CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1Background of the Study
Integrated marketing communication has emerged as a powerful approach in marketing, combining different marketing vehicles (channels) to deliver a constant and persuasive campaign messages. The fourth p of marketing, promotion, as termed by Mc Carthy, is the coordination of all efforts the company undertakes to aware and persuade the consumers to buy goods and services .
The increasing shift towards increased use of integrated marketing communication was brought out by companies realizing that they need to develop a more strategic integration of their various promotional tools. Integrated marketing communication (IMC) involves the effective coordination of the various promotional elements and marketing activities that aid business organisations to effectively communicate with other customers (Luxton, Reis & Mavondo, 2015).
In Nigeria, just like other parts of the world, promotion of goods and services is becoming the norms. Pasta product (i.e spaghetti) is loved by a majority of Nigerians. It has grown to become a household name in Nigeria owing to its delightful taste and wholesomeness. In 1972 pasta was introduced in Nigeria by flour mills of Nigeria Plc and called it the golden penny pasta. As a result, organisations product marketers geared up to the reality that advertising though important is not the overriding element of the promotional mix. Hence, the need arose to employ integrated marketing communication (which combines advertising with sales promotions, public relation, direct marketing, personal selling) (Oluwasola, et al, 2017).
The pasta brand has witnessed a consistent increased in sales and visibility since its inception in the Nigeria market because the company has always employed sound favorite heros of Nigerians and also in the world market .In 2022, pasta consumption per capita varied significantly across countries. Italy topped the list, with its citizens consuming an average of 23 kilograms of pasta annually. Tunisia ranked second with a per capita consumption of 17 kilograms. Germany, on the other hand, had a much lower per capita consumption of 7.9 kilograms, which was nearly three times less than Italy’s figure. According to survey, 17 percent of Italian respondents said they eat pasta six to seven times a week. Another 30 percent of respondents stated they have pasta four to five times a week. By contrast , for eight percent of respondents eating pasta was a weekly occurrence. According to statista, the per capita consumption of pasta in Nigeria currently averages 6.5kg . (http://www.world –grains.com). This pasta has some certain problem though which are ; cracked in the dried product, shade of yellow too pale , high stickiness etc.
Growth is something for which most companies strives regardless of their sizes. However, the growth of marketing communication as a discipline and practice got an impetus post industrial era . Until this period the products were always produced in a smaller quantity where things were in short supply and were marketed in the local area. Indeed , according to survey carried out (Nason & Wiklund, 2018), resource theory has dominated studies on organizational growth in recent times . This approach seeks to understand the positive impact of developing organizational competencies, building alliances and improving processes. More recent studies also explores the dynamics capabilities of top management and innovation (Dobni & Sand, 2018) towards improving organizational performance that leads to growth . In today ever changing environment of social networks empowered customers and hyper competitors, organisations need to be prepared to immediately implement holistic thinking for their marketing and communication strategy.
1.2. Statement of the Problem
Many years ago the theory and practices of business communication were discussed without considering the idea of integration as a realistic approach to reach a competitive strategic position for the company. In dubia, (Abubaker and Mohammed, 2015) examined the effect of integrated marketing communication strategies have a favourable impact on business performance.
Organisation seems to ignore the use of variety of multiple media in integrated marketing communication program , because they maybe unaware of its effect on brand performance. They appear to be uninformed that integrated marketing communication can perform and lead to benefits and delivering the objective of the organization.
It is because of this, the project will be tailored towards determining how effective integrated marketing communication strategies will be of help to the growth of pasta products in Warri.

1.3 Research question
The following research questions were formulated to guide the study.
1.To what extent does direct marketing affect pasta products?
2.Is personal selling still a relevant medium of promoting a firms product?
3.To what extent does advertising affect the growth of pasta products?
4.Does sales promotion program reflects on consumer’s patronage about a company’s product?

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