Communication as a Marketing Strategy: Cross-cultural Analysis of Young People from Mexico and Colombia Based on Demographic Segmentation

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to rank and analyze the acceptance of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) from the perspective of young people. This comparative study was done with university students from the cities of Villavicencio, Colombia and Coatzacoalcos, Mexico. A quantitative research was conducted through the use of 1591 surveys done by subjects between 17 and 25 years of age. The results showed that there are no significant differences regarding the ranking of these IMC tools. All the participants coincided in deeming direct marketing as the most important tool and sales promotion as the least important one. However, the demographic analysis by nationalities showed that there are differences in those assessments. The conclusion is that young consumers prioritize personal selling because the seller seeks to understand and satisfy their needs in the consumption of goods and services.