Application of integrated approach to marketing communications of sporting goods enterprises

Abstract

Marketing communications are a special sphere of marketing activity which is associated with communications management. They are implemented by making use of a set of means of communication among subjects of the marketing system in order to simulate their activity.

Marketing communications are carried out by making use of a set of means of marketing communications.  Among them the following ones are usually distinguished as the best known: advertising, sales promotion, public communication (public relation), personal selling.  These tools of marketing communications are considered the main ones, due to the fact that most of the budget of marketing communications is traditionally allocated on them.  However, nowadays in modern science and practice we can see the trend of development and use of other means of marketing communications such as direct marketing, sponsorship, e-money, internal communications, etc.

A substantial part of the budget of commercial organizations is allocated in marketing communications.  According to the statistics data and experts’ assessments, marketing communications budget can range from 5 to 20% of circulation assets of companies.  Ever increasing competition, rising cost of means of  marketing communications means and  consumer demand complexity increase the requirements for the efficient use of resources allocated to marketing communications.

Marketing communications is an important social and economic phenomenon.  They are effective means of the company’s influence on the market, because they can affect the emotional state of the target audience and encourage implementation of certain actions of their representatives.  Application of marketing communications allows to form and change the attitudes of the consumer audience to the company and products which are offered by it,  causing the need to study this sphere of entrepreneurial activities.  Increasing efficiency of use and improving management of marketing communications have become important tasks in the domestic and foreign sciences.

The article analyzes trends of formation and development of the market of sporting goods. In particular, indexes of performance of the world’s leading manufacturers of sports goods are analyzed and the system of requirements is proposed for efficient marketing communications.

Goal.  The aim of the research is to determine the benefits of applying an integrated approach to marketing communications

The method (methodology).  The following methods have been used in this research: method of generalization, method of analysis, method of synthesis, method of induction.

Results.  The advantages of an integrated approach to the planning of marketing communications are clarified and systematized.