Abstract:
The purpose of the study was to determine the utilization of integrated marketing communications by manufacturing companies in Akwa Ibom State. Eight research questions were answered while eight null hypotheses were formulated and tested at a 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design and was carried out in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The population for the study comprised of 213 advertising, marketing and sales managers in the 71 registered manufacturing companies in Akwa Ibom State. There was no sampling due to the manageable size of the entire population. A structured questionnaire titled the “Utilization of Integrated Marketing Communications Questionnaire” (IUMCQ) was used to collect data for the study. The instrument was face-validated by five experts. Internal consistency of the questionnaire was determined using Cronbach Alpha reliability method and the overall reliability coefficient of 0.88 was obtained. Data were collected by the researcher with the aid of two research assistants briefed on the administration and collection of instrument. Out of the 213 copies of questionnaire administered, 210 were properly completed and used for data analysis. Descriptive statistic was used for answering the research questions while a one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used for testing the null hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The major findings of the study include: Manufacturing companies in Akwa Ibom State moderately utilized advertising, sales promotion, public relations, publicity and direct marketing. Personal selling was highly utilized, the internet was rarely utilized and integrated marketing communications was not utilized. On the hypotheses tested, the study found that: there was no significant difference in the mean ratings on the utilization of advertising, sales promotion, public relations, publicity, personal selling, direct marketing, the internet and integrated marketing communications by manufacturing companies in Akwa Ibom State. Based on these findings, the study recommended among others that manufacturing companies should adopt integrated marketing communications to reach many customers with limited cost and time in order to make profit. The ministry of Commerce and Industry and Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) should organize workshops, conferences and seminars on integrated marketing communications for managers and other staff in various manufacturing companies to update their knowledge on modern marketing trends.
