imc business plan 2023

IMC Business Plan 2023 PDF Download

Download IMC Busines Latest Full Business MLM Plan PDF for free – International Marketing Corporation Income and Business Plan PDF

This post will provide you with a PDF of the complete IMC Business Plan.  You can find the latest Marketing and Business Plan for IMC Company,  which you can also download in PDF format   at the end of the post.

IMC is a product-based network marketing company , which is a well-known direct-selling company in India. It was started in 2007 and its head office is in Ludhiana, Punjab.

IMC stands for International Marketing Corporation . Ashok Bhatia is the chairman and Satyan Bhatia is the managing director of IMC.

IMC got registered under MCA on 31 December 2013 from Ludhiana, Punjab. IMC products list consists of Health Care, Agriculture products, Personal Care, and Home Care category products.

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IMC Business Plan

Anyone can join IMC as a Distributor or Associate and being an Associate, Every person has to perform two major tasks to earn from it.

1. Product Selling

After becoming an Associate, the company provides the product at a lower price, which is known as Distributor price (DP) and by selling that product in MRP, you can earn a good amount of retail profit.

The retail profit can be calculated by the following formula:

2. Recruitment

The second task to earn more is recruiting new people. To earn passive income as well as active income, distributors need to recruit more people in the downline.

As per Direct Selling Guidelines , earnings are always based on the product purchase, which can be a personal purchase or downline purchase.

IMC Compensation Plan

IMC offers 17 types of Income to their Associates:

• Retail Profit
• Accumulative Performance Incentive
• Leadership Bonus
• Travelling Fund
• Chairman Star Fund
• Ambassador Star Fund
• Crown Ambassador Fund
• President Star Fund
• Crown Ambassador Star Fund
• Senior Crown President Star Fund
• Director Crown President Star Fund 0.25%
• Kohinoor Crown President Star Fund
• Special Meeting Fund
• Royal Annual Bonus

IMC Business Plan PDF Download

To understand more about it, you can download IMC business plan PDF by clicking the below button.

How to Join IMC?

To join IMC, a person can contact any existing distributor of IMC and ask them to enroll in the company.

To join, individuals should have documents such as Aadhar Card, Pan Card, and Bank Account.

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Integrated Marketing Communication Strategy Plan: 5 Examples

Table of Contents

What is a marketing communications strategy, what is a marketing communication channel, 5 steps to create an integrated marketing communication strategy from idea to implementation.

• Defining Objectives and Target Audience
• Selecting Communication Channels
• Crafting Consistent Messaging
• Implementation and Evaluation
• Refinement and Adaptation

Marketing Communication Strategies Examples

Advertising in integrated marketing communication strategy, direct marketing communication strategy in imc, importance of marketing communication strategy, conclusions.

In today’s hyper-connected world, a robust marketing communication strategy is paramount for any brand aiming to cut through the noise and reach its audience effectively. One of the most powerful approaches in this realm is Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC). Let’s delve into this strategy and explore its importance, examples, and the steps to create a winning IMC plan.

At its core, a marketing communications strategy is the blueprint that defines how a company will effectively communicate its messages to its target audience. It integrates various marketing channels to convey a cohesive brand message.

“A marketing communication strategy defines how a company communicates its messages. Channels, like TV or social media, deliver these messages.”

A marketing communication channel refers to the specific mediums or avenues through which a company delivers its messages to its audience. These channels can be diverse, encompassing both traditional and digital platforms. Traditional channels include print media, television, radio, and direct mail, while digital channels comprise websites, social media platforms, email, mobile apps, and search engines.

Crafting a robust channel of communication within a marketing strategy involves a meticulous selection process. It’s imperative to identify the most effective channels that resonate with the target demographic. A channel that works wonders for one brand might not yield the same results for another. Hence, understanding audience preferences, behaviors, and consumption patterns is crucial in channel selection.

A well-thought-out communication marketing strategy carefully selects and optimizes these channels to ensure the message reaches the right audience at the right time. The strategy might involve a blend of various channels, creating an omnichannel experience for the audience, thereby enhancing brand visibility and engagement.

Moreover, an effective communication marketing strategy doesn’t merely focus on the selection of channels but also emphasizes the synchronization and consistency of messaging across these channels. Consistency in brand voice, tone, and message across various communication channels reinforces brand identity and fosters trust among consumers.

By leveraging an appropriate mix of communication channels and aligning them within a cohesive strategy, businesses can effectively engage with their audience, amplify brand messages, and drive desired actions, ultimately contributing to their overall marketing objectives.

• Defining Objectives and Target Audience : Understand the marketing communication strategy goals and the audience to tailor messages effectively.
• Selecting Communication Channels : Choose the mix of channels that align with the audience’s preferences.
• Crafting Consistent Messaging : Ensure the message remains cohesive across all selected channels.
• Implementation and Evaluation : Execute the plan and continuously assess its effectiveness to make necessary adjustments.
• Refinement and Adaptation: Stay agile and adapt the strategy based on insights gained through evaluation.

Integrated Marketing Communication Strategy combines various strategies for all marketing communication channels with IMC tactics into an omnichannel comprehensive marketing plan.</з>

The five main components of Marketing Communication include: advertising to deliver mass media communication ad messages, direct marketing for individual personalized communications, public relations (PR) for brand communications and relationships with community, online digital marketing, and offline traditional media marketing communications. Each of these components is an independent marketing strategy and a part of the overall marketing strategy. Here are these top 5 marketing communication strategy examples.</з>

Traditional and digital yet impactful, advertising remains a cornerstone of IMC. It involves strategically placing messages through various mediums to reach the intended audience. Advertising campaigns are paid media buying. Ad is a message or message sequence shown to many peaple many times at a specific time and place. Advertising strategy includes defining target audience, choosing media placement, calculating budgets and media reach, creating ad copy, launching ad campaigns, and analyzing results, and adjusting strategy. </з>

• Advertising Communication Strategy Examples
• Goal: Increase sales of retail products, new cellphone models.
• Online Advertising Strategy Plan Example
• Target Audience: people who are interested in buying a new smartphone online.
• Digital Channel: Online ads on Instagram and Facebook 
• Placement: NewsFeed Post and Stories
• Budget: $1000
• Potential Reach: 100,000 
• Interaction Clicks: 1000
• Message: Text + Image + Link 
• Traditional Advertising Strategy Plan Example
• Target Audience: people who are interested in tech and smartphones.
• Traditional Channel: Print ad in Tech Magazine
• Placement: Half Page
• Potential Reach: 50,000 
• Customer Interactions: undefined
• Message: Text + Image 

Direct marketing involves personalized communication with potential customers, utilizing channels like personal conversations, direct sales, phone calls, emails, text messages, or targeted QR codes. Direct marketing is also known as

One-to-One Marketing or Real-Time Marketing

communications. Utilizing tools like ClearLine apps can streamline and enhance this process, ensuring seamless communication with the audience, delivering instant measurable results for any direct to consumer business.

• Direct Marketing Strategy Example
• Target Audience: store visitors who are interested in buying a new smartphone.
• Channel: ClearLine marketing apps
• Placement: text messages, SMS, email, QR codes. 
• Budget: $79
• Customer Interactions: 1000

Public Relations Content Marketing and Global PR Campaigns

Public relations focus on managing the brand’s image and reputation. Content marketing and global PR campaigns play a crucial role in shaping consumer perception.

• Public Relations Strategy Example
• Blog posts and social media marketing
• Press Release for news media
• Media production and video content
• Brand marketing campaigns
• Social listening
• Influencer Marketing
• User Generated Content 
• Events and Sponsorships
• Partnerships and collaborations
• Community Outreach and Supporting Programs
• Investors relations
• Government relations

Digital Integrated Marketing Communication Strategy

In the digital age, this strategy leverages online platforms and technologies to connect with audiences, utilizing social media, websites, and targeted digital ads. Digital marketing communication strategy includes Advertising, Direct marketing, and Public relations campaigns using digital media.

Digital Marketing Communication Strategy Example

• Online Advertising, pay per click (PPC)
• Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Paid Social Media
• Social Media Marketing (SMM)
• Affiliate Marketing
• Email Marketing
• SMS Marketing
• QR Code Marketing

Traditional Marketing Communication Channel

Despite the digital surge, traditional methods like TV, radio, and print ads still hold sway in reaching specific demographics effectively. Traditional marketing communication strategy includes Advertising, Direct marketing, and Public relations campaigns using traditional media.

• Out of Home Advertising (OOH). Billboards, transport ads, and signage in high-traffic areas. 
• Digital Out-of-Home Advertising (DOOH). Digital Signature, digital billboards, transport screen ads, kiosk ads.
• Print ads: magazines, journals, fliers.
• Broadcast marketing: TV ads, Radio ads.

A robust marketing communication strategy is vital for businesses to convey their message clearly, consistently, and effectively. Understanding the marketing communication mix is crucial. A balanced combination of advertising, direct marketing, PR, digital marketing, and traditional media ensures a comprehensive approach.

In a dynamic marketing landscape, an Integrated Marketing Communication strategy is the linchpin for brands aiming to resonate with their audience. By embracing diverse channels, crafting compelling messages, and adapting to changing trends, businesses can carve a path towards sustained success.

You can complete the profile Sign up & KYC using PAN OR Aadhaar in one go to become an Associate.

Preferred Customer

You may quickly fill up a brief profile to create an account as a Preferred Customer and start buying products. The KYC may do later become an Associate and start business

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IMC Business Plan 2023 in hindi | आईएमसी न्यू बिजनेस प्लान 2023 सरल से सरल भाषा और सरल से सरल तरीका में समझे बिलकुल आसानी से

GOOD IMC दोस्तों आज की इस पोस्ट में मै बात करने वाली हूँ   IMC NEW BUSINESS PLAN  के बारे में जो अभी-अभी अपडेट हुई है और एक मार्च से लागु भी हो चुकी है इस पोस्ट में हम आपको बहुत ही आसान तरीका से समझाने और बताने वाले है ओ भी शुरू से  तो आप पोस्ट के अंत तक जरूर बने रहिये और अच्छे से पढ़िए अच्छे से समझिये, ताकि इस बेहतरीन प्लान के बारे में आपको पूरी जानकारी अच्छी तरह से मिल सके और आपका बिजनेस बढ़ सके। 

                  *   तो चलिए शुरू करते हैं :-

तो दोस्तों जैसे कि पहले IMC Business Level कुछ इस तरह से था और Plan भी

  *  IMC Business Level And Plan :-

Star - 1 = 10 %

Star - 5 = 30 % (Super Star) 

यानी 30% पर हम सुपर स्टार लेबल को एचीव कर पाते थे लेकिन अब ऐसा बिलकुल भी नहीं है अब हमें सुपर स्टार बनने के लिए 30 % करने की जरुरत नहीं है क्यूकी इसी प्लान को IMC कम्पनी ने अपडेट कर कुछ इस तरह से कर दी है 👇👇👇जो की हम सबके लिए बहुत ही आसान हो गया है सुपर स्टार बनना।

Star - 1 = 4 %

       *  What is BV in IMC  :-

    *  how much bv should i get at what level :-.

Posted by: Angel Official

आपको ये पोस्ट पसंद आ सकती हैं, एक टिप्पणी भेजें, 2 टिप्पणियाँ.

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आईएमसी बिसनेस प्लान 2023 | IMC Business Plan in Hindi PDF Download

आज हम बात करने वाले हैं IMC business plan के बारे में की आखिर आईएमसी का income plan कैसा है और आपको इससे इनकम कैसे आती है? साथ यह भी जानेंगे की आखिर आईएमसी में लोग लाखों रूपये महीने कैसे कमा रहे हैं? यहाँ ज्यादा कमाई कैसे की जाती है?

अगर आप नये हैं तो आपको यह इनकम प्लान पहली बार में पूरी तरह से समझ आ जाये यह जरुरी नही है, इसलिए आप केवल सुपर स्टार लेवल तक की जानकारी ले लेवें और इसके आगे के लिए आप अपने upline या जिनसे आप join हो रहे हैं उनसे पूरी जानकारी ले लीजिये।

यदि आप पूरा प्लान देखना चाहते हैं तो निचे IMC Business Plan in Hindi PDF Download लिंक दी गयी है। इसे पढने से पहले आपको पता होना चाहिए की IMC क्या है? और आपको आईएमसी बिज़नेस क्यों करना चाहिए? इस बारे में हमने पहले ही जानकारी दे दी है।

यह भी पढ़ें:   IMC Company Certificates – आईएमसी कंपनी के प्रमाणपत्र और अन्य कागजात 

Table of Contents

IMC Business के फायदे

• बिना किसी investment के स्वयं का बिज़नेस
• IMC के प्रोडक्ट में 30% तक डिस्काउंट
• परफॉरमेंस इंसेंटिव – 10-30% तक
• स्पेशल इंसेंटिव अवार्ड 17% तक
• लीडरशिप बोनस 15%
• सुपर स्टार फण्ड – 3%
• मीटिंग फण्ड – 2%
• ट्रेवलिंग फण्ड – 4%
• मोटरबाइक फण्ड – 4%
• कार फण्ड – 2%
• हाउस फण्ड – 2%
• चेयरमैन स्टार फण्ड – 2%
• एम्बेसडर स्टार फण्ड – 1%
• क्राउन एम्बेसडर स्टार फण्ड – 1%
• प्रेसिडेंट स्टार फण्ड – 0.5%
• क्राउन प्रेसिडेंट स्टार फण्ड – 0.5%
• सालाना रॉयल्टी बोनस – 5% तक

ये सारे परसेंटेज कंपनी के टर्नओवर के आधार पर कैलकुलेट होते हैं। जैसे-जैसे आपका लेवल बढ़ता जाता है आपको अलग-अलग प्रकार के funds मिलते जाते हैं।

IMC से पैसे कैसे कमायें?

  चलिए अब बात करते हैं इसके इनकम plan के बारे में, और जानते हैं की आईएमसी से पैसे कैसे मिलते हैं :

• Free Joining होने के बाद आपको एक user ID मिलती है। IMC के किसी भी स्टोर या तहसील डिस्ट्रीब्यूटर से अपनी ID बता कर आप 10% से 30% तक डिस्काउंट में सामान ले सकते हैं।
• जब भी आप अपनी ID के माध्यम से प्रोडक्ट खरीदते हैं तो आपको हर प्रोडक्ट पर कुछ points मिलते हैं जिन्हें Business Volume या BV कहा जाता है।
• ये BV हर महीने जुड़ते जाते हैं और कभी भी कम नही होते ( यानि accumulate होते रहते हैं )
• आप अपनी तरह अपने-जन पहचान के लोगों को प्रोडक्ट की गुणवक्ता और बिज़नस के बारे में जानकारी देकर उन्हें भी join करा सकते हैं। और इसी तरह आप अपनी टीम बना सकते हैं।
• आपकी टीम के लोग कहीं भी कभी भी आईएमसी के प्रोडक्ट खरीदते हैं तो उसका कमीशन आपको मिलेगा। 
• आपके डाउनलाइन यानि आपकी टीम के सदस्य जब प्रोडक्ट खरीदते हैं तो उनको भी BV मिलेगा साथ ही उतना ही BV आपके ID पर जुड़ जायेंगे।
• आपकी और आपके टीम की total BV points के आधार पर ही आपके level और इनकम का कैलकुलेशन होता है।

IMC के इनकम प्लान या बिज़नेस प्लान को समझने के लिए सबसे पहले BV, PBV, GBV जैसे कुछ शब्दों को समझना होगा तो आइये इनके बारे में जानते हैं:

IMC Business Performance Incentive

चलिए अब जानते हैं की कितने points यानि BV पर आप कौन से level achieve करेंगे:  

  10% से 30% तक के लेवल basic levels होते हैं, इसके बाद सिल्वर, गोल्ड, रूबी जैसे लेवल आते हैं जिनकी जानकारी निचे दी गयी है।   एक बार जब आप किसी लेवल को प्राप्त कर लेते हैं तो फिर कभी भी आपका लेवल उससे निचे नही होगा।

जल्दी लेवल पाने का शॉर्टकट तरीका

आप जल्दी से जल्दी लेवल अचीव करें इसके लिए कम्पनी की तरफ से कुछ ऑफर्स भी दिए गये हैं जिन्हें आप शॉर्टकट भी कह सकते हैं जैसे:

फ़ास्ट सुपरस्टार: यह सुपर स्टार बनने का सबसे आसान रास्ता है। इसे भी अब प्लान के साथ permanently जोड़ दिया गया है। इसके अनुसार यदि आप एक ही महीने में 60001 BV कर लेते हैं तो आप 30% level को प्राप्त कर लेते हैं।

Income कैसे calculate करें?

इस चार्ट के अनुसार आपका basic income कितना होगा? आईये जानते हैं:

• जब आप और आपकी down line मिलकर 1001 BV कर लेते हैं तो आप 10% लेवल पर पहुँच जाते हैं। तो आपके BV का 10% आपकी income होगी। 
• जब आप और आपकी टीम मिलकर 7501 BV बना लेते हैं तो आपकी इनकम 15% हो जाती है।
• इसी तरह हर महीने की BV जुड़ते जाते हैं और जब आप 100001 BV पर पहुँच जाते हैं तो इस लेवल को Super star level कहा जाता है जहाँ 30% income होती है और सुपर स्टार फण्ड मिलने शुरू हो जाते हैं।

IMC Business Plan in Hindi 2022

आपने सुना होगा की IMC में कई लोग लाखों रूपये महीने की इनकम करते हैं, अब आप सोच रहे होंगे की आखिर ऐसा कैसे होता है?

चलिए समझते हैं…

• दरअसल सुपर स्टार लेवल तक बेसिक इनकम होती है, असली कमाई इसके बाद शुरू होती है। आप इस लेवल तक पहुँचते-पहुँचते इस बिज़नस को अच्छी तरह सीख जाते हैं। 
• अब आप अपनी down line को बिज़नस करना सिखाते हैं और उनको भी Super star बनने में मदद करते हैं। इससे आप आगे के levels को achieve कर पाते हैं।

इसके आगे और भी कई सारे levels होते हैं जैसे:

Qualified Super Star

• 30% level पहुँचते तक आपकी कई लोगों की टीम बन जाती है और पूरी टीम मिलकर जब एक ही महीने में 30000 PGBV करते हैं तो आप उस महीने क्वालिफाइड सुपर स्टार बन जाते हैं। 
• यहाँ पर आपको Super star fund यानि कंपनी टर्नओवर का 3% कमीशन मिलता है।

Silver Star Associate (33%)

• जब आपके down line में एक व्यक्ति Qualified Super star बन जाता है और इसके अलावा 20000 PGBV कर लेते हैं तो आप सिल्वर स्टार बन जाते हैं। 
• यहाँ पर आपका commission level 33% हो जाता है। 
• लीडरशिप बोनस मिलता है।
• इसके अलावा ट्रैवलिंग फण्ड (4%) भी मिलता है ।

Gold Star Associate (36%)

• जब आपकी डाउनलाइन के अलग-अलग legs में दो क्वालिफाइड सुपरस्टार बन जाएँ और इसके अलावा 20000 PGBV कर लेते हैं तो आप इस लेवल को प्राप्त कर लेते हैं।
• 36% प्रॉफिट प्राप्त करेंगे
• लीडरशिप बोनस
• ट्रैवेलिंग फण्ड (4%)
• बाइक फण्ड (4%) दिया जाता है।

Ruby Star Associate (39%)

• यहाँ तक पहुँचने के लिए आपके डाउनलाइन के अलग-अलग लेग्स में 3 क्वालिफाइड सुपरस्टार होने चाहिए।
• 39% प्रॉफिट प्राप्त करेंगे
• बाइक फण्ड (4%) 
• कार फण्ड (2%) 
• मीटिंग फण्ड (0.5%) दिया जाता है।

Diamond Star Associate (42%)

• विभिन्न डाउनलाइन में जब 4 क्वालिफाइड सुपरस्टार हो जाएँ तो आप डायमंड स्टार बन जाते हैं।
• 42% प्रॉफिट लेवल प्राप्त करेंगे
• कार फण्ड (2%)
• हाउस फण्ड (2%)

Chairman Star Associate (45%)

• अलग-अलग लेग्स में 5 क्वालिफाइड सुपरस्टार हो जाएँ तो आप चेयरमैन स्टार बन जाते हैं।
• 50% प्रॉफिट लेवल प्राप्त करेंगे
• हाउस फण्ड (2%) 
• चेयरमैन फण्ड (2%)

इससे आगे और भी कई सारे levels होते हैं लेकिन आज हम सिर्फ इतना ही जानकारी दे रहे हैं इससे आगे Ambassador Star, Crown Ambassador, President Star, Crown President और सबसे top level को कोहिनूर कहा जाता है। 

IMC Business Plan in Hindi PDF Download

आप IMC business का पूरा बिज़नेस प्लान PDF फॉर्मेट में डाउनलोड कर सकते हैं। डाउनलोड करने के लिए निचे दिए गये डाउनलोड बटन पर क्लिक करें।

यह भी पढ़ें:  

• IMC Product Price List
• नेटवर्क मार्केटिंग में लोग फेल क्यों होते हैं?
• Top 10 Network Marketing Books in Hindi
• डायरेक्ट सेलिंग क्या है? डायरेक्ट सेलिंग के फायदे और नुकसान

हमें उम्मीद है की आपको IMC business plan in Hindi की यह जानकारी पसंद आई होगी।

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Integrated marketing: the complete guide [2024].

• What is integrated marketing?
• Guidelines for an effective integrated marketing strategy
• Benefits of integrated marketing
• Getting started with your integrated marketing campaign
• Integrated marketing examples
• Integrated, multi-channel and omni-marketing: what’s the difference?
• Build your next integrated marketing campaign with workamajig

Browse more blogs

What is integrated marketing.

Integrated marketing is the practice of aligning different media, also called channels, towards a unified goal—this can be anything from establishing or reinforcing your brand identity or driving engagement with your message or product. A simple way to look at integrated marketing is creating a cohesive and immersive experience in support of your actual product/brand.

A solid integrated marketing campaign does wonders for brand recognition because of consistency, without bombarding any one platform which can turn off a potential customer base. On top of that, the best-integrated marketing communications drive consumers to engage with the campaign itself, which is a huge stepping stone toward conversion.

An experienced integrated marketing agency also doesn’t discount the potential value of utilizing traditional media in its strategy. They tailor make their marketing mix depending on the target consumer base, and the experience that they’re trying to create.

Guidelines for an Effective Integrated Marketing Strategy

In 2001, David Pickton and Amanda Broderick proposed a model, appropriately called The 4C’s , for marketing and communications. This model is especially applicable to integrated marketing campaigns, and it recommends that marketers inspect their campaigns under the following principles:

1. Coherence

Are the materials across your channels delivering the same message, even if they’re not exactly the same? Do they convey the same emotion? A good way to test this is by having people outside of the project view the different materials, then seeing if they get the same messaging from all of them. If not, it would be worth getting data on what they feel is out of place, or what other messages they get from the materials.

2. Consistency

Do your elements have the same look and feel? Take a look at your core elements, like your logo and slogan, all the way down to the color scheme to make sure that they are standardized across all of your materials. Contradictions in both the messaging and the style take away from your brand’s credibility, so it will be worth conducting an audit to make sure that there are no inconsistencies in your campaign.

Learn more about auditing your brand here .

3. Continuity

In addition to having a consistent message in the current campaign, how well does it connect to previous campaigns and your overall brand messaging? Ideally, every campaign performs better than the last, and this is aided greatly when you’re able to build on the momentum of the core message, even as the media and the methods you use change over time.

4. Complementary

Step back and look at all of your elements together again. From afar, do they still satisfy the coherence and consistency requirements? The goal here is to go from having interesting individual elements to making sure that they are even more impactful when viewed as a whole.

Benefits of Integrated Marketing

An effective integrated marketing strategy allows you to achieve much more, with much less. Below are some of the biggest advantages of investing in a solid integrated marketing plan:

1. Wider reach and visibility

Because integrated marketing utilizes multi-channel marketing, your brand is naturally exposed to a greater audience, with every channel providing its own set of consumers that can see and potentially engage with your campaign.

2. Increased credibility and trust

Consumers require more information before they can be converted, but they also hate being bombarded by ads. By distributing your material across different channels, you reduce the risk of overwhelming any one audience, while also increasing brand recognition across channels and your overall audience.

3. Reduced cost

Following the principle of consistency, integrated marketing allows your team to reuse most, if not all, of its assets across the different channels, being targeted. This allows your team to create more materials at a faster rate compared to creating wildly different materials for every platform.

Getting Started with Your Integrated Marketing Campaign

Now that we’ve learned about the concept and the importance of an integrated marketing campaign, the following tasks outline important considerations when building your first integrated campaign:

1. Establish SMART goals

SMART goals stand for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. On top of this, it’s important to think like your customer—what about your product/brand/service is important to them? What problem/s are you trying to solve? This helps inform the message, as well as identify key strengths that you want to emphasize in your campaign.

2. Craft your core message

Go back to your brand values, as this will anchor your campaign’s messaging, regardless of the media you use. Your values will also help narrow down your options, as not all media or methods will be appropriate to your core idea or your audience.

3. Identify your channels

After crafting your message and reaffirming your values, take stock of the channels that are 1) available and 2) relevant to your campaign. Will digital, traditional or a combination of both media aid your campaign? How well does a certain channel perform among the demographic/s you chose? What unique strengths can you leverage from this channel?

4. Create a content plan

Once you have identified your channels, it’s time to start working with your team to create and optimize material for each. This is when the 4C’s are most important to remember, as you will need to weigh the effectiveness of your materials not just as individual pieces but as a collective. From there, you can build an integrated marketing calendar , so you can better juggle the volume across channels and avoid overwhelming your potential customers.

5. Prepare for launch and feedback

Once your materials have passed the appropriate reviews and have been plotted on the calendar, it’s time to launch the campaign! From there, it’s important to collect data to see how well your campaign performs and either adjust accordingly where able or take note of opportunities to improve on your next campaign.

Integrated Marketing Examples

To better understand how integrated marketing works, here are a few examples of effective integrated marketing communications, and how they affected their respective companies:

Dumb Ways to Die

Railroad companies don’t always conjure a fun, friendly image, at least not until 2012, when Melbourne Metro decided to take a creative approach to promote railroad safety.

Typically, railroad safety promotions come in the form of infographics, or regular public safety announcements. Instead, Melbourne Metro created an entire song, titled ‘Dumb Ways to Die,’ that did exactly what it proposed: illustrate the many dumb ways to die, including getting hit by a train. The associated music video, according to Smart Insights, “...was viewed 2.5 million times within 48 hours and 4.7 million times within 72 hours. Within two weeks, the video had been viewed 30 million times. As of September 2018, the video has received over 170 million views.”

It then went on to become one of the biggest videos of 2012 in terms of shares and grew into an even bigger integrated marketing network, spawning various merchandise such as books and toys, as well as digital media like mobile applications, most of which encouraged users to visit the website and make a personal pledge towards railroad safety. Most importantly, it achieved its intended effect—Metro Trains reported as much as a 21% decrease in railroad incidents after the video went viral.

Share a Coke

Coca-Cola banked on a simple, yet powerful aspect of human nature: most people, if not all, want to feel a sense of importance. Personalized gift-giving capitalized on this sentiment, which led to Australia first launching this campaign in 2011. The resulting increase in consumption caught the attention of Coca-Cola’s global enterprise, which paved the way for a rerun of the campaign a few years later, starting with the US, with many other countries following suit.

The collectible nature of the personalized bottles not only encouraged consumers to find their own names but possibly those of others close to them. This would then fuel a social media craze using the #ShareaCoke hashtag, and Coca-Cola would also expand the campaign to allow for more customized products, as well as promote the craze on even more channels than before.

The US run of the campaign proved to be a massive success, reporting up to an 11% increase in sales of participating products, the highest of any market that ran the campaign.

Integrated, Multi-Channel, and Omni-Marketing: What’s the Difference?

A common misconception in marketing revolves around whether or not integrated marketing, multi-channel marketing, and omnichannel marketing are synonymous. It’s important not to confuse the three; here are three simple ways to tell them apart:

1. Omni-channel marketing is focused on seamlessness.

In most cases, an omnichannel approach directly ties into the consumer experience, mainly by replicating key events across a wide range of channels. A simple way to look at it is to make sure that consumers get the same features and benefits through one channel as they would another.

For example, certain coffee shop brands also have a companion app, which can be used to order the same items that would be available in-store, on top of earning points on an affiliated membership card. While the platforms are different, the ease at which one can order coffee and other items from the shop remains intact.

Omni-channel marketing is more commonly seen in retail or e-commerce than in other businesses or companies.

2. Multi-channel marketing is focused on variety.

Multi-channel marketing is the simplest to identify, as it applies to both omnichannel and integrated marketing. From the term itself, this approach simply requires that multiple channels be used in a marketing strategy.

This can be any combination of the various traditional and digital channels available: social media, print, television, events, and more. As long as there is more than one avenue being used to market a business, multi-channel marketing is at play.

3. Integrated marketing communications is about coherence.

Think of integrated marketing as a small step above multi-channel marketing—on top of utilizing multiple channels to engage with as many relevant consumers as possible, central to integrated marketing communications is making sure that a unified message is being driven across all of the channels, at all times.

A good analogy to make here is: multi-channel is possible without integrated marketing, but not the other way around.

In an ideal scenario, integrated marketing and omnichannel marketing are utilized by your company. However, integrated marketing should be a fundamental practice, especially for businesses with lower budgets, as it is crucial for all businesses to be visible, recognizable, and memorable to compete in today’s market.

Build Your Next Integrated Marketing Campaign with Workamajig

An effective integrated marketing campaign can enable exponential growth for your brand, product, or service. Clear, consistent messaging spread out across multiple channels ensures that consumers receive healthy exposure to your product in the ways that matter to them, reducing the gap between interest and conversion.

With Workamajig, the premier marketing management software , you have an all-in-one solution for managing your tasks, deadlines, and resource allocations to build an integrated marketing strategy that works for you. Easily adjust your schedule or modify task requirements to ensure alignment with your brand values, and use native reporting tools to maintain alignment with your stakeholders in delivering a solid message to your consumers.

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How to Create an Integrated Marketing Strategy

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Our Small Business Expert

Marketing is a challenge, even for the most well-run businesses. But it's a necessity, which is why companies spend so much money on it. The top 200 advertisers collectively spent a record $163 billion on advertising in 2018, according to Business Insider .

A lot of businesses feel lost when it comes to marketing. And they have no idea how they can reach their goals and hit key performance indicators (or even know what marketing KPIs are to begin with).

They may have someone doing social media, another person creating videos, and yet another working on search engine ads -- and really no idea how each are performing or how much time is being wasted.

That's where integrated marketing comes in, and why so many digital marketing tips focus on this approach. It's a strategy that streamlines all of your inbound marketing so you're building off each other's efforts, and not competing with each other, all while producing data that allows you to understand how effective your marketing is.

What is integrated marketing?

Marketing integration refers to combining all aspects of a brand into one seamless experience for the customer, from advertising to social media.

Digital media and the internet have made integrated marketing possible, allowing marketers to improve their effectiveness by connecting all aspects of marketing into one unified, multifaceted effort.

It also allows marketers to choose multiple marketing tools to reach customers, ranging from short videos to longer blog posts to more personalized outreach.

• It boosts revenue by more effectively reaching customers who wouldn't be impacted if you focused on just one marketing channel.
• It helps the company more quickly move customers through the sales funnel by developing a deeper relationship with the customer.
• It makes the message clearer by providing a 360-degree view of what your organization stands for and what it offers.
• It makes your message more consistent, which reduces confusion and increases trust in your brand.
• It saves money because you aren't duplicating efforts. For example, you're not creating two different videos to go on two different marketing channels. Instead, you're working smart and making one fantastic video, sharing it across multiple channels.

Note: When discussing marketing vs. advertising, remember that advertising comprises just one aspect of marketing, and it cannot replace all the other aspects of the process, such as organic traffic from search engine optimization, referrals, and social media, to name a few sources.

Why prioritize an integrated marketing strategy?

An integrated digital marketing strategy sounds great, but why is it important for brand positioning? Can’t you just rely on a more old-fashioned marketing process? And is it really necessary to make major changes to the small business marketing plan you have now?

There are a few reasons why an integrated marketing campaign is vital in this day and age.

It creates a consistent message

A big problem with marketing is having a whole bunch of scattershot messages that don’t create a unified vision of what your company does and what it produces. Worse, it can cause you to make major mistakes in your messaging that could have been caught with better collaboration.

For example, the Department of Education caught a lot of heat after tweeting a W.E.B. DuBois quote with his name misspelled, and then misspelled the word "apology" in their apology. If the entire team is in on the messaging, you can spot critical mistakes like this.

By having an integrated marketing strategy, you’re taking the same message and blasting it out through different channels in different formats. Whether it’s a video, blog posts, or a tweet, it communicates the same thing. This builds trust in your brand and avoids confusing customers.

It makes your sales team more effective

There’s nothing worse than when a member of the social media marketing team spends a lot of time creating a promotional video, only to find out someone responsible for email marketing has created their own video with a slightly different message.

With integrated B2B marketing strategies, your team can collaborate on marketing materials and prevent duplication.

It saves money

All businesses can benefit from saving money, and you have a unique opportunity to do so as an integrated marketing organization doing things that weren’t possible even a decade ago.

By avoiding the aforementioned duplication, you’ve freed up time for marketers to get more done so you don’t have to go out and hire more people.

How to create an integrated marketing strategy

But how do you create an integrated marketing plan that will actually work for you? To be sure, it can be a complex undertaking that may be overwhelming at first.

However, there are a few steps you can take that will get you on the right track.

Step 1: Identify your customer

First, you need a rock-solid understanding of the audience you are trying to target with your campaign. Without it, creating a unified marketing outreach effort is impossible. This helps you develop a positioning strategy that can maximize your chances at success. Create a customer profile that answers the following questions:

• How old is the customer on average?
• What education level have they typically achieved?
• What gender are they?
• What job title do they have?
• What interests do they have?
• What are their needs and pain points?
• What do they do now to solve these needs?

Tip: Pretend that your customer is a real person with all of the traits above. Take great pains to describe him or her, even giving the customer a face and a name. Create a couple more personas to describe other, slightly different types of customers your company might appeal to. That way, when you’re in a meeting, you can talk about a campaign that specifically appeals to “Joe” and everyone will know immediately what kind of customer you are talking about.

Step 2: Choose what channels you want to use

An integrated marketing mix means integrated distribution of content across multiple channels, so the next step is to figure out what channels or mediums you’re going to use to reach out to your customer base.

A good way to determine that is to survey your current customers. Are they on Instagram? Do they rely on Google searches? Are they fans of your blog? Do they watch your YouTube videos?

You'll want to avoid trying to use every channel out there, as that just dilutes your message. Integrated marketing communications should be more focused, so it's better to be effective at a few channels than be ineffective trying to use them all.

Go where your customers are now, based on your survey, and then continue to tailor that message as you get feedback.

Tip: Continually reevaluate how your channels are performing, as customer preferences can quickly change. Are you finding that people are flocking to your video offerings? Put more resources into that. Are they moving away from Twitter? Evaluate whether you can improve things there, or if you should move your efforts into other channels.

Step 3: Start with a content idea, and then rope in the channels

Too many companies start with whatever marketing channel they have and start creating the content for that channel, but an integrated marketing team must approach it differently.

You’ve got to start with a content idea or brand story you want to communicate to your customer, and then start developing a plan to split that content into multiple different types, ideally with the help of a content management system .

CMS systems like Kentico can help you organize your content marketing efforts. Image source: Author

For example, GoPro launched its Be a Hero campaign by combining ads with brand-related sponsorships to create a cohesive message that hit their customers wherever they went. They used the eye-popping imagery of their GoPro cameras to advertise with pictures in outdoorsy magazines, targeted videos online, and sponsored individuals who already resonate with their target market.

Tip: Rather than focus on your product, come up with a story that you can market. If you’re an IT security company that helps small to mid-size businesses, connect with a customer who you rescued from a cyber attack that could have sunk his company. Create videos, write blog posts, and pitch the story to tech media to build your brand’s authority and raise awareness.

Step 4: Use marketing software

A key part of creating an effective integrated marketing campaign is to be able to always evaluate how you’re doing and adjust when necessary. And you can’t do that without having some powerful software that can track your performance and create custom reports that will provide valuable insights on where you should be heading as a team.

Marketing software is also capable of helping you better collaborate with your team by offering tools that allow you to communicate constantly no matter where everyone is.

If you have a content idea, you should be able to share it with everyone and get immediate feedback, as well as an indication on whether it’s been done before by your company to avoid duplication.

Tip: Look for marketing software that offers analytics and custom reporting capabilities, the more powerful and detailed, the better. You never know how granular you need to get into reports, and the insights could prove invaluable.

Draft an integrated marketing strategy now

It takes a while to get an integrated marketing strategy right, but you can, and should, get started on it right now.

Schedule a meeting with your marketing team to talk about what you already know about which channels are most effective and where you’re seeing results.

Then figure out where you may be duplicating efforts. Talk about opportunities where you could collaborate, and start brainstorming multifaceted stories that could be used on multiple channels.

The results can be a framework for a more formal marketing strategy to present at a follow-up meeting once you are able to put it all together.

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IMC Whitepaper Released by AICTE Chairman on October 14

(L-R) Mr Amit Agnihotri , Founder, IMC & MBAUniverse.com ; Dr T G Sitharam , Chairman, AICTE ; Dr Soumitra Dutta , Peter Moores Dean and Professor of Management, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford ; Dr Bharat Bhasker , Director, IIM Ahmedabad

Global Thinkers Address IMC 2023

Mr Harsh Mariwala Chairman, Marico Limited ; Founder, Marico Innovation Foundation

Dr Soumitra Dutta Dean, Saïd Business School University of Oxford, UK

Dr Vijay Govindarajan (VG) Professor, Tuck School of Business; Strategy & Innovation Guru

Australian Business School Deans Council President addresses IMC 2023

Dr Keryn Chalmers President, Australian Business School Deans Council (ABDC); Dean, Swinburne B-School

IMC Distinguished Alumni Awards 2023 Presented to Mr. Ajay Kapur, CEO - Cement Business, Adani Cement

(L-R) Dr Raman Ramachandran , Director, K J Somaiya Institute of Management ; Mr. Ajay Kapur , CEO - Cement Business, Adani Cement ; Dr T G Sitharam , Chairman, All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) , Mr Amit Agnihotri , Founder, IMC & MBAUniverse.com

Business Leaders address IMC 2023

Mr Rakesh K Singh Group Head - Investment Banking, Private Banking, Marketing and Products, HDFC Bank

Ms Swati Agarwal Partner, Deloitte ; Chief Talent Officer, Deloitte India Consulting

Mr T.K. Srirang Group Chief Human Resources Officer, ICICI Bank

Top Academic Leaders address IMC DIRECTORS’ ROUNDTABLE on NEP 2020: Developing a Roadmap for Stand-alone B-schools

(L-R) Dr Asit K Barma , Director, BIM Tiruchirappalli ; Dr H. Chaturvedi , Alt President, EPSI; Director, BIMTECH ; Fr Sebastian George, S.J , Director, XLRI Jamshedpur ; Dr Varun Nagaraj , Dean, SPJIMR Mumbai ; Dr Bhimaraya Metri , Director, IIM Nagpur ; Mr Amit Agnihotri , Founder, IMC & MBAUniverse.com (Moderator); Dr Ajit Parulekar , Director, Goa Institute of Management ; Dr Vishal Talwar , Director, IMT Ghaziabad ; Mr. Shreevats Jaipuria , Vice Chairman, Jaipuria Institute of Management

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• Medill IMC Success Stories
• Tuition and Financial Aid
• Upskill Your Digital Leadership
• Using Data Creatively

What Is Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) and Why Does It Matter?

Our daily lives are cluttered with marketing messages. Currently, U.S. adults spend an average of 7.5 to 8 hours daily on connected devices, including mobile, desktop/laptop computers, smart TVs and other devices such as gaming consoles. 1

We are exposed to ads all day long, through our connected devices or more traditional advertising media such as billboards, displays and flyers. Estimates of the number of advertising messages anyone sees in a day range from just under a hundred to several thousand. But as a writer for The Drum pointed out, a far more important number is how many marketing communications actually get through to us, either subliminally or consciously. 2

Integrated marketing communications , or IMC, is a strategic approach to marketing communications that evolved alongside the beginnings of modern digital marketing. The IMC framework, as developed at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, is grounded in consumer behavior and psychology and leverages the full power of current marketing technologies.

Medill IMC provides a powerful framework that helps businesses and nonprofit organizations align their marketing efforts across multiple channels to break through clutter and achieve strategic objectives, including topline revenue and market share growth, brand recognition and customer loyalty. Read more about some key components of IMC strategy, and what might be in store for you in a high-impact marketing career today.

Direct Marketing and Integrated Marketing Communication

Toward the end of the 20th Century, widely available and increasingly powerful computers gave rise to direct marketing. In parallel with the dynamic evolution of integrated marketing communications, this development laid the groundwork for the current era of omnichannel marketing.

Direct marketing relies on databases containing customer information to craft highly personalized messages to elicit a direct response from the recipient. The response could include making a purchase, requesting information or measurably engaging with the brand. Companies learned to align their communications with the preferences and behaviors of their target audience through the strategic use of data insights gleaned from customer interactions and other sources.

Don Schultz, a pioneering Medill professor, led a team that studied the best ways to leverage these newly available insights and published Integrated Marketing Communications: Putting It Together and Making It Work, the first IMC textbook, in 1993. The Medill IMC framework, which easily flexes to encompass new technologies, including AI, is based on these key concepts:

• The focus of marketing communications is on the customer, not the product or service.
• Data is the key to understanding customers. It can show you how to reach them with the right messages in the right marketing channels at the right time.
• A strong brand creates business value.
• The brand is a living entity, co-created by the business and its customers.
• Everything the business does serves to build or erode its brand equity.

Read more about the development of the IMC principles.

The fusion of IMC and database marketing not only facilitated the synchronization of messaging across various channels but also empowered brands to engage consumers on a more personal and meaningful level. Today's omnichannel marketing strategies owe their effectiveness to this historical synergy, where database marketing played a pivotal role in elevating the relevance of marketing messages.

A Multi-Channel Approach

A key first step in understanding integrated marketing communications is clarifying exactly what is being integrated. Marketing communications in the 21st Century is defined by the burgeoning array of media platforms across which engagement is possible, and an integrated marketing approach seeks to create a consistent experience for consumers across all channels.

Marketing campaigns can include a web presence, social media, email marketing campaigns, digital advertising, out-of-home ads and experiences, television commercials, and other platforms where opportunities occur, including games and the metaverse. Through repeated engagements across marketing channels, an integrated marketing campaign seeks to build equity within the consumer’s psyche with positive feelings of familiarity and trust for the brand.

Unify Business Communication Strategies to Amplify Brand Equity and Trust

Public relations, sales, customer service and internal and financial communications also help build brand equity and trust. While these areas may be outside the scope of the marketing plan, leadership needs to recognize their influence on brand equity. Ideally, leaders across departments will coordinate communication strategies to support the brand.

Strive for Consistency Across Marketing Channels

One key to achieving a truly integrated marketing campaign across different marketing channels and various tools is meticulous attention to creating a consistent, cohesive brand identity. This means ensuring all assets are aligned in terms of their visual design and content strategy.

Clearly articulated brand guidelines are key to creating successful cross-platform integration. These include typeface, colors, editorial guidelines like punctuation and capitalization rules, repeated use of stock photos or models, recurring taglines, consistent design layouts, or anything else that might signal to a viewer that the message they are receiving in one location is related to one they've encountered in another.

The “communications” element of integrated marketing communications can be understood as the strategic alignment of content at each point of contact to deliver the right message in the right way. The best integrated marketing campaigns will communicate a cohesive and compelling story across a wide set of engagements, a narrative that can educate, persuade and shape affinity. Learn more about how to build a strong brand identity and how that can drive business value .

Data-Driven Strategy

Because it occurs across many digital platforms, an integrated marketing communication strategy can generate copious amounts of user data to guide adjustments to current and future marketing activations. Whether by impressions and clicks on social media, email opens, page views on a product's website or form fills on a landing page, users leave many digital traces of their engagement with an integrated marketing campaign.

The savviest marketers will collect all the data they can from their customer interactions to guide their IMC strategy. They can use email data collected in a customer relationship management program like Marketo or Salesforce to optimize subject lines, increase opens and drive more clicks through astute link placements. Data from Google Analytics and other measurement tools, such as heat maps, can help them optimize online experiences.

Customer data platforms can help marketers combine data from different marketing channels to ensure that the right ads with the right messages are targeted at the right users on the right channels. Social platforms let them closely monitor engagement and customer sentiment to gauge the impact of their campaigns and the brand affinity they are building.

Navigating the Changing Marketing Communications Data Landscape

The adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) laws in recent years have heightened the importance of collecting first-party data in marketing interactions. The phasing out of third-party cookies and restrictions on tracking technologies have compelled marketers to explore alternative methods for targeted advertising, including contextual targeting and greater reliance on first-party data. These developments make the ability to gather, use, protect and remove customer data as needed a more important consideration for choosing communication tools and services to support a marketing plan.

A Blockbuster Integrated Marketing Communications Example

The Barbie movie released in July 2023 is a stellar example of a seamlessly executed integrated marketing campaign. Boasting a global box office gross of $1.36 billion within two months, the film, directed by Greta Gerwig, is the 15th-largest global release in history and the highest-grossing worldwide release for Warner Brothers. 3 The film's impact extended beyond the box office, propelling Barbie's cultural relevance. Mentions of #Barbie increased 80% on YouTube and 191% on TikTok, where #Barbie posts have accumulated more than 9 billion views. 4

Mattel, the parent company of Barbie, witnessed a significant transformation in its financial outlook, with the Barbie brand playing a pivotal role in its resurgence. The movie helped turn around a slump in Mattel's fortunes that began back in 2013 5 and Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz gave a nod to the movie in his remarks with the company's third quarter 2023 financial report. "Consumer demand for our product increased in the quarter, and we continued to outpace the industry. Our results benefited from the success of the Barbie movie, which became a global cultural phenomenon and marked a key milestone for Mattel,” he said. 6

The Barbie film's integrated marketing approach included clever use of traditional movie marketing tools. It also extended well beyond, encompassing cross-platform promotions and brand collaborations, with activations in the metaverse and the real world, and coverage on reality TV. Between Warner Brothers and Mattel, there were more than 100 brand partnerships adding to the widespread and enduring buzz around the Barbie brand. 7 The success of the Barbie movie underscores the potential of integrated marketing communications to generate a lasting impact, not only at the box office but also on brand awareness and cultural relevance.

The comprehensive marketing strategy, spanning various channels and partnerships, highlights the importance of aligning messaging and experiences across platforms to build equity and trust with the audience. This case study serves as a testament to the effectiveness of a well-coordinated and innovative integrated marketing campaign in driving both cultural relevance and financial success.

A Focus on Building Relationships

Integrated marketing communications is about building successful relationships, both within the marketing organization and outside of it. Campaign creation is a collaborative process requiring diverse team members to operate in unison. To succeed, the creative team, brand managers and other marketing team members must share a strategic vision with cross-functional teams throughout the organization.

Internal relationships are the linchpin of effective marketing organizations, and customer relationships are accurate indicators of campaign success. When a digital ad pops up on a consumer's browser, or a clever email subject line appears in their inbox and the consumer instantly recognizes the brand and welcomes the message, credit can often be attributed to a successfully integrated multichannel campaign.

Master the Art and Science of Integrated Marketing Communications at Medill

The IMC Professional master's program from Northwestern University's Medill School is your pathway as a working marketer toward a leadership role. Learn more about Medill’s faculty of innovators and successful marketing executives , and discover the valuable skills you will learn in a high-impact curriculum that can only be delivered by the school that invented IMC.

• Retrieved on November 20, 2023, from insiderintelligence.com/content/connected-tv-viewing-cuts-mobile-dominance-over-us-screen-time
• Retrieved on November 20, 2023, from thedrum.com/news/2023/05/03/how-many-ads-do-we-really-see-day-spoiler-it-s-not-10000
• Retrieved on November 20, 2023, from variety.com/2023/film/box-office/barbie-highest-grossing-worldwide-movie-year-1235705510/
• Retrieved on November 20, 2023, from adage.com/article/marketing-news-strategy/barbie-represents-new-era-movie-and-entertainment-marketing/2504741#
• Retrieved on November 20, 2023, from statista.com/chart/29860/annual-global-revenue-of-mattel-and-the-barbie-brand/
• Retrieved on November 20, 2023, from corporate.mattel.com/news/mattel-reports-third-quarter-2023-financial-results
• Retrieved on November 20, 2023, from theguardian.com/film/2023/jul/28/warner-bros-marketing-head-josh-goldstine-barbie-pink-movement

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Plan to fire up the grill for July 4th? Here's what you'll pay in NJ

3-minute read.

New Jerseyans firing up the grill this week for the long July 4 weekend may be in for some unpleasant news when they head to the grocery store: inflation and price surges have not gone away.

Prices for barbecue staples — from beef and chicken to cookies, fruit and lemons — have all remained high, according to agricultural economists. 

The average barbecue in the United States for a party of 10 would cost $71.22, up 5% from 2023 and 30% from five years ago, according to estimates from the American Farm Federation Bureau , a trade group. 

Average barbecue prices were somewhat lower in the Northeast — $63.54 — according to the report, compared to $64.73 in 2023 and $55.86 in 2019.

Story continues below photo gallery

"Our national average is pulled up by the western region, so when you take that number out of the equation, prices are overall lower," said farm bureau spokesperson Bailey Corwine.

Roughly $9.4 billion will be spent on food this July 4 weekend, according to Cassandra Happe, an analyst from the personal finance website WalletHub.

For its study, the bureau looked at prices of ground beef, cheese, hamburger buns, chicken breasts, pork chops, potato chips, strawberries, homemade potato salad, pork and beans, cookies, ice cream and lemonade. 

Prices for most of those products have increased by less than 10% since last year, with the exception of chicken breast and homemade potato salad, which are cheaper than this time last year. Lemonade costs increased 12% since last year, the study found. 

Prices of groceries in North Jersey have largely held steady since mid-2023 after dramatic increases from the prior year. Nationally, the cost of groceries is increasing at about the pre-pandemic level.  

Worst of inflation in rearview mirror

Ultimately, the “worst of inflation” is in “the rearview mirror,” said Wells Fargo economists at Agri-Food Intelligence.

As of May, inflation for the cost of groceries in North Jersey fell 0.8% year over year , according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

“Although inflation is cooling, all that means is that things are getting expensive at a slower pace,” Chris Hayes, a labor historian at Rutgers University, has said. “No one should confuse that with prices falling or coming anywhere near back to where they were before the pandemic.” 

Why some prices are going up

The farm bureau, in a separate report earlier this year, warned that beef prices could rise due to drought conditions and the rising cost of supplies needed to support herds of cattle. 

According to the bureau, 2 pounds of ground beef cost $12.77 on average, up 11% from 2023. 

Lemon prices rose 13% year over year, thanks in part to a citrus greening disease outbreak which caused lemon production to drop by more than 16%. 

Is anything getting cheaper?

Yes, specifically chicken and potatoes. 

Chicken accounts for half of all cookout costs, the farm bureau said, and the price of two pounds of chicken breast fell by 4% from 2023, to $7.83, the bureau stated. 

That’s thanks to the end of the 2022-2023 bird flu outbreak, which sent the prices of poultry and eggs soaring. 

As for potatoes, prices are down to $1.53 for two pounds, or 17% less than in 2023, after rebounding from poor weather that raised the price in prior years. 

Meanwhile, large scale grocery stores such as Target and Aldi have announced they would be slashing prices on thousands of items. 

How to make the barbecue cheaper

Many of the tips for saving on your barbecue items are the same as saving on groceries in general, said Ted Rossman, an analyst for the finance publication BankRate.

“I’m a big fan of stacking discounts,” Rossman said. “As in, combine a store promotion with a manufacturer’s coupon and a rewards credit card.” 

Other options include buying in bulk, Rossman said, purchasing store brands rather than the brand name goods, and buying cheaper cuts of meat, such as chicken instead of beef. 

“If you're willing to put in a little extra time to browse store circulars and shop at multiple stores, mixing and matching for the best deals, that can be worthwhile, too,” he said.

You can also opt for cheaper cuts of beef, such as flat-iron steaks or petite filets, spicemaker McCormick suggests .

Potlucks are also an option to ensure a "diverse spread while easing the financial burden on the host," said Happe of WalletHub.

"Choosing less expensive cuts of meat and making homemade sides not only saves money but often results in tastier dishes," Happe said.

Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record. 

Email:  [email protected] ; Twitter: @danielmunoz100   and  Facebook

Walgreens plans store closures as CEO says consumers are 'stunned' by prices

Walgreens is planning potentially sweeping store closures as it faces what its CEO called a “challenging” environment for pharmacies and U.S. consumers.

The pharmacy chain announced quarterly earnings Thursday morning that fell short of Wall Street expectations. Walgreens' stock price dropped 22% on the day.

In an interview with CNBC , CEO Tim Wentworth said the company now forecasts weaker consumer spending for the rest of the year.

″We assumed ... in the second half that the consumer would get somewhat stronger,” but “that is not the case," Wentworth said. 

"The consumer is absolutely stunned by the absolute prices of things, and the fact that some of them may not be inflating doesn’t actually change their resistance to the current pricing," he added. "So we’ve had to get really keen, particularly in discretionary things."

Last month, Walgreens, following Target's lead , announced plans to slash prices on 1,300 items to better serve customers it said were increasingly under "financial strain."

Wentworth didn't state an exact number of closures, but it implied it could be as much as 25% of the chain's approximately 8,600 stores.

“Seventy-five percent of our stores drive 100% of our profitability today,” he said. “What that means is the others we take a hard look at, we are going to finalize a number that we will close.”

Walgreens has contended with difficulties for years.

Its share price has declined steadily for about a decade, dropping from a peak of more than $95 a share in 2015 to less than $15 today. It has reported reduced revenues from prescription drugs, and its retail offerings remain under pressure from both big-box chains and Amazon.com. And it already announced a plan to close 150 U.S. stores last summer.

Today, Walgreens is about one-third the size of its chief rival, CVS , which has also been under pressure over the past two years.

Since the Covid 19 pandemic, Walgreens has gone through a period of executive leadership turmoil: Wentworth was named CEO in October after his predecessor, Starbucks and Walmart veteran Rosalind Brewer, unexpectedly announced her departure less than three years into the job.

A bright spot was its health care segment, which topped revenue estimates. Walgreens views on-site medical services and specialty pharmacy offerings as critical to its push to transform from a major drugstore chain into a large health care company. 

Rob Wile is a breaking business news reporter for NBC News Digital.

Annika Kim Constantino covers the biotech and pharmaceutical industry for CNBC Digital.

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Home Library Integrated Marketing Campaign Guide: How To Plan a Campaign

Integrated Marketing Campaign Guide: How To Plan a Campaign

• Dec 7, 2023
• 18 min read

We all have our favorite hangouts. The dog-friendly cafe down the street. The bookstore that smells like freshly printed paperbacks. The park with the picturesque fountain and comfortable benches. 

Your customers have their favorite hangouts too, but not all of them can be found on a map. Whether they’re browsing Reddit, staying on top of their email inboxes, or browsing the web looking for information, your target audience likely uses a mix of different platforms to interact with others and learn about the world around them.

If you want to get on your future customer’s radar, you need to send the same message everywhere your future customers go. 76% of customers expect brands to give them a consistent message regardless of how they communicate with them. When customers see your brand promote the same message in multiple places, they start to associate your business with quality and reliability. 

This is where it becomes crucial to understand what an integrated marketing campaign (IMC) is and how it can benefit your business. In this guide, we’ll define integrated marketing, explain what an integrated campaign is and why it’s essential, and share secrets behind successful integrated marketing campaigns. 

What Is an Integrated Marketing Campaign?

What is an integrated marketing campaign, and what does it entail? 

An integrated marketing campaign is a strategic approach that combines multichannel marketing methods to deliver a cohesive and unified message to your target audience. 

A typical integrated marketing approach uses a range of communication tactics to drive the message home across multiple marketing channels. IMCs can deploy emails, social media marketing, landing pages, direct mail marketing, and any other avenue that may reach customers. 

If integrated marketing campaigns sound similar to omnichannel marketing campaigns, you aren’t wrong. However, there’s a key difference between the two. 

An IMC is only focused on customer communication and making sure that, no matter how your brand communicates with customers, the message you put across is unified and consistent. An omnichannel marketing strategy is focused on optimizing the entire customer journey. 

The Importance of Integrated Marketing

Now that you know the integrated marketing campaign definition, you may wonder what makes integrated marketing important. 

Integrated marketing is not a marketing automation gimmick. It’s a proven strategy that helps you grow your business and make more money. 

Integrated marketing strategies work because they offer:

Consistent Brand Messaging

The modern world has overwhelmed us with information. The best way to pierce the veil of mundane messaging is to show up consistently for your audience. 

Integrated marketing ensures that every touchpoint your audience has with your brand reflects the same message, values, and identity. When your audience encounters a consistent brand message across various channels, it reinforces brand recognition and trust. They’ll start to notice you among a sea of other, less relevant marketing efforts.

Increased Reach

Today’s consumers can engage with brands across more platforms than ever before. Although this can be overwhelming for businesses, it presents an opportunity to reach a wider audience through integrated marketing campaigns.

Because IMCs use multiple channels, integrated campaigns enable you to cast a wider net. The more different marketing channels you use, the more likely you are to reach potential customers who may not be active on a single platform. 

Improved Customer Experience

Customers don’t interact with your brand in silos. Most of them interact with various touchpoints across multiple platforms before they take an action that introduces them to your sales funnel. 

That’s why you want to approach your marketing in an integrated way. If all your marketing channels work together to promote one unified, personalized message about your brand, you’re ready to embrace new leads with open arms, no matter where they come from. 

Better Marketing Effectiveness

When you promote your brand, the last thing you want to do is confuse the person you’re trying to reach. When that happens, you lose their interest now and make it difficult to capture a conversion later.

By maintaining a unified appearance, atmosphere, and voice across all channels, you strengthen your brand’s message, so it’s more likely to engage customers now and in the future. 

Increased Brand Authority

Everyone wants to shop with the best of the best. To convince shoppers that they should choose your product over your competitor’s, you’ll need to increase brand authority (a measure of how much people trust and respect your brand). 

Integrated marketing can help you achieve this by enabling you to reach your audience wherever they are. If you’re on all the same apps and websites as your customers, you can more easily build trust and brand authority.

How To Plan an Integrated Marketing Campaign

Now that you know what integrated marketing can do for you, it’s time to build your own integrated marketing campaign strategy.

Here’s a step-by-step integrated marketing plan that you can follow to design an impactful campaign:

1. Establish Your Campaign Goal

Every successful integration campaign starts with a clear goal. What do you want to achieve with your integrated marketing campaign? 

If you’re like most marketers, you’ll want your integrated marketing communication campaign to reach your target audience, increase brand awareness, and drive sales, while engaging your audience and keeping your overall impression favorable. You may also want to elevate your social media channels. 

There are several worthy goals to pursue with IMCs. For best results, keep things simple and focus on achieving one specific milestone at a time. 

2. Identify Your Target Audience

There’s a reason why the most successful brands are customer-obsessed . Knowing your target audience backward and forward will help you tailor your marketing messages and strategies so that they resonate with them and compel shoppers to make a purchase.

Conduct thorough research to identify your target audience’s demographics, preferences, and pain points. You can also use surveys to keep your finger on the pulse of what your customers think about your brand and how to meet their needs. 

Identifying your target audience involves relying on a lot of data. Consider using a customer data platform to take the guesswork out of organizing this crucial intel so it’s ready to use whenever you like. 

3. Choose Your Marketing Channels

There are a lot of marketing channels out there, and it seems like the list is growing longer by the day. Because there are so many channels to consider, you must get clear on which ones you want to use for your integrated marketing campaign. 

When choosing your marketing channels, consider the ultimate goal of your integrated marketing communications campaign. Which channels are best for engaging customers and achieving your desired outcome? Consider social media, email marketing, SEO, landing pages, content marketing, direct marketing, and more.

With a solution like Bloomreach Engagement , you can quickly add as many marketing channels to your strategy as you like. When all your marketing channels are identified and integrated, you can execute cross-channel integrated marketing campaigns in a fraction of the time compared to other tools. 

4. Set Goals for Each Channel

You already have a campaign goal serving as the North Star of your integrated marketing strategy. Now, it’s time to establish goals for each channel you’ve involved in your IMC. 

Why do you need a goal for every channel? Typically, each marketing channel serves specific goals that, when combined with other channels, achieve the campaign’s ultimate goal. Playing to each channel’s strengths sets you up for success. 

For example, public relations channels are best for generating buzz and securing media placement, while email allows you to nurture leads and strengthen customer relationships. Consider where each channel shines the brightest and set goals based on those unique strengths. 

5. Create Customizable Marketing Assets and Messaging

Integrated marketing campaigns are all about consistent messaging across all of your communication channels. If your marketing assets are all different, you’ll confuse your audience and your IMC will suffer. 

You’ll have a much easier time setting up your IMC if you use content that can be adapted to suit different channels, like social media, email, or your website. Plus, customizable content opens the door to marketing personalization, which makes 76% of customers more likely to consider shopping with a brand. 

Bloomreach makes it easy to streamline and personalize your messaging with Loomi , our industry-leading AI model. Loomi informs every marketing asset, so you can consistently send out highly customized messages that are more likely to result in a purchase. Not to mention, Loomi can predict customer churn, order returns, and more, so you can address those concerns when they pop up. 

6. Identify Channel Managers

Marketing automation can help you run integration campaigns quickly and easily, but at the end of the day, you’ll still need human channel managers to own what’s happening across the various platforms.

Assign individuals or teams accordingly to ensure everything runs smoothly across channels. Your channel managers should keep your team accountable, offer specialized expertise, assist with gathering and analyzing data, and serve as the first point of contact if you run into any problems.

Once you’ve identified your channel managers, be sure to provide them with the resources they need to be successful. This includes giving them access to the necessary budget, data, and tools. An all-in-one platform like Bloomreach Engagement is a worthy contender for a marketing tool that makes integrated marketing plans quick and easy to deploy.

7. Devise a Lead Collection Plan

Before you hit “publish,” don’t overlook the lead generation component of your integrated marketing strategy. You’ll need a lead collection plan to dictate how you’ll capture your customers’ information and use it to inform future integration campaigns.

Your lead collection plan can include many different elements. Common lead collection devices include social media contests, newsletter sign-up forms, and webinar registrations. These devices will differ based on the channels you use. 

Once you have leads and their information, you can group them and focus on the people who have already shown interest in your business. When you can target interested prospects more effectively, your customer acquisition costs decrease, and your odds of success increase.

8. Launch and Measure Your Campaign

Once your campaign is in the wild, it’s time to measure your efforts and see how well your results stack up against your goals and KPIs. That way, you can learn what’s working, what’s not, and what you should do to improve your integrated marketing strategy.

There are several ways to measure your campaign’s success. You can check up on website traffic to learn how many people are visiting your site as a result of your campaign and monitor how many leads are flowing in from your sign-up forms. Be sure to solicit feedback from customers to learn how they heard about your brand and whether your IMC influenced them. 

With its powerful customer data engine , Bloomreach Engagement gives you the post-campaign insights you’ll need to hit high marks with your customers. No need to be an analytics whiz — Engagement demystifies customer segmentation and other data, so you don’t have to ask your IT department to translate your results into a tangible path forward. 

Integrated Marketing Campaign Examples

If you’re looking for a way to elevate your marketing messages across multiple channels, an integrated marketing strategy can get you there. These examples of integrated marketing campaigns illuminate how brands like yours use IMCs to achieve different marketing and business goals.

Revolution Beauty Offers an Integrated Approach

It’s amazing what can happen when you have the right customer data. Just ask Revolution Beauty , a UK-based beauty business with 13 unique brands under its wing. 

The business sought a way to improve engagement among its far-reaching network of customers and promote Rev Rewards, Revolution Beauty’s customer loyalty program. To accomplish this, the company turned to Bloomreach for help integrating its branded outreach. 

Bloomreach Engagement provided the beauty business with a single customer view , which could be used to track interactions with individual customers. With this data in hand, the beauty business added four marketing channels to its IMC. With the help of those additional channels, Revolution Beauty earned a 22% increase in conversion rates and 20% more Rev Rewards redemptions. 

Bensons for Beds Uses Multiple Channels To Create a Holistic Experience

British bed retailer Bensons for Beds is known for its unique assortment of beds, mattresses, and bedroom furniture. After a leadership change, the retailer reevaluated its digital marketing strategy and pinpointed a need to create a more seamless customer journey across in-store and online shopping experiences. 

To accomplish this, Bensons for Beds partnered with Bloomreach to help manage the brand’s digital channels, including the website, which it wanted to serve as a major focal point of the customer’s online sales journey.

Bloomreach Engagement uses its robust customer data capabilities to track customer responses, so Bensons for Beds can enjoy a deeper understanding of how they’re engaging customers across different channels. With these next-level insights on their side, the Bensons for Beds team has seen a 41% jump in online sales and a 7% increase in like-for-like sales over recent years. 

Notino Personalizes Every Touchpoint

Notino , the largest online beauty retailer in Europe, caters to everyone. Not only does the brand embrace accessible beauty at every price point, but Notino also has a wide audience of customers who shop online and in brick-and-mortar stores in eight different countries. 

With so many customers using different avenues to shop, Notino has an immense amount of customer data on its hands. Fortunately, Bloomreach knows just what to do with this data to help Notino integrate its marketing messages and support in-store and online touchpoints. 

After implementation, Notino deployed an omnichannel campaign to support an in-store perfume launch. The Notino team was thrilled to see that 58% of the discount codes that were redeemed at the store were from SMS messages sent as part of the integrated marketing communication plan. 

Integrate Your Marketing Channels, Upgrade Your Reach

Whether you’re a global brand or a small business, an integrated marketing communications strategy can help you stand out in a crowded, competitive industry and build strong relationships with your audience. With a successful IMC plan, you can stay relevant, show that you can be trusted, and place yourself head and shoulders above your competitors.

Mastering integrated marketing campaigns is easy with Bloomreach Engagement , which provides a single platform to manage all your marketing channels, including email, SMS, push notifications, in-app experiences, social media, and much more.

We’ll help you save time and resources and empower you to deliver the right messages to the right people at the right time. Learn how you can take your integrated marketing to the next level with AI-driven marketing automation in Bloomreach Engagement.

Marketing Automation

Amelia Woolard

Amelia is an experienced content developer with a focus on technology trends across domestic and international markets. Drawing from her experience in digital marketing and account management, Amelia produces written copy that informs and engages the B2B industry.

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Apple ex-lawyer ordered to pay $1.15 million SEC fine for insider trading

The former senior Apple lawyer who avoided prison time after pleading guilty to insider trading must pay a $1.15 million fine in a related U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil case, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.

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JobsOhio Releases 2023 Annual Report and 2024 Strategic Plan

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The state is being propelled toward “a future of sustained growth and prosperity,” according to JobsOhio’s 2023 Annual Report and 2024 Strategic Plan .

The state secured $14.4 billion in capital expenditure commitments last year and ranked No. 3 in both announced deals and capital investment and No. 7 in new jobs, according to the report. Ohio is the only state to rank in the top five for both total projects and per capita projects since 2019.

In 2023, the state secured 327 project wins, 16,457 jobs created and $1.1 billion in new payroll, while retaining 27,836 jobs and $1.78 billion in payroll.

Here are some other highlights from 2023:

• Ohio earned “AAA/Aaa” ratings from all three rating agencies, the first time in history.
• Ohio’s venture capital investment total, $1.33 billion, is higher than the year-end totals for 2006-2019, returning to pre-pandemic trends.
• Ohio had a strong year in foreign direct investment, ranking No. 9 in the U.S. in FDI CapEx ($4.2 billion), No. 9 in projects (59) and No. 14 in jobs created (4,050).
• Ohio ranked No. 9 in the U.S. for industrial diversity with a value of 0.86 (U.S. = 1).

“Due to high tax rates, expensive real estate prices, and more stringent regulations, a significant amount of businesses are seeking to move their operations away from coastal states and into other regions such as the Midwest,” the report states. “With advantageous financial conditions, like a diverse economic environment, a highly productive workforce, and a central location, many business owners are looking at Ohio as a serious contender to house their operations and foster their future prospects.”

The full report is available HERE .

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.

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• Best Budgeting Apps

Compare the Top Budgeting Apps

• Budgeting App Reviews
• Introduction
• Features to Look for
• How to Choose an App
• Setting Up and Using an App
• Pros and Cons
• Alternatives
• Why You Should Trust Us

Best Budgeting Apps of July 2024: Manage Your Finances Efficiently

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Budgeting can already feel difficult, but with the right money management tool, you should be able to track your spending habits, find ways to spend less and save more, or budget effectively as a couple.

50% off for new customers (offer ends July 14, 2024)

$3.99 monthly subscription or $47.88 annual subscription

• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Connect all your bank accounts, investments accounts, and credit cards
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Help you save for individual savings goals
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Create a budget
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Track expenses
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. 30-day money-back guarantee
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Must buy a subscription (no free option)

Quicken Simplifi is a great budgeting tool if you want to create a detailed monthly spending and savings plan and don't mind paying for a subscription. If you would rather get a budgeting app that doesn't have a subscription fee, you'll have to consider other options.

• Up to 50% off on Simplifi for all new customers
• Stay on top of your finances in under 5 minutes per week.
• Check your custom budgeting plan — anytime, anywhere!
• Track your spending
• See where your money is going and discover places to save.
• Keep your bills in check
• Find subscriptions you don't use and start saving from day one.

Check out our picks for the best budgeting apps, and read more about how we chose the winners.

Best Budgeting Apps of July 2024

• Rocket Money : Best overall for reducing spending and creating a budget
• Monarch Money : Best for saving toward financial goals
• Quicken Simplifi : Best for robust budgeting features
• Honeydue App: Best for couples

The top budgeting apps have a straightforward sign-up process, a decent fee structure, strong budgeting tools, and an overall positive user experience. Learn more about the best budgeting apps, below.

Free to create a budget. Subscription fee applies to premium services.

• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Connect all your bank accounts, credit cards, and investment accounts to track spending
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Bill negotiation feature
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Free plan available
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Limited features available with free plan
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Limited customer support availability

Rocket Money is featured in our best budgeting apps guide. While the Rocket Money app is free, there is a subscription fee if you want to use Premium features, like concierge services or premium chat.

Offers a 7-day free trial

Premium Plan with a 7-day free-trial, then $14.99 per month or $99.99 annually

• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Link bank accounts
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Create unlimited budgets and make customizable categories
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Track individual savings goals
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Graphs and charts that track your spending and savings
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. No free plan

Monarch Money is an overall solid option if you prioritize creating monthly budgets and saving for individual savings goals. The main downside of the app is that it doesn't offer a free plan. You'll have to a monthly or annual subscription fee.

• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Budgeting app for couples
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Can have individual and shared finances
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Create monthly bill reminders
• Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Can discuss finances through chat feature
• con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Only available through mobile app

Honeydue is featured in our best budgeting apps guide as the best option for couples. It's a great option if you don't want to pay a fee. It also allows you to have individual and shared finances.

Top Budgeting App Reviews

Budgeting looks different for everyone, so we selected four picks for budgeting apps. We selected a well-rounded budgeting app, one designed for couples, another that's appealing for setting goals, and lastly one with more detailed budgeting features.

We have a mix of free budgeting apps and ones that have premium plans with subscription fees, so you can choose an option based on your financial needs and priorities.

Best Overall: Rocket Money

Rocket Money (previously known as TrueBill) is our best budgeting app overall because it has a variety of tools to help you save and limit spending.

Rocket Money has both a free plan and a premium plan. With the free plan, you'll be able to link bank accounts, credit cards, and investment accounts to track spending and you'll also be able to create a budget .

The premium plan includes concierge services, which review your bills and subscriptions to help you cancel or get refunds for these services on your behalf. It also includes premium customer chat, unlimited budgets, customizable budget categories, a savings account, real-time updated syncing, and a credit score report.

The app's standout feature is Bill Negotiation. You'll upload a copy of your bill, and Rocket Money will determine whether you can get the same service with the company for a lower price. Rocket Money may also help you get refunds if you're charged bank overdraft fees or late fees.

When Rocket Money negotiates a bill, you'll have to pay a percentage (you may choose any amount from 30% to 60%) of whatever it will save you for the year. If you plan to change your internet, cable, phone, or wireless provider in the next year, you could end up losing money, though.

Pricing: You may choose how much to pay each month through a sliding scale. Rocket Money has a free plan that's $0. The Premium plan has a 7-day free trial; after the free trial, you'll have to pay around $6 to $12 per month (the lower-price plans are billed annually instead of monthly).

Rocket Money Review

Best for Couples: Honeydue App

Honeydue is a budgeting app designed specifically for couples. The sign-up process is short and simple — you'll create an account by setting up your email, then invite your partner to Honeydue.

Honeydue allows you to see both your individual and shared finances in one place. You also have to option of setting limits to how much your partner can see. When you connect a bank account to the app, you may choose to share both balance and transaction information, share information only, or share no information.

With Honeydue, you can organize your finances by creating monthly bill reminders or discussing personal financial information through the app's chat feature.

If you would like an additional place to store money for a common goal, like a holiday budget or a couple's vacation.

You won't be able to access Honeydue through your computer; it's only available through a mobile app. Some of our other top picks have both online and mobile platforms for more convenience.

Regular Pricing: Free

Best for Saving for Financial Goals: Monarch Money

Monarch Money may be worthwhile if you are looking for a budgeting app that helps you save for financial goals and create a budget. It's also become one of the most hyped-up Mint alternatives among Redditor users since Mint shut down.

Through Monarch Money, you'll be able to make unlimited personalized savings goals . You can customize goals, organize them by order of importance, and link them to bank accounts. The app also helps you create a zero-based budget, track your net worth, and analyze your cash flow.

Monarch Money doesn't have a free plan. You can try out a 7-day free trial. However, after that, you'll need to pay a subscription fee. If you do not want to pay a subscription fee for a budgeting app, you'll want to consider one of our other picks.

Regular Pricing: Premium Plan with a 7-day free-trial, then $14.99 per month or $99.99 annually

Best for Robust Budgeting Features: Quicken Simplifi

Quicken Simplifi might be a good choice if you want a budgeting app that provides a detailed breakdown of your spending and savings.

In addition to letting you create budgets with customizable categories and make individual savings goals, Quicken Simplifi analyzes your spending and savings through charts and data.

You can receive monthly reports for spending, general income, income after expenses, savings, and net worth . You can also now check your credit score through the web application if you have early access (This feature is currently only available to U.S. residents). Checking your credit score through Simplifi won't affect it.

The one major downside to this app is that it doesn't have a free plan. You'll have to pay a subscription fee, although you can try the app for 30 days with a money-back guarantee.

There's also a special promotion available right now — 50% off for new customers (offer ends July 14, 2024).

Regular Pricing: $3.99 monthly subscription or $47.88 annual subscription

Quicken Simplfi Review

Budgeting App Trustworthiness and BBB Ratings

We review the ethics of each company so you can see if a specific financial institution aligns with your values.

We also include the settlement history of the last 3 years so you're aware of any recent public controversies involving the bank.

We include ratings from the Better Business Bureau to evaluate how companies address customer issues and handle transparency.

Rocket Money has a B rating due to a high volume of customer complaints.

Honeydue has an F rating because it hasn't responded to three customer complaints and it hasn't been in operation for a long time.

Quicken has an F rating because it has received a high volume of customer complaints filed, and failed to respond to 13 customer complaints.

A good BBB rating won't guarantee you'll have a good relationship with a company. You also might want to read customer reviews or talk to current customers before making your decision.

Intuit does have some public issues surrounding its tax-filing software, TurboTax.

Introduction to Budgeting Apps

Why use a budgeting app.

A budgeting app can help you understand where you spend your money. It's also useful for building and maintaining an effective budget.

The top budgeting apps let you create a monthly budget using customizable categories.

Many also help you save money effectively . For example, budgeting apps use your transaction history to make charts and graphs. You can use this information to analyze your spending patterns and figure out where to make adjustments in your budget.

Key Benefits of Budgeting Apps

The primary benefit of using a budgeting app is that it gives you a big-picture view of your financial situation.

Many budgeting apps let you link different types of bank accounts, investment accounts, credit cards , and loans. You'll be able to see all your accounts in one place and see how you're spending versus saving.

Budgeting apps also help you build better money habits. If you've struggled to maintain a budget in the past, it might be easier to track your spending on an app than completely on your own. Budgeting apps do the work for you by syncing all your accounts — you just need to make sure everything is synced correctly and make small adjustments when they aren't.

Features to Look for in a Budgeting App

User-friendly interface.

A good budgeting app has a design format that's easy to use. The app should load quickly and make it easy to get started. You should be able to create a budget on your own without much help. If you encounter technical difficulties, you should also easily be able to contact a customer representative through the app.

Syncing with Bank Account

Many easy-to-use budgeting apps for beginners allow you to sync savings accounts, checking accounts , investment accounts, or credit cards.

Apps often use Plaid to link bank accounts. Plaid can connect more than 11,000 U.S. banks and credit unions, including the best banks .

Expense Tracking

Once bank accounts are linked, your spending will be updated on the app so you have up-to-date information. A strong budgeting app will provide updates frequently, and during the same day so you can stay on top of your budget.

Customizable Budgeting Categories

Many budgeting apps allow you to create a zero-balance budget. With a zero-balance budget, you're figuring out where every dollar of your income is going. You can create budget categories for every expense. You can also create savings goals if you're setting aside money for a specific purpose, like a down payment on a home or a future vacation.

A good budgeting app allows you to make customizable budgeting categories rather than pre-set categories. That way, you can make a budget that's tailored to your life and make categories as broad or specific as you want.

Charts and Visual Analysis Features

A top budgeting app analyzes your habits so you can see how you manage your money over time. Some apps provide charts of your monthly budget so you can see how your categories compare to one another. Others might have visuals to indicate how much money you have left to spend in a certain category for that month.

Several budgeting apps also provide reports for broader areas of your finances. For example, you might be able to view your cash flow balance over several months or how your money in your retirement plans has grown over time.

How to Choose the Best Budgeting App for You

To find the right budgeting app, you need to know what features you're looking for. Are you looking for ways to cut back on spending? Do you want a free plan or a subscription plan for your budgeting app? Do you want a detailed breakdown of your finances or more of a general overview? Knowing the answers to these questions can help narrow down your options.

If you have your eye on a few budgeting apps, you can try out the free trials or free versions of each before settling on the right one. That way, you can see if the interface is also user-friendly and manageable for the long-term.

Setting Up and Using a Budgeting App

Step-by-step guide to setting up your budgeting app.

To use a budgeting app, you'll have to download it through the Android or Apple store. To set up most budgeting apps, you'll enter your name and email address. If the app charges a subscription fee, it will prompt you to sign up for a plan or free trial.

The best budgeting apps will walk you through the app's different features and help you get started. You'll typically be prompted to link accounts. Then, you can create a budget or set savings goals.

Tips for Effective Budgeting with the Apps

If you're new to budgeting apps, it may be helpful to start off with some structure.

For example, you could use a popular savings method like the 50/30/20 rule or pay-yourself-first strategy.

The 50/30/20 rule breaks down your budgeting, so 50% goes to needs, 30% goes to wants, and 20% goes to debt or savings. The pay-yourself-first strategy focuses on savings — you'll automatically transfer money from your paycheck to some of your savings and then distribute what's left over to your expenses.

Another tip for effective budgeting is to look at your expenses to see if they reflect your financial goals and values. If you have certain goals that are of higher priority than others, find ways to reduce spending in categories that aren't a priority for you. That might mean waiting before making a purchase, creating a meal plan or grocery list to limit spending on food, or auditing your subscriptions to see if there are any you can cancel.

Common Mistakes to Avoid on Budgeting Apps

Experts recommend trying out a budgeting app's free plan or free trial before committing to an annual plan.

There are many budgeting apps out there, so you want to try to find the one that best aligns with your financial needs. Testing a few apps can help you decide the best one, and it also keeps you from paying too much for a budgeting app that you won't end up using.

Pros and Cons of Budgeting Apps

Alternatives to Budgeting Apps

Budgeting apps vs. spreadsheet or diy budgeting methods.

You may prefer building a spreadsheet budget if you don't want to link all of your bank accounts or credit cards in a mobile app. However, setting up and maintaining your budget will primarily hinge on how much work you're willing to put into it.

A budgeting app does the tracking for you. With a spreadsheet, you'll have to either start from scratch or use a template. Either way, a budgeting app still offers more comprehensive features.

Budgeting Apps vs. Personal Finance Software

Budgeting apps and personal finance software share the same features. The best option for you will depend on whether you have preferences on the tool's accessibility.

A budgeting app is primarily designed for mobile experiences. Some apps also have an online dashboard which you can access through your computer, but it is always something that's offered.

Meanwhile, personal finance software is designed for computer access. You'll either download the software to a desktop or use an online platform. Some will also have apps, but some features might not be available.

Budgeting Apps vs. Savings Accounts with Goals Features

Some of the best online banks have added unique features to their savings accounts to help customers with goal-setting.

If you're specifically looking for a way to save for goals, it may benefit you to get a savings account with buckets . Buckets are customizable tools that separate your savings so you can save for specific goals. Since they are an integrated bank account feature, they also might be easier to manage than a budgeting app.

If you would rather have more robust budgeting tools, a budgeting app will likely still stand out to you. Budgeting apps also connect investment accounts, credit cards, and loans, so you'll be able to see everything in one place.

Budgeting App FAQs

A budgeting app is beneficial for tracking expenses and sticking to a budget. It can also help you save for financial goals and prevent lifestyle creep .

To choose the best budgeting app for your needs, consider what your financial goals are and how a budgeting app can best help you achieve them. If you need help cutting back on expenses, you might consider a budgeting app with bill negotiation features. If you need help with savings, you might prioritize an app that helps with goal-setting features.

Most budgeting apps have encryption to store data, making them secure to use if you're linking your accounts. To keep your username and password safe, budgeting apps might also have multi-factor authentication so they can verify your identity when you're logging in.

A budgeting app can help you understand your financial situation so you can create a budget that saves you money over time. These apps can help you find areas where you can reduce your spending. Some also offer a bill negotiation feature so you can see if you can save money on subscriptions.

Yes, there are free budgeting apps available in the Apple and Android stores, though they typically have more limited features than apps with paid subscriptions. The best free budgeting app is Honeydue, which is specifically for couples.

Mint shut down in March 2024. You'll have to switch to Credit Karma if you want to continue using an Intuit personal finance platform, or you can switch to an alternative budgeting app.

In most cases, the best budgeting app for beginners will be one that makes budgeting easy — this means it has an easy-to-use interface and links to your accounts, so you don't have to enter every transaction manually. It can also be good to have an app that teaches you about money.

Rocket Money is our best budgeting app overall, and it has a free plan. If you're in a couple, our top pick is Honeydue which is also free to download.

Why You Should Trust Us: Experts' Advice on the Best Budgeting Apps

We consulted banking and financial planning experts to inform these picks and provide their advice on finding the budgeting app for your needs.

• Sophia Acevedo, banking editor, Business Insider
• Mykail James, MBA, certified financial education instructor, BoujieBudgets.com

Here's what they had to say about budgeting apps. (Some text may be lightly edited for clarity.)

What should I look for in a budgeting app?

Mykail James, MBA, certified financial education instructor, BoujieBudgets.com :

"My best tip for people who are looking to start using a budgeting app is to figure out what you're missing in your financial system. For example, if you are a person who knows that you want to stick to a zero-based budget, and you've been doing that manually, but you need maybe a little bit more help with the organization, then you can center your focus on searching for apps specifically solve your problem."

Sophia Acevedo, banking editor, Business Insider :

"I would look for features that would help me with my goals. Like if I'm trying to curb spending, I would look for a budgeting app that helps me minimize payments in certain spending areas."

How do I know if a budgeting app is right for me?

Mykail James, MBA, CFEI:

"Give it time. Every budgeting app is going to feel uncomfortable during the first month. Give it at least three months before deciding if it's not something for you. Actively try and use it before considering a switch."

Sophia Acevedo, CEPF:

"I would first try out the free version and see how it works. Some budgeting apps are entirely free, while others have different plans or trials at a variety of price points."

Methodology: How Did We Choose the Best Budgeting Apps?

At Business Insider, we aim to help smart people make the best decisions with their money. We understand that "best" is often subjective, so in addition to highlighting the clear benefits of a financial product, we outline the limitations, too.

First, we compiled a list of 18 popular budgeting apps available in both the Google Play Store and Apple Store.

Then, we reviewed each budgeting app for a week. To determine our top picks, we reviewed the initial sign-up process, pricing, budgeting tools, and user experience. We also considered whether each app accomplished everything it advertised, and how regular users reviewed the product on the Apple and Google Play store.

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Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews, or recommendations expressed in this article are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards .

Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.

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