The case firms included two multinational firms i.e. SABMiller and Imperial Tobacco, and one very rapidly growing strategic business unit, namely Tryton Foods, which is a subsidiary of a national UK firm. 4. An interpretive theory building approach was used. The qualitative data analysis was guided by the principles of content analysis. Based on the empirical findings of the research, the final outcome of this thesis complements and advances current knowledge about marketing communications and particularly in relation to integrated marketing communications. A significant outcome of this research is that IMC is purely client-led. In addition, it is found that the majority of participating firms have only recently started to implement IMC, and indeed, that current IMC practices can be further advanced and augmented. At least in business-to-consumer industries, firms need to listen more actively to the needs and wants of their customers in order to be able to create consumer-driven marketing communication approaches.