Now that we've outlined the basic parameters within which an international advertising effort exists, it's possible to look at the actual strategy decisions marketers use. It all starts out with an issue previously touched upon in the text: the question of standardization.

Proponents of standardization take the viewpoint that consumers around the globe are growing more alike in their wants and needs. Also, product life cycles, from launch to discontinuance, are increasingly short. For products produced under this lightning time-to-market pace and short life cycle, standardization offers a fast, ideally universally effective marketing channel in multiple countries around the world.

This is often the approach taken with personal electronics, such as Apple Computers. As with all computer companies, Apple must stay on the cutting edge of processor speed, operating system functionality, and many other aspects of the relentless pace of technology. Their modern, usability-oriented design ethic- the "urban chic" that has become the hallmark of the Apple brand- also demands constant revisions of their computers' physical design.


Apple iMac circa 2001

Apple iMac circa 2003

Apple iMac circa 2004

The relentless product life cycle may not allow sufficient time to tailor campaigns for the nuances in taste of each nation in which the product is sold.


Mac ad running in the USA



the same ad for the German market

Ultimately, the text cites high-status products that can be marketed with an image campaign (the example used is Levi Strauss Jeans), high-tech products (such as the aforementioned Apple computers), and products that capitalize on favorable nationalism (BMWs epitomize German engineering... Stolichnaya Vodka comes from Russia, the quintessential vodka nation).

I would add that the airline industry offers potential for standardization. In fact, it practically demands it. Airlines that are trusted to transport business and leisure passengers all over the world must transmit the values of safety, efficiency, economy and (usually)comfort to passengers in numerous countries who all want the same thing. It is one of the more homogenous markets in which to operate.

Also discussed is when specialization of advertising is the smarter strategy. An example provided by the text is L'Oreal skin care products. The company attempted to use a standardized approach to sell its cosmetics to people of wildly varying skin tones throughout the world. Once localized control was adopted, flat sales climbed into profitability.

Specialization might be a better option when selling in countries with different media regulations or delivery systems, where people have different physical characteristics, if the same product is sold under multiple brand names in different countries, or if the target markets are in different stages of development.

When it comes to execution, the text talks about advertising appeals- which "must be consistent with the values and tastes of the target audience. Some cultures are more resistant to foreign-produced advertisements (remember those goofy Mentos commercials?). The people in some nations, like Japan, find much more appeal in indirect messages- the "soft sell." Some cultures feel that approaches which work very well in the USA, like comparison selling, are disparaging to the competition and insulting to the intelligence of the viewer, who can educate her or himself as to what is best. Sex appeal sells well in Western Europe, Canada, and the USA, but fares poorly in Middle Eastern countries.

Some features seem to cross cultures in terms of advertising appeal. the phrases "New" and "Improved" are universal, as are other terms that increase the wow factor of an ad. Everyone wants something better or novel. Basic themes like hunger, motherhood, and affection are universal as well. (made in the USA).

Also considered in the text to be universal are advertisements based on the country of origin of a product. Whether it's an appeal to patriotism, an appeal to the stereotpical superiority of products in a particular category from a particular nation (German cars, Swiss watches, etc) or an appeal to an ideal that is widely heald about a nation (Australian friendliness in Outback Steak House ads, The tropical beaches in Corona Beer commercials).

Ads that demonstrate the product, utliize sports or cultural heroes, and the lifestyle benefits of consuming that product are also universal in cultural appeal.

The converse of universal appeal is culture-bound appeal. How a particular culture views sex, the role of women, religion, and other factors influences what advertising strategy will be effective within that culture. A frequent criticism of large western advertising agencies is that, in blitzing out standardized advertising messages, they actually start to change how individuals behave within their own cultures, effectively homogenizing the world.

Finally, we must discuss the methods of advertising communication used a part of the particular strategy. In countries with high literacy, avertising copy may be more effective than countries where illiteracy is common. In those nations, strong graphic images and visual metaphors could reach a greater number of people.

Regarding copy, it goes without saying that translation is crucial. Literal translation from language to language does not work. Native speakers are necessary to transmit the sentiment and the message, using the verbiage most apropriate for the new language. Also, since language is fluid and malleable, any 'hip slang' must be carefully monitored for obsolescence.

There is a great deal of room for creativity within this framework. The text has charts and tables listing industry awards and their winners. Personally, this is the least savory part of the industry to me, as the entire ad game seems to be a bunch of guys in black turtlenecks patting each other (and themselves) on the back. I think, with all the Clios and Cannes Awards, advertising agencies sometimes forget they are marketing to consumers and not themselves or each other.

Summary- Chapter V

Chapter V summary
Coordinating and controlling international advertising
A company’s strategic decisions on how to implement and oversee its international advertising strategy can be cruicial to the ultimate success or failure of their marketing endeavors. The advantages of having the right product, at the right price, with the correct strategy for marketing can be nullified by the wrong choices in administrating the strategic plan. Therefore, it is important that companies make informed choices about the agencies they select, as well as the infrastructure those agencies will use to market the product.

One of the primary decisions takes us back to chapter 2 in the text: Will the control of a product’s advertising be centralized or decentralized? In other words, will a global approach be taken, using a standardized marketing message in all the countries in which a product is sold, or will the strategy be to decentralize, allowing local managers or agencies leeway to tailor the message to fit the characteristics of individual populations?

The answer may hearken back to the product itself; is it going to be standardized in all the markets in which it is sold, as may be the case with consumer electronics, or will it be tailored to fit the tastes and requirements of different environments, as with McDonald’s menu items?

Also, a centralized marketing strategy may be best suited to selling in markets with similar characteristics as the product’s purveyor’s national market. Sony LCD televisions, for example, are high-end luxury items sold primarily throughout the developed world: Europe, Japan, and the USA. Buyers in these nations share many characteristics. They are more affluent, they have more time for self actualization/recreational pursuits as opposed to survival and security pursuits, and they have a greater choice of what to watch than folks in developing countries. In these respects, markets in Japan, France, and Omaha, Nebraska are quite similar. The text frequently quotes Theodore Leavitt of Harvard Business School’s statement that technology has made culture-based preferences a vestige of the past, and everone basically wants the same stuff, so a centralized approach would be more successful.

A less central approach (either with a cenralized decision-making process but local control over day-to day advertising issues or through a completely local-level decision-making process) might be preferred when marketing to a specific segment of a market’s population, such as targeting a particular ethnic group. The thinking is that an agency with experience selling to that group is more attuned to the things that trigger buying decisions among that population. As such, decentralization can prevent entire subsets of a population from missing the message, or reacting to it in a negative manner. The text cites both Welch foods and Ikea as companies that approach their advertising in a nation-by-nation manner.

A company may select its agency or agencies based on their global reach. It has long been the trend for advertising agencies to conglomerate, buying each other up and growing into international behemoths. This is necessary for these agencies to properly do business in an increasingly globalized environment. These full-service agencies can offer complete marketing services under one roof, worldwide, through their various subsidiary companies. This may, however, stifle creativity and originality of approach, which is something from which a niche product or company could benefit. The size and prominence of certain key brands within the agency’s portfolio may cause other accounts to be deprioritized, especially if they may compete with another brand within a mega-agency’s vast number of subsidiary agencies.

Using a number of smaller agencies indigenous to the countries in which the product will be marketed may lead to a better connection between produc and consumer, as the specialized knowledge of the individual creative teams may give them a superior ability to tailor marketing messages to their unique populations, although this approach can cause innumerable challenges to coordination and brand/image changes.

A third approach is to create an in-house advertising agency, in which creative services and market research are handled by the company actually selling the product. This keeps advertising costs down, but perhaps at the cost of not having the overall experience to maximize sales potential in overseas markets.

Ultimately, the decisions of control and coordination should be made on a product/market level, not as a matter of grand policy. Using the right mix of centralization and localization, and picking the company best-equipped for the marketing job at hand, seems to be the key for successfully advertising on an international scale.