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Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
II. Integrated Marketing
Program Situation Analysis
3. Organizing for
Advertising & Promotion
be lost to independent providers. They note that synergy and economies of scale, while
nice in theory, have been difficult to achieve and competition and conflict among
agency subsidiaries have been a major problem. 35
Many companies use a variety of vendors for communication functions, choosing the
specialist they believe is best suited for each promotional task, be it advertising, sales
promotion, or public relations. While many ad agencies are working to master integration
and compete against one another, they still must compete against firms that offer specialized
services. As marketing consultant Jack Trout notes, “As long as there are a lot of
specialized players, integrating an agency will be tricky. Specialists walk in the door and
say ‘this is all we do and we’re good at it,’ which is a hell of an argument. An agency that
has all marketing operations in-house will never be perceived as the best in breed.” 36
Responsibility for IMC: Agency versus Client
Surveys of advertisers and agency executives have shown that both groups believe
integrated marketing is important to their organizations’ success and that it will be
even more important in the future. 37 One agency executive recently noted that 75 percent
of the requests for proposals the agency now receives are from clients seeking
total communication solutions. 38 However, marketers and agency executives have
very different opinions regarding who should be in charge of the integrated marketing
communications process. Many advertisers prefer to set strategy for and coordinate
their own IMC campaigns, but most agency executives see this as their domain.
While agency executives believe their shops are capable of handling the various
elements an integrated campaign requires, many marketers, particularly larger firms,
disagree. Marketing executives say the biggest obstacle to implementing IMC is the
lack of people with the broad perspective and skills to make it work. Internal turf battles,
agency egos, and fear of budget reductions are also cited as major barriers to successful
integrated marketing campaigns. 39
Many ad agencies are adding more resources to offer their clients a full line of services.
They are expanding their agencies’ capabilities in interactive and multimedia
advertising, database management, direct marketing, public relations, and sales promotion.
However, many marketers still want to set the strategy for their IMC campaigns
and seek specialized expertise, more quality and creativity, and greater control
and cost efficiency by using multiple providers.
Most marketers do recognize that ad agencies will no longer stick primarily to
advertising and will continue to expand their IMC capabilities. There is an opportunity
for agencies to broaden their services beyond advertising—but they will have to
develop true expertise in a variety of integrated marketing communications areas.
They will also have to create organizational structures that make it possible for individuals
with expertise in a variety of communications areas to work well together both
internally and externally. One thing is certain: as companies continue to shift their promotional
dollars away from media advertising to other IMC tools, agencies will continue
to explore ways to keep these monies under their roofs.
Summary
The development, execution, and
administration of an advertising
and promotions program involve
the efforts of many individuals,
both within the company and
outside it. Participants in the integrated
marketing communications
process include the advertiser or
client, ad agencies, media organiza-
tions, specialized marketing communications
firms, and providers
of collateral services.
Companies use three basic systems
to organize internally for
advertising and promotion.
Centralized systems offer the
advantages of facilitated communications,
lower personnel require-
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
ments, continuity in staff, and
more top-management involvement.
Disadvantages include a
lower involvement with overall
marketing goals, longer response
times, and difficulties in handling
multiple product lines.
Decentralized systems offer
the advantages of concentrated
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