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companies compete against other international companies; in others the
competition is purely national. Furthermore, in some countries the

involvement of international companies in one country could make
competitors have different reactions. For example, Procter & Gamble’s
involvement in Western Europe caused national competitors to increase

their advertising (Terpstra and Sarathy, 2000).

8.7 The Decisions of advertising in international marketing

International companies face several decisions about advertising:

1. Selecting the agency: The company has to decide between
international agencies or local agencies. The selection of the agency

depends on the market and on the quality of the agency’s coverage,
market research, communication and control, and international co-
ordination. The size of the international company, its image, company

organisation and the level of involvement are also factors in the
decision.

2. Choosing the advertising message: The decision to be taken is

whether to localise or standardise the message. Although peoples’
basic needs and desires are the same around the world, the ways of
satisfying them differ from one country to another. At this stage, many

international companies decentralise their responsibility so each
business unit prepares its own message to meet the needs of different

consumer tastes and to adapt the message to local countries and
cultures. The agency that is responsible for creating the message is
responsible for market consideration and language. Language is very

important in creating the message; as 600 million people in various
nations speak English, it is easier for international companies from

English speaking countries to advertise (although in many cases, it is
a second or even third language).

3. Selecting the media: Selection of the right media for each national
market is vital. The desirable media, in any country, are those that