Using a systems approach, this text explores the vital link between the marketing communications mix and strategic marketing. How-to in focus, it leads students step-by-step through the entire process of planning and managing the marketing communications tools to ensure the attainment of marketing and corporate-level goals. *Introduces the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC), systems concepts used to build the systems model of IMC, and a specific systems model of IMC *Explores, in depth, the core of the systems model: strategy and tactics; viewing them as a process hierarchy or decision tree