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How to achieve true integration: the impact of integrated marketing communication on the client/agency relationship Sally Laurie and Kathleen Mortimer Faculty of Business and Law, University of Northampton, Northampton, UK ARTICLE HISTORY Received 16 April 2018 Accepted 13 December 2018 ABSTRACT Reports from the advertising industry suggest that the pressure to create effective integrated campaigns across the ever-increasing mix of paid, owned and earned media is putting an enormous strain on client/agency relationships. This research identifies the main challenges that an Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) approach places on this relationship and thereby advances the IMC literature by examining the practical challenges of imple- mentation. Six key issues, developed from academic and industry sources, are presented to advertising experts, through a Delphi study, to stimulate debate and identify areas of agreement. The findings are brought together in a model which presents three main areas that need to be addressed, along with specific recom- mendations. These topics include the need for clients to provide stronger leadership in defining agency roles and responsibilities, more transparent remuneration systems to encourage teamwork across agencies as well as individual input and an increased emphasis on the strategic contribution from agencies. KEYWORDS Integrated marketing communication, dient agency relationships; integration; remuneration; advertising agencies; media neutrality Introduction Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is based on the premises of consistency, collegiality and synergy. It requires people to work together, across the client organisation and across the various external stakeholders, so that all brand touch points are integrated, and the customer journey is smooth and effective. This need for collaboration can be seen as fundamental to the four key components of IMC as identified by Klitchko and Schulz (2015): media neutrality, consumer centricity based on customer insight, co-ordination and consistency across the customer erience and the strategic involvement at board level. Bolman (2015) illustrates the complexity involved in the Forbes leadership blog, by explain- ing that the customer experience happens across an increasingly diverse set of brand interaction points throughout sales, marketing, services, engineering and potentially retail'. This paper explores the pressures being placed on the client/agency relationship to achieve collaboration because industry reports suggest that this relationship is presently at an all-time low, evidenced by a lack of trust and communication. Understanding this relationship is essential as advertising agencies, of all shapes and sizes, play a major role