Integrating Marketing Communications to Build Brand Equity

In the past few decades, a number of alternative media and promotion options have emerged by which marketers can communicate to consumers. A modern marketing communications program might consist of television, radio, magazine, and newspaper advertising; consumer and trade promotions; direct response, point-of-purchase, sponsorship, and public relation activities; as well as a number of other non-traditional media. Although these options provide much flexibility in targeting customers and communicating messages, they also differ on a number of dimensions, making it difficult for managers to appreciate how they can and should be used when developing brand strategies. Despite this fact, ad the reality that the vast majority of an advertising campaign budget goes to media and promotion expenses, research has provided little guidance on how to evaluate different combinations of marketing communication elements.The purpose of this chapter is to provide an information processing perspective on how to enhance brand equity through the integration of marketing communications. The brand equity concept has attained much importance with marketers because it provides guidance as to how marketing programs can effectively contribute to the value of brand, as well as how the value created for a brand can be advantageously exploiting. by focusing on how an individual consumer processes the various elements of a marketing communication program, a number of strategies to assist managers in brand-building activities will be put forth.