Negotiation

Business Horizons (2005) 48, 431 — 441

www.elsevier.com/locate/bushor

Integrated marketing as management of holistic consumer experience
Shu-pei Tsai
Department of Public Relations and Advertising, Shih Hsin University, Taiwan (116) No. 1, Lane 17, Sec. 1, Mu Cha Road, Taiwan, ROC

KEYWORDS
IMC; Experiential marketing paradigm; Holistic consumer experience; Brand value structure

Abstract In a bid to combine the two major perspectives (strategic communications and strategic brand management) of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), this article proposes a Holistic Consumer Experience Management framework. According to the framework, the key mission of IMC is to effectively manage the mediated impression of and the direct encounter with the brand, so that synergism ensues among all the interrelated elements of IMC, including research and development, manufacturing, price formulation, channel arrangement, consumer service management, marketing message construction, and communication program execution. As such, IMC is capable of enhancing the holistic consumer experience and creating a holistic brand value structure, which can unite the consumer’s sensory, emotional, social, and intellectual experiences in a new and positive way. D 2005 Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. All rights reserved.

1. IMC at a glance
Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), a very young marketing-related discipline, is still undergoing a stage of conceptualization. While the view of IMC was previously focused on the tactical aspect of putting marketing messages together with a variety of communication tools to create a consistent brand image, in recent years it has been shifting toward a more strategic orientation. The rationale underlying this shift is very simple: if IMC refers to nothing more than tactically delivering commer-

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cial messages through a mixture of advertising, public relations, special events,

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