The Determinants and Consequences of Multinational Advertising Agencies

This article examines the determinants of multinational advertising agencies (MNAs) within the framework of foreign direct investment theory (FDI). The essence of FDI theory is that in deciding to go international, a company must have an advantage. Key advantages discussed here include the huge size of MNAs, their access to capital, the loyalty given to them by multinational advertisers, their knowledge and skill, and their ability to use their foreign locations to service regional markets. Internalization, the advantage of being able to coordinate markets better, provides another relevant strand to FDI theory. The key factors for MNAs involve protecting the home market as well as reacting to competition abroad, escaping contracts which forbid competitive accounts and constrain growth, maintaining quality control over international advertising, and raising profits and efficiency by controlling all or a significant part of the business of a multinational advertiser. A discussion of the consequences of MNAs is also provided.