Dynamics of International Advertising

This fourth edition of Dynamics of International Advertising: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives was undertaken with the objective of reflecting the dramatic events that have impacted businesses and consumers around the globe since the previous edition. Following the outbreak of COVID-19 in late 2019, the virus spread to nearly every country in the world. Heroic efforts were made to reduce transmission, including social distancing measures, travel restrictions, lockdowns, and even the sealing of borders. Nonetheless, over 7 million people died after contracting the disease. All these measures led to a decrease in consumption and production levels, which resulted in the interruption of global supply chains. Millions of people lost their jobs, causing significant reductions in household income and dramatic drops in output, which ultimately resulted in a financial crisis. Indeed, the pandemic triggered the sharpest downturn in the global economy since the Great Depression, with global GDP declining 3.4 percent in 2020, according to the International Monetary Fund (compared to a rise of 2.9 percent a year earlier). Then, just as the world began to recover, in early 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, setting off the largest conflict in Europe since World War II. Over one million Ukrainians and Russians have been killed or wounded in the conflict over the past 2 ½ years. The economic impacts of Russia’s invasion are manifold and include a significant contraction in Ukraine’s GDP, disruptions in global supply chains, rising energy prices, and increased inflation worldwide. According to the Yale School of Management, more than 1,000 Western firms have left Russia. This corporate exodus has cost them more than $100 billion in lost revenues. Moreover, those U.S. and European companies that chose to remain fear having their assets seized.

Many have suggested that the events of recent years portend the demise of globalization. However, as the title of a recent Forbes article notes, “Globalization is not dying. It’s everywhere.” As evidence, author Afshin Molavi observes that, according to the World Trade Organization, trade is not down; it is up—with merchandise trade increasing by an estimated 2.6 percent in 2024 and forecast to accelerate 3.3 percent in 2025. A number of new international trade agreements have recently been signed. The United Arab Emirates signed at least 12 bilateral trade deals within the past two years. In 2024, four European countries signed a free-trade agreement with India, committing to invest $100 billion in the country. Such agreements will bring significant economic benefits, including better integrated and more resilient supply chains and growing opportunities for businesses, leading to increased trade and investment flows, job creation, and economic growth. Furthermore, travel is on the uptick—air passenger traffic is expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2024, including on international flights. As further evidence of the resilience of globalization, the aggregate revenue of the companies on the most recent Fortune Global 500 List was $41 trillion. According to Fortune, this sum represents more than a third of global GDP—a sign of just how much economic power is concentrated in these firms. The United States boasts 139 companies on the Fortune Global 500 List, with Greater China (including Taiwan) in second place with 133 companies. This reflects a turnaround from the previous year’s list, where China outpaced the U.S. by three companies. For 2024, Japan is in third place with 40 companies and Germany in fourth with 29 companies. Fortune reported nine Indian companies on the list. Walmart, which now operates more than 10,000 stores in 24 countries worldwide, has topped the list for more than a decade. The World Advertising Research Center (WARC) reports that global ad spending is expected to top $1 trillion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $1.23 trillion by 2026. The U.S. remains the top market in terms of ad spending; however, China has taken Japan’s place as the second largest ad market, and India and Brazil have joined the list of the top ten ad markets. While the U.S. is home to 51 of the world’s top 100 advertisers, Advertising Age reports that the rest are spread around the globe. Amazon took the No. 1 spot in the World’s Largest Advertisers ranking, followed by L’Oreal, the French cosmetics and personal care products marketer, and Alibaba, the Chinese conglomerate specializing in e-commerce and cloud computing platforms. World business today is truly driven by global competition among global companies for global consumers. The consumer of 2025 wears Adidas sneakers and Levi’s jeans, drives to work in a Fiat, connects with colleagues and friends on a Samsung cell phone, enjoys an ice-cold Corona, stops off for a sandwich at Pret a Manger—the British chain with the French-sounding name—and decorates their apartment with furniture from Ikea.

Methods for reaching these global consumers have evolved as well. According to Marketing Charts, while television used to be the dominant medium, today, digital channels attract nearly 60 percent of global advertising expenditures. TV has been relegated to second place with about 25 percent of ad spend, and out-of-home (OOH) ads, audio, and cinema collectively hold a share of just above 10 percent. Print media account for just 6 percent of ad spend in today’s global market. Moreover, social media have exploded. More than one in every five dollars spent on advertising in 2024 was dedicated to social media. WARC projects that nearly a quarter of global ad spending will be allocated to social media in 2026. On average, over 86 percent of the world’s inhabitants aged 18+ are active on social media. The average number of social media platforms users access regularly on a monthly basis is 6.7 worldwide. Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram are the leading social networks, but new forms of social media are just around the corner. Social media sites have birthed a new medium for advertisers: the influencer. Current research indicates that the generation that grew up on the internet—Gen Zs—actually places greater trust in an influencer’s recommendation than one that comes from a friend. The world of social media and influencers provides just one example of modern marketing tactics, which are rapidly changing due to technological developments including artificial intelligence and artificial reality.

This new edition reflects fresh insights and perspectives, as I have had the pleasure of working with an outstanding co-author, Dr. Sophia Mueller-Bryson. I should also (proudly) share that she is my daughter. Dr. Mueller-Bryson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Strategic Communication at the University of Miami. Her research interests focus on purpose in advertising, including brand activism and corporate social responsibility (CSR), and these topics are highlighted in the pages of this text. Consumers worldwide are placing ever-higher expectations on businesses to integrate good causes into their day-to-day operations. Those in growth economies (such as China, Brazil, India, and Malaysia) are particularly bullish on corporations “doing good.” Marketers around the globe have increasingly come to the realization that they are responsible for more than maximizing shareholder profits—indeed, they are beholden to their customers, employees, the environment, and society in general. This edition incorporates the best examples of contemporary advertising from around the globe that demonstrate how both clients and agencies are responding to these changes.

This text introduces the reader to the challenges and difficulties in developing and implementing communications programs for foreign markets. While advertising is the major focus, the authors recognize that an integrated marketing communications approach is critical to competing successfully in the international setting. In order to communicate effectively with audiences around the globe, marketers must coordinate not only advertising, direct marketing, sales promotions, personal selling, and public relations efforts, but the other aspects of the marketing mix as well. Therefore, the basics of international marketing are briefly reviewed in the first several chapters of this text. The remainder of the book then focuses on international advertising.

The latest statistics are incorporated into each and every table, new insights from recent academic research are addressed, and current examples of global campaigns are woven into each of the chapters. Despite the significant changes incorporated throughout the text, we have kept the basic structure of the book similar to that of the third edition. The text comprises a total of ten chapters. In Chapter 1, factors influencing the growth of international advertising are examined, as are those that have slowed the engine of globalization in recent years. Chapter 2 highlights the role that product, price, distribution, and promotion play in selling abroad. Domestic advertising and international advertising differ not so much in concept as in environment; the international marketing and advertising environment is outlined in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 is devoted to developing a sensitivity to the various cultural factors that impact international marketing efforts. Chapter 5 addresses the coordination and control of international advertising. Chapter 6 delves into creative strategies and executions for foreign audiences. Chapters 7–9 explore media decisions in the global marketplace, international advertising research and methods for obtaining the information necessary for making international advertising decisions, and, finally, regulatory considerations. Lastly, Chapter 10 focuses on the social responsibility of international advertising agencies and multinational corporations in foreign markets.

Every attempt has been made to provide a balance of theoretical and practical perspectives. For example, the issues of centralization versus decentralization and standardization versus localization are addressed as they apply to the organization of international advertising programs, development and execution of creative strategy, media planning and buying, and advertising research. Readers will find that these are not black-and-white issues. Rather, they can be viewed as a continuum. Some marketing and advertising decisions can be centralized, while others may be decentralized. Similarly, depending on the product to be advertised and the audience to be targeted, some elements of the marketing and advertising mix may be standardized while others should be customized.

First and foremost, Dynamics of International Advertising: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives is the ideal textbook for upper-division undergraduate and graduate students in specialized courses dealing with international advertising or marketing. It is also an effective supplemental text for introductory advertising, marketing, or mass communications courses seeking to expand coverage of the international dimension. The text should also prove useful to practitioners of international advertising, whether on the client side or within the advertising agency. Finally, researchers of international advertising and marketing will find it a valuable resource.

We are indebted to a number of individuals for the successful completion of this text. We are most grateful to the folks at Peter Lang Publishing. In particular, we’d like to acknowledge Niall Kennedy, former acquisitions editor, for encouraging the development of this fourth edition, as well as Dr. Elizabeth Howard, who took over the reins from Niall and saw the project through to its completion. Thanks also go to Ms. Paridhi Agarwal, who diligently edited the manuscript, and to Ms. Padmavathy Subramanian, who held our hands through the production process, as well as to Ms. Stephanie Schober, who oversaw the development of the attractive new cover for this latest edition.

Barbara Mueller

The keystone of our global economy is the multinational corporation. A growing number of corporations globally have traversed geographical boundaries and become truly multinational in nature. As a result, consumers worldwide write with Bic pens, wear Adidas running shoes, talk on Samsung cell phones, and drive Toyota autos. Shoppers can stop in for a McDonald’s burger in Paris or Beijing, and German and Japanese citizens alike increasingly make their purchases with the American Express card. For most other domestic firms, the question is no longer, Should we go international? Rather, the questions relate to when, how, and where the companies should enter the international marketplace. The growth and expansion of firms operating internationally have led to an increase in international advertising. U.S. agencies are increasingly looking abroad for clients. At the same time, foreign agencies are rapidly expanding around the globe, even taking control of some of the most prestigious U.S. agencies. The United States continues to both produce and consume the highest share of the world’s advertising. However, advertising’s global presence is evidenced by the location of major advertising markets. In order of rank, the top ten global advertising markets are the United States, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, Brazil, India, and Australia (GroupM 2023). Today, nearly half of the world’s 25 largest agency companies are headquartered outside the United States (Johnson, Brown and Lee 2023). This chapter outlines the growth of international business and advertising.