Integrated marketing communications*

“Coordination of promotion and other marketing efforts for maximum informational and persuasive impact.”

Communication*

“A sharing of meaning through the transmission of information.”

Source*

“A person, group, or organization that assigns meaning to a message and then transmits that message to one or more receivers.”

Encodes*

“The process of turning ideas into communications.”

Receiver*

“The individual, group, or organization that decodes a coded message.”

Decodes*

“The process of translating communication into thoughts.”

Audience*

“Two or more receivers.”

Communications channel*

“The medium of transmission that carries the coded message from the source to the receiver.”

Noise*

“Anything that reduces a communication’s clarity and accuracy.”

Feedback*

“The receiver’s response to a decoded message.”

Channel capacity*

“The limit on the volume of information a communication channel can handle effectively.”

Promotion*

“Communication to build and maintain relationships by informing and persuading one or more audiences.”

Primary demand*

“Demand for a product category rather than for a specific brand.”

New introductory promotion*

“Promotion that informs consumers about a new product.”

Selective demand*

“Demand for a specific brand.”

Word-of-mouth communication*

“Personal, informal exchanges of communication that customers share with one another about products, brands, and companies.”

Buzz marketing*

“An attempt to spark publicity and public excitement surrounding a product through a creative event.”

Viral marketing*

“A strategy to get consumers to share a marketer’s message, often through email or online videos, in a way that spreads dramatically and quickly.”

Push policy*

“Promoting a product only to the next institution down the marketing channel.”

Pull policy*

“Promoting a product directly to consumers to develop strong consumer demand that pulls products through a marketing channel.”