MBA630 Discussion 6 Week 6

Unit 6: Discussion

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Integrated Marketing Communications, Advertising, and Sales Promotion

Companies must do more than just create customer value. One of the four P’s, promotion, is used to clearly and persuasively communicate that value. Promotion is not a single tool but, rather, a mix of several tools.  Under the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC), the company must carefully coordinate these promotion elements to deliver a clear, consistent, and compelling message about the organization and its brands. 

Taco Bell: Using IMC to Help Customers Live Mas!

This case describes how Taco Bell used integrated marketing communications (IMC) in its “Live Mas” campaign and in the introduction of Doritos Locos Tacos. Taco Bell was recognized by Advertising Age magazine as the winner of the Marketer of the Year award for its extraordinary use of IMC. The campaign utilized traditional promotion tools and new social media, and provides an excellent example of the shift to new IMC models of communication.

Sources

Kerin, R. A. & Hartley, S. W. (2017). Marketing. (13th ed.). New York, New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Directions

Initial Post

Review the following information to see how Taco Bell used integrated marketing communications and social media to communicate its message:

Background on Taco Bell

· Read the video case in the textbook on 493-495.

· Watch the Taco Bell case video (Links to an external site.)

Sources

· Review the following online websites and articles:

o Taco Bell’s Marketing Strategy (Links to an external site.)

o Taco Bell and IMC (Links to an external site.)

Based on the information provided, put yourself in the position of a marketing consultant brought in to the company to critically examine the company’s repositioning efforts, and then formulate a set of well-developed and supported recommendations to the company’s senior leadership team. The recommendation should be logically presented, well-supported, and thoroughly vetted. 

IMPORTANT! Your grade for each weekly thread discussion will be determined by your analytical, integrative, problem-solving and critical thinking skills demonstrated by your posts and by your positive responses to the posts of your classmates.There is no minimum or maximum in terms of the word count; however, the response should explicitly address all required components of this discussion assignment. Your response should integrate external resources, which should be consistent with APA writing style and format (6th edition) and reflect higher level cognitive processing (analysis, synthesis and or evaluation).  

Teacher Notes:

Integrated marketing is essential for any organization in today's crowded and competitive markets.  Please review the short video I posted in the Announcements to view excellent examples of successful IMC!

You may find it interesting how Taco Bell segments its target markets to accomplish this:  Be sure to make recommendations as to how this company can continue to thrive in an ever increasingly crowded fast food market!