Integrated marketing communication is said to be an approach to brand communications where different elements of promotional mix
work together to create a wonderful experience for customers, i.e. sending
across "similar tone and style that reinforces the brand's core message. For Duane Reade, the key success to an effective market communication is the
integration of its four promotional strategies which are; advertisement, sales
promotions, In-store presentations, the spanning and strategic locations of its
stores. In terms of adverts, little is done. Duane Reade
does not really engaged in day-to-day mass media advert, instead, it uses
mainly two types of advertisement i.e. "institutional and product
advertising" to convey its products to target consumers. It constantly
uses adverts such as institutional to enhance and improve the company's Image; after
all, customers/consumers with good perception and perspective of particular
company, tends to patronize that company. And likewise the product(s) adverts,
which is sometimes used to introduce new product(s) to the existing market.
Institutional and Product Adverts
Sales promotion is another key element of the
integration. Duane Reade uses this promotional strategy to attract potential
customers, and keep the existing ones. It offers several incentive programs
like coupons for price reduction; reward Programs, customer Sampling and Point
of Purchase Promotions, as a way of encouraging, keeping and attracting both
its existing and potential consumers. However, having mentioned all these, the
spanning and strategic locations of its stores, is what would be considered a
'grand breakthrough' for its promotional strategy. Not only that Duane Reade
operates in strategic places(commercial and residential areas), it also has
well over 253 stores to make its target consumers aware of the company and its
products, as compared to its major competitors such as Walgreens(13 stores),
Rite-Aids (27 stores), and CVS (15 stores). And finally, the in-store layout is
what makes Duane Reade different from the rest of its competitors, and even as a regular drug store. It offers various product assortments, which not only target a particular niche in the target market, but whole. . Duane offers
appealing designs and description of products, using colors to differentiates
where items are location. Customers/consumers with good shopping experience are
more likely to come back. All these strategies have been put together to make a very broad integrated market communication.
Sales promotions
In-Store Layout/Strategic Locations
Sampling
