Integrated marketing communications: Barriers to overcome

This paper contributes to the studies of integrated marketing communication: it explores the barriers of IMC, analyses the latest theoretical and empirical findings in the field. Smith (1998), Pickton (1997), Schultz (1993) and others have distinguished the barriers to achieving effective corporate communication. Stuart and Kerr (1999), Eagle, Kitchen (1999), Fam (1997) and others have conducted empirical research and identified ones at the marketing communication level. The studies have implicated that poor management of communication and the core message, inappropriate training of marketing managers, fragmentation and irresponsibility's shifts, etc. were limiting barriers to effective integrated marketing communications Nevertheless, further analysis into how these barriers are emerging as well as profound research into structural and behavioral ways of eliminating them could prove to be extremely valuable. This paper commits to the latest findings of the stated problem and holds a look behind the barriers: discusses their origin, identifies sources and ways of their evolvement. It highlights the importance of integration in modem organizations, delivers the model of integrated marketing communication and outlines the barriers into individual, organizational, functional and structural categories. These implications set guidelines for further research into the ways of overcoming the barriers.