Who pays for the additional time required for proper integration?
Over the years, as we’ve developed our client-based IMC model at The Phelps Group, we have spent countless unbillable hours in meetings trying to align the disciplines to speak with one voice for a client. These hours can be categorized into three areas:
- Time invested in devising our method of operations.
- The hours spent inventing the processes to make IMC programs happen – where we’ve worked out the real world kinks not covered in a textbook.
- Time invested in cross-training.
It’s remarkable how differently people of diverse marcom disciplines think, most notably advertising people as compared with PR people. Cross-training helps bridge the gap in understanding and eventually anticipating what needs to happen for proper integration.