The field of marketing communications is ever-changing. Brand managers continually attempt to gain advantage over competitors and endeavor to achieve larger market shares and profits for the brands they manage. Marketing communications, or marcom,is just one element of the marketing mix, but advertising, promotions, marketing-oriented public relations, and other marcom tools perform increasingly important roles in firms’ quests to achieve financial and nonfinancial goals. Marcom practitioners are confronted with the rising costs of placing ads in traditional advertising media (television, magazines, and so on) and are aggravated by the ever-growing clutter when advertising in these media. For these reasons, advertising and promotion budgets are beginning to shift away from traditional media and toward the Internet, which in recent years has become an important advertising medium both as a means of accessing difficult-to-reach groups (such as college-age consumers) and in providing numerous options for presenting advertising messages and promotional offers to these groups. Marketing communicators realize now more than ever that their advertising, promotion, and other marcom investments must be held financially accountable. Companies continually seek more effective ways of communicating effectively and efficiently with their targeted audiences. Marketing communicators are challenged to use communication methods that will break through the clutter, reach audiences with interesting and persuasive messages that enhance brand equity and drive sales, and assure that marcom investments yield an adequate return on investment. In meeting these challenges, companies increasingly embrace a strategy of integrated marketing communications whereby all marcom elements must be held accountable for delivering consistent messages and influencing action. Whether a student is taking this course to learn more about the dynamic nature of this field or to make a career in advertising, promotions, or some other aspect of marketing, Advertising, Promotion, and Other Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications will provide him or her with a contemporary view of the role and importance of marketing communications. The text emphasizes the role of intergrated marketing communications (IMC) in enhancing the equity of brands and provides thorough coverage of all aspects of an IMC program: advertising, promotions, packaging and branding strategies, point-of-purchase communications, marketing-oriented public relations, word-of-mouth buzz creation, and event- and cause-oriented sponsorships. These topics are made even more accessible in this edition through expanded use of examples and applications. Appropriate academic theories and concepts are covered in the text to provide formal structure to the illustrations and examples. Advertising, Promotion, and Other Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications is intended for use in undergraduate or graduate courses in marketing communications, advertising, promotion strategy, promotion management, or other courses with similar concentrations. Professors and students should find this book substantive but highly readable, eminently current but also appreciative of the evolution of the field. Above all, marketing communications practice in its varied forms is blended with research and theory. Throughout its previous six editions, this book has always attempted to balance its coverage by examining marketing communications from both the consumer’s and marketer’s vantage points. This edition, however, represents a slight shift of emphasis to focus more than ever on managerial aspects of marketing communications. Business-to-business (B2B) oriented marketing communications also receives greater attention in this edition than before.