Global Marketing and Advertising - Assignment Example

Global Marketing and Advertising Introduction Marketing is a fundamental marketing function often mandated with the determination of markets for a product or service. According to the definition, marketers have two basic objectives, which include the sustaining the current market and expanding the market to new regions (Keegan & Green, 2011). Finding new markets for products and services is always a difficult process that requires marketers to employ appropriate marketing strategies capable of penetrating the new markets. According to the case study, the marketers of whisky in global market continue to adopt local media in advertising their alcohol. Such is an effective strategy that ensures that they develop advertising contents that resonate with the uniqueness of the respective markets. Key among the factors that influence the decisions to localize advertising is the fact that emerging markets are become the most lucrative markets for some of the leading global brands. They must therefore find appropriate ways of penetrating the unique markets. Hollensen, (2004) asserts that localizing advertisement is vital since it limits the costs of marketing to the prevailing marketing costs in any given market. Introducing a new product in a new market requires the company to employ appropriate brand development strategies. Developing a brand requires effective introduction of the product a feature that validates the localized advertising. Any company such as those marketing whiskies like Johnnie Walker cannot employ the same marketing strategies it uses in the United States in such a new country as China. The United States is an established market. Johnnie Walker is a stable brand and a market leader in the country. In China, Johnnie Walker is a new brand with the company barely introducing its products. The company therefore uses localized advertising in China with the view to introducing and developing a brand in the country as it has in the United States. In emerging markets, the company uses basic target market strategies such as the marketing mix. The marketing mix is a vital introductory and product developmental strategy that presents specific features of a product (Kotler & Armstrong, 1991). Key among such features is the product itself, price of the product, place and promotion. The attractiveness of the emerging markets often enhances the development of a scramble for the market. This requires strategic yet aggressive marketing that validates the use of the marketing mix since it presents the price of a product as a major competitive advantage. In presenting the product itself, Johnnie walker for example uses the quality among other pertinent features it has developed in other markets such as the United States. The fame of the product is vital in infusing the price in the mix. When a brand like Johnnie walker introduces itself as a cheaper product in such a new market as China, it seeks to rely on the spread of its reputation to beat the local competition. Beating a local competition in an emerging market requires dedicated advertising using the local media and localized messages. Advertising messages often communicate the cultures of the organization. Effective marketers study the cultural values of a society thereby developing advertising messages that resonate with the local culture. Such is yet another valid reason for the localization of the advertising messages. Localized media content helps place the message in the advert to the society thus enhancing the growth of the market in the new markets. Global companies use global localization when advertising in new markets. Such is a concept of marketing that refers to the use of global ideas in developing local media content thus creating new brands in such new markets. A brand refers to the quality that a company promises about its products (Kotler, 2000). It therefore refers to the experiences and images that a company creates about its products. Johnnie Walker for example is a genuine high quality whisky. Johnnie Walker is among the leading brands in the whisky market. The company prides in the production of various brands of whisky each of which enjoys a substantial profitability thus enhancing the growth of the company’s market. The company is currently targeting China among other markets in the East. Chia is an emerging market and the company has employed localized advertising strategies such as using the local media and developing tailored adverts specifically for the region. Diegeo, the company that manufactures Johnnie Walker for example had to conform to the marketing features in China. The company made documentaries and bought local airtime to run the documentaries in which the company strives to inspire people to “keep walking”. A company must conform to the local trends in marketing and advertising in a new country. Making documentaries was the case in China. Additionally, it provided the company with a conducive opportunity to explain the relevance of its products thus changing the cultural values of the Chinese people since it sought to introduce whisky. Consumption habits are some of the basic features of the consumers that validate the use of localized advertising strategies in introducing a product into a new market. Consumption habits are cultural features that influence the use of a particular product. The culture of a society influences their consumption of a particular product a feature that in turn influences the potential of a market for the product. Consumption of scotch for example varies from country to country. Just as stated earlier, the relevance and use of a product varies based on the cultural and social values of a society. Different people therefore drink whisky differently and for different reasons. A company such as Johnnie Walker must therefore position their product strategically in each market with the view to capitalizing on the cultural and social features of the society both of which affects the consumption patterns of the products. Mooij, (1998) asserts that among the basic factors that influence the consumption of a product is the purchasing power. People must always have money in order to purchase products. Wealthy economies have wealthy people who can purchase any product. As such, a company must therefore develop an appropriate product that responds to a need in the targeted community. Purchasing power is among the factors that make emerging markets lucrative to most marketers. China for example is a rapidly expanding with the economy churning out millionaires on a daily basis. However, the consumption of whisky was not part of their culture as it was in such societies as Russia and the United States among other regions globally. The uniqueness of the culture makes marketing a new product difficult since the markers must strive to change the culture of the target society thus making them create a need for the product. However, such features as globalization of the world on the other hand enhance the trading of cultural values. This makes such regions as China appreciate whisky among other unique products (Sandhusen, 1994). Club culture is a vital cultural feature in the western world that enhances the consumption of alcoholic drinks such as Johnnie Walker. In the western society, people go to clubs just to dance and drink alcohol as a way of passing time. Such constitute essential aspects of recreational activities in such countries. This varies with the club culture in China among other countries in the east. Drinking alcohol in such regions is always a way of expressing happiness and enjoying the company of friends. Unlike in the west where an individual can walk into a bar to drink by himself, Chinese people are likely to drink more alcohol when in the company of friends. Making such unique observations make one a perfect marketer who can develop appropriate advert messages for each society. Johnnie walker for example made documentaries in which it enhances the communal nature of the society since its market and profitability relied on the nature of the market and the drinking culture of the Chinese people. Another equally important feature of the Chinese people especially in the consumption of spirits such as whisky is the fact that they mix their alcohol with such basic products as ice cream and green tea. Effective marketers must study the market thereby developing products that enable the people to mix their alcohol with other products that make them happy. Conforming to the dictates of a market makes a brand a market leader. This way it becomes possible to introduce some of the special changes that influence the consumption of the products (Berkowitz & Berkowitz, 1992). Additionally, Chinese use alcohol as a way of flaunting their wealth. This explains the fact that Johnnie Walker introduced some of its leading prestigious and most expensive brands of whisky in the country in order to attract the market. Some spirit products operate locally while others extend to the global market. The operation of a company is an intricate choice that always remains limited to the prevailing market features. Most of the local companies do not have the capital to extend their operation to the global market. The world is a large market that requires companies to have adequate capital capable of beating the global competition from some of the leading brands in every market. Additionally, some companies and products target specific markets. Pastis for example is a unique brand of spirit in France. The alcohol is common among the older generation in the country. This portrays the company’s target market, which remains limited to a specific segment of the alcohol consumers in the country. Johnnie Walker on the other hand positioned itself a manufacturer of high quality spirits. The quality of its products was therefore capable of developing a global reputation for the company. Currently, the company enjoys a significant percentage of the global market owing to the brand it developed for itself. The quality of a brand influences the market of a product. Some marketers seek to infiltrate a local market. They therefore limit their resources to the creation of a competitive local brand while others extend boundaries to operate in various countries. This arises from the quality of the brand. Brand development is a comprehensive process that requires effective planning and utilization of resources. A company like Johnnie walker sought to present itself as a company that manufactures high quality spirits. As such, the company presents its products as such. From such basic features as packaging and labelling among other common aesthetics, the company ensures that it incorporates the quality its customers expect from its products. In retrospect, marketing is a fundamental function in an organization that influences the profitability of both a brand and the company. Marketers carry out extensive market researches and analyses with the view to developing competitive brands. Developing a brad requires the marketers to understand the target market and the position of the product in such market. Entering a new market requires the marketers to use effective strategies to introduce and develop a brand in the foreign markets. This often compels the marketers to localize the marketing strategies of the company in order to win a substantial segment of the market. References Berkowitz, E. N., & Berkowitz, E. N. (1992). Marketing. Homewood, IL: Irwin. Hollensen, S. (2004). Global marketing: A decision-oriented approach. Harlow, England: Financial Times. Keegan, W. J., & Green, M. C. (2011). Global marketing. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall. Keegan, W. J., & Keegan, W. J. (1989). Global marketing management. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice Hall. Kotler, P. (2000). Marketing management. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall. Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (1991). Principles of marketing. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice Hall. Mooij, M. K. (1998). Global marketing and advertising: Understanding cultural paradoxes. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications. Sandhusen, R. (1994). Global marketing. Hauppauge, N.Y: Barron's. Read More