International Marketing Communications: Problems, Issues, Strategies, (ECOWAS, Africa And The Globe)

Abstract

International Marketing Communications cannot be separated from international marketing which involves all forms of marketing beyond the borders of a country and between two or more countries with similar needs and wants to serve particular target market. The communications to these target markets in various countries constitute the international marketing communications, and some of the components or elements are advertising, sales promotions, personal selling, publicity, public relations and direct marketing. The media of communications are television, radio, newspapers, magazines, journals, out of home (billboard) and the Internet. The strategic use of media, message and creativity, may be constrained by the problems within the environment including cultural, political, technological, economic and social barriers that are differently manifested in various countries. The immediate difficulties are the problems of centralisation or decentralization, standardization, or differentiation that have complicated communication operations especially in the applications of costs use of facilities and methods such as adaptation or imposition principles. International marketing communications could be used by international and multinational organisations that have the same products to satisfy the global market, and those with product variations are meant for the regional markets, such as ECOWAS and Africa. The use of Internet and the cable television network has globalized the world and could contribute to the internationalisation of many products international marketing communications will continue to improve the knowledge of consumers in different countries about those products that are manufactured in other countries of the world. This study has been presented in the following arrangements of abstract, introduction, framework, and overview of international marketing communications. Others are the imperatives of strategy, the impact on ECOWAS, Africa and the globe, and implications for marketing and conclusions.

Keywords: International Marketing, Communications, Ecowas, Africa and World