Many people believe that marketing, branding, and communications are all about creating buzz or increasing visibility and awareness of an organisation's product or service offering an intangible "investment" that cannot be measured or justified.

Today's customers are more complex, demanding and aware than at any other time in our history, suggesting that fully Integrated Marketing and Communications (IMC) programmes are necessary to reach these customers at several touch points. The marketing communications mix may include: publications, direct mail, online, newsletters, trade events, analyst reports, seminars/webinars, advertising, promotions etc., depending on the type of offering and industry.

The goal of IMC is to develop communications initiatives that reinforce the present purchasing behaviour of customers or attempt to influence a change in the behaviour of prospects in the future.