What is Megamarketing?

A Strategic Approach to External Environment Management

A term coined by the marketing guru Philip Kotler, megamarketing refers to the marketing efforts of a firm to manage elements of the firm’s external environment. These external elements include various governments the firm deals with, the laws of the land, the media and the various public pressure groups. To successfully manage these external forces, Kotler suggests the addition of two more Ps into the marketing mix – Public Relations and Power.

‍Megamarketing is especially useful when a firm enters a new market and needs to manage the external environment to made it conduce to do business there.The public relations element of megamarketing is essentially about appeasing the people in the new market and familiarizing with the new environment. The local media plays an important role in forming a positive public perception about the firm in the mind of the people.

A perceived threat from the “new entrant” can derail the entry of the new player in the market.The other “P” of megamarketing, power, refers to the negotiating and persuading power the firm has with the forcer that control the foreign market. To be more specific this power factor is about strong ties and “connection” the firm has with the influencing members of the governing political party or any other influential figure. This can also be termed as corporate lobbying, as we more commonly know it.

‍Megamarketing is the dual strategy of creating a positive public perception for those cannot be influenced or controlled directly and having direct influence over decision makers who can be influenced (often through incentives), both with the ultimate objective of removing entry barriers and paving the way for business expansion in the new market.While traditional marketing is about promoting a firm’s products and services and the ultimate objective is revenue and profits, megamarketing is about making it easier for the firm as a whole to expand its business in new markets using its influence.  The more influence a firm has, the lesser entry barriers it will have.