Agency Perspectives and Practices on Global IMC

Globally Integrated Marketing Communications (GIMC) is a system of promotional management which coordinates global communications across both countries and promotion disciplines, regardless of whether a standardized or adaptive strategy is employed. This paper reports on a survey of GIMC perceptions and practices among U.S.-based executives of large multinational advertising agencies. The results of the closed-ended questions in the survey revealed the relative importance of various aspects of interoffice coordination, coordination of promotion disciplines, centralization, frequency of interoffice communications, and use of information technology. Analysis of the survey's open-ended questions yielded three emergent themes: the evolving nature of the globalization process, its contingency element, and its cultural dimensions of client and agency. Finally, implications for the practice and theoretical-research development of GIMC are provided.