Research at the Centre for Integrated Marketing shows that:
1. The world is changing: it’s more complex, the opportunities are more extensive, and the competition is smarter
2. Customers and other stakeholders receive more marketing communication than at any time in human history
3. There is an increasing pressure to demonstrate ROI
4. Success requires maximum efficiency and effectiveness
5. Current methods mean that efficiency is often not maximised
6. Even working with considerable efficiency and effectiveness, much marketing communications remains ineffective due to the competition’s negating efforts
7. Even working at considerable creative effectiveness, excessive costs limit impact versus the competition’s negating efforts and communication proliferation
8. Lack of precise, accurate and shared insight into both the brand identity and its stakeholder communities diminishes performance, and this appears surprisingly common
9. Lack of a governing idea for the communications spectrum diminishes performance, again surprisingly common
10. Failure to include all corporate functions and communication channels in planning sub-optimises performance
11. Fragmented, competitive practice, habit and payment methods in the marketing communications industry sub-optimise efficiency and effectiveness of performance
12. Narrow, discipline-specific and prejudiced communication objectives determine creative technique and goals adversely
13. Organisational structures based on excessive discipline polarisation sub-optimise performance, leading to skills, creative approach, objectives and research being channelled through silos on both client and agency side.
14. Planning and evaluation tools based on individualised communication disciplines do not reflect present planning and evaluation needs and bar inter-discipline planning and learning
15. Many communication perspectives, discourses and assumptions are inconsistent and sub-optimal.