There are three critical components in an IMC strategic plan. The first is
the definition of the essential nature of the brand. The second is definition
of the target audience or audiences. The third component is the set of
persuasion tools to be employed in linking the communications of the brand
essence to the target(s).

The first task of strategic planning for IMC is to define and understand in
detail the brand itself and the "equity" that it possesses.

A brand is basically a name that refers to an exemplar in a particular
product category. Of course, a brand includes tangible, or intrinsic,
qualities, such as its physical appearance, its performance attributes, its
package, and guarantees or warranties that are attached to it. But perhaps
more importantly, a brand involves aspects that the consumer attributes to
it beyond its taingible ones. These aspects may include attitudes toward the
company that produces the product, attitudes toward the brand itself,
beliefs about the brand in relationship to self and others, and so on.

Attributes of brands beyond their intrinsic qualities are frequently
provided by advertising. In a world filled with parity brands in many
product categories, it is often these attributes that determine the success of
the brand. We can think of a brand name as "adding value" to a product
beyond its intrinsic qualities. We can also think of the brand name as
providing critical differentiation between one brand and other brands.

Based on this conception of the brand, brand equity can be defined as
"everything the consumer walks into the store with" ( Farquhar, 1989, p.
24 ). In other words, equity is the "value added" to the product by the fact
that it wears a brand name and has a history in the mind of the consumer.

Thus, the first step in building a strategic plan for IMC is to define and
explore extensively the brand's essence — both current and intended. Brand
essence, as we have seen, involves many attributes. A brand may be
associated with a mood, as, for example, Dr. Pepper is associated with an
upbeat mood with an individualistic flavor. A brand may cause emotional
response in consumers, as, for example, the name Hallmark Cards does as
a result of its long history of poignant commercials.

Brands may be closely associated with their advertising, that is, people
may quickly recall ads when someone mentions the brand name. Or, brands
may not bring forth much ad memory at all. This attribute is sometimes
called ad cue strength. Brands may have strong associations with visual
images. Usually these are the product itself, or sometimes its packaging. But
they may also be images that have been present over the course of many
years in the advertising for the brand.

Brands may belong to categories of products that people are highly
involved with, or they may belong in low-interest categories. Brand essences

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