Basic Marketing: A Global Managerial Approach

Perreault−McCarthy: Basic
Marketing: A
Global−Managerial
Approach, 14/e

14. Promotion −
    Introduction to Integrated
    Marketing
    Communications

Text © The McGraw−Hill

Companies, 2002

Promotion_Introduction to Integrated Marketing Communications 407

As you can see, the traditional principles of communication that we discussed earlier

in the chapter are still important in customer-initiated interactive communication. At

the same time, the interactive approach allows the marketer to customize communi-

cation to the needs and responses of the consumer. As new approaches develop in this

arena, we are seeing more promotion targeted at single-person “segments.”

Electronic media also allows many types of information—pictures, graphs, words,

video, and sounds—to be used. As a result, a key advantage of the new electronic

media is that all of the different promotional materials that a firm develops can be

available in one place. This allows managers with different specialties to see how

their materials work with the rest of the promotion blend—so there is even more

incentive to develop integrated communications.^12

Custom

communications will be

more personalized

Lipstream and Macromedia offer

products that help marketing

managers take advantage of the

interactive and multimedia

potential of website

communications.

There is no one right

blend

Get a push in the

channel with promotion

to middlemen

How Typical Promotion Plans Are Blended and Integrated

There is no one rightpromotion blend for all situations. Each one must be devel-

oped as part of a marketing mix and should be designed to achieve the firm’s

promotion objectives in each marketing strategy. So let’s take a closer look at typ-

ical promotion blends in different situations.

When a channel of distribution involves middlemen, their cooperation can be

crucial to the success of the overall marketing strategy. Pushing(a product through

a channel) means using normal promotion effort—personal selling, advertising, and

sales promotion—to help sell the whole marketing mix to possible channel mem-

bers. This approach emphasizes the importance of building a channel and securing

the wholehearted cooperation of channel members to push the product down the

channel to the final user.

Producers usually take on much of the responsibility for the pushing effort in the

channel. However, most wholesalers also handle at least some of the promotion to

retailers or other wholesalers further down the channel. Similarly, retailers often

handle promotion in their local markets. The overall promotion effort is most likely

to be effective when all of the individual messages are carefully integrated—that is,

coordinated, consistent, and complete.