Wykorzystanie reklamy na międzynarodowym rynku uzbrojenia
The use of advertisement on the international arms market

Summary/Abstract: The end of bipolar world division brought about by geopolitical changes at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s had a noticeable effect on the global arms market. In terms of market activities, global arms market is dominated by direct communication, most of all – direct sale – but the sector also employs a range of indirect communication instruments, such as sale promotions and public relations activities. The role of advertisement on global arms market is somehow limited, but by no means obsolete. Advertisement is used to good effect as a supporting instrument in the process of communication between the industry and the market, concentrating mainly on informing and shaping a company image. In terms of communication media used, the most significant are: press advertisement, TV and radio spots, electronic ads, outdoor advertising, gift advertising and trade fairs. Similar to civilian institutional markets, trade press is the prevailing medium of market communication on the international arms market. Based on a sample of 327 advertisements placed in the years 2010- -2012 in specialized press publications on defence and military technology, this author analysed and distinguished a range of characteristic forms of communication message presented in trade press, namely: benefit appeal, security appeal, accent on cooperation, accent on environment, practical message based on information and technology, and unconventional message. In recent years, there has been a marked increase of electronic advertisement, the sign of the times. Another interesting phenomenon in this context is the unprecedented advance of arms advertisement in civilian space. In the United States, outdoor billboards of military equipment are placed on the streets in major cities, most notably in Washington, DC. There is also a marked increase of arms market communication in local press. Similar messages are employed by the arms sector in other countries, including Poland, but to a much lesser extent. However, it may be assumed that the scale of this phenomenon will grow in the foreseeable future, due to the increased competition brought about by the emergence of new global players.

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