Running Head: WARD IMC RATIONALE

IMC Portfolio Rationale

Abigail Ward
University of North Carolina Wilmington
COM 590
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Executive Summary

This portfolio was created to demonstrate my ability to obtain a director/manager level

position in the Integrated Marketing function. I have included a diverse mix of IMC artifacts that

support my goal and ability to obtain this position. In this portfolio, I have included various

pieces of IMC content: brand analyses, infographics, research presentations, IMC teaching

pieces and applied IMC artifacts. The artifacts were created over a two-year span, 2021-2023,

and the portfolio was designed for completion of COM 590: Capstone. An overview of each

artifact, its application of theoretical concepts and analysis from the IMC, as well as its intended

audience and general goal for portfolio inclusion are provided in this rationale. A digital

portfolio was created to compile the artifacts in a visually appealing and consumable manner.

There is a link to the portfolio provided at the end of the rationale (see Appendix A).

Introduction

I am interested in obtaining a director and/or management position in the Integrated

Marketing Function at nCino. I am framing my portfolio choices toward the communication goal

of being seen as an effective leader of integrated marketing communication and exemplifying

the importance of the IMC function within a company. The intended audiences may vary in

each piece because as a leader in an organization, different theories and concepts can apply to

whomever I am working with or managing. Each one of the pieces demonstrate my ability to

not only teach IMC concepts to peers, but they also highlight my will to continuously learn

more about varying workplace issues and how to effectively collaborate with others.

Portfolio Pieces
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COM 531 – Personal IMC Plan

My goal in executing this personal IMC plan is focused on the opportunity to obtain a

position as an Associate DEI&C Specialist at nCino. To achieve this goal of obtaining the position

as an Associate DEI&C Specialist at nCino, I will apply to the position and actively network with

people within the company through online marketing mediums, such as LinkedIn. I will

demonstrate my current education and experience, while also emphasizing my continuous

educational efforts, along with consistent involvement in community service and sustainability

outreach and volunteer programs by uploading my resume onto my LinkedIn profile and in the

application portal. Networking through this social medium will allow me to demonstrate my

communication and interpersonal skills to help foster this process and end goal.

This piece allowed me to apply concepts and theories of IMC to my own personal self

and how I would be a fit for potential role at a company. I learned not only how to analyze and

be honest with my own capabilities, but also how that fits into what an organization may or

may not be looking for. The intended audience for this piece was the Recruiting Department at

nCino, the hiring manger directly over the role, and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and

Community (DEI&C) team within the People (HR) department. Additionally, I, myself, am an

intended audience because this piece forces me to reflect on myself through an IMC lens.

COM 537 – Research Poster - Combining the Efforts of PR and Influencer Marketing to Rebuild

Brand Trust

How to effectively use influencer marketing and public relations to lessen the effects of

a PR disaster and restore brand confidence in the fitness sector is a current issue in crisis

communication. One of the best ways to contact customers immediately amid a crisis is
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through influencer marketing. These influencers can connect with audiences right away,

and they possess a voice that connects with brands and customers, making them extremely

valuable communication assets (“How to Use Influencer,” n.d.). The solution I am proposing is

for brands in the fitness industry to utilize a combined effort between PR and influencer

marketing to resolve PR crises. According to research, “37 percent of consumers trust

influencers more than brands…” (Aggarwal, 2023). When a crisis occurs, combining PR and

influencer marketing efforts will help boost positive engagement and rebuild brand trust.

Brands in the fitness industry need to utilize a combined effort between PR and

influencer marketing to resolve PR crises. Influencer marketing and PR can work together by

utilizing image repair theory to rebuild that trust and repair the damage that occurred as a

result of the crisis. Benoit’s image repair theory is concerned with how businesses respond to

allegations or explain their behavior after being accused of a transgression (Ulmer et al., 2019).

With image repair theory, these five major strategies can be used following a crisis: denial,

evasion of responsibility, reducing the offensiveness of the event, corrective action, and

mortification (Ulmer et al., 2019).

The intended audience is corporations/organizations who utilize digital channels for

marketing efforts, and how to handle crises through risk and crisis communication efforts. This

illustrates my ability to apply crisis and risk communication techniques to brands and

companies who suffer inevitable PR crises.

COM 535 – Invisible Disabilities in the Workplace

It's critical for organizations to understand what workplace diversity entails if they want

to foster a more diverse and inclusive workplace. According to research, “Workplace diversity
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refers to the variety of differences between individuals in an organization – Diversity within a

workplace encompasses race, gender, ethnic groups, age, religion, sexual orientation,

citizenship status, military service and mental and physical conditions, as well as other distinct

differences between people” (Dyson, E.). Disabilities are one of the most common overlooked

types of diversity in the workplace. There are visible disabilities, but there are also invisible

disabilities which seem to be more commonly overlooked. HR and Talent departments have the

ability to change this narrative and allow those with invisible disabilities to feel more seen and

included in the workplace.

The purpose of this piece is twofold: first, to learn more about the difficulties faced by

those with less obvious differences; and second, to help Human Resources and Talent

Acquisitions teams become better informed about those difficulties. My audiences are Human

Resources and Talent Acquisition professionals in various organizations. My overall goal is to

educate these professionals about the issues that are faced by individuals who are technically

considered diverse applicants, but their diversity is the result of differences that are not always

noticeable. This piece demonstrates my ability to teach complex concepts to a wide group of

individuals, while also actively learning about cultural and ethical practices in the workplace.

COM 533 - Communication Audit Report – nCino

Organizational culture theory plays a major role in my everyday work life. The company,

nCino, is largely focused on not only the success of the company, but the success of the

individuals who make up the company. Since I started at the company in August of 2021, I am

constantly reminded each and every day how and why culture should be at the forefront of an

organization. An experience that sticks out to me is when I was interviewing and what the
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interviewers were looking for. They really wanted someone who was not only a culture fit, but

also a culture add to the organization.

We use a behavioral style approach when conducting initial interviews, and we really

focus in on our core values to determine whether an individual is the right fit. To become a part

of the company I work for, an individual needs to not only be a culture fit, but also a culture

add. This piece applies IMC theory and strategy to the setting of my actual employment. I had

to critically assess the company I work for through IMC lens, evaluate my own performance,

and provide recommendations that could be put into practice and practically used by our

company. The intended audience for this piece are individuals holding leadership position at

nCino and also other organizations with a similar workplace culture. This work is a perfect

example of praxis.

COM 534 - Infographic – Communication Ethics

For this piece, I chose an expression of IMC theory through a visual

medium. According to Narrative Communication Ethics, the story of a given community makes

manifest the goods that the community protects and promotes. According to Dialogic

Communication Ethics, no one can command or demand dialogue from another; it is an

emergent communicative gift of understanding. I chose to discuss, as well as compare and

contrast these two approaches because I saw similarities between them. They both involve

individuals communicating, whether it be through stories or normal conversations with

discourse involved. Both approaches promote and protect multiple goods, and the goods are

similar for both the narrative and dialogic approach. The intended audience for this piece is

organizations who practice either or a combination of both of these approaches to ethics.

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COM 534 –Nonprofit Rebranding Analysis – PATH

The Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) is a non-profit organization

that works to address and solve urgent health challenges both locally and globally. The

organization, which was established more than 40 years ago, was originally named the Program

for the Introduction and Adaptation of Contraceptive Technology (PIACT). In 1980, the PIACT

model expanded into other health areas and started using the acronym PATH. The mission of

PATH is “to advance health equity through innovation and partnerships” (Mission & Strategy,

n.d). The non-profit is guided by six core values: Respect, Equity, Integrity, Impact, Innovation

and Collaboration.

The intended audience of this piece is leaders in an organization, especially those in the

marketing department, who can recognize when their brand needs a refresh and/or rebrand to

ensure communication methods are never stagnant.

COM 535 – We Were Feminists Once Peer Teaching

This piece demonstrates my ability to teach concepts and work collaboratively with

peers to deliver consumable knowledge to others. Through this piece, I learned how to create

appropriate context about a movement in history, highlight and add additional research and

examples most relevant to the IMC challenge, and compose thoughtful and relevant discussion

questions. As a leader, teaching is one of the most vital skills one can obtain.

A great leader knows how their team learns best and can decipher how best to

accommodate differing styles of learning based on the individual they are teaching. The
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intended audience are organizations who look for a leader/manager that can learn and teach

complex concepts to an audience of individuals.

Professional – nCino Thought Leadership - The Universal Customer

This piece demonstrates my ability to apply IMC related concepts and theories to my

professional work in my career. This thought leadership piece is related to today’s rapidly

transforming technology environment and how financial institutions (FIs) must think beyond

businesses or individuals as a customer and truly see them as a Universal Customer. A Universal

Customer is someone who has been empowered with such an excellent banking experience

that they want to stay with that one FI for all their financial needs. Through this piece, I

emphasized how technology plays an important role in the everyday lives of individuals from its

ability to help identify, understand, and cultivate the needs of humans. The intended audience

for this piece is professionals in an organization who need a leader to include IMC concepts and

theories in work-related material that gets released to consumers.

Conclusion

The process of creating this portfolio has allowed me to reflect on my growth as

a professional in the Integrated Marketing function. I started this IMC program the same month

I started my career at nCino where I began working in the marketing department. Completing

this program while diving headfirst into my first full-time career has been challenging but has

also proven to be beyond rewarding for both the personal and professional growth I have

obtained. The various courses I have taken throughout this program have helped establish the

passion I have for integrated marketing as a vital function in the company. The benefit of this

IMC program came full circle when nCino established their first ever Integrated Marketing
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function in January of 2023. Thank to this program, I now have the groundwork completed and

have defended my ability to succeed as a leader in the IMC world.

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Citations

Abraham Joseph, Suraksha Gupta, YiChuan Wang, Klaus Schoefer, Corporate rebranding: An
internal perspective, Journal of Business Research, Volume 130, 2021, Pages 709-723,
ISSN 0148-2963, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.04.020.

Alyammahi, A., Alshurideh, M., Kurdi, B.A., Salloum, S.A. (2021). The Impacts of
Communication Ethics on Workplace Decision Making and Productivity. In: Hassanien,
A.E., Slowik, A., Snášel, V., El-Deeb, H., Tolba, F.M. (eds) Proceedings of the
International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Systems and Informatics 2020. AISI
2020. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 1261. Springer, Cham.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58669-0_44

Associate DEI&C Specialist - Wilmington. Workday. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2021, from
https://ncino.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/nCinoCareers/job/Wilmington-NC/
Associate-DEI-C-Specialist---Wilmington_R2709-1.

Aggarwal, R. (2023, April 17). 4 ways PR and influencer marketing work together during crisis.
Agility PR Solutions. https://www.agilitypr.com/pr-news/public-relations/4-ways-pr-and-
influencer-marketing-work-together-during-crisis/

Brooke Fisher Liu, Julia Daisy Fraustino, Beyond image repair: Suggestions for crisis
communication theory development, Public Relations Review, Volume 40, Issue 3, 2014,
Pages 543-546, ISSN 0363-8111, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.04.004.

Chen Lou & Shupei Yuan (2019) Influencer Marketing: How Message Value and Credibility
Affect Consumer Trust of Branded Content on Social Media, Journal of Interactive
Advertising, 19:1, 58-73, DOI: 10.1080/15252019.2018.1533501

David E. Clementson, Narrative persuasion, identification, attitudes, and trustworthiness in crisis

communication, Public Relations Review, Volume 46, Issue 2, 2020, 101889, ISSN
0363-8111, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2020.101889.

Forte Communication Style Report. The Forte Institute - Communication Intelligence. (n.d.).
Retrieved October 10, 2021, from https://reports.theforteinstitute.com/Users/.

Lee, Z., & Bourne, H. (2017). Managing Dual Identities in Nonprofit Rebranding: An
Exploratory Study. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 46(4), 794–
816. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764017703705

Norton, C. (2022, August 10). How can PR and influencer marketing work together in a crisis?
Sprout Social. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/pr-and-influencer-marketing/

Ruby Chanda, A. S. T. (2020). The impact of influencer marketing in the fitness industry on
consumer trust. European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine, 7(9), 1900-1911.
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Sabuhari, R., Sudiro, A., Irawanto, D & Rahayu, M. (2020). The effects of human resource
flexibility, employee competency, organizational culture adaptation and job satisfaction
on employee performance. Management Science Letters , 10(8), 1775-1786.

Sawyer, K., Salter, N., & Thoroughgood, C. (2013). Studying Individual Identities Is Good, But
Examining Intersectionality Is Better. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 6(1),
80-84. doi:10.1111/iops.12012

Schultz, D. E., & Schultz, H. F. (2004). Chapter 8 Planning Marcom Content. In IMC, the next
generation: Five steps for delivering value and Measuring financial returns (p. 2480).
essay, McGraw-Hill.

Verburg, R. M., Nienaber, A.-M., Searle, R. H., Weibel, A., Den Hartog, D. N., & Rupp, D. E.
(2018). The Role of Organizational Control Systems in Employees’ Organizational Trust
and Performance Outcomes. Group & Organization Management, 43(2), 179–206.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601117725191
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Appendix A

Portfolio Webpage

Link to Portfolio