Theoretical foundations for the promotion of goods and services.

30.05.2019 Safety

Promotion of your products abroad is a chance to make a lot more money than if you are limited only to the borders of your own country. Delivery services operate all over the world, and therefore the issue of promotion is reduced only to a high-quality presence on the Internet. Few people think about the fact that they can successfully sell their products anywhere in the world and get, if desired, to any client. How do you get noticed? Is it all that simple? business and how to promote your products abroad ?

one . We are looking for sites of international importance. There are hundreds of sites on the Internet that are ready to post other people's products and promote them. For example, the most popular English-language resource for selling handicrafts is Etsy. Hundreds of craftsmen from all over the world find clients there. However, do not think that this is the only way to ship your goods to other countries. Firstly, there are many analogs to this site, which are much less promoted, but also have their own audience. Secondly, there is an opportunity for manufacturers of industrial products and even services to reach customers using other platforms. In other words, you only need communication channels. Any platform that provides the ability to communicate can become a platform for the exchange of information. So don't discount forums and local sites. The main thing in promotion is an understanding of which country in the world you want your goods to end up in. With handmade products, everything is easier, because it does not matter where the goods went. With industrial goods, everything is more difficult, because the sales market will either be delighted with your product, or will not show interest in it. Serious money is at stake here.

2. Website promotion in different languages. When selling your goods abroad, you should not think that it is enough to make one version of an English-language site and calm down on it. Each country has its own peculiarities of mentality, not to mention the fact that it is more convenient for everyone to read everything — in their own language, despite the world domination of English. Take a look at the websites of different countries. You will find that the designs, fonts, and presentation are different. This is what you have to work with if you want clients to come to you themselves. It is much more interesting to receive daily offers of cooperation from different parts of the world to your mail. This at least improves your mood and makes you work more productively. For each individual country that you want to get clients, it is important to create your own version of the site. This version should be updated regularly so that you can receive traffic and collaboration offers.

3. Promotion via Facebook. Facebook is an international social network, and therefore the opportunity to receive orders from-abroad due to promotion on this site increases significantly. In this case, you need a strategy to attract the attention of foreign specialists who might be interested in your goods and services. These can be both end users and representatives of some specific companies. For example, sometimes it is enough just to receive an offer to participate in an exhibition, so that later they will know about you all over the world. Think in segments and customer categories. You can also successfully promote using social networks. You just need to know English and understand the psychology of your overseas clients.

4 . Find a representative. On the one hand, it is easier to find a representative who would organize the promotion of your goods in a selected country than to conduct intelligence yourself. On the other hand, this requires thoroughness and long negotiations, because you need to find a responsible person who can be trusted. The same social networks and networks can help to find such a representative. professional contacts like LinkedIn, as well as communication on specialized forums and sites. Do not forget that dating is not limited only to the Internet, and therefore sometimes it is worth visiting offline events to find the necessary contacts.

Elena Kovalenko, Head of the Strategic Planning Department of Main Target Group, on the image of Russian brands and the prospects for advertising campaigns abroad

On March 20, 2014, on the website of the TNS Russia group of companies in the InBrevi heading, data from advertising monitoring in 11 countries of Kantar Media presence were published: China, USA, Russia and Kazakhstan, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Spain. The review of the data on the presented list of countries, given their geographic location, can be called a kind of retrospective in the field of advertising investments in four markets with high consumer potential.

The report also presents the Top 10 advertisers by country, ranking indicator - budgets as a% of the total costs of all advertisers. It is noteworthy that in Europe, China and the United States, the leading positions are occupied by resident advertisers of the countries assessed (from 4 representatives in Poland to 7 in Denmark, China and the USA), which are either large national companies or international corporations. The exceptions are Hungary and Kazakhstan, where the number of national advertisers in the top is limited to one company. As for Russia, here all positions are occupied by foreign advertisers.

Foreign brands in Russia

The expansion of foreign brands into the Russian market is nothing new to anyone. Almost all large transnational corporations present on the Russian market came to us after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and some even before it. And with them advertising appeared in the form in which we are used to seeing it. As an example, we can cite such giant companies as Mars, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, which began production in Russia in 1991.
Kraft Foods launched production in Russia three years later, and Pepsi Co, on the contrary, earlier than the others (Pepsi-Cola was produced in 1974 on the basis of a brewery in Novorossiysk).

Pepsi-Cola production line. Russia, Krasnodar Territory, Novorossiysk, 1974.

Practically all production facilities of domestic brands of FMCG products known to us have been taken over by international corporations.

For example, the majority stake in the Bolshevik plant, one of the largest and oldest confectionery enterprises in Russia, which was founded in 1855, was acquired by the French company Danone in 1994, and now everyone's favorite brand of cookies, Yubileinoe, belongs to Mondelēz International. formed during the division of Kraft Foods into a global snack business and a food business.

As another example, let us cite the purchase by Pepsi Co in March 2008 of the Lebedyansky plant, the largest juice producer in Russia, founded in 1967, and in 2011, of the Wimm-Bill-Dann company, which held a leading position in the dairy and beverages market. in Russia and the CIS.

Back in 2005, the Coca-Cola Corporation acquired Multon, the second largest juice producer. In February 1994, the Leningrad perfumery factory Severnoye Siyaniye (founded in 1860) merged with the Unilever concern. On the basis of the factory, the production of personal hygiene products was organized. Everyone's favorite brand of cream "Velvet Handles" also belongs to this concern. Active filling of the market with foreign brands is also observed in other areas: in retail (IKEA, OBI, Auchan, Metro Group), a large number of clothing brands are represented by foreign chains (Nike, ZARA, Mango), in the automobile (General Motors, Ford Motors ») And financial (UniCredit, Raiffeisen Bank, Citibank) sectors. Oil giants "Conaco", "Exxon", "Royal Dutch / Shell Group", "Texaco", "Amoco", "Mobil", "Total" are also interested in the Russian market. These players carry out investment projects on a concession basis.

Popular scheme of the structure of brands owned by 10 multinational corporations

It would be fair to say that all foreign corporations present in our market make colossal investments in the Russian economy. This is both serious attention to the development of local production and the provision of jobs, they take an active position in the field of social responsibility, are large taxpayers and exporters of products manufactured in Russia to other countries. They are also large advertisers.

It is very difficult to resist such global giants. The takeover of national companies is taking place not only in Russia, but also in other countries, including America; this is an ongoing process. Take the 2008 Mars takeover of Wrigley. In short, there are a huge number of Western brands in Russia. The question that arises is which domestic brands can boast of such strong positions in the global market?

Image of Russian brands abroad

Historically, Russia is a country with high potential in the global natural resource complex. Therefore, first of all, large corporations include companies operating in the fuel and energy sector. These are Lukoil, Gazprom, Rosneft, Alrosa, RUSAL, Surgutneftegaz, etc.

Quarry "Mir" in the city of Mirny, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), development was carried out by PJSC "Alrosa »

Several major players in the financial sector can be identified - these are state-owned companies: Sberbank of Russia and VTB Group, as well as major players in the telecommunications market: MTS (Mobile Telesystems), MegaFon, Beeline (VimpelCom). We would like to mention the transnational group Ingosstrakh, the Aeroflot group, and Russian Railways.

But not all large Russian companies are recognized as such in authoritative international ratings, where they are compared according to certain criteria with world leaders from all countries. Table 1 shows a list of those Russian brands that are represented in the three studies we turned to. The first is the Fortune Global 500, a ranking of the world's 500 largest companies. The list is compiled and published by Fortune magazine. The compilation criterion is the company's revenue. Two other studies provide brand value rankings. BrandZ Top 100 Global Brands is produced by Millward Brown Optimor, part of Kantar, the world's second largest research holding. The second study belongs to the British multinational consulting firm Brand Finance, which specializes in independent valuation, brand strategy and auditing. The study is titled Brand Finance Global 500 from February 2015 (ranking of the world's most valuable brands). Thus, less than 10 domestic brands are recognized as valuable and profitable in the world.

When assessing the brand strength (Brand Strength Index), the emotionality of the brand is taken into account, what image it carries. Back in 2012, David Haig, CEO of Brand Finance, singled out the aspect of recognition, understanding and attractiveness for consumers in other countries as one of the main problems facing Russian brands.

Table 1
Places occupied by domestic brands / advertisers in world rankings on the value and value of brands

	*2015*	*2014*	*2015*	*2014*	*2015*
	*Fortune 500*	*Brand Finance Global 500*		*Brandz Top 100*
Sberbank of Russia





Rosneft

It is quite difficult for domestic brands abroad to be attractive, since the national image is not very conducive to this. Referring to another study by the company on the value of national brands, that is, the brands of the countries themselves, we note that international ratings for the image of Russia are rather low. It ranks 12th, behind almost all BRICS countries. Moreover, China ranks second in the ranking, India eighth, Brazil tenth.

The results of the study note that, despite the holding of two large-scale sporting events in Russia in 2014 (the Sochi Olympics and Formula 1), the cumulative effect of other negative factors - such as rumors of corruption, criticism of social policy, attitudes towards sexual minorities, the decline in oil prices, the rapid depreciation of the ruble against the dollar, the conflict in Ukraine and the problems of the Crimea, the introduction of economic sanctions - led to a downgrade of the country's rating from A (strong brand) to BBB (weak / developing).

Russian brands have lacked self-promotion before, and in the current circumstances, they need it more than ever to solve the problem of creating an image of reliable and attractive companies.

The most valuable national brands at the end of 2014

Here, it is still fair to say that businessmen (both domestic and foreign), for the most part, are people who are not devoid of common sense, who prioritize the economic efficiency of their already established partnerships and concern for the smallest losses. The negative information background for them does not act as the main factor influencing the making of business decisions.

Features of promotion

Based on our experience, as the main, more specific goals of advertising activities of large national companies and government agencies abroad, one can single out the desire for international integration, advertising of international sports events (for example, the Universiade in Kazan), economic events (St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Open Innovation Forum, Russia Calling, Sberbank Forum, etc.), building an image among foreign partners and clients, attracting foreign investment. That is, most of the tasks are of an image nature.

In accordance with the goals identified, advertising of large Russian companies on international channels that post editorial materials, including about Russia, looks more organic than advertising on national TV channels of a particular country. In addition, advertising on such channels can provide audience coverage in all broadcasting regions of a given channel. Speaking of international channels, we mean Euronews, CNN, BBC, CNBC, Bloomberg, France 24, Sky News, Eurosport, National Geographic, etc., which cover world news or produce educational content and are aimed at a global audience. It is worth noting that advertising on them is more profitable than on national TV channels in Europe, where it is significantly more expensive, just as, for example, advertising on Channel One in Russia is more expensive. With regard to other communication channels, the same trend, especially since most of the resources are multiplatform.

However, some Russian companies are interested in attracting consumers from the B2C sector. A striking example is the Aeroflot airline, which has more than once carried out foreign advertising campaigns on various media, including local TV channels.

So in 2012, the air carrier placed indoor and OOH advertisements in Asia and Central Europe, from November 2015 to the end of 2017, the brand is planning a large-scale advertising campaign in China and for the markets of the Russian Federation, CIS countries, Europe (Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy , Spain, Netherlands, Poland, Czech Republic, Scandinavian countries, Baltic states and other countries).

An interesting question is what formats can be used when placing advertisements abroad, what is the difference here from the formats that are used in Russia? Returning to the implementation of the main goals of national companies in other countries, relying on our experience in placing advertising on international channels, we note that direct advertising is not in great demand, but there is good demand for special projects: editorial programs on topics of interest to the customer, special reports, series interview. At the same time, I must say that international channels are often more conservative in comparison with Russian ones. For example, despite numerous requests, there is no product placement on the Euronews TV channel, there is no way to invite guests to the studio of the program, there is no option when the host announces the sponsor of the release. Almost all Russian channels provide such options.

Integrated projects are especially popular when it is proposed to use a multi-platform service for advertising. These are, for example, editorial programs of the Focus section on the Euronews TV channel, up to 5 minutes long, dedicated to a country, region, city, event or topic that is designed to reveal the subject, analyze it, present it to viewers in an interesting way and involve them in the research process as much as possible. The program and the announcement video are broadcast on the TV channel at different time intervals, the program is available for viewing on the official website of the TV channel. Euronews also announces the start of the broadcast of the program in its account on the Facebook website.

This comprehensive approach guarantees maximum audience coverage in the countries where the channel operates in 13 foreign languages. As an example, a campaign for Russian Railways was implemented using the Focus package. A special TV report was filmed about one of the key projects of the Baikal-Amur Mainline Company, which is the eastern part of the Great Northern Railway. The purpose of the profile was to present Russian Railways to potential business partners as the largest cargo carrier. The broadcasting of the program was supplemented with 90 '' items, which covered, in addition to BAM, other key projects, which helped to reveal the topic more fully.

Another example of special programs that made it possible to organically and unobtrusively fit into the content in order to popularize tourism in Russia, for the Federal Agency for Tourism were the headings Life (a series of programs "Life", which takes the viewer to different countries of the world) and Postcard ("Postcards from the road" - a program specially created for those who are interested in travel and dedicated to specific aspects of the national cultural heritage).

Sberbank, MegaFon, Rosatom, VTB Capital, Lukoil, Norilsk Nickel, etc. act as advertisers among large companies and corporations on international channels. - all belong to the strong sectors we highlighted earlier in the article.

What's next

Speaking about the current situation and future prospects in relation to the advertising activity of large companies, it must be admitted that now most of them are taking a wait-and-see attitude. The director of the international department of the Main Target Group, Dmitry Obryadov, agrees that it is necessary to maintain the image of reliable partners, but at the moment, in the current political and economic situation, none of the players considers media and PR investments in strengthening their positions to be effective. Because most of the commercial budget will go to smooth out the general negative information background around Russia, and only a part for targeted tasks. It is still complicated by the fact that all foreign communication channels settle in foreign currencies, and in conditions of devaluation, doubts about the effectiveness of communication are supported by the cost that has more than doubled.

Sberbank in Prague

The described constraining factors will not affect, according to the expert, the announcement and attraction of attention to major international events and various forums, including business-oriented ones. For the rest, he notes a decrease in the activity of domestic advertisers in Europe. Many corporations consider the Eastern market as more loyal and promising at the moment, and turn to it in order to establish contacts. The situation could have changed if government agencies were more active in maintaining the image of Russia and smoothing out the negative information background. But in the face of more pressing internal tasks, the priorities are shifted not in favor of large players who want to invest in PR abroad.

For reasoned forecasts regarding the release of Russian brands of essential products outside the country, let us turn to the interview of the Minister of Agriculture Alexander Tkachev, which was shown on the air on September 21 on the Pozner program on the well-known federal channel. It was in many respects about the problems that were raised by us at the beginning of the article. The speaker singled out the lack of support for domestic producers as the main reasons for the “dominance of foreign products in the post-Soviet era and unequal competition with Western producers,” as was the case, for example, in European countries, where the state supported the farmer with investments and reimbursed costs. In such unequal competitive conditions, imported goods won, it was more profitable to buy them. Support for this economic model ultimately led to the fact that no more than 15% of domestic products remained on the shelves in stores.

Seven years ago, the National Project "Development of the Agro-Industrial Complex" was transformed into the State Program for the Development of Agriculture, which has borne fruit and, according to the minister himself, serious results have been achieved in a number of groups of goods, which he recognizes as good experience. This gives him grounds for an optimistic forecast for further development. According to Tkachev, in 7-10 years Russia will be able to provide itself for 90% of all types of products. With regard to the export of food products - this is a matter for the distant future. At the same time, we note that it is unlikely that those large corporations that ensure the production of goods in synergy with the absorbed Russian factories will go somewhere. It will not happen. Therefore, in the next 10-15 years outside of our country, with a 99% probability we will not see strong domestic brands on the FMCG market and, therefore, we should not expect advertising campaigns to promote them abroad.

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Promotion abroad

Many Russian marketers today already understand that outside of integration with the world economic community, business loses a lot. These are primarily financial losses - due to the lack of access to world capital markets, as well as business losses - business remains "in itself", although it could create a more powerful alliance with foreign partners, - and reputational - international experience gives a colossal increase in trust. But it is not enough to realize the need for globalization - you need to understand how to penetrate the world market and how to stay in it.

Today we will look at how PR can help in promoting a company abroad.

The basic steps, principles and methods of PR promotion are the same everywhere, so a lot is subject to the Russian PR specialist in matters of foreign cooperation.

1. Suppose the company has conducted marketing research, got acquainted with local laws and peculiarities of doing business. Everything speaks of a favorable forecast for its development abroad.

Perhaps the first thing to start with in terms of building relationships with foreign clients and partners today is a kind of platform where information about the company will be posted. It can be like your own website in a foreign language. Or a modified version of the Russian site. If you translate a website into a foreign language, make sure that the quality of the translation and the essence of the posted texts exactly correspond to the expectations and the picture of the world of the recipients of this information.

2. Catalogs and professional online sites as a tool for promotion abroad

Many Russian companies, as well as foreign ones, at the first stage try to make the promotion as cost-effective as possible. But where can you post information about the company, if not on your own website? In order not to create a site and not invest significant funds in its promotion, you can use electronic catalogs, online professional communities, or even social networks. If the catalogs are well studied and are very popular, but suffer from one important ailment - the difficulty of promoting in them - among thousands of companies, the description of which is often presented only in writing, it is difficult to navigate. One of the largest catalogs in Russia is the Openmarket catalog.

However, there is no guarantee that your copywriter will make the breakthrough that will allow the company to reach a high level of traffic only due to well-written copy. Another medium is social media. However, there are difficulties with them. An account often requires significant funds and efforts in order to gain a critical mass of users. And even after that, the quality of the attracted audience may not always meet expectations, which will affect the customer flow. Industry-specific business communities, which are actively gaining momentum today, can serve as a worthy alternative. They combine the properties of high information content of catalogs and visibility, the effectiveness of social networks. One of such sites, for example, for Western companies in Russia, may be the ZIPPPI platform (www.zipppi.com), which provides an opportunity to place all the materials available to the organization, especially visual materials, on one page in the catalog of companies with similar activities.

3. Building relationships with the media - risk versus opportunity to promote the company abroad.

First of all, we recommend that you carefully study the information background in the country where your business enters. It is best if you resort to the help of specialists, because it can take a very long time to understand the laws by which the media and publications in different parts of the world work. Most likely, first you need to make a list of media and sites that are used by other participants in your market. Pay special attention to what competitors look like in the media, what they say, what format they are using. In some countries, the media are more free, in others they are more subject to censorship and government regulation, this also follows the fate. Probably, your choice will be limited to large-circulation specialized publications that are popular in your field. Maybe you even decide to build relationships on a commercial basis to get a guaranteed pool of publications you need. However, we recommend that you do not rush to this question, as the public may perceive badly "commissioned" publications, which can do more harm than help. The fact is that in many countries the use of paid articles in the media can be regarded as the fact that the company is in crisis and is trying to attract "positive" attention to itself in order to hide the problems. If there is no crisis, there is no particular rush to talk about a new business in a new place, we advise you to carry out planned PR-activities, to do it thoughtfully and systematically. Remember, PR is about building relationships, and it's not a fast process. Do not be afraid to be open, avoid large, eminent media, unless, of course, there are no contraindications. The result may surprise you: the information provided to the journalist on time and on the spot can bring much more value than a solid advertising budget. For example, one publication in the Wall Street Journal will "weigh" as much as 20 articles in smaller media, and in terms of advertising equivalent, it will be comparable to the annual expenses. Remember that foreign audiences pay a lot of attention to how the company is presented in the media space.

4. Make yourself known to the audience, to the business community.

Participation in exhibitions, conferences, launching PR campaigns are familiar levers for developing brand awareness. To attract investors and partners, it is important to involve independent experts, financial analysts, etc. In general, your task is to reach as many stakeholders as possible, to give a clear idea of the essence of the business and its advantages, to show the path of your formation (it is customary for Russian enterprises abroad to ascribe a dark past), conduct corporate PR, social activity.

Easier and safer

For an experienced specialist who keeps up with the times, the steps described do not present much difficulty when it comes to the Russian space. But when you open the door to a different area of business and politics, a lot of questions immediately arise.

Do you know all the legal norms of doing business in another country, the rules of their business ethics, the open and unspoken laws of the market? Do you have a good view of the vacant niches and your possible place in the world market? Do you know all the features of advertising, PR and audience perception of that country in order to draw up an adequate and effective promotion strategy? If all these questions baffle you, the best way out is the help of an external PR agency, which will take over the functions of promotion abroad.

What is the advantage of agency services?

The company already has established contacts in the media, the business community and government authorities in different countries.
There is experience in organizing PR campaigns abroad and an understanding of how this should be done in a particular country.
The agency is a "translator" between you and foreign colleagues in terms of finding approaches to solving common issues.
Your reseller will help you decide on your marketing program because he knows the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors abroad.

The main thing in working with an agency is to preserve your reputation, because ignorance of another state does not save you from mistakes, which can sometimes be fatal for the further development of business abroad. Of course, you can also choose a foreign PR agency to work. But in this case, your company is unlikely to receive much attention and you will most likely be offered a standard promotion program, which is unlikely to be enough to bring a Russian company to the international level. However, do not forget that foreign specialists still have little understanding of the specifics of Russian business and how to work with it.

A systematic approach to promoting a company is the key to success.

We have outlined only the general principles and features of work abroad, and in particular, it determines the scope of your company and other conditions. Here are some examples. Building. To start advancing in this area, you need to choose a fulcrum: to study the construction market, the specifics of demand, trends in architecture and geography of objects. And keep in mind that in the field of interaction between construction companies, it has become common for them to merge with each other into large international corporations covering the entire range of construction services. Energy. Renewable energy sources and products of secondary processing of raw materials can become vectors of development for Russian companies in this industry. It is important for the promotion of an energy enterprise to participate in events under the auspices of alliances of countries (OPEC, SCO, etc.), interaction with international organizations dealing with energy security issues (UNESCO, OSCE, etc.) Industry. Here, as in the energy sector, both the supply of raw materials and innovative developments are popular. Special attention is paid to environmental safety, which so far many Russian enterprises cannot boast of. In order not to alienate the audience, it is important to pursue an active social policy, sponsorship, and develop corporate culture.

There are many definitions of promotion and basically the authors give the same meaning. One of the most successful is the following:

Promotion is any form of messages used by a firm to inform, persuade or remind people about its products, services, images, ideas, social activities and their impact on society. Rossiter J., Percy L. Advertising and promotion of goods. - SPb .: Peter, 2007 .-- 470 p.

Also popular is the definition of promotion as a set of various measures, efforts, actions taken by manufacturers, sellers of goods, intermediaries in order to increase demand, increase sales, expand the market field of goods.

Promotion functions:

Creation of the image of the prestige of the company, its products and services.

Creation of an image of the innovativeness of the company and its products.

Informing about the characteristics of the goods.

Justification of its price.

Introducing the distinctive features of the product into the minds of consumers.

Informing about the place of purchase of goods / services.

Informing about sales.

Creation of favorable information about the company in relation to competitors. Popov E.V. Promotion of goods and services. - M .: Finance and statistics, 2005 .-- 320 p.

Marketers define a promotion complex as a specific combination of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and public relations activities aimed at achieving marketing and goals.

Sales promotion;

Personal sales;

Public relations.

There are still additional types, but not all authors include them in the promotion complex:

Direct marketing (DM);

Point-of-Sale (POS).

Enterprises of various types of activity, from small retailers to large commodity producers, as well as non-profit organizations (educational, medical, churches, museums, symphony orchestras, etc.) are constantly promoting their activities to consumers and clients, trying to realize several goals:

1) inform prospective consumers about their product, services, sales conditions;

2) convince the buyer to give preference to these particular goods and brands, to make purchases in certain stores, attend these particular entertainment events, etc.

3) forcing the buyer to act - the consumer's behavior is directed towards what the market is offering at the moment, and not postponing the purchase for the future.

These goals are achieved through advertisements, salespeople, store names, window dressing, packaging, distribution of literature, free samples, coupons, press releases, and other communication and promotional activities. Korchagina N. Promotion, or "push-pull" // Marketing communications, 2006. -№5.

The above is called promotion or marketing communications management.

Marketing educators prefer the term promotion management, while marketing practitioners tend to prefer the term marketing communications. Let's consider their main differences. The above terms are closely related to the concept of "marketing mix".

The marketing mix is associated with the following four elements of decision making: Kotler F. Fundamentals of Marketing. - SPb .: Peter, 2007 .-- 287 p.

1) product decisions;

2) pricing decisions;

3) decisions on distribution channels;

4) decisions about promotion.

Note that the last element of the complex - promotion - is part of the marketing mix, which is directly involved in the management of promotion.

Compared to the above, marketing communications is a broader term that includes communications through any or all elements of the marketing mix.

Marketing communications are easier to understand when you consider the nature of their two constituent elements - communications and marketing. Communication is a process as a result of which an unambiguous perception of a communication message should be achieved by the subjects sending and receiving it. Marketing is a complex of activities through which business organizations or any other exchange values between themselves and their consumers. E. N. Golubkova Marketing communications. - M .: Fin-press, 2005 .-- 352 p.

Of course, the very definition of marketing is more general than marketing communications, but most marketing is about communications. Taken together, marketing and communications represent the brought together elements of the marketing mix, i.e. - Marketing communications.

Central to the definition of marketing communications is the concept that all variables of the marketing mix, and not just the component - promotion - are involved in communicating with customers. A.A. Romanov, A.V. Panko Marketing communications. M: Eksmo, 2006.-432 p.

The definition allows for the possibility that marketing communications can be either targeted, as in the case of advertising and personal sales, or non-targeted (albeit influencing), such as product appearance, packaging, or price.

It also follows from this definition that different organizations are both senders and recipients of communication signals.

In the role of sender, the marketing communications professional seeks to inform, persuade and induce the market to take action that suits its interests. As a recipient, the communicator listens to market signals in order to adapt these messages to current goals, adapt them to changing market conditions, and identify new communications.

Let's consider in more detail the concept of "promotion management". In the English transcription, the term “promotion” sounds like “promotion”. In its broadest sense, the word "promotion" means "moving forward." In marketing, this meaning is retained in the sense of “pushing” the customer into action.

The combination of promotion elements is called a promotion complex. Promotion management, therefore, is the coordination of various elements of the promotion complex, the definition of goals to be achieved through the use of these elements, the preparation of cost estimates sufficient to achieve these goals, the development of special programs (for example, advertising campaigns), performance evaluation and taking corrective measures in case the results are not consistent with the goals.

Thus, both marketing communications and promotion management contain the idea of communication with consumers. However, while promotion management is limited only to the communications indicated in the list of elements for promoting the marketing mix, marketing communications is a general concept that includes all communications using all elements of the marketing mix.

The trend towards the integration of marketing communications, i.e. the combination of advertising, public relations, sales promotion, direct selling, point-of-sale communications and event marketing with other elements of the marketing mix is one of the most significant marketing achievements of the 1990s. Barnett J., Moriarty S. Marketing communications. An integrated approach. - SPb .: Peter, 2007 .-- 246 p.

So, in order to accept the idea of integrated marketing communications, it is necessary to realize that all elements of the marketing mix are communication means and that all of them must “speak with one voice”.

A product as such interacts closely through size, shape, brand name, package design, package color, and other factors. These grocery tips provide the shopper with an additional idea of the overall grocery offering.

Price is another important communication element. The price level can mean savings in money, or be an indicator of quality, luxury or prestige.

Retail is of exceptional communication value to customers. Stores, like people, have personality. Two stores selling the same product have a different image in the eyes of customers. A clothing brand sold exclusively through upscale specialty stores will be associated with a higher image than if sold in discount stores. Schwalbe H. Marketing Practice for Small and Medium Enterprises. - M .: Publishing house "Respublika", 2006. - 217 p.

It should be noted that the key factors for effective marketing communications are:

Communication goals. The sender of the message must clearly know what audiences he wants to reach and what type of response to receive.

Preparing the message. It is necessary to take into account the previous experience of users of the product and the peculiarities of the perception of messages by the target audience.

Channel planning. The transmitter must communicate his message through channels that effectively communicate his message to the target audience.

The effectiveness of the message. The feedback transmitter should evaluate the response of the target audience to the transmitted messages. Blyd D. Marketing communications. What? How? And why? M .: Balance-Club, 2004 .-- 368 p.

The listed conditions of efficiency determine the set of solutions included in any marketing communication program.

The main effect of the correct implementation of the strategy of integrated marketing communications is the effect of synergy.

The synergistic effect is the effect of the interaction of coordinated (integrated) marketing and advertising actions of different types, united by one goal, due to which the total effect of the impact can exceed the sum of the impacts of each of them separately (2 + 2> 4). This is one of the ways to increase the efficiency of product promotion. Schulz D. New paradigm of marketing: integrated marketing communications - M .: INFRA-M, 2004 p. 234

The existence of this effect is the basis of the methodology of integrated marketing communications formulated by D. Schultz, S. Tannenbaum, R. Lauterborn and which has become widespread in practice since the 90s of the last century. The authors give the following definition to the concept of integrated marketing communications: “it is a new way of analyzing the whole, where previously we saw only separate scattered components - such as advertising, public relations, sales promotion, purchases, communication with employees, etc. This approach allows us to coordinate all types of communications in order to look at them through the eyes of the consumer - as a flow of information from non-differentiable sources. "

It is expressed in the fact that the effect of the complex use of communication means differs from the simple addition of the effects of the use of each means separately:

Ek = E1 + E2 + E3 + E4 (1)

where, Ek - efficiency of BCI

E1 - PR efficiency

E3 - the effectiveness of personal selling

E4 - the effectiveness of sales promotion

The synergistic effect of communications can be either positive (2 x 2 4) or negative (2 x 2 4)

It depends on the effectiveness of the interaction of the components of the communications complex, on the ability to predict and prevent negative feedbacks.

When planning a BCI, there is a so-called spill - over effect, which consists in the impossibility of determining the effectiveness of individual communication tools in their complex use. This is the reason for the problem of assessing the effectiveness of individual means of communication in their complex application. Kobtsev R.Yu. Evaluation of the effectiveness of marketing communications based on a unified model // Marketing in Russia and abroad, 2007. No. 6.

Thus, in order for the firm to increase its profits, it is necessary to achieve a positive synergistic effect. To do this, you should competently use integrated marketing communications, taking into account all factors and based on reliable marketing research.