ASSIGNMENT

Definition of International Advertising
 
               International advertising entails dissemination of a commercial message to target audiences in more than one country. Target audiences differ from country to country in terms of how they perceive or interpret symbols or stimuli; respond to humor or emotional appeals, as well as in levels of literacy and languages spoken. How the advertising function is organized also varies. In some cases, multinational firms centralize advertising decisions and budgets and use the same or a limited number of agencies worldwide. In other cases, budgets are decentralized and placed in the hands of local subsidiaries, resulting in greater use of local advertising agencies.
               International advertising can, therefore, be viewed as a communication process that takes place in multiple cultures that differ in terms of values, communication styles, and consumption patterns. International advertising is also a business activity involving advertisers and the advertising agencies that create ads and buy media in different countries. The sum total of these activities constitutes a worldwide industry that is growing in importance. International advertising is also a major force that both reflects social values, and propagates certain values worldwide.

Criteria for selecting an international advertising agency to produce a campaign

1.     Find out the size of the agency.

This is where you check if the agency has branches internationally. For example Europe, Asia or Sub-Saharan Africa. The branches do matter because for an international campaign to yield the necessary result the agency should be an international one.

2.     Look at their history of clients.

Their clientele should be those who have made the necessary impact in their line of duty via the use of the agency’s service. Their clientele should be a reference point you can look up to and believe your campaign will sail through.

3.     The agency should be multi lingual.

This is very essential because you will need an agency that is expressive with all sorts of international languages. The  use of language is very important in international campaigns since it is the “vehicle” through which messages will be sent.

4.     Ask about the main people who will be working on your advertising.

This is very vital as it helps you know how efficient the people who will work on your campaign are. They should ideally have a portfolio that can make you believe they can work out your ideas into realities in order to transform your business.

5.     Examine their past campaigns

This is also very important because it is through their past campaigns that you will know their track record. It is also through this that you will know how successful they have been in the past, the time span for achieving success and how flexible they were with past campaigns when the need arose.

6.      Check how they access a campaigns effectiveness

For an international campaign to “fly” there would be a need to first have a pilot project to see how successful it would be. So in trying to consider an international agency you should see how they access campaign like the example above and amongst others.