Integrated Marketing Communication and Multimedia Journalism: Areas of Overlap

By Julian Gagnon

In my last HoundBytes article I explored the connections between integrated marketing communication and multimedia journalism.  IMC and MMJ are largely a result of technological changes that made it easier to reach target audiences or produce audio and video content.  While these technologies created new opportunities in both fields, they also introduced new challenges.  Citizen journalists, content creators, and influencers that are usually responsible for their own marketing should be warry of ethical and legal questions associated with failure to identify content they were paid to promote.  In this article I explore other areas of overlap between IMC and MMJ.

I just completed my MMJ mid-term comparison of three academic articles related to the field and unknowingly selected pieces that were also relevant to IMC.  Three areas of overlap were notable for me.  The first was a clear goal in IMC and MMJ to create two-way conversations with their audiences.  Secondly, review of journalistic profiles showed that IMC and MMJ, while two separate job categories, had many of the same responsibilities.  Finally, IMC and MMJ shared the same foundational skills.

(Comparison & contrast of one-way & two-way communication.  Image Credit: Collidu)

In their study of technology’s impact on journalism, Sanchez-Garcia et. al. (2015) argued that one result of innovation was greater audience participation in the production and consummation of information.  They used the term “prosumers” to describe the blurred line between journalists and audience, reinforcing the argument I made in the last HoundBytes article.  Technological improvements, especially smartphones, turned citizens into potential journalists.  Sanchez-Garcia et. al. (2015) stated that “‘prosumers’…carry out informative work as they consume media-generated contents, leaving behind the one-way communication model.”  The change from one-way to two-way communication should be familiar to IMC students.  According to the IMC textbook, “Communication tactics used in an IMC approach shift communication efforts away from the traditional one-way monologue to a two-way dialogue between buyer and seller” (Blakeman, 2024).  IMC and MMJ make much more effort to involve the audience that previous eras of journalism.

(Tactics that IMC uses to reach its audience.  Image Credit: Channel V Media)

Sanchez-Garcia et. al. (2015) highlighted four journalistic profiles that evolved with the technological requirements of modern journalism.  The four profiles were: writer of journalistic information; writer of press or institutional communication; communication researcher, teacher and consultant; website manager and content editor.  IMC and MMJ fall into the first two profiles.  While Sanchez-Garcia et. al. did not include the following description in their profile for writer of press or institutional communication, IMC frequently engages in the same activities: “Professionals who take on the tasks of writer, reporter, presenter and director of one or several of them, including the design, writing and implementation of scripts of reports and audiovisual or multimedia documentaries.”  In my own personal experience with my current company, our media team produces both marketing and educational content!  Although their strategy of communication might be different, IMC and MMJ use similar tactics to communicate with their audience.

(Tools of journalists are strikingly similar to those of marketing.  Image Credit: Maryville University Online)

In another study of technology’s implications for journalism, Lopez-Garcia et. al. (2017) studied the journalistic skills that remained despite technological innovations.  They concluded that journalist must learn “the history of technology to understand how systems work.”  They emphasized the increasing importance of visual elements to journalistic stories.  Students would be wise to heighten their skills associated with video editing and visualization of data. 

(Surveys of in-demand skills associated with journalism demonstrate the importance of multimedia and marketing.  Image Credit: Maryville University Online)

Technological innovations reshaped the fields of journalism and marketing and changed the way they communicate with audiences.  IMC and MMJ talk with audiences instead of at them.  The tactics used to communicate share similarities in that they require both IMC and MMJ professionals to design, write, and implement multimedia content – they key difference is only the target audience.  Skills associate with video editing or the visualization of big data are now foundational for journalism and marketing students.

References

Blakeman, R. (2024). Integrated marketing communication: creative strategy from idea to

Implementation, 4^th edition. Rowman & Littlefield.

Lopez-Garcia, X., Rodriguez-Vazquez, A.I., & Pereira-Farina, X.  (2017).  Comunicar, 25(53), 81-90.  https://doi.org/10.3916/C53-2017-08

Sanchez-Garcia, P., Campos-Dominguez, E., & Gonzalo, S.B.  (2015).  Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 70, 187- 208. 10.4185/RLCS-2015-1042en