Vertical Integration

Vertical integration is when a company oversees the planning and creation of a product, through to the marketing, advertising and distribution and then on to the retail of the product to the public. A company which is vertically integrated has control over all the stages of a products life. In media this means they have control of three processes; production, this includes writing, planning and the creation of the product. Distribution, taking the finished product to the retailer and marketing the product. Finally exhibition, the point at which the product is sold to the consumer.