Extract

C H A P T E R F I V E Coordinating and Controlling International Advertising Chapter 2 focused on the four P’s of the marketing mix—product, price, place (distribution), and, briefly, promotion. In Chapter 3 we highlighted the importance of examining various characteristics of foreign markets—demographic and geographic characteristics, economic factors, and the political-legal environment—and in Chapter 4 we explored the cultural environment. Now we turn our attention to the coordination and control of international marketing communications. once international market- ers have developed a product that meets the needs of a specific group in a foreign market, have priced it properly, and have distributed it through the appropriate channels, they must still inform consumers abroad of the product’s availability and benefits. Advertising’s goal is to generate awareness, interest, desire, and, ultimately, action. In this chapter we will focus on centralized versus decentralized control of international advertising, advertising agency selection, and marketing and advertising strategy options. ceNtralizeD versUs DeceNtralizeD coNtrol oF iNterNatioNal aDvertisiNG one of the first issues a company must address when it decides to communicate with consumers in the various markets in which it intends to do business is how to organize international promotional func- tions—including advertising, personal selling, direct marketing, publicity, and sales promotions. A critical question relates to the locus of decision making—will it be highly centralized at company headquarters, or will a more decentralized, collaborative, and participatory approach to marketing communications be adopted? It should be noted...