MINISTERIO DE SALUD

This chapter discussed integrated marketing communication, the message typology, the tourism sector and the hotel industry. The chapter also explained relationship marketing and provided a structure for the study. The research problem was defined, and the research objectives explained. It was hoped that, overall, the chapter provided an insight into tourism, marketing, the hotel marketing concept, relationship marketing as well as the different types of hotels and hotel ratings. In particular, the chapter provided a discussion on a boutique hotel. The chapter further delved into important areas such as marketing, marketing communication and tourism marketing in general as well as in the hotel context. The chapter highlighted that marketing communication plays a pivotal role in the effective and efficient management of a business. Marketing

marketing communication may be applied to any element that may be disseminated to the target audience in other to attract its attention and stimulate the onset of the buying decision process. It is generally important for hotels to substantiate the effectiveness of marketing communication decisions and, thus, there is the need for relationship marketing whereby the hotel or the organisation creates and establishes a meaningful, profitable and sustainable relationship with its customers. In this regard levels of relationship marketing was also discussed.

CHAPTER TWO

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION

2.1 INTRODUCTION

As indicated in chapter one, the goal of the study was to analyse integrated marketing communication at the View Boutique Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa. Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is persistently attracting popular attention and interest amid academics and practitioners around the world. It has been termed by writers such as Burnett and Moriarty (1998) to be one of the most sort after communication trends of the 1990s and also as playing a pivotal role in sustainable competitive advantage linked with marketing’. Schultz, Kim and Kang (2014) supported the firm potential of IMC as both a concept and a discipline and further suggested that, despite the relative originality of IMC in both expansion and practice, it has had a major effect on significant facets of marketing and marketing communications (Mũnoz-Leiva, Porcu & Barrio-Garcıa 2015:678).

The concept of IMC includes a process whereby various marketing communication tools are employed to convey messages to the target audience. This process is regarded as successful if the various marketing communication tools are used to disseminate specific messages to the target audiences effectively (Zavrsnik & Jerman 2011:531). This is in line with the view of Gronstedt and Sircuse (1998:23) who stated that organisations are being forced to adopt IMC specifically because of the breaking up of markets as well as the multiplicity of promotional tools that may be used in ensuring that consistent messages are delivered to all stakeholders. This process of IMC using multiple marketing communication tools to disseminate information to the target audience is a prerequisite for effective marketing communication and entails sending messages through various channels of communication, thus emphasising the importance of the combination of all marketing communication tools so as to achieve the optimum synergy effect (Zavrsnik & Jerman [Sa] 531). Fierce competition in the market arena has compelled organisations, irrespective of the sector to adopt IMC as a marketing approach. Thus, IMC depicts a paradigm shift from the period of mass marketing to a period characterised by a consumer centric approach. The modern

marketing approach that IMC represents places the emphasis on relationship marketing, database marketing and retention (Iacobucci & Calder 2003:6).

According to Kitchen, Philip, Brignell, Li, Jones and Spickett (2004) several organisations have adopted the integration of their communications disciplines under a single strategic marketing communications function known as integrated marketing communication (IMC). This has provided active support for other aspects of the marketing mix while also creating impact in that it is both effective and cost effective. IMC has become popular globally. IMC has been accepted as the way in which businesses should operate as well as the organisations and agencies that service their needs. Realistically, IMC aims to bring together, integrate, and synergise aspects of the communications mix with the strengths of one aspect being used to make up the weaknesses of other aspects. In addition, IMC uses relationship marketing to reinforce both the relevance of customer’s loyalty and the necessity to build and grow a brand's image-based equity.

The objective of this chapter was to analyse IMC by means of a literature review. The first part of the chapter discusses the concept of tourism and hotel marketing in order provide a context for the discussion on IMC. Therefore, the hotel industry will also be delved into since it is intrinsically linked to tourism in general. Thus, the section will focus on tourism marketing in relation to the hotel industry. In addition, the marketing mix is discussed in relation to the way it applies to the hotel situation. In accordance with the objective of this chapter, the second section will examine the historical evolution of IMC with particular focus on providing some definition of IMC. The four types of messages, namely, planned, unplanned, product, and service, are also discussed as is the theoretical framework which underpinned the study, namely, relationship marketing. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the criticism of IMC by various scholar who are authoritative figures in the discipline.