Integrated marketing communications

Integrated marketing communications (IMC) are composed of advertising, sales promo- tions, trade shows, personal selling, direct selling, and public relations—almost all are included in the Barbie campaign described in the Global Perspective. Indeed, even the original Wall Street Journal story was most likely prompted by a company press release. All these mutually reinforcing elements of the promotional mix have as their common objective the successful sale of a product or service. In many markets, the availability of appropriate communication channels to customers can determine entry decisions. For example, most toy manufacturers would agree that toys cannot be marketed profi tably in countries without commercial television advertising directed toward children. Thus, prod- uct and service development must be informed by research regarding the availability of communication channels. Once a market offering is developed to meet target market needs, intended customers must be informed of the offering’s value and availability. Often differ- ent messages are appropriate for different communications channels, and vice versa.

For most companies, advertising and personal selling are the major components in the marketing communications mix. In this chapter, the other elements of IMC are briefl y dis- cussed fi rst. The goal of most companies, large and small, 1 is to achieve the synergies pos- sible when sales promotions, public relations efforts, and advertising are used in concert. However, the primary focus of this chapter is on international advertising. The topic of the next chapter is global sales management.