Page 202 - GLOBAL STRATEGIC MARKETING

reach the target markets efficiently. International media selection is
complicated by international differences in media availability. It can be

difficult to adapt an international message and apply it to the domestic
market because the same facilities are not usually available. At this
stage, many international companies decentralise media selection and

adapt their strategy to the local market.

4. Setting an international advertising budget: It is not difficult to
estimate the amount of money that a firm should put into advertising
abroad. At the beginning of promotion, it is advisable for the company

to spend more heavily than it will when the product changes to the cash
cow stage. An easy method for setting the advertising appropriation in

a country is based on a percentage of sales. This method has the
advantage of relating advertising to the volume of sales in a country
and thus keeping it under control. One limitation is that, as the purpose

of the advertising is to lead to high sales, when sales are declining
advertising declines with it, although companies may use a

disproportionate amount of advertising to break in. Limiting the
advertising to the same percentage of sales may not be desirable
during the firm’s first years in the host market. The same applies when

introducing a new product into the market. The other limitation of a
standard percentage of the sales figure approach is that it does not

relate to the firm’s situation in each market. For example, in some
countries a company may possess superiority and not have a strong

competitor. In others it might find it very difficult to introduce its product
into the market. Advertising needs are different in these two instances.

5. Evaluating international advertising: This is more difficult in a small
market than in a large one such as the USA. This is because the

budget is smaller. The other reason is the fact that few markets have
experience in evaluation. Three factors restrict the measurement of

advertising in world markets: the small size of the market; the lack of
facilities; and the distance and communication gap between the market
and international marketers. Therefore, international companies can