International Promotion Policy

Course Contents

1. Introduction to International Promotion Policy
2. Brochures and Catalogs.
3. Promotion strategy when entering new export markets.
4. Advertising and Public relations
5. Promotion Campaign
6. Country Image
7. International Trade Fairs
8. A Business Trip
9. e-Promotion. Promoting online effectively

Objectives. The main objectives of this Learning Unit are:

• To learn the importance of an appropriate promotion strategy when entering new export markets, examine the promotion options available to the exporter, outline the key points to note when designing a company brochure and analyse the tools available when implementing a promotion campaign
• To understand the influence of a country's international image on its export performance.
• To understand the fundamentals of trade fair preparation and attendance and it's related follow-up activity.
• To understand how to plan and prepare a business trip to a prospective export market and the follow-up which will then be required.
• To understand how to promote online effectively, promotion elements, the function of banners and affiliate programs.

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Learning Unit Summary

Promotion policy is another key factor in foreign trade. Besides deciding global or local promotions, the type of promotion that we should carry out will be related to the distribution systems available in of foreign markets. With a direct export, the exporter will have to bear all the costs of the promotion, however with an indirect export, the intermediary can share in this cost and participate in the design of it.

By promotion we understand all those activities developed by the marketing department to consolidate the product in the market, with the objective of increasing its sales, understanding and image. Promotion policy in foreign trade works within the structure of the marketing mix. Promotion policy applies to each of the countries to which the company wishes to export.

The influence of country image in export transactions is a very significant piece of information, which should be taken into account by the exporter. The image of a country in the foreign markets depends on many factors, among them on the foreign promotional policy carried out by governments in order to improve this image. The exporter should find out what is the country image of his country in the target market. If this image is positive, the most logical thing will be to use it in our favour in our marketing plans. If the image is negative, the recommendable thing is to use the marketing mix to draw the importer's attention towards other variables of marketing.

International fairs are, without doubt, a key aspect of International Marketing. Exporters use them both to open new markets as well as to launch new products or support the work of their distributors. Participation in the fair will be defined in the International Marketing plan developed by the company. It will have established which fairs the company should attend and will establish the budget available for the fair. Participation in a trade fair abroad is expensive and for this reason the company should establish precisely the goals to be obtained from attending.

A business trip, be it to prospect a market or to visit current distributors, is a key aspect to foreign trade. Nowadays it is the only way to discover the real situation of each market and especially to get to know personally and in situ our distributors. It should be organized carefully because it is expensive. Finally, the objectives of the trip should be those reflected in the international marketing plan.

With traditional mass media consumers are exposed to a barrage of commercials and advertisements and they have no option but to watch the entire advertisement, or change the channel or turn the page. Consumers have no decision-making capacity here. In e-communication, the situation is reversed; consumers play the leading role. They are the ones who decide what advertising to watch and how. That's why it is essential to understand the basic principles of online promotion. Traditional promotion concepts have to be transformed to make online business successful. In this unit we will look at the key features and examine the main techniques of online promotion.