He said a few expletives, broke up with her and hung the phone up in her face. She thinks she actually heard a click on the cell phone! It had only been a week since they met and his message was not being received as intended. He had not considered his integrated mar
keting communication (IMC) strategy prior to his creative works and launching his message. Nor had he paid attention to any portion of number five of the “Personal Branding 101“, Forbes article.
The communication strategy was ineffective delivering his message and it began to break down at having consistency across mediums. There was consistency across execution, where the sound, feel and words from his voice produced the same story without fail. However, the words spoken did not match the sound they produced, his body language and facial expressions, the texts sent or telephonic conversations. The communication attempted to provide the words one may desire, but failed to support the fit across all media channels, an essential element identified by Kareh (2017). The user did not receive valuable material to generate content for effective blending of content across media, nothing good was being created.
The strategy failed to define its’ target audience, develop or identify the competitive edge by performing a SWOT analysis. This process would answer questions like what sets you apart? What threatens your opportunity? It would have avoided futile attempts at creativity due to inflexibility and conceding to superficial, in the moment connection and losing out on a powerful enduring relationship (Kareh, 2017). The process could  facilitate development of a message for various mediums, how to present them individually and keep to the core message. The message must be in sync with brand attributes and characteristics presented, which will contribute to the perceived value [1]of the brand.
The marketing communication strategy requires endurance, several moves and an IMC that outlines the basic message and emphasizes the competitive edge advantage. Checking your big idea is a key factor in developing a communication strategy, and is as simple as asking “yourself does this appeal to my audience and fit my strategy?” (Kareh, 2017). Consideration of the answer to this question will help alleviate cursing, hanging up cell pho
nes and breaking up with someone you had not yet partnered with in the first place.
References
Quast, L. (2013). Personal branding 101. Leadership. Forbes.
Kareh, A. (2017). Seven steps to a better integrated marketing communications strategy. Community Voice. Business. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/03/16/seven-steps-to-a-better-integrated-marketing-communications-strategy/#2ce92cc57841
Quast, L. (2013). How to conduct a personal SWOT analysis. Leadership. Forbes.
[1] Perceived value is the worth that a product or service has in the mind of the consumer. For the most part, consumers are unaware of the true cost of production for the products they buy; instead, they simply have an internal feeling for how much certain products are worth to them. Perceived Value – Investopedia