Final answer:
True, powerful and contrary advertising and public relations from a competitor can prevent your Integrated Marketing Communication from being effective. Large advertising budgets can discourage new competition and established brands can be hard to dislodge. Additionally, competition with better or cheaper products can significantly impact business profits and survival.
Step-by-step explanation:
It is true that if a competitor has more powerful and contrary advertising and public relations messages, they can indeed prevent your Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) from working effectively. The principle behind this is that marketing efforts, including advertising and public relations, can sometimes neutralize each other when they are of similar scale and opposing directions. This concept parallels the rivalry that can occur between competing monopolists, or what is known today as monopolistic competitors. When these competitors make equal efforts to sway the public's favor away from one another, the industrial position may remain unchanged, as if no efforts had been made by either entity.
Additionally, large advertising budgets can act as an entry barrier for new competitors. An example of this is the difficulty new brands face when attempting to compete with established players like Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola. Their substantial promotional budgets can discourage new entrants in the market since matching or exceeding those budgets may be necessary yet untenable for success.
However, it's also worth noting that firms offering better or cheaper products can reduce a business's profits, and in a competitive market, this can even lead to a business being driven out or being forced to adapt. Similarly, employees can lose income or employment as market dynamics shift due to such competitive forces.