MEETING EIGHT: LECTURE OUTLINE

PART I: INTERNATIONAL MARKETING THEMES

ADVERTISING BLUNDER
Procter & Gamble's biggest advertising blunder in Japan happened when the firm introduced its disposable diapers Pampers brand. P&G used an ad that did well in the US--that is, an animated stork delivered Pampers diapers at home. P&G's advertising managers dubbed the ad into Japanese. Unfortunately, this cute commercial failed to create business. Japanese consumers were confused about why a bird was delivering disposable diapers. Contrary to Western folklore, storks in Japan are not supposed to deliver babies. Instead, babies allegedly arrive in giant peaches (momo) that float on the river to deserving parents. According to a 14th century legend, a childless couple opened a floating momo and a baby cam out from inside. They named this baby Momotaro-a boy from a peach.

See Douglas Lamont, Winning Worldwide: Strategies for Dominating Global Markets, (2nd ed.; Capstone: Oxford, UK, 1997 or 1st ed.: Irwin: Burr Ridge, Il, 1991), chapter 2.

LANGUAGE BARRIERS
Five different ways for saying tires in Spanish:
Cauchos        Venezuela
Cubiertas       Argentina
Gomas           Puerto Rico
Llantas           Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, Colombia, and elsewhere in Central America.
Neumaticos    Chile

CULTURAL BARRIERS
Religion:
In Brazil, a Christ-like depiction of Ronaldo, the Brazilian soccer star, shows him standing in place of the "Christ the Redeemer" statue. Significant Roman Catholic Church opposition.
In France, Volkswagen relaunched its Golf model with a modern version of the Last Supper. Significant Church opposition.
How do you advertise hair care products in countries where women must be veiled? You don's show a woman's face; just the hair.
The Pepsi ad: male bicycle rider in a tank top; nuns in traditional habits jumping up for joy and showing their ankles. Where might this ad be offensive?

FIVE CULTURAL DIMENSIONS
Power distance: This is the degree of inequality that is seen as acceptable within the country. Ads that position products with large power distance are effective in the Arab countries, Indonesia, and Mexico.
Uncertainty avoidance: This relates to the extent that people within the culture prefer structured situations with clear-cut rules and little ambiguity. Ad campaigns that center around the hard-sell approach are advisable for cultures with high uncertainty avoidance (France, Japan, Mexico).
Individualism: Great Britain and the US are societies where the members see themselves as individuals rather than part of a group.
Masculinity: Performance, success, and competition are considered "male" values and especially important in Japan.
Long-term versus short-term orientation: Cultures with a long-term orientation are driven by future-directed values such as thrift, perseverance, longevity (Japan, Hong Kong).

Important note: Although these five categories are useful in developing ads, value systems change over time. Before the 1990's, Japan was much more into caring for elderly parents; today, elderly parents should be saving more (through US T-bill purchases and other high-yield instruments) rather than depending totally on their children for long-term care after retirement. See lecture notes for meeting four.

PART II: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ON SEGMENTATION, TARGETING, AND POSITIONING

MARKETING STRATEGY
Standardization means that one or more elements of the communication campaign (strategy, selling proposition, platform) are kept the same. Note: Truly global ad campaigns are uncommon. The reasons for standardization are as follows:

Scale: The cost of the shoot, or one ad or many ads. The cost of ad executives assigned to client.
Consistent image: Increase brand awareness. Same positioning theme.
Global consumer segments: teenagers, young, rich, etc.
Creative talent: scarcity of supply.
Cross-fertilization: Nescafe's "soap-mercial."

Adaptation means the following are more important:

Cultural differences: Ads for the Ricky Martin concert in Hong Kong showed a more subdued crowd than those in Germany or the US.
Advertising regulations. Thailand requires Thai-looking people in the ads. Not Chinese. Not westerners.
Differences in degree of market development. Must give consumers in Russia a lot more production information.
"Not invented here" syndrome.

PART III: GLOBAL BRANDS WITH NATIONAL IDENTITIES

UNIVERSAL APPEALS
Superior quality: BMW.
New product/service: Windows 2000.
Country-of-origin: Luxury goods "Made in France."
Heroes and celebrities: Michael Jordan and Nike. Pierce Brosnan and Omega brand watch.
Lifestyle: Mont Blanc pens for US $300.
Global presence: Chiclets chewing gum.
Market leadership: Johnny Walker bourbon.
Corporate image: NTT DoCoMo.

PART IV: READINGS FROM THE TEXTBOOK
None.

PART V: CASE ANALYSES OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETING STRATEGY

Assignment: How would you advertise the product(s) of your term paper? Five cultural appeals. Standardization versus adaptation? Universal appeals. Be ready for questions in class.

PART VI: EXPORT MARKETING APPLICATIONS

OTHER FORMS OF COMMUNICATION
Sales promotions: target end users or distributors.
Direct marketing: telemarketing, Internet ads.
Event sponsorships: Olympics.
Trade shows: business-to-business marketing. Frankfurt book fair.

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS (IMC)
Integrate advertising, promotion, and other forms of communication.

Assignment: How would you use IMC for the product(s) of your term paper? Be ready for questions in class.