As a giant communications philosophy, IMC keeps evolving over the years. With the popularity and steep learning curve of clever social media versus traditional media relations campaigns, can PR still work well independently, or is it best practiced as part of an integrated marketing plan? With lower advertising budgets, and less exposure via paid communications, businesses have to become smarter with their marketing dollars. When planned well, PR offers better quality and longer term visibility than short term ad campaigns would for sure. But, in this economy, there’s a trend of businesses desperately trying out various components of IMC (advertising, marketing, social media, direct mail, interactive promotions, and PR) a little bit at a time, and spreading their dollars when they should be investing in what will work. That quickly turns very ineffective marketing into panic. You can’t just run 1 or 2 ads. You can’t just send out a press release without spending money to conduct follow-up. It’s therefore important to research each IMC option well and decide which vehicle will carry the message most effectively. Customize the best communications approach, and invest in it successfully. Thoughts anyone?