4. Advertising expenditures. Media advertising is used to inform the public of newly introduced
models/styling and to tout the company’s brand. Even though retail dealers act as an important information
source for customers and actively push the brands they carry, advertising on the part of
footwear producers strengthens brand awareness, helps pull buyers into retail stores carrying the
company’s brand, and informs people about the features and prices of their latest styles and models.
The competitive impact of advertising depends on the size of your company’s current-year advertising
budget. A company's aggressiveness in promoting its footwear in a given geographic region is judged
stronger when its annual advertising expenditures exceed the region average and is judged weaker
the further its ad budget is below what rival companies are spending on average. Other competitive
factors being equal, companies with above-average current-year advertising expenditures will
outsell companies with below-average current advertising expenditures.