Constraints on Global Communications Strategies - Essay Example

Global Communications Introduction Global Communications is a significant in today’s marketplace, even as internet usage increases on a worldwide scale. As new websites are created the chances for corporations to reach new markets are increased. Factors such as new technologies and interactive digital television also assist industries in the marketing of their products in regions beyond boarders. Multinational establishments have been promoting their products as well as services on foreign soil for many years now. Known as international advertising, this type of marketing has continued to evolve as the marketers come to the realisation of how to communicate efficiently through modern-day advertising methods across a range of multifaceted and progressively competitive international marketplaces. This variety of marketing involves instituting a website, and then choosing interactive types of advertising; with the strategic intent being to cater to the domestic markets clients (Fill, 2005). In defining the functions of global marketing, the inferences for worldwide interactive advertising are usually centred on an ethnocentric market. This approach could be viewed as standardised. In the hybrid strategic method of international marketing, also referred to as "glocalisation”, the strategic aim is to utilise a centralised and planned "footprint" to create an international brand identity, while permitting flexibility that is country-specific in the communication and tactical mix decisions. When deciding what the strategic propositions are as far as international interactive advertising is concerned, the aspects of global marketing no longer make use of an ethnocentric perspective. Global marketing recognises and exercises strategic intent as a way to organise the blend of centralised brand or business directives with the more localised variations in management decision making, and interactive advertising placement. Therefore, global communications definitely suggest that the existence of international online clients is a strategically anticipated result of a hybrid strategic technique (Yeshin and Gilligan, 2000). Constraints on Global Communications Strategies Even though the corporations that search for standardised situations or markets may look for globally integrated campaigns, there are a number of limitations: Language constraints:  In most cases, advertisements have to be interpreted. This has to be according to local version of the generic language. In some circumstances, advertisements created in foreign languages are run intentionally in order to add an air of mystery to a commodity or good. Cultural Hindrances: Subtle cultural disparities may stop an advertisement from being viewed as acceptable in one nation, or be accepted in a different one. In conservative nations, for instance, advertisements that depict romantic situations between two people may not be viewed as appropriate. Symbolism is usually different in different cultures, and funniness is one of the things that is rarely shared between cultures. For instance, advertisements that extol naked ambition may not be accepted well in nations in which modesty is viewed as an important characteristic. Local viewpoints about advertisements:  The citizens in some nations are more open to the messages of advertisements than are others. The turned off by advertisements tend to go for products that are not commercialised. The availability of elements of the Mass Media: In some nations, particularly in the developing nation, the broadcasting facilities may not be well developed. This means that the citizens of such nations have no way of viewing the commercials that are availed on Cable TV, and other independent television stations. It may also mean that print media sources are more popular among the citizens of some nations than television and radio. Also, the media in different nations have various laws that govern the display of advertisements. Advertising Laws:  Nations usually have subjective rules on how advertisements will be posted. Comparative techniques of advertising are prohibited in most nations. In European nations, the advertisements of products that are viewed as being counterproductive are usually expected to be accompanied by disclaimers. Other nations have stipulations that emphasise that any advertisements that are run by the local broadcasting stations should be created locally. Ever since the inception of the mass media, international corporations have utilised this means of communication to inform people in various geographical locations about their goods. Psychological aspects like sensations, thought, and intuition are taken into account when creating various advertisements. Making consumers feel like desiring to do or by something calls for advertisers to proffer an entirely enthralling experience to their customers. Music as well as sound systems can have enormous influence on prospective consumers. Global marketers have long anticipated measurement and realisation standards that make the most of this potential. Musics function in an advertisement is directly associated with the experiences it stimulates. When a renowned song is used to accompany an advertisement, it will be in possession of a number of potent associations. When these associations are activated, people who are watching the advertisement are more likely to experience interrelated thoughts and associate them with the item being promoted by the advertisement. Music is a controlling language, and it interrelates with other verbal as well as nonverbal advertising cues. The degree and success of its utilisation in advertising is reliant on numerous factors, such as the type of involvement of the audience, familiarity and the advertising messages. When all these factors are well fitted, and connect with each other, the message of the advertisement gets across to the viewers. The key factor as regards psychological manipulation has to do with negative or positive association. If a person connects a feeling of positivity with a definite stimulus, the stimulus in question can be used with a different component to boost the probability of the secondary component also getting a positive reception from the same individual. This is a team of acquaintances will experience positive feelings if they partake of tea and cakes at a convention, than would be the case if no food was offered at the meeting. This is because the affiliate members regard tea and cakes with fondness, and this feeling is then extended to the rest of their co workers. This also explains why some people will want to watch every movie that has their favourite actor or actress in it. Advertisers make use of the theory of positivity by using popular tunes, songs, and other musical aspects in their commercials to make people subconsciously attach a positive feeling to the message of their advertisements. The positive feeling then prompts the consumer to make the decision to purchase the product. In the past, movie specialists have asserted that the best special effects in films are usually imperceptible. This means that the best visual effects are those that add to an experience without supplying an obvious differentiation from the presentation being screened of. This notion is especially applicable to how advertisements use music. Whether it is done through the correct application of a contemporary song or by the use of some new music, usually, the advertisement’s focus is not on the song. The music merely complements the advertisement. A fast-paced song can be utilised to portray a show a sense of urgency or excitement. On the other hand, mellow tunes can be used to emphasise on the absence of the product being promoted, making the listener sense that there will be serious consequences if the service or item is not purchased and used. To ensure that the tune or slogan can be easily recalled, the advertisers have to ensure that it is somewhat funny or catchy (Smith and Taylor, 2004). This means that people will experience a pleasant sensation whenever they try to recall the advertisement. Music has always had the power to influence and affect people. It has a definite manner of affecting its listeners, and, similar to other artful mediums, it has the ability to entertain and enliven. If advertisers can make their commercials appear to be entertaining and not a choice that was made by the board of an advertising corporation, the audience will be more receptive to the advertisement. The numerous methods through which advertisers use music will continue to expand and innovate, while listeners worldwide benefit from them. In the past, music has been used to determine the role of psychology and music therapy on consumer behaviour. Egan (2007) stated that marginal influences like the background tunes that are used in advertisements may be associated by spectators with the product being promoted subconsciously, and affect the product choice by means of classical conditioning (Ouwersloot, 2008). As many advertisements are watched in situations that involve customers who are viewing their favourite programs, and are not interested in the advertisements, the spectators might include uninvolved customers and not consciously involved clients. In such circumstances, emotionally arousing elements like bright colours and music may have a considerable though subtle influence on the consumers purchasing decisions and choices. Sometimes, this influence comes through connections that were formed as a result of the advertisements. At other times, this influence is the result of indirect aspects such as the background music that was playing when the advertisement was being screened. People’s moods are some of the most powerful ways of catching their attention. This is because emotional states have the capacity to influence information processing. Music, though, does not always deliver the desired results on its own. It is expressed in advertisements along with other verbal, visual, and other nonverbal incentives. How these factors are perceived is reliant on the multifaceted interaction of external factors such as cultural and social issues and internal factors such as biological issues (Pickton and Broderick, 2005). These are the aspects that determine how people get their musical tastes. In the marketing framework, imagery greatly affects the customers knowledge. Imagery not only affects how consumers define product imagery, but also how a brand comes across to the customer. Imagery is a procedure in which sensory information is preserved in working memory. Due to the fact that memory imagery includes concrete as well as sensory representations of sensations, ideas, and memories, it can facilitate a visual restructuring of an incident in the customer’s mind, which was previously experienced and then preserved in memory. Music not only improves the capacity to remember stored information, but can actually trigger behaviours, feeling, and moods. Theorists who specialize in consumer behaviour have conceptualized how customers behaviours, affective states, and attitudes have in the past been influenced by moods. In a recent paper by (De Pelsmacker, 2005), mood was described as a transitory or temporary state of the emotions that is not intense or associated with a particular behaviour. Moods can be constructive or unconstructive. Peacefulness and joy are examples of positive behaviours, while depression and anxiety are examples of negative behaviours. According to (Copley, 2004), emotional states are wide-ranging, pervasive, and often take place. Their occurrence may not actually even affect the on-going behaviour. In fact, the true outcome of emotional states on the ordinary person’s behaviour may not even be evident the moment it is triggered. Moods are not identical to emotions, which are sometimes more intense and evident the moment they are triggered. A number of researches have provided proof that a person’s mood usually has an effect on prospective behaviours and attitudes. Given that a person’s mood is important and of increasing interest in the study of the triggers that compel consumers to purchase goods, its sensitivity to the impact of music in advertisements is worth studying. Past studies have shown that mood states actually influence the functions of remembrance and evaluation. While this broad conclusion may not be seen as pertaining to all cases, (Blythe, 2006) observes that mood states seem to bias consumers’ choices and evaluations in ways that are identical to mood. The connection between consumers’ responses and their moods, personal choices, and behaviours can be perceived as being indirect as well as direct. A direct emotional response to an advertisement may be perceived as being a conditioned reaction when there are direct connections in memory between mood reactions and consumers’ behaviour (Baldwin, 2004). Indirect links between emotional responses, behaviour, and feeling states include the effect of cognitive activity. Mood may influence consumer evaluations by prompting mood-congruent reflections and control the performance of the conduct by adding to the ease of access of positive associations to the consumer behaviour (Ace, 2001). How Advertisers use Shock Value and Humour The use of shocking advertisements to prompt reactions among consumers has been referred to as “shockvertising”. The ‘shockvertising’ appeal is in the use of shocking images or pictures to promote the use of a product. The name comes from the blending of the terms ‘advertising’ and shocking. Confrontational images and the use of contentious subjects to grab the attention of consumers are factors that are usually used in shock advertising. Depicting nauseating images that show the ill-effects of smoking on the bodies of healthy people is actually a type of shockvertising. The aim of using shock as a factor in commercials is to reach the decision making facet in the consumer and influence them, in some cases, even before they have the chance to decide about what they would want. Since shockvertising is dependent on reaching people through the depiction of controversial pictures, it is often viewed as being offensive by many consumers. Moreover, this does not affect the consumer’s ability to be influenced by the advertisements. The initial shock that is experienced by consumers when they inadvertently come across a shocking picture invariably stamps the brand name of the advertisement into the consumer’s memory. All people are aware of the fact that a person’s attention is usually fixed on a shocking picture in spite of their disgust, when they first come upon it. It takes many people some time to be able to drag their eyes away from the offending subject. In this way, it can be said that shock advertising ‘captures and detains’ the attention of consumers without their consent. It is a recognised fact that such ‘shock’ tactics usually are successful ion gaining the attention of consumers. It also results in the products of the shock advertiser being bought in greater quantities than others who do not make use of such tactics. This type of advertising is controversial because it usually uses negativity. The reality is that negative issues get more attention than positive ones. Advertisements that make use of obscenity, or bloody pictures that depict maimed people will get more attention than those that show peaceful settings or happy people. Many marketers have discovered this fact. Humour advertising, on the other hand, utilises humour as an instrument for achieving product promotion. Cartoons or satire are common elements that are used to reach audiences. This works in numerous ways. Many people respond quite positively to cartoons. These were the features that they enjoyed in their childhood years. Some people have emotional connections to funny cartoons which take them back to a time when their lives were less complicated, and more enjoyable. Many marketers are quite aware of this fact, and so use cartoons to reach the emotional area of their consumers and appeal to it directly. Satire has also been proven to be quite effective by consumers. The funny way in which an item is advertised will compel people to recall the joke that was linked to the product, and by default, start viewing the product as being of some importance. At present, comedy is even used to generate publicity in all elements of the mass media. Indeed, advertisers have even been forced to come up with funnier material than their rivals because the mass media gives slots that have at most a minute to get their message across. This means that the joke has to be delivered as quick as possible, and in a tasteful manner. Advertisers are also compelled to use humour as a way of penetrating the clutter and noise in order to gain the attention of the audience. The emotions that are triggered through humour can also result in audiences linking positive feelings to the brand, while also enhancing the audience’s comprehension levels. References Ace, C. (2001) Successful marketing communications, Heinemann, Oxford. Baldwin, E. (2004) Introducing cultural studies, Prentice Hall, London. Blythe, J. (2006) The essentials of marketing communications, Prentice Hall, London. Copley, P. (2004) Marketing communications management: concepts & theories, cases & practices, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, London.  De Pelsmacker, P. (2005) Foundations of marketing communications. a European perspective, Prentice Hall, Harlow. Egan, J. (2007) Marketing communications, Thomson Learning, London. Fill, C. (2005) Marketing communications – engagements, strategies & practices, Prentice Hall, Harlow. Ouwersloot, H. (2008) Integrated marketing communications-European edition, McGraw Hill, London. Pickton, D. & Broderick, A. (2005) Integrated marketing communications, Prentice Hall, London. Smith, P. &Taylor, J. (2004) Marketing communications – an integrated approach, Kogan Page, London. Yeshin,T. & Gilligan, C. (2000) Integrated marketing communications, Butterworth-Heinemann, London. Read More