The most important factor pushing marketers toward integrated marketing communication is
A. increasing competition
B. decreasing costs of advertising
C. declining use of sales promotions
D. spiraling costs of personal selling
E. increased reliance on one medium of advertising
Answer: (A) Globalization has resulted in a big surge in competition both in the U.S. market and overseas. Because of increasing competition, more and more companies are consolidating their promotion activities in the form of Integrated Marketing Communications. Therefore, (A) is the correct choice. Advertising costs are on the rise, so (B) is untrue. There is no evidence that sales promotion is on the decline (C) or that costs of personal selling have gone up across the board (D). Since IMC may use many different kinds of media, (E) is incorrect.