Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

• Power distance:  how much inequality is accepted in a country, status
• Uncertainty avoidance: tolerance for ambiguity, testimonials
• Individualism/collectivism: me vs. us, acceptance of comparative ads
• Masculinity/femininity: competitiveness vs. nurturance
• Long-term vs. short-term orientation

The Communication Model
Source (Airline ABC)
Encoding (symbols, words, themes - chosen by Airline ABC
Message (in message channel chosen by  ABC)
Decoding (what can customer understand, what meaning is taken)
Receiver (who gets the message)
Noise (interference)
Feedback (Attitude, Purchase, Loyalty, Complaint)

The International Communications Process
Note overlap of communications systems from two different cultures - diagram discussed in class

Agency Selection and Capability
Relative size, experience
Local agencies vs. international agencies? What are pros and cons?
Several agencies vs. One? Standardization of themes, uniform quality
Success with types of accounts
Experience with media
Reputation in specific countries
Quality of production in desired media

What Media are Available and Capable
Types of media may differ dramatically
    Speakers on trucks
    Murals on walls
    Movie theater advertising
Can the media show your product, themes as you intend?
    Production, color, clarity of image
Distribution - can the message get to your intended customers?
    How do people get their information about your product category?
    Who has phones, TVs, radios? Who can read?
 

Growth in Communications
 

The Influence of Government
Are there preclearance boards which consider ad themes?
Are the regulated products?
Are there protected groups?  E.g. ads with children may be highly regulated
Are there language requirements?
Are ads allowed to compare? If so, must the advertiser present proof? Must the advertiser present the strong points of the competitor?
Are there religious influences - e.g. Islam
Are there consumer activist groups?

Examples - current Spring 2003
Advertising in Germany

• Regulation of advertising in Germany is a mix between judicial rules and voluntary guidelines developed by the major industry associations.
• Legal rules were established at the beginning of the 20th century by the "Law Against Unfair Competition."
• This law continues to be valid today, although it has been modified over time. In essence, this law allows competitors to bring suit if advertising "violates good manners."
• Germany – premiums
• Many advertising practices that are common in the United States, such as offering premiums, would not be allowed in Germany. Any planned advertising campaigns should be thoroughly discussed with a potential business partner or an advertising agency in Germany.

European Union

• Laws against misleading advertisements differ widely between the Member States, the Commission adopted a directive which has been in force since October 1986, to establish minimum and objective criteria.
• Defines misleading adv, comparative adv
• The advertising of medicinal products is forbidden if the authorization to market them has not been granted and if it concerns a prescription drug.

EU – tobacco advertising ban

• In July 1998 the Council adopted legislation banning advertising and sponsoring of tobacco products which entered immediately into force.
• Member States have 3 years for transposition to national law and can defer implementation for one additional year "in respect of the press and two years in respect of sponsorship".
• The legislation ends all press, radio, cinema, billboard, and poster advertising of tobacco and tobacco products. Publicity is only allowed inside tobacco shops. Other goods produced by tobacco groups, such as clothes carrying cigarette-brand logos, are also banned if they promote a tobacco product.

Budgetary Decisions
Percent of sales: not realistic in terms of higher costs of introduction
Competitive parity: what is everyone else doing?
Objective and task: what are you  trying to do?  Do you understand enough about the market to link objectives and tasks?
Comparative Analysis:  meaningful groupings:  Asian Americans?

A localized vs. a standardized message
Localized:  developed for each specific market needs
Standardized:  the same, with minimum changes
Pattern advertising: using a standard message with local variations, Coca Cola
 

Methods of testing
Recall and recognition:  what do you remember?
Understandability:  what do you really think that the ad is saying?
Storyboards: another way to test
What is going on in the following three pictures?
 

A Real Case Example:  Advertising Agency X represented Major Airline ABC
Account held by  Ad Agency Y for many years
Account suddenly given to X - themes and perceptions had changed
Importance of good info to X
This is especially complex, since you are communicating to consumers in one culture, who are likely to have assimilated,
    about services to their country of identity
 

The Airlines Industry:  A Troubled Product
A history of customer dissatisfaction
Customers feel lost, troubled, underserved, trapped
How can the identification of problems be used?
Major airline ABC has a website devoted to customer complaints
 

What does Airline ABC say about itself?
More than 50 focus groups with customers in 8 countries:  customers feel trapped, helpless
What do others say about it?
Looking to improve customer service
Looking to improve all the areas that customers identified
 

Counterarguing:  A Good Strategy in Troubled Times
Acknowledge the problem, otherwise the customer will think of it, and impose their own solutions and interpretations
Address the problem:  this gives you control to answer it and tell what you are doing to solve it
New agency ad:  shows problems and shows how ABC solves them
 

Questions from the Class Consulting Team:
To whom is our report directed?
What are your top five questions to have answered?
Can we select five countries for concentration? perhaps five most significant groups in U.S. of Asian Americans, which match ABC's destinations:
We know that the six largest Asian-American groups are Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Filipinos, Asian Indian, and Vietnamese
    Of these,  ABC serves China, Philippines, Japan, Korea, Japan
    Use your assigned country for your storyboard
    Use Exec Summary:  states, cites, growth
 

How is an Asian American defined?
Is this too general a grouping for this type of service?
What are the areas where cultural differences are unimportant? e.g.  the flight is long and tiring regardless of your ethnicity
What are the areas where cultural differences are important? e.g. pictures of what sites will be visited?
What are the areas where acculturation and assimilation are important?
e.g. What is the motivation for being in the U.S.? To become more “Americanized”? To retain one’s ethnic identity?
 
 

 

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