Business Explain: International Promotion and Advertising

What is comparative advertising?

Refers to the type of advertising where companies directly compare themselves with their competitors, in the actual ad itself.

This is not legal in all countries, and must therefore be considered when creating a standardized advertisement.

What is local responsiveness?

Refers to when a company adapts its product and strategies according to local needs and requirements.

What is the Pan-European advertising strategy?

Due to the broader media exposure, multiple advertising messages and brand names of the same product have developed.

In order to avoid confusion, standardisation across markets is being conducted (eg. Twix, formerly known as both Twix and 'Raider')

The Pan-European promotional strategy:
1. Identifying a market segment across all European countries

2. Designing a promotional concept appealing to market-segment similarities (i.e. like for a 'global strategy', but for Europe - while understanding that Europe is not a very homogenous market)

What are the steps of the communications process and how can cultural differences affect the final message received?

1. An information source
The marketer and its product ready for promotion.

2. Encoding
Messaged translated into appropriate meaning.

3. A message channel
Advertising media and/or personal sales force.

4. Decoding
Encoded message interpreted as meaning.

5. Receivers
Action by consumer responding to decoded message.

6. Feedback
Evaluation of communications process and measure of action by receiver.

7. Noise
Competitive activities, other sales people, confusion etc.

How can the communications process help an international marketer avoid problems in international advertising?

A major part of international marketing is to make sure that cultural diversity, media limitations, legal problems and such are under control, in order for a message to reach the market in a rightful manner. The communications process helps give an overlook on the things that could go wrong.

What is sales promotion and how is it used in international marketing?

All marketing activities that stimulate consumer purchases and improve retailer or middlemen effectiveness and cooperation are sales promotions. They are short-term efforts directed at the consumer and/or retailer with several objectives. The success of promotion may depend on local adaptation. Effective sales promotions can enhance advertising and personal selling efforts and, in some instances, may be effective substitutes when environmental constraints prevent full utilisation of advertising.

Objectives:
- Consumer product trial and/or immediate purchase

- Consumer introduction to the store

- Gaining retail point-of-purchase displays

- Encouraging stores to stock the product

- Supporting and augmenting advertising and personal sales efforts

- Sales promotions activities to attract consumers and promote products

What are the reasons for pattern advertising?

Pattern advertising refers to a global advertising strategy with a standardised basic message allowing some degree of modification to meet local situations. Customers normally all look for the same primary function in products, but any other benefits or added value will vary in terms of where customers come from.

Generally, global brands are the result of a company's decision to follow a global marketing strategy. However, many companies have over time discovered that the idea of a complete global standardisation is not likely to ever succeed, at least given what the world looks like today.

What special media problems confront the international advertiser?

Media is basically the same in every country, but availability, cost and coverage varies a lot from country to country.

Availability
Some countries have too few advertising media and other have too many. Too few means parts of the market might not be reached, and too many means higher costs in order to reach full coverage.

Cost
Advertising is costly, depending on what type of media is used.

Coverage
Lack of information on coverage, and the difficulties of reaching certain sectors of a population causes problems on coverage.

Lack of market data
Accurate circulation and audience data cannot be assured in many countries.

How can advertisers overcome the problem of low literacy in their markets?

By ensuring that messages can be understood through its visuality rather than text. Using signs, colors, music and such to produce a feeling or sensation that helps the customer to understand, despite its capability of reading.

Can advertising be standardized for all countries?

Yes, the basic theme, objectives, and philosophy of international advertising can be standardized; but the vast mechanical problems most certainly cannot be solved through international standardization. The ad man can adapt his basic skills to all countries. If buying motives and company objectives are the same for various countries, then the advertising approach may be the same. If they vary, then customizing your approach to each country is a must.

What are some of the major challenges confronting an international advertiser?

1. Legal and tax considerations
Laws and taxes control the access to media (radio, tv, newspapers etc), which complicates things, and can become costly if not taken into consideration.

2. Language limitations
The problem involves different languages of different countries, different languages or dialects within one country, and the subtler problems of linguistic nuance and vernacular. Low literacy in many countries seriously impedes communications and calls for greater creativity and use of verbal media.

3. Cultural diversity
Communication is difficult because cultural factors largely determine the way various phenomena are perceived. If the perceptual framework is different, perception of the message itself differs. Colors, gestures, noises, music - all things must be considered.

4. Production and cost limitations
Budget constraints or production limitations call for creative measures
Hand-painted billboards can be used for low-cost reproduction.

Of all the elements of the marketing mix, decisions involving advertising are the ones most often affected by cultural differences among country markets. Consumers reflect their culture, its style, feelings, value systems, attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions. Since advertising's function is to "interpret or translate the need/want satisfying qualities of product and services in terms of consumer needs, wants, desires, and aspirations," the emotional appeals, symbols, persuasive approaches and other characteristics of an advertisement must coincide with cultural norms to be effective.

Reconciling international advertising and sales promotion effort with cultural uniqueness of markets is the challenge confronting the international or global marketer. The global advertiser is confronted with legal and tax considerations, language limitations, media limitation and production and cost limitations. These limitations must all be dealt if a company is to have an effective advertisement.

How can a company use a satellite TV and deal effectively with languages, different cultures and different legal systems?

The satellite TV has raised question about locally produced advertisement versus standard advertisement. The ads should be produced according to culture where the segmentation has been done, it enhances acceptability of the product and the consumer can easily understand the message. On the other side producing standardized ads can create many problems in the targeted country or the region, one of the major disadvantages of producing standardized ads can be that it could violate the cultural norms and values. But producing ads differently for different counties can be too costly so produce standardized ads and dubbed these ads in to the local languages.

What is the difference between advertising strategy when a company follows a multi domestic strategy rather than a global market strategy?

A global marketing strategy assumes all consumers in all countries or geographic regions are the same. This strategy is best suited for standardized products such as copy machines and Coca-Cola, where there is little to no need for product differentiation. Coca-Cola, for instance, can be found all over the world, and is easily identified as such. Global marketing has distinct advantages, allowing for centralized management and coordination of critical business functions, such as human resources, finance and product.

A multidomestic marketing strategy assumes consumers in different countries or geographic regions differ drastically from one another. Products are tailored for each market, based on consumer wants and needs. A multidomestic marketing strategy is ideal for highly differentiated products, such as laundry detergent and candy, or any other product dictated by local preferences. Decision-making control is decentralized because management must be able to respond on a local level.