Marketing originally focussed on facilitating exchange with final customers and consumers emphasising the use of four P's, namely: Product, Place, Promotion and Price. Its focus has expanded to a wider emphasis on relationships that goes beyond customers to all stakeholders. The relevance of marketing has also been recognised not only fast moving consumer goods but also for services and beyond. Concurrently there has also been a shift from a departmental focus to a broader organisational focus. It is one of the disciplines in the organisation that continues to evolve and is critical to organisational success and performance.

Integrated Marketing Communications is the development and implementation of marketing communications programs that utilise a variety of communication tools to reach existing and prospective customers. IMC focuses on the synergistic role of advertising, sales promotions, direct marketing, Internet and interactive marketing, public relations and social media in the communications program. Integration of these communications tools leads to a more effective and cost efficient communications program. As such it represents an integral part of marketing. The rapidly changing marketing environment has led to a number of factors creating the need for understanding and effectively managing the communications process.

The advent of new digital media such as the Internet and social media, shifting media habits by consumers, market fragmentation and the demand for greater accountability by those responsible for marketing communications are just a few of the changes requiring a new perspective. IMC focuses on the utilisation of a combination of marketing communication tools to achieve specific objectives, leading to an impact exceeding that possible by traditional mass media working in isolation. Successful companies such as Nike, Procter & Gamble, BMW, Nestle and Unilever are among the many organisations that currently employ marketers with IMC expertise. In addition, global agencies such as Leo Burnett Worldwide, DDB Worldwide Communications, McCann-Erickson Worldwide, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide and numerous others have also adopted an IMC perspective in an attempt to insure that a consistent unified message is communicated to the marketplace. These companies and agencies have come to the realisation that to successfully compete in today’s highly competitive environment, traditional methods are no longer sufficient. They need to understand and manage the complete set of company/brand contact tools and touch points to achieve maximum impact is now essential.