The Simpsons - A Multicultural Product - Case Study Example

The Simpsons: A Multicultural Product? Table of Contents Short Essay 3 Problems of the Case 5 Discussion 7 SWOT Analysis 7 Strategic Resources (VRIN)9 Solutions 10 References 11 Bibliography 12 Short Essay The case is about long-running television animation ‘The Simpsons: a multicultural product?’ The production has been a success and the product has been seen as a global product. The product (The Simpsons) has depicted the American culture, the way they live. The show has portrayed the culture of small town life and national politics. There were clashes between the Fox owners and the liberal animators but they kept their business and profit motives over their personal emotions. The context (English) that has been used in the show had lots of problems when it entered into other market. The Simpsons had become a brand and the merchandises of Simpsons were promoted. Merchandises like T-Shirts of Simpsons, mugs were sold and it gained as a brand that entered in the international market and these merchandises were exported in more than 60 countries. This was a standardized product but while it was operating in other market like the UK, the standardized items had to be modified in terms of cut off languages that was used in the program. BBC had to do this as the context used in the show was interpreted in different manner in the UK. The brand being globally accepted the problem of contracts in non-English countries or sectors of the country were highlighted. The focus was to have adaptability with regards to the country rather than the standardization of the product. This was the problem particularly in the French market. The German market was in the process of standardizing the German product. The animation of the Simpsons was in the US version but the context was in German. The subtitle technique was used for this purpose in Germany. But the brand became popular for its renowned mistakes and errors in translating and dubbing. The US has dominated the global media market even in the tough situation of barriers prevailing to enter into certain markets. The brand has been able to identify the target market in the Middle East region. The US media production houses had seen huge market potential and launched many programs. But the problem were US based and had the US culture contents. Cautious cultural analysis was required and alterations were made in the context as well as the characters’ names were changed. The names of the products were also changed. To make it acceptable and successful the cultural context played a vital role. Problems of the Case The media industry has been growing rapidly and the US media industry had extended in the global market early even when the entry barriers were present in the global market. The French market is a suitable example of this industry. The major problem that the media industry of the US based companies faced was regarding which programs were to be standardized, adapted as per the market demand, and where the programs were to be launched and other factors were also to be considered. These included the cultural context, religious impact, standardization and adaptability. To launch a branded program in other market like the UK, Germany, France, Middle East and many other country a lot of analysis are to be made not only in terms of marketing but also in the context of religious and cultural believes that are present in that particular market. The context of the program also became a problem. The show of the Simpsons was unpopular for its errors and mistakes in translating and dubbing. The UK media market had faced this problem a lot. BBC had to cut off certain contents from the show and alteration was done as the integration was made in different manner. The religious and the cultural variables related issues are more important for the media industry for gaining acceptance and success in the global market. The cultural diversity is acknowledged both externally as well as internally, both by customary institutions of social society and by consciousness of the group itself, as dissimilar to the overall in certain expressions (Teresa, “Globalization of the Media Industry & Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity”). This is evident when the Simpsons entered in the Middle East market. The production house faced the problem of culture and religious factors in developing the content of the show. The character names were changed along with certain items. For example, beer was changed to soda, hotdogs was changed to traditional Arab snack ‘Kahk’. Religion and culture is important in the media industry for entering into the new market. The cultural and religious analysis is as important as market analysis for the product and industry. Especially for the media industry to achieve success in global market it needs to adapt and standardize the product to gain acceptance and success. Religious problems and cultural issues influence on the media industry played a part to a greater extent. Discussion The media and entertainment sector of the US market is one of the largest sectors in the US economy and is well-established. With the involvement of consumers’ demands and wants that are affected due to the religious and cultural values, it has made this industry gain success in the global market. SWOT Analysis With the help of SWOT analysis the problem of the case can be understood properly. Strength The Simpsons has been a successfully run program in the US market and it was able to build itself as a renowned brand. This increased the business and its merchandises were sold in global market. The advantage of this production house was that, it was able to enter in the global market when there were restrictions and it was successful in extending its brand. Weakness Initially, ‘The Simpsons’ did not focus on the contextual issues and that there were numerous errors and mistakes in translating and dubbing in different markets. Due to this the program was edited again. The media faced this problem as context got changed related to its meaning in different regions. The standardization gets lost and it needs to adapt to the changes. Opportunities The opportunities are more in the global market as now the media industry are analyzing the cultural and religious issues before entering new market. This approach has provided the industry to customize the product as per the consumers’ values, religion and culture that affects the demand for the product. Threats The biggest threat is the threat from the political influence that also affects the cultural and religious values and these factors are important as they form the basis of demand for products that are customized as per the demands. The major problems in this industry include the cultural and religious barriers that alter the standardized program and the production management needs to amend this scenario (Perner, “The Global Market Place”). Strategic Resources (VRIN) Value The resource of the company must be able to develop value strategy. It is possible in two ways i.e. either by outperforming its opponents or by reducing its own weakness. The weakness in this case can be removed or minimized that will generate value. Rarity To maintain the value the resource must be rare. There is a huge competition in the media industry globally especially for the US based companies. There are other programs launched in various markets like the Simpsons which face the similar problems. The resource needs to be rare. In-imitable For the competitive advantage in the global market the firm needs to control its resources cautiously. The strategy that is build by the firm for different markets should be sustainable and it has to be checked that the competitors are unable to duplicate this strategy perfectly. In this case it is socially complex and there are possibilities of the resources or strategies to be duplicated. Non-substitutable In the case of resource being rare, potentially value is generated and imperfectly replicated there is another aspect that might be a problem for the firm that is lack of substitutability. If the competitors succeed in encountering firm’s value-creation approach with a substitute, this might result in decrease in the profitability of the firm. Solutions The increase in growth is evident but there has been lot of errors and oversights. To generate more business and to be successful, the errors must be removed or minimized. The extent of the market is huge but focus should be given in the market that is being entered. The cultural aspect is important in every region as they have high influencing power in changing the demand and wants of a consumer. The focus should be in analyzing the cultural factors that are highly influential to the media industry. The product that is already standardized and to make it adaptable in certain market it becomes a difficult task. As per the market the standardized format should be developed. For UK separate standard is to be made, and for other regions like Middle East a separate is to be prepared. In this industry, the audience is the consumer and depending upon the analysis of them the product contents should be developed as per the demographics of the audiences. Ben Bagdikian a renowned author in his book ‘Media Monopoly’ has emphasized upon the demographic audiences that leads to the success (Shah, “Media & Advertising”). References Perner, Lars. “The Global Market Place”. November 13, 2010. USC, No Date. Shah, Anup. “Media & Advertising”. November 13, 2010. Global Issues, 2008. Teresa, Maria. “Globalization of the Media Industry & Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity”. November 13, 2010. European Parliament, 2001. Bibliography Fox Broadcasting Company. “The Simpsons”. November 13, 2010. Home, No Date. Read More