The role of integrated marketing communication for ustainable development in food production

Abstract

The decrease in food production output, the suspension of production, and the decrease in product demand have influenced the operation of producers and their communication with customers in 2020. This brings to the forefront the producer's role in the use of IMC for sustainable development in Latvia. The purpose of the survey of leading specialists at Latvian food producers was to find out their opinion on the trends of development and a sustainable use of IMC in business. The object of the research: IMC for sustainable development. The subject: IMC for sustainable marketing at Latvian food producers. The study uses monographic, quantitative, qualitative methods – interviews of leading specialists of producers. It represents a follow-up to the author's previous studies in the food retail industry where she researched food retail chains and conducted a survey of buyers. She developed a conceptual model of IMC for sustainable business development and found that each sector has peculiarities in product selling, service provision, etc., yet there are also common trends that apply to all industries. The author urges further market research, covering producers. The results show some trends: 1) the motivation to use IMC for sustainable development has grown due to the increased use of technologies; 2) extended periods of sedentarism have exacerbated the problem of overweight in society and given rise to demand for healthy ecological products, including natural ingredients in production; 3) the risk of employee illness and the reorganization of production has contributed to the use of digital marketing.