Culture and Advertising Cultural differences and the consequences for advertising and doing business Lecturers: Drs. Y.G.M. Terhorst Drs. M. Goosen International marketing campaign: What went wrong? Cross-cultural marketing blunders Use of language Use of colors, numbers, images Use of values and habits International advertising What is international advertising? - The same everywhere, voice-over? - Economies of scale? What will a company choose for: Global advertising(standardization) versus Local advertising (localization) Dubbed commercial 41unQCv4EHE Examples of global advertising: But also local adjustments! Advertising and Culture Global products, global brands, NO global consumers! Communication is local local advertising is increasing Advertising works when people believe they are being spoken to by somebody who understands them. Someone who knows their needs, and talks and feels just like they do. Not a foreigner speaking to them with a phrase-book in front of his or her face Simon Anholt in Another one bites the grass What is Culture? The collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another group or category of people Culture is a shared, learned, symbolic system of values, beliefs and attitudes that shapes and influences perception and behavior -- an abstract "mental blueprint" or "mental code." Hofstedes Dimensies: Power Distance: T he extent to which less powerful members of organizations and institutions within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally Power Distance influences use of media: Hofstedes Dimensions: Individualism - Collectivism Individualism: When the ties between individuals in a society are loose Collectivism: When people in a society are from birth onward integrated into strong cohesive in-groups which throughout peoples lifetimes continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty Individualism/Collectivism Type: Hofstedes Dimensions: Masculinity/femininity Masculinity pertains to societies in which gender roles are clearly distinct (role of man versus role of woman) Femininity pertains to societies in which gender roles overlap: both men and women are supposed to be modest, tender, concerned with quality of life. (material success, achievements and progress vs. care for others and the environment, consensus) Hofstedes Dimensions: Uncertainty Avoidance What is different is dangerous The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations (stress, need for predictability, formal or informal rules, accuracy) Uncertainty Avoidance Differences Ireland - The Netherlands Ireland --- the Netherlands Ireland: more masculine Irish have more of a casual attitude toward time Religion Question: - A US telephone company tried to market its products and services to Latinos by showing a commercial in which a Latino wife tells her husband to call a friend, telling her they would be late for dinner. The commercial wasnt successful at all. Can you explain this failure? Examples Look at the following commercials and relate it to cultural differences: Conclusion As consumer behavior varies across cultures, global standardized advertising is not equally effective in all markets There are no universal values! (Hofstede) Think globally, act locally! ???