Page 190 - Communication Commerce and Power The Political Economy of America and the Direct Broadcast Satellite

180 Communication, Commerce and Power

rates than they would for multiple (and relatively fragmented) promo-
tions. Corporate clients also receive opportunities to coordinate the
timing and spatial organization of promotions better. International
advertising and marketing firms, because they are able to accommod-
ate globalized multi-media strategies, are increasingly able to exclude
smaller, less capable competitors from gaining a share of the transna-
tional promotional environment. Strategic partnerships also have
emerged between small and large companies in order to share in
these promotions and to complement segments of the market not
controlled by larger advertising-marketing TNCs. 61
Another advantage of using a coordinated large-scale advertising-
marketing firm involves the application of new communication tech-
nologies. Marketing efficiency - reaching only those consumers who
are potential buyers of the product or service - is being refined
through the use of interactive technologies and electronic databases.
Marketing efficiency now involves the ability to anticipate the day-
to-day movements and activities of consumers, 'following them
through the course of their day as they tum to different sources for
news and entertainment. ' 62 According to Keith L. Reinhard, the
Chairman and ChiefExecutive Officer ofDDB Needham Worldwide,
the result is that

We are no longer thinking media form or media vehicles until we
have tracked the target consumer. We no longer think of print
versus TV versus radio but, rather, in terms of how can we
combine vehicles to which the consumer is extremely loyal in some
sensible consumer pattern. 63

An example of this approach is Time Warner's practice of linking
its database information on consumer interests and preferences with
high-speed printing and binding technologies. Individualized advert-
isements are incorporated into subscribers' magazines such as Time,
Sports Illustrated, People, Fortune, Life and others. Companies such
as Kraft Foods and General Motors now favor advertising-marketing
firms that can effectively target consumers over a broad range of
media outlets including DBS. 64 New technologies and a limited pool
of advertising revenue also have led to a resurgence of direct market-
ing techniques and event promotions. Databases detailing customer
preferences and activities have provided new options in efforts to
market products and services more efficiently. Demographic and 'life-
style' information can be applied to a range of synergistic strategies.