then present
the findings to senior management and the board of directors. As a result, a CFO
is a source of information that boards and CEOs need to make choices.

• Budgeting is the primary function of management accounting. Budgets serve as a

roadmap for all spending in a small business. Every year, small business owners
set a budget to determine their expenses for each activity, such as operation and
production costs, as well as future investment. As a result, a management
accountant must evaluate previous data in order to provide an accurate forecast
of a year's spending. The budget guarantees that the entrepreneur and his staff
work together to carry out all of the year's plans.

• Budgeting is necessary for three reasons:

- demonstrating the financial implications of plans,
- identifying the resources needed to carry out plans and obtaining evaluation
measures,
- monitoring and regulating the outcomes in relation to the plan's goals
 • Advertising is a legitimate company expense that should be shown on your income
statement. The amount of that account entry is determined by how much money
you anticipate you can spend on advertising. If you spend too much, you will
squander money; if you spend too little, you will lose clients. Managerial accounting
can assist you in making a decision by gathering information to forecast future
demand and market share, as well as the implications of reducing or raising your
advertising budget. A solid accounting report can help you understand the risks
and benefits of various solutions. An advertising budget is a forecast of a
company's promotional spending over a given period of time. More crucially, it is
the amount of money a firm is ready to invest in order to achieve its marketing
goals.

• One of the goals of managerial accounting is to identify the revenue-generating

profit centers in your company. You can use this data to inform your advertising
selections, whether you're trying to raise sales in underperforming categories or
investing more in your winning campaigns. Managerial reports can also warn you
if your advertising costs suddenly climb due to a change in the cost of air time or
another circumstance.

• Advertising has the power to persuade, the power to influence the mind, and the
power to shape destiny. It has the power to change markets and improve profit
margins. Advertising has short-term power (conveying new information, building
awareness, enhancing credibility, etc.) and long-term power (conveying brand
image, attaching emotional values to the brand, building positive reputation, etc.).
Advertising effectiveness helps brands determine if their ads are hitting the mark
with their audience, and whether they're getting the best returns. This enables
them to measure the strengths, weaknesses and ROI of specific campaigns, so
they can adjust accordingly.

• A management accountant must be aware of everything, including market

conditions, inflation, other market exposures, competition, labor costs, raw
materials, internal operations, coordination among different departments within a
company, and the company's interaction with the rest of the business world and
social media. As a result, he should be in charge of everything. To prepare his
company for a financial crunch or any other danger, he must list obstacles ahead
of time. He must notify the company's owners ahead of time so that they may make
financial decisions based on available cash and requirements.
Advertising Budget
- It is an amount set aside by a company planned for the promotion of its goods
and services. Promotional activities include conducting a market survey, getting
 advertisement creative made and printed, promotion by way of print media,
digital media and social media, running ad campaigns etc.
Importance of Advertising Budget
- Advertisement helps a company to reach out to larger audiences and introduce
them to the company’s products and services. Because of this, the sales
increase, which enables the company to earn more profits. It is important that
before setting the advertising budget, the company’s objective is understood.
Advertising Budget Basis
The advertising budget of a company is based on the following factors:
▪ Type of advertising campaign that it intends to run
▪ Selection of target audience
▪ Type of advertising media
▪ Company’s objective of advertising

Process of Formulating Advertising Budget

▪ Setting advertising goals based on the company’s objectives.
▪ Determine the activities that are required to be done.
▪ Preparing the components of the advertising budget;
▪ Getting the budget approved by management;
▪ Allocation of funds for activities proposed under the advertisement plan;
▪ Periodically monitoring the expenses being incurred on the advertising process.

Budget Model
- A budget model is a framework for how the company create and manage its
budget.
Types Of Budget Models
1. Zero-Based Budget - is where the company start the budget with a clean slate
each year. Every department has a starting budget of zero, and management
decides how much they need based on their priorities and goals for the year.
Essentially, the entity build a new budget from scratch every year. Every expense
needs to have a justification based on how it’ll help achieve the annual goals.
Pros:
▪ It makes the company think carefully about any new expenses.
▪ The company’s budget is tied to outcomes.
▪ Each department needs to be hands-on in the process so it’s more
collaborative.
 Cons:
▪ It takes a lot of time to develop since you’re rebuilding the budget each
year.
▪ There’s less flexibility for the budget throughout the year.

2. Static Budget - the company set a budget and it stays static throughout the year
regardless of external factors or company’s performance. Similar to a zero-based
budget, static budgets are based on the desired outcome or expected results.
Pros:
▪ It makes the company more conscious about how they spend their budget
since they know the amount they can spend won’t change until the next
period.
▪ There’s less maintenance and upkeep. Once the budget is set, it’s set.
Cons:
▪ The company can stunt growth by not adjusting your budget based on their
actual performance throughout the year.
▪ It can be too rigid, particularly for early-stage start-ups.
▪ The ability to reach goals is heavily dependent on whether or not it was
budgeted enough at the beginning of the year.

3. Flexible Budget - With this model, the budget varies depending on the sales
performance throughout the year. Your fixed expenses like office space, insurance,
or utilities will stay the same. But variable expenses directly tied to sales like your
cost of goods sold (COGS) and advertising, are based on a percentage of your sales
for the year.
Pros:
▪ Gives company a more realistic forecast of the costs associated with growth.
▪ Flexibility is built directly into the budget.
▪ The budget becomes somewhat automated since the expenses are tied to
revenue.
Cons:
▪ There isn’t always a 1:1 correlation between revenue and variable expenses,
so the budget won’t always be accurate.

4. Rolling Budget - With a rolling budget (also known as a continuous budget) the
company add a new budget period at the end of the most recent period. As a result,
the budget always looks 12 months out. The benefit of a rolling budget is that it takes
into account the most recent actuals to forecast the future budget.
 Pros:
▪ The budget is based on recent data rather than just speculation.
▪ It gives the company more flexibility and control over their budget.

Cons:
▪ It requires more attention since they are updating the budget more
frequently.

5. Incremental Budget - An incremental budget adds or subtracts from the previous

year’s actuals. This is arguably the simplest budget model to use because it does
not require much maintenance and you’re starting from the previous year’s
numbers.
Pros:
▪ It’s the easiest budget model to implement.
▪ There’s very little maintenance involved.
▪ It can work well for companies that have fairly static expenses.

Cons:
▪ It can lead to inefficient spending.

Advertising Outlays - An advertising outlay is the amount of money set aside for the
purposes of marketing and advertisements
Importance of Advertising Outlays
- Controlling advertising outlays are important because it is effective in achieving
marketing objectives in time and continuous development. Controlling mechanism
can prevent mistakes to occur and also help rectify mistakes, if any
Importance of Evaluating Advertising Effectiveness
- It aids in predicting the outcome in order to avoid total loss. The effectiveness of an
advertising may be assessed in terms of its communicative impacts on the target
customers or audience; this helps companies decide if their advertisements are
hitting the mark with their target audience and if they are receiving the greatest
returns. This allows them to assess the strengths, weaknesses, and ROI of certain
campaigns and make adjustments as needed.
Role Of Management Accountant In Formulating Advertising Budgets & Budget Models
The role of management accountant includes collecting, recording and reporting financial data
from several units of an organization, observe and analyze their budget and suggest their
funding and allocation. This includes estimation of cost of raw material, labor, manufacturing,
sales and advertising, social media networking, lobbying and company’s internal operation
cost.
1. Management accountant need to coordinate with all concerned departments to make
an overall analysis of company’s functioning capital and availability of funds and then
he or she has to report all the information to senior management and board of directors.

2. Management accountant has to review historical data to prepare an accurate prediction

of a year’s future expenses. Budget ensures coordination between the entrepreneur
and his employees in implementing all the plans for the year ahead.

3. Management accountant has to make predictions, budgets and report within a

stipulated period so that they can be implemented at the time of need.

4. Management accountant has to ensure accuracy of all information gathered to help in

correct decision making. The budget need is according to the available working capital
and exposure to market risks thus a certain amount of accuracy is very necessary.

5. Management accountant has to suggest and ensure the best budget model that will
help the company reach its goals. Choosing the appropriate budget model enables the
company to provide structure, allocate resources, measures performance and predict
cash flow.

6. Management accountant need to be aware of everything, be it political situation that

affect market, inflation, other exposures in market, competition, cost of labor, raw
material, internal operations, coordination among different departments within a
company as well as its interaction with rest of the business world and social media.

References:
https://www.wallstreetmojo.com/advertising-budget/ https://cmaaustralia.edu.au/ontarget/management-accounting-
roles-and-challenges-ahead/ https://finmark.com/budget-models/
Roles of Management Accountants in Controlling Advertising Outlays and Evaluating
Advertising Effectiveness
• Management accountants needs to determine your total marketing budget

If you’re a newer company or you’re aiming to scale quickly: Plan to spend anywhere
from 12 to 20% of your total revenue. If you want to scale quickly, keeping it at a 12%
minimum ensures you are spending some money to make money.

As a more established company looking to maintain or increase profitability: Plan to

spend anywhere between five and 12% of your total revenue. You can get away with
spending less because you’ve already built a base of loyal customers, so you’re using
marketing to keep them engaged and find new audiences rather than starting from
scratch.

Regardless of how much money you plan on spending, the most important thing to
remember is that you should not spend money you cannot afford to lose

• Management accountants has to evaluate your current strategy to see what’s

already working
If you’re in a position where you’ve already got some marketing campaigns up and
running and can see what’s working for you (and what’s not) then that’s great. This way,
you can allocate funds to the strategies that are working well for you, and pull money
away from anything that’s proving to be a failed effort. If you’re seeing traction, don’t give
up in favor of something that’s shinier or promises to be the next big thing.

Also consider that your low-cost options take time to see results, so it’s a long-term effort
and you must be willing to keep going to realize the benefits.

• Management accountants must ascertain the true reach of a campaign.

It’s easier to measure the reach of some ad types over others. For example, TV media
planners have a strong idea of the number of people who will be watching at a certain
time, and can safely estimate how many will see it.
Digital display ad reach, however, is harder to quantify. This is where survey data comes
in. It enables you to identify people who have seen the ad, and ask them about their
experience, and most importantly, whether they remember the brand.
• Management accountants evaluate the true impact of your campaign.
Knowing what success looks like for your ad is crucial.
So whether your ad aims to build brand affinity, brand equity, push a promotion or sell a
specific product, collecting the right data is key. Survey data enables you to ask precise
questions of your audience that behavioral data could only allude to
 • Management accountants measure ROI with confidence.
ROI and impact are heavily linked, but the two aren’t the same. The desired impact will
lead to a positive ROI.
When it comes to measuring advertising effectiveness, data must be collected separately
for both.
Management accountants identify which campaign metrics need improvement.
The key for any brand wanting to improve the quality of their digital campaigns is to move
beyond the use of behavioral analytics and vanity metrics alone towards a more holistic
and tell-all solution.
References:
https://blog.gwi.com/marketing/advertising-effectiveness/
https://www.mbaknol.com/marketing-management/measuring-advertising-effectiveness/
https://planergy.com/blog/managing-marketing-budgets/