Major Strategies for Global and Local Advertising - Essay Example

? Advertising across Cultures In the modern days, all business organizations are seeking to increase their market size by enteringglobal markets. Marketing managers have realized that domestic markets may not offer the same profitability as compared to advertising globally. Therefore, in order to create more income, organizations must expand and diversify their goods and services to satisfy the diverse needs of global customers (Mooij, 2004, 20). Organizations should recognize the fact that global marketing involves different people with diverse cultures. On the other hand, in order for the organization to attract customers from international markets, it must ensure that it markets its products effectively. Effective marketing implies that the organization has to recognize the fact that it is serving different kinds of customers. Marketing in a diverse economy calls for attention on the different cultures that make up the market (Mooij, 2004, 23). Therefore, an organization should consider the different cultures in the market before advertising its products. The business can fulfill this by using the different marketing concepts at hand. For instance, the business may ensure that it understands the ethnic diversity of the people. In addition, the organization could also ensure that it advertises its products in different languages that can be understood by the different customers that it intends to reach. Other concepts that can be used include studying the culture of each targeted community, and customizing the advertisements in order to be applicable to each group of persons (Tian & Borges, 2011, 111). This serves to ensure that the advertisements will not be offending to some communities. This is because; while some of the strategies used in some communities may be applicable to the community, they may be unethical in some other communities. The business should also consider the religion, social norms and values of the people. In addition, the organization should also consider the living style of the people and their education standards. Therefore, when choosing the different kinds of marketing mix, the organization should consider these marketing concepts. B&Q is an international company that mainly deals with manufacturing and repairing of farm tools. The company also manufactures gardening components, plants, and furniture equipment. Other tools that are offered by the company include home improvement tools and supplies. For B&Q to launch its products in Sweden and South Korea, it has to market its products in order to increase the consumers’ awareness. Effective marketing of the products will require the organization to study the different cultures of the two countries such that, the advertisement will be applicable in both regions. The market situations in the two countries are also very differently such that, marketing of products will require the company to customize its advertisements and marketing campaigns. For instance, while in one country technology may be more advanced and easily used in advertisements, in the other country technology may be very poor and backward such that, it may not even be possible to apply it in marketing campaigns. Therefore, the specific methods chosen for each country should depend on the economic status (Hunt, 2012, 1). For instance, in Sweden, B& Q experiences very stiff competition from some of its key competitors. On the other hand, in South Korea, the competition is very low and weak. Therefore, B&Q should use more intense methods of promotion in Sweden as compared to the methods used in South Korea. While in Sweden, the campaign will mainly target on proving to customers that its products and services are better than those of its competitors, in South Korea the advertisement campaign will have mainly focus on increasing awareness of its products to its competitors. Therefore, this marketing campaign will require expertise and knowledge of attracting customers to purchase the products of the organization. In addition, the campaign will also involve creating awareness to the whole market. The essay will mainly focus on the strategies that should be followed in order to succeed in marketing the product in both countries. When B&Q launches its products in both of these countries, it will require assessing the market keenly and understanding its basic demands. International marketing is very different from domestic marketing. This is because; in globalization, the organization has to consider factors such as what people think about the product, and what they will think about it depending on their cultural values. Therefore, the essay will mainly look at the international marketing strategies that can be applied in order to capture customer’s attention in global markets. Therefore, the basic objective is to launch the products of B&Q Company in Sweden and South Korea. To achieve these objectives, some of the factors that have to be considered are discussed below. Culture Sweden and South Korea have completely different cultures. For instance, in South Korea, it is their culture to sit on the floor instead of sitting on stools. Therefore, the market of carpentry is very low. In addition, the Korean culture also asserts that people should sleep on floors instead of sleeping on beds. For this reason, B&Q has to find strategies of advertising its carpentry work without going contrary to the norms and values of the people (Javalgi & Joseph, 2009, 379). However, the people still use tables and wooden sticks instead of spoons and thus, they will need carpentry services at some point. Therefore, B&Q will have an identified market in its local campaign since; persons obtain the items by purchasing them. On the other hand, in Sweden, persons are more likely to make their own carpentry items instead of purchasing from shops and super markets. Therefore, the Sweden market will have to be approached in a different manner as compared to the Korean market. The type of advertisement campaign used in Sweden will mainly be aimed at promoting the quality of the produced products. B&Q Company will have to prove to the Sweden customers that its products are better than the products that they produce by themselves. This way, the customers will be attracted to purchase its products instead of choosing to make their furniture on their own. On the other hand, in South Korea the campaign will majorly focus on the urban areas where the cultural beliefs and norms of sitting on the floor have loosened. This is because, in the urban areas it be able to secure a market as compared to the interior areas where the people are still subject to a strict culture (Ragulan, 2011, 1). History The political history of Sweden is known to be peaceful since the 19th century. On the other hand, South Korea has been experiencing many political wars due to the frequent attacks from North Korea. Therefore, B&Q Company might have many difficulties when launching its campaigns in South Korea. This is because; the many wars may jeopardize the advertisement campaigns. Therefore, the company may decide to use methods such as the internet, which is not highly vulnerable. In addition, the campaigns launched in South Korea will have to be short-term. This is because if it uses long-term methods; it is highly probable that they will be interrupted by wars. On the other hand, the company can use long-term methods for the campaigns launched in Sweden. This is because; the peaceful political environment in the country will not interrupt the long-term campaigns (Javalgi, & Joseph, 2009, 376). Language Swedes speak Swedish language while Koreans speak Korean language. Therefore, advertisements made in each country will have to be in a language that the people from each country can understand. For instance, in the case of the Koreans, since the number of people who understand English are minimal, the organization will have to run the advertisement campaign in Korean language. Swedes also speak a different language and thus, the language used has to be changed for them to understand (Tian, & Borges, 2011, 120). Ritual and Behaviour Korean people have a behavior of opting for fast foods instead of cooking their own meals. In addition, they are also likely to shop for canned food in super markets instead going for groceries in the market. Therefore, the company may decide to take advantage of this issue by assessing how their behavior is different from that of its other markets (Javalgi, & Joseph, 2009, 377). Current Trends South Korea is very advanced in terms of modern technology and thus; the organization might decide to use technological methods that are advanced in order to attract more customers. In addition, the people in South Korea have started to take D.I.Y (Do It Yourself) more seriously. Therefore, the implication of this is that B&Q Company will have a larger market in South Korea. On the other hand, Sweden has not advanced much in terms of technology. However, since the labor costs are very high, the company might opt to use the internet to advertise its products (Internet Marketing, 2013, 1). This is because; it will not be able to use personal selling due to high the labor costs. Strategies that I Propose Clearly, B&Q will have to consider a number of factors before launching its products in Sweden and South Korea because; the two countries are completely different from the countries where the organization normally advertises its products. In addition, South Korea and Sweden are also completely different from each other and thus, the country will also have to find ways of advertising its products in such a way that it creates a market in both countries. Therefore, the company will have different campaigns for each of the two countries (Hunt, 2012, 1). Campaigns for Sweden In Sweden, the organization performs DIY very often. In addition, there are different specifications offered from which the people can choose from. Therefore, the company will be having a large number of customers in the country. However, B&Q will still have to use intensive advertising methods because; this will be a global marketing. Therefore, to begin with, the organization will have to instill expertise and specialization in the campaign. The methods used to advertise the products to the people will be expertly analyzed in order to ensure that the set objectives are achieved. In addition, the company will have to identify the specific market to target. This is because; different areas of the country have different types of culture and thus, the company will have to choose strategies that fit the culture of the people (Hermeking, 2005, 1). For instance; the organization will use such methods as the internet because; the internet is fast. In addition, the internet will also not affect many people in the country; this is because the internet has no specific culture. The internet can apply to all persons who have access to modern technology. In addition, the internet is very cheap and thus, it will make the global marketing to be less costly. On the issue of political stability, Sweden is politically stable and thus, the advertisement will not be jeopardized in any way. Therefore, a global advertisement campaign utilizing the internet will be very successful since; it will have also considered all the factors such as the wars, cultures, and history (Internet Marketing, 2013, 1). Since use of the internet will have taken care of persons who are well acquitted with English, the company might employ other methods in the campaign such as use of TV advertisements. These advertisements will be made in the local Swedish language. This way, it will be able to attract many local people who are not fluent with English language. The current trends can also be applied in order to increase the quality of outcome of the advertisements and increase the speed of communication. Other strategies that can be applied in the region in order advertise the products according to the culture, is to engage Swedes personal sellers. Since the labour costs in Sweden are low, the company could employ persons who are well acquitted with the Sweden culture. This way, the campaign will be able to consider the culture of the people effectively. In addition, the personal sellers will also be able to ascertain the behavior of the people and thus; they will be able to advertise the products based on the way in which the people change their behaviors. The economy of the country will also affect the way in which B&Q will advertise its products to the country. This is because; if the economy is unstable, then it will imply that the per capita income of the people will be low. Therefore, the people will not have sufficient amounts of money to purchase the products. Therefore, if the economy of the country is poor, it would be profitable if the organization mainly targets the urban consumers. This is because; only the urban people will be in a position to purchase carpentry products from the company. People from the rural areas will be mainly concerned with purchase with basic products such as food and not carpentry products. Campaigns for South Korea In South Korea, the company will be conducting a local campaign. Therefore, it will not be required to use intensive methods of advertisement. However, the company will still be required to consider a number of factors in the country. For instance, the organization will have to consider the culture of the people (Tian & Borges, 2011, 115). Most of the advertisements will be made in urban centers because; the extent of cultures and beliefs in urban centers is slightly weak. Therefore, in the urban areas and cities people will be attracted by advertisements about carpentry products. The political environment will be favorable the advertisement campaign because; such incidences as wars are very limited in the country. However, the company will have to consider the issue of language very keenly. Therefore, this will call for the advertisements to be customized in Korean language. Since advertisements made in Korea will be local, the company will not be forced to use methods that are time consuming, or that target international consumers. Methods used will be methods such billboards which attract the attention of many local consumers. In addition, local customers can also be attracted by adding methods such as promotions into the campaign. Promotions made in Korean language will be able to attract a large number of people to purchase the products manufactured by B&Q Company. The behavior of the people will also have to be considered in the campaign (Guion, Diehl,  & Kent, 2012, 13). For instance; the Korean people like eating spaghetti and buying items from super stores instead of in the shops around them. Therefore, the company could hold parties of eating spaghetti and in the process; it gets to advertise its furniture and gardening supplies. B&Q Company could also employ Korean sales persons who will visit different gardens in South Korea and sell the company’s supplies directly to the people. This way, the sales persons will be able to consider to culture of the people while advertising the products. In conclusion, both global and local advertising require an organization to consider a number of factors before it launches its products to the market. Factors such as culture, religion, and political history, economic and social environment are very crucial when launching a new product in an area. However, even when marketing a product in the local market the culture of the people will also have to be considered. This is because; people value their culture and thus; different advertisements will affect them differently. On the other hand, the political environment will affect the advertisement campaign negatively because; if the political environment is poor, the campaign might be jeopardized. On the other hand, if the political environment is favorable, then the advertisement will be affected negatively. This is because; the political environment affects the overall economic growth of the people in a country. In addition, the religion of the people also affects the way in which the country advertises its products. This is because; people do not like having their religion being by external factors such as advertisements. Therefore, an organization should ensure that its advertisements campaigns are equal to all cultures. All factors including the language should also be considered when launching any product. References Guion, L. A., Diehl, D. C., & Kent, H. 2012, September 27. FCS9223/FY758: Ethnic Marketing: A Strategy for Marketing Programs to Diverse Audiences. Retrieved  2013, from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fy758 Hermeking, M. 2005. Culture and Internet Consumption: Contributions from Cross-Cultural Marketing and Advertising Research. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(1), 192-216. Hunt, J. 2012. Cultural Influences on Marketing Strategies. Chron, 1(1). Internet Marketing 2013, January 28. Marketing Across Cultures | Real Kule Ads Blog [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.realkuleads.com/blog/marketing-across-cultures/ Javalgi, R. J., & Joseph, W. B. 2009. Cross-cultural marketing strategies for delivering knowledge-based services in a borderless world: the case of management education. Journal of Services Marketing, 23(6), 371-384. Mooij, M. K. 2004. Consumer behavior and culture: Consequences for global marketing and advertising. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications. Ragulan 2011, February 11. Cross Cultural Marketing | Today's Marketing. Retrieved May 9, 2013, from http://ragulan.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/cross-cultural-marketing/ Tian, K., & Borges, L. 2011. Cross-Cultural Issues in Marketing Communications: An Anthropological Perspective of International Business. International Journal of China Marketing, 2(1), 110-126. Read More