It includes very comprehensive coverage of Agency issues and creative work and how it is related to the IMC mix. The authors understand that marketers must look beyond traditional media in order to achieve success. In order to best communicate with consumers, advertisers must utilize a myriad of tools (advertising, public relations, direct marketing, interactive/Internet marketing, sales promotion, and personal selling); Belch/Belch is the first book to reflect the shift from the conventional methods of advertising to the more widely recognized approach of implementing an integrated marketing communications strategy. The text underscores the importance of recognizing that a firm must use all promotional tools available to convey a unified message to the consumer. The integrated marketing communications perspective (the theme of the text) catapults the reader into the business practices of the 21st century.

George Belch is a professor and chairman of the Marketing department at San Diego State University. He received a B.S. in Marketing from Penn State University, an M.S. in Marketing from the University of Colorado and a Ph.D. in Marketing from the University of California, Los Angeles. He has published numerous articles in prominent journals

Michael Belch is a professor of Marketing at San Diego State University. He received his B.S. degree in Marketing from Penn State University, his M.B.A. from Drexel University, and his Ph.D. in Consumer Behavior from the University of Pittsburgh. He has published articles on advertising and marketing in a variety of journals and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Advertising. He also consults for a number of companies in the areas of advertising, marketing strategy, and amrketing research.