course plan 1

1. Course plan 1 Session 1 a) Course introduction b) Cross-cultural consumer behaviour Textbook: Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4 (please focus on chapter 4) Session 2 Standardization vs. adaption 1 Textbook: Chapters 5, 6, 8 From the text collection: Theodore Levitt: The Globalization of Markets William B. Werther, Jr.: Toward Global Convergence Marieke De Mooij: Convergence and divergence in consumer behaviour: implications for global advertising Session 3 Standardization vs. adaption …continued See lecture 2 Session 4 Cross-cultural marketing research Textbook: chapter 7 From the text collection: Eastin and Daugherty: Past, Current, and Future Trends…..

3. 15 and 22 February:Marketing communication strategies:

4. Kotler + de Mooij (+ JH and students?) Global standardization is not an all-or-nothing proposition, but a matter of degree. (Kotler) Usually the choice is not between a fully standardized and fully differentiated marketing strategy, but somewhere in between. (de Mooij) What about that terrible word ”global”? Your opinion on the two (or three, four, five…) strategies?

5. Standardization vs. adaption Usunier & Lee’s approach ”The central paradox of globalization is the encounter between companies that are increasingly global and consumers who remain largely local. The general line of argument developed by this chapter is that consumption styles converge only at a macro-scopic level.” (P. 118) ”While a key issue for designing international marketing strategies, globalization is a difficult phenomenon to observe since demand is observed in actual markets and can never be fully separated from supply.” (Usunier (2000), p. 136)

6. Standardization vs. adaption Usunier & Lee’s approach ”In order to scrutinize the apparent trend toward homogenization, three aspects of globalization processes must be distinguished.”: (P. 118) The globalization of demand – the convergence of consumer behavior and marketing environments world-wide. (5) The globalization of supply and competition. (6) The globalization of products and marketing offerings. (8)

7. Empirical studies on globalization ”Most of the empirical studies on globalization are synchronic in design; they study cross-national similarity in consumption patterns at a precise point in time. The most logical way to study the convergence process is, however, to examine how consumption changes over several time periods.” (Usunier & Lee, p. 121)

8. ”…effective advertising must be attuned to the way in which different cultures respond to different sorts of messages. For example, ”The Americans are very direct; the British like to use humour; the French like something a little bit sexier…”” (Maurice Lévy in the Economist, Jan. 7, 2006)

9. Cross-cultural communication

10. Cross-cultural communication

11. Culture is complex ”What’s polite in your culture is probably rude in someone else’s.” And ”For a German an a Finn, the truth is the truth. In Japan and Britain it is all right if it doen’t rock the boat. In China there is no absolute truth.” (Richard D. Lewis, 2006)

12. Usunier & Lee: Globalization and ”modern” culture! "The most disputable [and extremely interesting] and debatable aspect of globalization is the implicit assumption that we are all converging towards a 'modern lifestyle'. This view of cross-cultural buyer behaviour has three main assumptions: 1.    Modernity is a given and technology is our path to a bigger and better future for all of us. 2.    Even if they differ externally, all societies can be placed on a continuum of social change - from traditional to developed societies. 3.    The criterion for placing a society on the continuum is its degree of resistance to the changes brought about by modernity.” (p. 124) SO are we converging towards a ’modern lifestyle’?SO are we converging towards a ’modern lifestyle’?

13. Usunier & Lee : Globalization and ”modern” culture! "The global values in modern culture emerge because consumers throughout the world inevitably have fairly similar responses tp new technologies and product innovations.” (P.125) "'Modern' culture is characterized by: 1.   An individualist orientation…. 2.   A strong emphasis on material achievements 3.   A strongly economic, 'commoditized' time 4.   A tendency to discard the past in favour of a future orientation 5.   A fairly high degree of utilitarianism BUT, what do we think? Would it be more relevant to talk about post-modern culture?

14. Usunier & Lee : Globalization and ”modern” culture! ”The emergence of a global ’modern’ culture is often confused with the convergence of local cultures, leading to an incorrect description of the globalization phenomenon. A frequent mistake is to equate ’modern’ with ’American’: while it is true that the United States and US mulitnational companies have been literally the champions and heralds of modern culture in consumer goods (consumption fordism) and services, globalization is not simply the world-wide extension of the ’American way of life’.” (P. 124)

15. Discuss!Usunier & Lee, p. 126: "The increased adoption of modern culture cross-nationally is erroneously interpreted as a sign of full convergence - and as testimony to the progressive disappearance of local cultures.” ”Significant elements of local cultures, such as language, writing systems, religions, and relational patterns, are still intact and quite visible in the global landscape. Cultural differences seem to matter little because they rarely appear as the key explanation for behavior. However, local cultures allow a deeper understanding of consumption in a specific context.” ”Interpretation must be close to the local reality…….Local cultures do not really disappear; rather, a new, common culture is superimposed on them. The very fact that the Japanese and the Chinese are not willing to change their ideographic writing system, which from a purely utilitarian perspective makes little sense, is proof of the very deep roots of local cultures.”

16. So? Usunier & Lee’s conclusions? ”Consumption is still largely a local reality. Far from being uniquely culture related, local reality also reflects climate and customs, and the mere fact that much of our lives is still experienced, shared, perceived and interpreted with persons nearby who share the same kind of ’local knowledge’…” ”Consumption experiences remain local while much global influence is integrated, in shared cultural meaning.” ”’Globalizing influences have bored intercultural tunnels around the world, but core meaning systems such as those wrapped up in the idea of the family, continue to differ significantly.’” (Applbaum & Jordt in Usunier & Lee) (Usunier, p. 129)

17. Remember Hofstede’s onion?

18. Remember SIS-4? We briefly touched upon postmodern marketing ”As Firat, [describing the postmodern existence], rightly observes, ’In an overwhelmingly marketized existence, individuals experience practically all aspects of their lives as consumers’. Whereas consumption was not always highly regarded in modern consumption, the postmodernist consumer pursues, with little afterthought, the construction of their self-image.” ”Because the postmodern consumer experience is not one of committing to a single way of being, a single form of existence, the same consumers are willing to sample the different, fragmented artifacts. The consumer is ready to have Italian for lunch and Chinese for dinner, to wear Levi’s 501 blue jeans for the outdoor party in the afternoon and to try the Gucci suit at night – changing not only diets and clothes but also the personas and selves that are to be (re)presented at each function.” (Firat in Usunier & Lee, p. 136)

19. Remember SIS-4? We briefly touched upon postmodern marketing ”Consumption is no longer just about a simple purchase or the satisfaction of basic needs and wants, but a culturally determined behavioral pattern which forces us to choose and change the elements of our lifestyle.” ”…and it is first of all through our way of consuming that we define ourselves as individuals.” (Frandsen, Johansen & Nielsen, 1997, p. 7)

20. Remember SIS-4? We briefly touched upon postmodern marketing Post-modern marketing: De-differentiation – e.g. the blurring of ”fine culture” and ”mass-culture” (e.g. advertisng.) And, marketing not only used commercially. Fragmentation – e.g. we all play different roles, e.g. during the day. Today consumers play important roles in shaping their own lifestyles so marketers have to take part in the process where the consumers try to choose lifestyles. For marketers it is no longer enough just to ”learn”, they have to get ”involved”.

21. Firat & Christensen: Marketing Communications in a Postmodern World

22. Firat & Christensen: Marketing Communications in a Postmodern World

23. Firat & Christensen: Marketing Communications in a Postmodern World

24. Firat & Christensen: Marketing Communications in a Postmodern World

25. Firat & Christensen: Marketing Communications in a Postmodern World

26. Firat & Christensen: Marketing Communications in a Postmodern World

27. Macintosh Powerbook launch 1991 Background Apple wanted int’l campaign (16 countries) A’s first attempt at co-ordinated European launch A’s country managers enjoyed much autonomy A three years behind competitors How it was done - Apple organizations in DK, D, GB, F, S, USA presented ideas for print ad campaigns – checked by agency. - The 16 country managers were shown the ideas but origins were disclosed. - The French idea won; ”The Powerbook is for storing ideas not data.” - Idea based on ideas scribbled on paper tablecloth, which wouldn’t work in other countries. - Each country made its own ads based on the French idea following written guidelines form the agency. - Agency called it a ”campaign done multi-locally”.

28. Levitt: The Globalization of Markets  Technology is the main force of globalization. ”Which strategy is better is not a matter of opinion but of necessity.” ”Gone are accustomed differences in national or regional preference.”   "National rules of the road differ…."   "Everyone……wants products and features that everybody else wants. If the price is low enough, they will take highly standardized world product…” (Usunier, p. 140: ”This naive view of world diversity states that we are all converging towards a ’modern” lifestyle marked by standard products and consumption patterns world-wide.”)

29. Levitt: The Globalization of Markets ”Of course, large companies operating in a single nation or even a single city don’t standardize everything they make, sell, or do……..But although companies customize products for particular market segments, they know that success in a world with homogenized demand requires a search for sales opportunities in similar segments across the globe in order to achieve the economies of scale necessary to compete.” ”Such a search works because a market segment in one country is seldom unique; it has close cousins everywhere precisely because technology has homogenized the globe.”

30. Levitt: The Globalization of Markets "Different cultural preferences, national tastes and standards, and business institutions are vestiges of the past. Some inheritances die gradually: others prosper and expand into mainstream global preferences." (Chinese food and pita bread)   "In fact the customers said they wanted certain features, but their behavior demonstrated they'd take other features provided the price and promotion were right." = "..never assume that the customer is a king who knows his own wishes."   "What we see today as escalating commercial nationalism is simply the last violent death rattle of an obsolete institution." There are differences "But the global corporation accepts and adjusts to these differences only reluctantly…”

31. Forget about mass marketing ”In early 2000, the company’s new chairman and CEO, Doug Daft, announced a new ’think local, act local’ mind-set. This ends years of Coca-Cola’s marketing being strictly controlled form its Atlanta headquarters.” ”Coke’s mantra under Daft is to make connections with local people in a way that is relevant to them.” ””So far, we have created a world of Coke and invited people into it. Going forward, we will try to understand the world of people and provide the services and brands they need.”” (strategieseurope, February 2001) And don’t forget: ”So when the question comes up, why can’t we just use English? I always ask this question: do you think that consumers should make the effort to understand us, or should we be making the effort to be understood by them?” (Simon Anholt: Another One Bites the Grass, p.48)

32. Werther (1996) Youth culture + freed markets = competitive convergence The McDonald's Generation: "Music…has become a global language uniting successive generations from Santiago to Miami, Beijing to Moscow.."   "..the largely English-speaking media have permeated the globe, molding an increasingly uniform teenage culture."   The marginalization of grandparents as transmittors of cultural values. – Role to some degree taken over by technology.   Traditional values and aspirations of family, health, and well-being are not being discarded, but we're witnessing the injection of new, widely agreed-upon values of freedom ……….the pattern is far from universal, but it is moving towards universality. ”Such a growing uniformity of culture results from billions of points of contact among young people and media every day.”

33. Werther Freed Markets: Free trade agreements etc. = economic growth  Governments giving up economic controls Competitive Convergence: "Instead they [people] will slowly emerge to reveal a world increasingly devoid of war, famine, bigotry, and oppression - because none of these conditions are particularly favorable for free trade…" "…as the drum grows louder, more people will march to its unifying beat.”

34. Chrysler - exercise Only Chrysler could bring you an idea as big as America in less than five meters. At 9.6 billion square km, America is a pretty big place. But it wasn't until the 1920s when the American love affair with the automobile began, that a landmark consensus was reached: America was in dire need of a paved highway. And Route 66 was born. Starting in Chicago and spanning across more than 3862 km, U.S. Route 66 reaches all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Affectionately called “America's Main Street”, Route 66 immediately became more than a two-lane asphalt highway. It was the romance of the open road. The promise of adventure. The path to freedom. With amazing roadside attractions, vibrant neon signs, filling stations that also provided a wink and a smile, and mom-and-pop diners that served real home cookin', there was something for everyone.

35. Chrysler – den danske udgave Kun Chrysler giver dig en idé om, hvor stor Amerika er – på mindre end fem meter Amerika er med et areal på knap 9,6 milliarder kvadratkilometer et temmelig stort land. Men bilens masseudbredelse i 1920’erne gjorde det en smule mindre. En trafikal milepæl blev nået, da Route 66 – den første tværgående, asfalterede landevej fra øst til vest – blev indviet. Route 66 strækker sig over 3.862 kilometer fra Chicago i øst til Stillehavet i vest. Folket opfattede den fra begyndelsen som noget andet og mere end en almindelig, to-sporet landevej og døbte den ”Amerikas hovedvej”. Den blev indbegrebet af den åbne landevej. Fyldt med eventyrlige forhåbninger. Vejen til friheden. Route 66 rørte ved noget i alle slags mennesker med sine iøjnefaldende attraktioner, flimrende neonskilte og servicestationer der bød på rendyrket venlighed og mad-som-vor-mor-lavede-den.

36. Kun Chrysler giver dig en idé om, hvor stor Amerika er – på mindre end fem meter Amerika er med et areal på knap 9,6 milliarder kvadratkilometer et temmelig stort land. Men bilens masseudbredelse i 1920’erne gjorde det en smule mindre. En trafikal milepæl blev nået, da Route 66 – den første tværgående, asfalterede landevej fra øst til vest – blev indviet. Route 66 strækker sig over 3.862 kilometer fra Chicago i øst til Stillehavet i vest. Folket opfattede den fra begyndelsen som noget andet og mere end en almindelig, to-sporet landevej og døbte den ”Amerikas hovedvej”. Den blev indbegrebet af den åbne landevej. Fyldt med eventyrlige forhåbninger. Vejen til friheden. Route 66 rørte ved noget i alle slags mennesker med sine iøjnefaldende attraktioner, flimrende neonskilte og servicestationer der bød på rendyrket venlighed og mad-som-vor-mor-lavede-den. Only Chrysler could bring you an idea as big as America in less than five meters. At 9.6 billion square km, America is a pretty big place. But it wasn't until the 1920s when the American love affair with the automobile began, that a landmark consensus was reached: America was in dire need of a paved highway. And Route 66 was born. Starting in Chicago and spanning across more than 3862 km, U.S. Route 66 reaches all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Affectionately called “America's Main Street”, Route 66 immediately became more than a two-lane asphalt highway. It was the romance of the open road. The promise of adventure. The path to freedom. With amazing roadside attractions, vibrant neon signs, filling stations that also provided a wink and a smile, and mom-and-pop diners that served real home cookin', there was something for everyone.

37. Local tastes: The Economist, 17 November, 2005. Pernod Pernod gives local operations and brands plenty of autonomy. To cater to local demand Pernod adapts its ad campaigns to each country and employs a large number of small local ad firms. The Pernod strategy makes it harder to cut costs through centralization and to control a brand’s image. Pernod is better able to adapt to the big differences in the way alcohol is consumed in different countries Diageo Believes in centralisation and standardisation. Hires fewer ad agencies and runs big, global campaigns.

38. Made for each other: The Economist, 22 October, 2005 ”Bharatmatrimony’s boss, Janakiram Murugavel, says that language is the biggest criterion. His site is divided into 15 linguistic sections. Then comes status and caste, which divides Indians at birth into thousands of groups. About 70% of his customers want to marry within their caste. Most still use astrology. Bharatmatrimony offers an online horoscope service.”

39. Burger and fries à la francaise: The Economist, 17 April, 2004 ”Though it seems unlikely, France is the only place in Europe that has consistently loved McDonald’s since the first outlet opened there in 1979.” ”And fast food would seem foreign in a society where a one (or two) hour break for lunch is still sacrosanct.” ”McDonald’s was clever in adapting food and décor to local tastes and concentrating on children…” ”The ham-and-cheese ”Croque McDo” is McDonald’s version of croque monsieur, a French favourite.” ”McDonald’s teamed up with French companies to offer local fare, for instance fruit yoghurts…”

40. One-Toy-Fits-All: How Industry Learned to Love the Global Kid: Wall Street Journal 29 April, 2003 ”Major toy makers are rethinking one of the basic tenets of their $55 billion global industry – that children in different countries want different playthings. The implications are significant for both kids and companies. Two recent developments are changing kids’ tatses: 1: Rapid world-wide expansion of cable and satellite TV channels, which along with movies and the Internet expose millions of kids to the same popular icons. 2: The widening international reach of retailing giants such as Wal-Mart and Carrefour and Toys ’R’ Us. But still: ”American kids want Nascar toy cars, while European kids want Formula One models. Cheerleader-themed anything is irrelevant outside the