International Marketing Communication
CHAPTER 17
International Marketing Communication
International marketers face many challenges related to different cultures, languages, and level of economic development. Adapting brand messages while at the same time maintaining strategic brand consistency requires a delicate balance. Cross-functional planning becomes all the more important when brand messages are being sent across national borders. This chapter discusses about international marketing and global marketing. Companies that market products in several different countries are said to be multinational marketers. Then, global marketers, companies that consider their market to be just one - the world. Brands sold around the world are called global brands. When planning international marketing communication, companies must assess a country or target group’s culture as part of the SWOT analysis. Companies analyse customers’ attitudes and beliefs, motivations, and perceptions as they relate to a product category, the brand and its usage. Because culture is the glue that binds a group of people together, and it also includes values that involve judgements of good or bad, right or wrong. If all cultures are different and that brand messages should always be customized for the local culture. On the other hand, brand messages can be standardized around the world. For example, McD’s restaurants around the world offer their standard fare, such as burgers and fries. In India, they customized the burgers, which is made by lamb because India people don’t eat beef. There are dimensions of culture, Hall’s high-context and low-context cultures. High-context cultures are cultures that pay more attention to the physical environment in which the message takes place. People in these cultures are more sensitive to non-verbal cues. Low-context cultures are one in which less emphasis is placed on the social context and more is placed on words, directness, and time (deadlines and schedules). Hofstede’s
International Marketing Communication
International marketers face many challenges related to different cultures, languages, and level of economic development. Adapting brand messages while at the same time maintaining strategic brand consistency requires a delicate balance. Cross-functional planning becomes all the more important when brand messages are being sent across national borders. This chapter discusses about international marketing and global marketing. Companies that market products in several different countries are said to be multinational marketers. Then, global marketers, companies that consider their market to be just one - the world. Brands sold around the world are called global brands. When planning international marketing communication, companies must assess a country or target group’s culture as part of the SWOT analysis. Companies analyse customers’ attitudes and beliefs, motivations, and perceptions as they relate to a product category, the brand and its usage. Because culture is the glue that binds a group of people together, and it also includes values that involve judgements of good or bad, right or wrong. If all cultures are different and that brand messages should always be customized for the local culture. On the other hand, brand messages can be standardized around the world. For example, McD’s restaurants around the world offer their standard fare, such as burgers and fries. In India, they customized the burgers, which is made by lamb because India people don’t eat beef. There are dimensions of culture, Hall’s high-context and low-context cultures. High-context cultures are cultures that pay more attention to the physical environment in which the message takes place. People in these cultures are more sensitive to non-verbal cues. Low-context cultures are one in which less emphasis is placed on the social context and more is placed on words, directness, and time (deadlines and schedules). Hofstede’s