Integrated marketing communications in the commercialisation of intellectual property

Abstract

Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is an approach to increase sales of a product by concerted actions in various promotional channels that achieve synergy. IMC has been applied extensively to consumer products. This paper shows that IMC is a valuable tool for the commercialisation of intellectual property (IP), e.g., patents and know-how, in a business to business (B2B) setting, that is for the commercialisation of patents and other types of IP. The value of IP depends strongly in its perceived value or utility for the business-customer, which can be conveyed in an advantageous way bv IMC. Hence, this paper addresses a new strategy for the successful commercialisation of IP. Patent marketing can increase the value of a patent or patent portfolio can be significantly. The business case is the central building block for IMC of intellectual property (IP). An important aspect for inventors is to keep in mind that it is not the technical sophistication of their innovation which brings them success, but its market. Marketing is a key for IP commercialisation.