Marketing Across Cultures by Anna Nauen

25.02.12 Marke,ng Across Cultures – Anna Nauen #1

Marke&ng Across Cultures Issues in Interna,onal Marke,ng Communica,on


Contents

| Globalisa,on Global village/ global audience

|  Forces in Interna,onal Marke,ng Communica,on Examples

|  Implica,ons

| Discussion


Contents



|  Implica,ons

| Discussion


Globalisa,on – one global market ?!?


Globalisa,on – one global market ?!?


The globalisa,on of markets and brands



Theodore LeviQ argued that world markets were becoming increasingly

similar making it

unnecessary to localise the marke,ng mix.



LeviQ’s theory has become a lightening rod in the debate about globalisa,on:

Products sell well when their aQributes match consumer needs.

If consumer needs were the same everywhere a firm could sell the same product worldwide.

Consumer needs vary from country to country depending on culture and the level of economic development.


Contents



|  Implica,ons

| Discussion


Forces in the Interna,onal Marke,ng Environment

Interna,onal Marke,ng and Promo,ons

Decisions

Economic environment Cultural environment

Demographic environment Poli,cal/legal environment

•  Stage of economic development •  Economic infrastructure •  Standard of living •  Per capita income •  Distribu,on of wealth •  Exchange rates …

•  Language •  Lifestyles

•  Values •  Norms and customs

•  Ethics and moral standards •  Taboos …

•  Income levels •  Number of households •  Age distribu,on •  Occupa,on distribu,on •  Educa,on levels •  Employment rate …

•  Government policies •  Laws and regula,ons

•  Poli,cal stability •  Na,onalism

•  A_tudes toward mul,na,onal companies …




Decisions



•  Stage of economic development •  Economic infrastructure •  Standard of living •  Per capita income •  Distribu&on of wealth •  Exchange rates …




•  Income levels •  Number of households •  Age distribu,on •  Occupa,on distribu,on •  Educa,on level •  Employment rate …





Economic environment Ø  Developed countries have

economic infrastructure (communica,ons, transporta,on, financial, and distribu,on networks).

Ø  By contrast, many developing countries lack purchasing power and have limited communica,on networks available to firms that want to promote their products and services to these markets.

Ø  In low income countries, only few supermarkets exist, products are bought from street vendors.




Decisions







•  Income levels •  Number of households •  Age distribu&on •  Occupa&on distribu&on •  Educa&on levels •  Employment rate …




? ? ?

Literacy rates




Decisions












Cultural environment -‐ Language

Ø  Adver,sing can be one of the most difficult aspects of the interna,onal marke,ng program because of problems in developing messages that will be understood in various countries.

Ø  The adver,ser must know not only the na,ve tongue of the country but also its nuances, idioms, and subtle,es.

Ø  Adver,sers ofen encounter problems in transla,ng their adver,sing messages and brand names into various languages.



Scandinavian Electrolux in the United States



Schweppes Tonic Water in Italy

In Italy a promo,onal campaign for

Schweppes Tonic Water failed when the product

name was translated as

‘Schweppes Toilet Water’.



Kentucky Fried Chicken in Hong Kong

… it came out as `eat your fingers off´

When the slogan was translated into Chinese for the Hong

Kong market …



Coors beer in Spain

Coors the American brewer lost its fizz

in Spain when their hip phrase

"Turn It Loose" was translated as

¡Suéltate con Coors! =

“Get Diarrhea”


Cultural environment -‐ Language American Airlines in Mexico

American Airlines decided to adver,se the luxurious aspect of flying business class to their

Mexican customers they thought it would make sense to focus on

leather seats:

‘Fly in leather’ = ‘Vuelo en Cuero’

What the Spanish dic,onary had neglected to inform them

was the phrase ‘en cuero’ is a slang term for ‘in the nude’!


Cultural environment -‐ Colours

•  There can also be problems associated with the symbolic meanings of colours.

•  In Japan, as in many Asian countries, white is a colour for sadness rather than black, and purple is associated with death in many La,n American countries.

•  An American ad campaign using various shades of green was a disaster in Malaysia, where the colour symbolises death and illness.


Cultural environment -‐ Religion

•  Religion is another aspect of culture that affects norms, values, and behaviours.

•  For example, in many Arab countries, adver,sers must be aware of various taboos resul,ng from conserva,ve applica,ons of the Islamic religion:

à Alcohol and pork cannot be adver,sed.

à Human nudity is forbidden, as are pictures of anything scared, such as pictures of a cross.

à The faces of women may not be shown in photos, so cosme,cs use drawings of women's faces in ads.




Decisions








•  Government policies •  Laws and regula&ons

•  Poli&cal stability •  Na&onalism

• ANtudes toward mul&na&onal companies …

Diet coke is known as Coca Cola light in Germany, France, and many other countries because of legal restric,ons prohibi,ng the

word diet.

Copyright and other legal restric,ons make it difficult to maintain the same name from market to market.




Decisions












Kellogg's Corn Flakes in India

Kellogg’s decided that India is a suitable target for its cereal products.

To the surprise of Kellogg’s management the Indian found the whole concept of ea,ng breakfast cereal a new one.

Even if they liked the taste the product was too expensive for the Indian middle-‐class.


Kellogg's Corn Flakes in India – What do they do?

Ø  Kellogg’s decided to launch other products in India: Chocos, Rice Flakes, Wheat Flakes, All Bran, Honey Flakes … à not really successful!

Ø  Kellogg’s decided to sell biscuits as a strategy to establish its brand equity.

Ø  Kellogg’s biscuits are produced only in India and there are six flavours.

à successfully


Disneyland in Hong Kong

•  Since it opened in 2005, Disney´s Hong Kong park, has struggled to connect with consumers.

•  Chinese tourists unfamiliar with Disney's tradi,onal stories were some,mes lef bewildered by the Hong Kong park's aQrac,ons.

•  Disney's marke,ng efforts also have some,mes misfired: A Hong Kong Disneyland ad in summer of 2006 featured a family consis,ng of two kids and two parents.

à China's government: One -‐ child policy


Disneyland in Hong Kong -‐ Disney goes local!

"We are just becoming more

knowledgeable about the Chinese.” (Jill Estorino, senior vice president of markeAng at Hong Kong Disneyland)

The company has brought in many new top execuAves in recent years, including a new managing director of Hong Kong Disneyland, and has hired more local

execuAve for the park.

Disney is suiAng up, Mickey and Minnie, in special red Chinese garments .


“Think globally, act locally”


BeneQon -‐ Is this ethical?

25.02.12 #31

Contents



|  Implica,ons

| Discussion

Marke,ng Across Cultures – Anna Nauen


Implica,ons

•  Socie,es differ because their cultures vary. •  Cultures vary because of profound differences in social structure, religion, language, educa,on, economic philosophy, and poli,cal philosophy.

There are three important implica,ons that flow from these differences: 1)  There is a need to develop cross-‐cultural literacy. 2)  There is a connec,on between culture and na,onal compe,,ve advantage.

3)  There is a connec,on between culture and ethics in decision making.


Implica,ons

•  In the end, there are clearly things that an interna,onal business should do, and there are things that an interna,onal business should not do.

•  But not all ethical dilemmas have a clean and obvious solu,on.

•  Marketers should consult local employees. •  They can help verify that the adver,ser is saying what he wants to say

à While there is some cultural convergence among na,ons, LeviQ’s vision of global markets is s,ll a long way off!!!


Marketers must decide on the degree to which they will adapt their products and markeAng programs to meet the unique cultures and needs of consumers in various markets. On the one hand, they want to standardise their offerings in order to simplify operaAons and take advantage of cost economies. On the other hand, adapAng markeAng efforts within each country results in products and programs that saAsfy the needs of local consumers beMer. The quesAon of whether to adapt or standardise the markeAng mix across internaAonal markets has created a lively debate in recent years.

Discussion: What do you think?

Global or Localised Adver,sing? What are the pros and cons of global (standardised) vs. localised adver,sing?


Global Adver,sing

Standardising adver,sing worldwide has both pros and cons Standardised adver,sing makes sense when: •  it has significant economic advantages •  crea,ve talent is scarce and one large effort to develop a campaign will be more successful than numerous smaller efforts

•  brand names are global …


Global Adver,sing

Standardised adver,sing does not make sense when: •  cultural differences among na,ons are significant •  country differences in adver,sing regula,ons block the implementa,on of standardised adver,sing

•  Some firms have been trying tac,cs to capture the benefits of global standardisa,on while responding to individual cultural and legal environments

•  So, some features of a campaign are standardised while others are customised to local markets …


Thanks for your aRen&on!!! “Think globally, act locally”

Sources


Abraham, R. (2010). Effect of Cereal Breakfast in Indian Market. hMp://www.harneedi.com/index.php/healthcare-‐ar,cles/2427-‐failed-‐cer.

Hill, C. W. L. (2009). InternaAonal Business. CompeAng in the global marketplace. Irwin: Mc Graw Hill.

Marke,ng Flops hQp://leuropa.eu/Marke,ng Blog.

Fowler, G. A. (2008). Main Street, H.K. -‐ Disney Localizes Mickey to Boost Its Hong Kong Theme Park. Wall Street Journal:hQp://online.wsj.com/ar,cle/SB120103348301707503.html#printMode