The importance of IMC in dealing with negative, nongenerated publicity in the organisation

Abstract

This article addresses the implications of the absence of an IMC (integrated marketing communication) approach to negative nongenerated publicity by referring to two cases experienced at the University of South Africa (Unisa).The article takes, as its point of departure, the emergence of the IMC approach and the position of publicity in the marketing communication mix, and concentrates on nongenerated publicity in that this has always been problematic for organisations due to its uncontrollable nature. This article proposes that an IMC approach can be used in overcoming the obstacle of negative, nongenerated publicity in organisations in that it allows better control of such publicity through application of specific criteria. In conclusion, the author proposes that negative nongenerated publicity should be dealt with by using an IMC approach as part of the organisation's strategic marketing plan.