ADVERTISING IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY Syllabus 1.

Advertising in the Indian economy(10 lectures) Role of advertising in the Indian economy Liberalization and the resultant changes in buying patterns. Impact of global competition in the field of advertising. Present day economic issues & Policies & their effects on advertising Advertising and culture(10 lectures) Role of advertising in bringing about changes in culture, customs and traditions. The interdependent nature of advertising and popular culture (i.e., fashion, music, films, slang). Effects of globalization on the Indian advertising The impact of advertising on commercialization of culture Making messages culture-specific Cross cultural psychological segmentation Need and benefits of for assimilation of universal ideas with local flavour. Cross-cultural Advertising Advertising and the audience(6 lectures) Market power Marketers control on the media Impact of advertising on attitudes, behaviour, societal norms, perception, needs, lifestyles Controversial advertising discuss with the help of current examples Social implications of advertising Gender, diversity issues, Generational issues-children, youth, elders Growing influence of advertising and its criticism Global advertising (16 lectures) The scope and challenges of International advertising Current global trends Multinational competition and its impact Product packaging for international markets Promotion for international markets Internet marketing (6 lectures) WWW as an advertising tool Social marketing (2 lectures) What is social marketing? Need for and objectives of social marketing Tools and components of social marketing

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THE NEW ECONOMIC POLICIES The new economic policies were on two levels; 1 Liberalisation measures which was again under two sections, New Industrial Policy and New Trade Policy. 2. Macroeconomic reforms and structural adjustments I LIBERALISATION MEASURES 1.. New Industrial Policy (.NIP) Under the New Industrial Policy there was; a. Liberalisation of industrial licensing which resulted in -delicensing -decontrol -deregulation -broad banding -abolition of registration b. FERA liberalisation. The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act liberalised foreign

investments and technology import c. MRTP liberalisation The Monopolies Restrictive Trade Practices was removed and threshold asset limit was abolished and clearance for expansions, mergers were not needed d. curtailment of public sector. Several industries hitherto reserved for public sector opened up to the private sector. Only eight core industries remain reserved for the public sector 2. New Trade Policy (NTP) Under this policy there were seven reforms as follows;; a. lowering of import tariffs b...import licences were abolished c. the exim regime was more open d. the rupee was made convertible e. exports were encouraged f. Indias economy was to be integrated with global economy

MACROECONOMIC REFORMS AND STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENTS 1 Macroeconomic reforms under which there were three types of reforms: a. fiscal and monetary reforms which included -reduction of fiscal deficits -reform of tax systems -interest rate reforms -inflation control b. banking sector reforms included the following -banks to operate as commercial institutions -priority sector lending to be phased out -deposit interest rates deregulation -operational freedom in lending rates -norms on capital adequacy to be kept up -disinvestment in public sector banks -permission for new private sector banks c. capital market reforms were; -abolition of CCI (controller of capital issues) -strengthening of SEBI (securities and exchange board of India; -opening of Indian capital markets of FII (foreign institutional investors) -allowing foreign brokers in Indian capital markets -private sectors allowed into mutual funds -allowing Indian firms to raise capital abroad 2. Structural adjustments were a. market driven price and dismantling of price controls -phasing out of subsidies -dismantling price controls -abolishing fertiliser, sugar, export and petro-product subsidy -partial decontrol & parallel marketing of kerosene and LPG - steel price decontrol b public sector restructuring and disinvestment -no new public sector units or expansion with government equity -budgetary support for PSU to be phased out -disinvestment of government equity in PSUs c. exit policy -support to VRS -creation of NRF Effect of policy changes/liberalisation on the Economy -The protection enjoyed by existing company disappears. New companies could enter any given industry and get a market share. The existing companies had to compete for their share.

-The concept of minimum economic size was shaken. Many existing companies became uneconomic. Companies earlier had to conform to the licence given and the size had to be as per the licence. Licence for larger capacity was normally not given. Now going big became the order of the day. Economic size now meant international size. Companies that could not become big either sold to the bigger firms or mer ged with others HLL tookover Tomco and many other mergers, acquisitions took place. -The industry structure also changed with the entry of multinationals. With their high investment capacity and technology clout, the multinationals are altering the structure in almost all the industries they are entering. Eg in the refrigerator industry there were only four players. Today we have Whirlpool, Samsung, Daewoo LG Siemens-Bosch and many more. The new entrants altered the structure of the industry, market size, market shares, differentiation, brand positions and the nature of competition -The entry of multinationals also resulted in brand war in which the multinationals are squeezing out the desi brands. It me ans a grossly unequal battle for Indian brands The MNCs brought in superior technologies and more modern products. They brought in their global brands to the Indian market along with their full marketing and management might. The opening up of exports also became available through the parent companys expertise and connections. The power structure in Jointstock Ventures are in favour of the multinational due to their majority stake. The Indian company has to surrender and also forego their managerial autonomy. The MNC brands have affected the Indian brands in several ways Loss of volumes and market share Squeeze on profit margin Need to allocate more funds beyond the capacity of the Indian firm Losing the race finally to the foreign brand It is overall an unequal battle between players of unequal strength as Indian firms are weak in four areas, Lack of technology clout Capital inadequacy Lack of economy of scale Lack of product clout and brand po

The role of advertising Establishing a brand image in emerging markets is an important strategy. Intense competition and increasing sophistication has led to a need for more sophistication in advertising strategies. Advertisers have to function at the highest creative level. Of course boundaries are placed on creativity by legal, language, culture, media, product and cost limitations. Sales promotion efforts are used to supplement advertising and personal selling.; This is to stimulate consumer purchases and improve retailer effectiveness and co-operation Local ad agencies have expanded as the demand for advertising services by MNCs have grown Liberalisation policies of the Indian government have resulted in changes in life styles, changes in needs and wants of consumers. The bargaining power of consumers, of suppliers, threat of new entrants with substitute products and jockeying among players in the market can be witnessed today. Breaking up of market segments , products and brand launches, niche marketing and positioning are some of the strategies widely used by Indian advertisers. The rural market has opened up new vistas for advertisers selling consumer products. Tetra packs, sachets, synthetic bottles have had a revolutionary impact on packaging aspects , leisure and luxury products have thrown open new markets. ( health, beauty parlours, credit cards etc.) Brands are vying with one another to obtain a favourable perception of consumers. Advertisers are trying to create brand personalities entity which consumers can emotionally associate themselves. Advertisers are depicting products with new psychological perspectives, wrist watches, designer wear, two wheelers, chocolates and now the Nano, are being given a symbolic orientation by advertisers. The social benefits of the increased advertising are; The increase in employment which in turn generated income and results in the per capita income. More product innovation take place. Society is better informed and has a wider and wiser choice. The awareness level increases. Social activists instil a civic sense and competition ensures better quality products. This leads to higher standard of living. Advertising supports 60% of media costs It can be concluded the effects of advertising upon society, come in mixed forms, depending on the purpose and execution of various campaigns. However, society as we know it is based very heavily upon advertising, and the negative social and economic impact are not serious enough to outweigh the many positive social and economic effects on our society. No one can predict what new forms advertising will take in the future. However the rapidly increasing cost of acquiring new customers makes one thing certain. Advertisers will seek to hold onto the current customers by forming closer relationships with them and by tailoring products, services and advertising messages to meet their individual needs. So while advertising will continue to encourage people to consume, it will also help provide them with products and services which are more likely to satisfy their needs. The field of advertising contributes different benefits to different fields of activities and to different segments of the market, To consumers ads provide basic communication to inform them about products. Ads motivate consumers by various appeals. The welfare role of ads is also important Ads generate an increase of sales, help build brands, enhance the institutional image and help the growth of the economy The social responsibility of advertising has increased. It sustains the media. The role of advertising can broadly said to be

-distribution role -employer role -life style enhancing role -consumer choice provider role -consumer welfare role -price reducer role through increase in demand and providing economies of scale

The role of advertising in the Indian Economy More of the people from the richest to the poor will participate in the worlds wealth through global trading. The emerging global economy will bring us into world wide competition with significant advantages for both marketers and consumers. With satellite communications and global companies consumers are demanding an ever expanding variety of goods. Indian economy had been constrained and shaped by policies of import substitution and an aversion to free trader. Real competition was eliminated through import ban and prohibitive tariffs an foreign competition. Industry was so completely regarded that those with proper license would count on a specific share of the market. Now however times have changed and India has embarked on a transformation Indian economy grew dramatically and is among the Big Emerging Markets. It has a large middle class about more than 300 million (the size of USA). Among them are college graduates, 40% with degree in science and engineering. India has a diverse industrial base and is developing as a center for computer software. These advantages give Indias reform programmes enormous potential. India has a weak infrastructure but the Indian government plans to address these deficiencies. The private sector has been allowed entry into power generation, oil and gas exploration, telecommunication and civil aviation. An estimate 100 to 300 million Indian posses sufficient disposable income to form an expanding consumer class As India is developing, incomes change, expectations for a better life adjust to higher standards and social capital investments are made, market behaviour changes and eventually groups of consumers with common tastes and needs arise With the rise of incomes, new demand is generated at all income levels for everything from soap to automobiles. The poorest slums in Kolkata are home to 1,00,000 TVS and video facilities More household money goes for food in emerging markets than in developed markets then the next category of expenditure is for appliances and other durables.

Changes in Lifestyle and Buying Habits There are significant changes in lifestyles and buying habits of Indian consumers. Convenience foods and ready-to-eat foods are now popular. Modern gadgets have gained entry into most homes. Teenagers are also becoming influencers of change in their familys buying pattern s. The average Indian is now spending money more liberally than before. The middle class constitutes the largest segment of consumers for manufactured goods in the country. A virtual explosion has been taking place in the Indian middle class. It is now placed at around 300 million people. It is now emerging as the consumption community of the country. They are better educated and exposed to global lifestyles, and their aspirations are constantly growing and their spending is steadily on the increase. This change is not confined to the metros and other big cities. There is now product penetration even in smaller towns. Even in rural areas penetration is reasonably good; The top end of the middle class is now aspiring for a second car, a second TV and a second refrigerator. Consumer credit is gaining ground. On the whole the Indian consumer is in the grip of big change. The well -off segments are becoming more cosmopolitan inj work-culture, food habits, entertainment and lifestyle in general. A fusion of the east and west seems to be taking place. The internationalisation of the upper middle class society is on. The Indian middle class has long been a security seeking class. This class has been moving towards more material comforts, The change in the dress habits is a new trend. There is a shift from the tailor-stitched garments to ready-mades and that too branded ones. Travel is now becoming very popular. People are now travelling to see places and for relaxation and not just to see relatives. The middle class has become status conscious or prestige conscious. The changing fashion of college going children are on the rise. The middle class woman is no longer confined to the four walls of the kitchen. She is now educated and also employed, she is the image builder. The new found purchasing power has fuelled the demand for cosmetics, toiletries, packaged foods and beverages. Consumers are now quality conscious as well as cost conscious The middle class also seeks leisure. Time saving devices are popular. Sense of grooming is a strong motive force behind several purchases The younger generation is fast becoming more international in style. They are more modern and adventurous than their elders and are quick in adapting to fashions. The new middle class is -confident, full of energy and drive and is making things happen - the centre of the socio-economic upheaval now taking place -the fastest growing segment in the Indian society -street smart, pragmatic, non-ideological, and result oriented -demonstrating that there is a way up from the bottom to the top -is seizing key slots in the global information and media industries -open to a lot of opportunities

Present day Economic Issues & Policies & their effects on Advertising

The present day economic policies changed from a regime of quantitative restriction to a more open price based market force determined system. The three pillars of the economic policy are; -liberalisation -privatisation -globalisation The entry of multinationals have come with new technology and market practices that lay more emphasize on advertising as an important tool As entrants increase, products and competition also increase and thus demand for advertising increased After the entry of cable television India has seen a blast of channels. The numbers of newspapers and magazines have also increased. Now there are new wayus of reaching the consumer. Due to the media explosion, there is accfess to foreign channels. Through these viewers are exposed to a materialistic western culture new products are and features are noticed in these programmes and that creates awareness and n eed to by the product. Dressing habits have changed, new trends are set in everyday life. All these small cultural changes are also the result of advertising. Advertising creates brands, association and draws aspirers into the western culture of material culture of material possessions Privatisation has also affected the world of advertising. Government organisations survive only because they are government owned. There is no profit motive and urge to sell. With privatisation there is a radical shift in the management system. It is moving towards modern managerial techniques and advertising. The volume of advertising and its creating capabilities have increased. With the opening up of the economy and integrating the economy with the world economy there was a vast impact on advertising industry. Restrictions on foreign entry, scrapping of FERA, massive import restrictions and reducing tariffs etc brought the world closer Advertisers had to think global and act local. Indian agencies came of age. Ads for global causes are also now a days being made in India. Through the global ventures, the advertising agencies collect social and cultural inputs and even story boards sometimes are made in India. Internet has become a great marketing tool. Advertising experience is on the increase with the increase in ad expenditure. At present, the Indian economy is experiencing the pressure of several economic issues such as unemployment, poverty, illiteracy, inflation. CULTURE Culture is pervasive in all marketing activities-pricing, promotion, distribution packaging and styling. Culture is the human made part of human environment. When designing a product, the style, uses and other related marketing activities must be made culturally acceptable... The manner in which people consume, the priority of needs and wants, are function of their culture. For example; there was a drop in Japanese birth rate in the year of the fire horse because if girl child was born in that year she would be very unhappy and would even murder their husband. In Chinese culture, being born in the year of the dragon is considered good. British love their chocolates; the Spaniards love fish but they do not even come close to the Japanese in their love for fish. Pasta was actually invented in China but was brought to Italy by Marco Polo The best international marketers not only appreciate the cultural difference pertinent in their business, they also understand the origins of these differences. Origin, Elements and Consequences of Culture Geography [Climate, topography, flora, fauna, microbiology] History Technology and Political economy

Social institutions [[family, religion, school, media, government] Elements of culture Peers imitation

rituals, values, beliefs, symbols

Consumption decisions

Management style

Social institutions, including family religion etc affect the ways in which people relate to each other. The position of men and women in society, the family, the social classs group behaviour and how societies define decency and civility are interpreted differently within every culture. Where social organisations result in close knit families it is usually more effective to aim a promotional campaign at the family than individual members. Travel ads in the English speaking areas of Canada are aimed at the women while in the French speaking areas both the man and the wife are shown.

The roles and status positions found within a society are influenced by the dictates of social institutions. Family forms and functions vary substantially around the world. In Cairo, India and many other countries extended family lives in one apartment. In Japan grandparents look after the grandchildren and the working male often catches up on his sleep during the four rides by train to work. An American family in California both working like dogs worrying about parents half way across the country in Texas. All these differences lead directly in how children think and behave. The influence of religion is quite often strong. So when marketers have little or no understanding of a religion, it is easy to deeply offend. The French fashion house had taken design, which looked very nice, from a book on Taj Mahal. He was unaware of the meaning. The fashion house had to destroy the dresses. Education affects all aspects of culture from economic development to consumer behaviour. Literacy has a profound effect on marketing. Media is now having too much influence. Even Americans are complaining about the detrimental effects of media. Cultures of nations can be studied along four dimensions. The four dimensions are; 1. Individualism/Collectivism Index [IDV] 2. Power Distance Index [PDI] 3. Uncertainty Index [UAI] 4. Masculinity/Femininity Index [MSI] 5 High Context & Low Context. Cultures that scores high on IDV reflect the I mentality whereas those with low individualism reflect the we mentality. PDI measures the tolerance of social inequality that is inequality between superiors and subordinates. Cultures with high PDI tend to be hierarchical. A low score reflects a more egalitarian society. Cultures with high UAI are intolerant of ambiguity and distrustful of new ideas. They have a high level of anxiety and stress. They do not like to take risks. Japan and France are high on UAI scale and USA is low. Rituals differ across cultures. You have reception before the wedding; In Madrid dessert may precede the entre, dinner often starts at midnight and lasts about three hours. Language. The importance of understanding the language cannot be overestimated. Advertising copywriters should be concerned less with obvious difference between languages and more with idiomatic meanings expressed. In is not enough to translate into a foreign language. Tambo means a roadside inn in Bolivia, Colombia, Equador and Peru. In Argentina and Uruguay it means a dairy farm and a brothel in Chilli. Symbols Arts, folklore, music, dance, drama help define national identities and relationships within a context of culture and product benefits. Without a culturally correct interpretation of a countys symbolic values a whole host of marketing problems can arise. Japanese revere the crane as being very lucky as it is said to live a thousand years while number 4 represents death. Beliefs. It is a mistake to discount the importance of myths, superstitions or any cultural beliefs. Superstition plays a large r ole in a societys belief system in some parts of the world. In Asia we have beliefs about ghost, fortune telling, phases of the moon bad days of the month etc. Japanese beliefs about the year of the fire horse and other myths are an integral part of society as the Chinese Feng Shui and Indian Vastu Shastra. It is a mistake to discount the importance of such beliefs. There are two kinds of knowledge about culture, factual and interpretive. For example 98% of Mexicans are Catholics; but one understands what it means to be a Catholic in Mexico. Each culture practices Catholicism in slightly different ways in different. In India too various festivals are celebrated in different manner in different areas of the country. A product acceptable to one culture may not be accepted in another or that a promotional message that succeeds in one country will succeed in another. The British say lift instead of an elevator as the Americans do. Americans use the word bathroom for toilet while refer to a place with where one has a tub bath. Similarly economically unified Europe does not mean a common set of consumer wants and needs. So also the unification of Germany does not mean the cultural differences between the two have been erased. Marketers must asses each country thoroughly before planning its venture in international arena. Differences in culture is often identified using the Hofstede dimension The Hofstede Dimensions Cultural variability is the term used to identify differences between cultures using the Hofstedes dimension. Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance Masculinity-Femininity Collectivism-Individuality Long-Term Orientation (LTO) versus short-term orientation: Power Distance Index (PDI) that is the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. This represents inequality (more versus less), but defined from below, not from above. It suggests that a society's level of inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders. Power and inequality, of course, are extremely fundamental facts of any society and anybody with some international experience will be aware that 'all societies are unequal, but some are more unequal than others' Power Distance refers to the manner in which interpersonal relationships are formed when differences in power are perceived. In some cultures a vertical relationship is typical whereas in others relationships are based on equality and informality. In USA individuals address each other on a first name basis regardless of rank. Top managers illustrate their solidarity with the lower ranks by engaging in work activities going to the plant floor or eating with the lower staff. In other countries it is a mistake to address a superior informally or for a superior to mingle with the underlings. It is important in such cultures to address senior management first before addressing other individuals

Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) deals with a society's tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity; it ultimately refers to man's search for Truth. It indicates to what extent a culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations. Unstructured situations are novel, unknown, surprising, and different from usual. Uncertainty avoiding cultures try to minimize the possibility of such situations by strict laws and rules, safety and security measures, and on the philosophical and religious level by a belief in absolute Truth; 'there can only be one Truth and we have it'. People in uncertainty avoiding countries are also more emotional, and motivated by inner nervous energy. The opposite type, uncertainty accepting cultures, are more tolerant of opinions different from what they are used to; they try to have as few rules as possible, and on the philosophical and religious level they are relativist and allow many currents to flow side by side. People within these cultures are more phlegmatic and contemplative, and not expected by their environment to express emotions. Uncertainty Avoidance refers to the extent to which individuals feel threatened by uncertainty, risk and ambiguous situations and thus adopt beliefs, behavior and institutions that help them to avoid the uncertainty. The feeling is that what is different is dangerous. Consumers are resistant to change and focused on risk avoidance. However it is interesting to see the changes taking place in the transition Economies Masculinity (MAS) versus its opposite, femininity refers to the distribution of roles between the genders which is another fundamental issue for any society to which a range of solutions are found. The IBM studies revealed that (a) women's values differ less among societies than men's values; (b) men's values from one country to another contain a dimension from very assertive and competitive and maximally different from women's values on the one side, to modest and caring and similar to women's values on the other. The assertive pole has been called 'masculine' and the modest, caring pole 'feminine'. The women in feminine countries have the same modest, caring values as the men; in the masculine countries they are somewhat assertive and competitive, but not as much as the men, so that these countries show a gap between men's values and women's values. Masculinity is the degree to which a national culture is characterized by assertiveness, rather than nurturing. Femininity is the degree to which a national culture is characterized by nurturing, rather than by assertiveness. Masculine societies emphasize values such as wealth, material success ambition and achievement; whereas in feminine societies, benevolence, equality, caring for the weak and preserving the environment are emphasized. In masculine societies such as Australia, Canada, UK, USA successful marketing strategies focus on consumers achievement motivation. They stress personal accomplished and have ego appeal. In feminine societies, such as Asian cultures, marketing strategies should steer away from a materialist, acquisitive focus and instead appeal to consumers sense of good will Individualism (IDV) on the one side versus its opposite, collectivism, that is the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. On the individualist side we find societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after him/herself and his/her immediate family. On the collectivist side, we find societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended families (with uncles, aunts and grandparents) which continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. The word 'collectivism' in this sense has no political meaning: it refers to the group, not to the state. Again, the issue addressed by this dimension is an extremely fundamental one, regarding all societies in the world. Individualism versus collectivism refers to the degree to which people in a country prefer to act as individuals In their self-interest rather than as members of a group, which is a characteristic of collectivist societies. Individualistic cultures are ones that tend not to follow social norms but rather make decisions and initiate behaviors independently (UK< USA<Australia) Such cultures stress the individual s ability to achieve personal goals, make their way on their own and in the process seek self-fulfillment and excitement. Collectivist societies (Latin America, Asia and Middle East) stress subordination to the collectivity (group, business family) and require acting in the interest of the group rather than in ones self interest. As countries become more industrialized cultures move from collectivist to individualisms Long-Term Orientation (LTO) versus short-term orientation: this fifth dimension was found in a study among students in 23 countries around the world, using a questionnaire designed by Chinese scholars it can be said to deal with Virtue regardless of Truth. Values associated with Long Term Orientation are thrift and perseverance; values associated with Short Term Orientation are respect for tradition, fulfilling social obligations, and protecting one's 'face'. Both the positively and the negatively rated values of this dimension are found in the teachings of Confucius, the most influential Chinese philosopher who lived around 500 B.C.; however, the dimension also applies to countries without a Confucian heritage.

Differences in Cultures Increasingly, managers must deal with multiple ethnic groups with very different cultures. Thanks to globalization, you are likely to work with Japanese, French, Chinese, German and all sorts of other nationalities. It is important to recognize that people from different cultures are different in a variety of ways, including

different ways of looking at things different ways of dressing different ways of expressing personality/goodness In an ideal world ...

the policemen would be English the car mechanics would be German the cooks would be French the innkeepers would be Swiss,

and the lovers would be Italian

In a living hell ...

the policemen would be German the car mechanics would be French the cooks would be English the innkeepers would be Italian and the lovers would be Swiss

These differences can cause problems interpreting what the other person is doing. Some simple examples:

In the US, a firm, short handshake indicates self-confidence and (heterosexual) masculinity. A limp handshake by a man can be interpreted (usually wrongly) as a sign of homosexuality or wimpiness. But in most parts of Africa, a limp handshake is the correct way to do it. Furthermore, it is common in Africa for the handshake to last several minutes, while in the US a handshake that is even a few seconds too long is interpreted as familiarity, warmth and possibly sexual attraction. In Britain, men do not look at women on the streets. The French do. Recently, a French public figure mentioned in a speech that the Brits are all gay -- the evidence was their lack of overt interest in women.

Some dimensions along which cultures vary: High Context vs. Low Context

Context The amount of information given in communication is called context. Context includes both the vocal and non-vocal aspects of communication. In verbal communication, information is transmitted through a code that makes meanings both explicit and specific. In nonverbal communications, the nonverbal aspects become the major channel for transmitting meaning. The verbal factors include the rate at which one talks, the pitch or tone of ones voice, the intensity or loudness of the voice, the flexibility or adaptability of the voice to the situation, the variation of the rate, pitch and intensity, the quality of the voice, the fluency, expressional patterns, or nuances of delivery . Nonverbal aspects include eye contact, pupil contraction and dilation, facial expression, odour, skin colour (blushing) , hand gestures, body movement, proximity and use of space. The greater the contextual portion of communication in any given culture, the more difficult it is for one to convey or receive a message. In high context cultures, information about an individual is provided through mostly nonverbal means. It is also conveyed through status, friends and associates. Information flows freely within the culture although outsiders who are not members of the culture may have difficulty reading the information. In high context cultures, the external environment, situation and nonverbal behaviour are crucial in creating and interpreting communications. Members of this culture are programmed from birth to depend heavily upon covert clues given within the context of a message which is delivered verbally. Subtlety is valued and much meaning is conveyed by inference. Communication is faster, more economical and more efficient. But if common programming does not exist between the sender and the receiver, communication is incomplete. A low context culture is one in which things are fully (though concisely) spelled out. Things are made explicit, and there is considerable dependence on what is actually said or written. A high context culture is one in which the communicators assume a great deal of commonality of knowledge and views, so that less is spelled out explicitly and much more is implicit or communicated in indirect ways. In a low context culture, more responsibility is placed on the listener to keep up their knowledge base and remain plugged into informal networks. North Europe, a low context culture, tends to emphasize the technical, the numerical, the tested, and the quality. Americans tend to be low context and focus on substantive issues, on what if being said. Just the facts are important; the environment, situation and nonverbal are relatively less important and more explicit information has to be given. A direct style of communications is valued and ambiguity is not well regarded. Cultural patterns tend to change faster in Low context cultures. German culture is low context. Therefore more specific terms and concepts are very important Germans are people of their word; a handshake is as good as a written contract. However they are concerned with the precision of; the written word. Germans tend to be detailed oriented German society is quite paternalistic. Germans do not appreciate emotional gestures; hands should never be used to emphasize points High context cultures are Japan, Mexico, Russia, China, Korea, Vietnam, and Greece. Italy, Spain and to a lesser extent France, the Middle East, Latin America and South America

Low context cultures include Anglos, Germans and Scandinavians. High context cultures include, Arabs and French also

In high context countries one has to have sufficient knowledge of the culture to communicate understandably and acceptably Implications

Interactions between high and low context peoples can be problematic. o Japanese can find Westerners to be offensively blunt. Westerners can find Japanese to be secretive, devious and bafflingly unforthcoming with information o French can feel that Germans insult their intelligence by explaining the obvious, while Germans can feel that French managers provide no direction Low context cultures are vulnerable to communication breakdowns when they assume more shared understanding than there really is. This is especially true in an age of diversity. Low context cultures are not known for their ability to tolerate or understand diversity, and tend to be more insular.

Monochromic vs. Polychromic Monochromic cultures like to do just one thing at a time. They value a certain orderliness and sense of there being an appropriate time and place for everything. They do not value interruptions. Polychromic cultures like to do multiple things at the same time. A manager's office in a polychronic culture typically has an open door, a ringing phone and a meeting all going on at the same time. Polychromic cultures include the French and the Americans. The Germans tend to be monochronic. Implications

Interactions between types can be problematic. German businessman cannot understand why the person he is meeting is so interruptible by phone calls and people stopping by. Is it meant to insult him? When do they get down to business? Similarly, the American employee of a German company is disturbed by all the closed doors -- it seems cold and unfriendly.

Future vs. Present vs. Past Orientation Past-oriented societies are concerned with traditional values and ways of doing things. They tend to be conservative in management and slow to change those things that are tied to the past. Past-oriented societies include China, Britain, Japan and most Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. Present-oriented societies include the rest of the Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. They see the past as passed and the future as uncertain. They prefer short-term benefits. Future-oriented societies have a great deal of optimism about the future. They think they understand it and can shape it through their actions. They view management as a matter of planning, doing and controlling (as opposed to going with the flow, letting things happen). The United States and, increasingly, Brazil, are examples of future-oriented societies. Quantity of Time In some cultures, time is seen as being a limited resource which is constantly being used up. It's like having a bathtub full of water which can never be replaced, and which is running down the drain. You have to use it as it runs down the drain or it's wasted. In other cultures, time is more plentiful, if not infinite. In old agricultural societies, time was often seen as circular, renewing itself each year. Implications

In societies where time is limited, punctuality becomes a virtue. It is insulting to waste someone's time, and the ability to do that and get away with it is an indication of superiority/status. Time is money. In cultures where time is plentiful, like India or Latin American, there is no problem with making people wait all day, and then tell them to come back the next day. Time-plentiful cultures tend to rely on trust to do business. Time-limited cultures don't have time to develop trust and so create other mechanisms to replace trust (such as strong rule-by-law).

Power Distance The extent to which people accept differences in power and allow this to shape many aspects of life. Is the boss always right because he is the boss, or only when he gets it right?

Implications

In high power distance countries (most agrarian countries), bypassing a superior is insubordination. In low power distance countries (US, northern Europeans, Israel), bypassing is not usually a big deal. In the US, superiors and subordinates often interact socially as equals. An outsider watching a party of professors and graduate students typically cannot tell them apart.

Individualism vs. Collectivism In individualist cultures, individual uniqueness, self-determination is valued. A person is all the more admirable if they are a "self-made man" or "makes up their own mind" or show initiative or work well independently. Collectivist cultures expect people to identify with and work well in groups which protect them in exchange for loyalty and compliance. Paradoxically, individualist cultures tend to believe that there are universal values that should be shared by all, while collectivist cultures tend to accept that different groups have different values. Many of the Asian cultures are collectivist, while Anglo cultures tend to be individualist. Implications

A market research firm conducted a survey of tourist agencies around the world. The questionnaires came back from most countries in less than a month. But the agencies in the Asian countries took months to do it. After many telexes, it was finally done. The reason was that, for example, American tourist agencies assigned the work to one person, while the Filipinos delegated the work to the entire department, which took longer. The researchers also noticed that the telexes from the Philippines always came from a different person.

Problems Caused by Cultural Differences

You greet your Austrian client. This is the sixth time you have met over the last 4 months. He calls you Herr Smith. You think of him as a standoffish sort of guy who doesn't want to get really friendly. That might be true in America, where calling someone Mr. Smith after the 6th meeting would probably mean something -- it is marked usage of language -- like "we're not hitting it off". But in Austria, it is normal. A Canadian conducting business in Kuwait is surprised when his meeting with a high-ranking official is not held in a closed office and is constantly interrupted. He starts wondering if the official is as important as he had been led to believe, and he starts to doubt how seriously his business is being taken A British boss asked a new, young American employee if he would like to have an early lunch at 11 am each day. The employee said 'Yeah, that would be great!' The boss immediately said "With that kind of attitude, you may as well forget about lunch!" The employee and the boss were both baffled by what went wrong. [In England, saying "yeah" in that context is seen as rude and disrespectful.] A Japanese businessman wants to tell his Norwegian client that he is uninterested in a particular sale. So he says "That will be very difficult." The Norwegian eagerly asks how he can help. The Japanese is mystified. To him, saying that something is difficult is a polite way of saying "No way in hell!". Dave Barry tells the story of being on a trip to Japan and working with a Japanese airline clerk on taking a flight from one city to another. On being asked about it, the clerk said "Perhaps you would prefer to take the train." So he said "NO, I want to fly." So she said "There are many other ways to go." He said "yes, but I think it would be best to fly." She said "It would very difficult". Eventually, it came out that there were no flights between those cities.

Three basic kinds of problems: interpreting others comments and actions, predicting behaviour, and conflicting behaviour. Some Perceptions of Americans Europe & especially England. "Americans are stupid and unsubtle. And they are fat and bad dressers." Finland. "Americans always want to say your name: 'That's a nice tie, Mikko. Hi Mikko, how are you Mikko' Indian. "Americans are always in a hurry. Just watch the way they walk down the street." Kenyan. "Americans are distant. They are not really close to other people -- even other Americans."

Turkey. "Once we were out in a rural area in the middle of nowhere and saw an American come to a stop sign. Though he could see in both directions for miles, and there was no traffic, he still stopped!" Colombia. "In the United States, they think that life is only work." Indonesia. "In the United States everything has to be talked about and analyzed. Even the littlest thing has to be 'Why, why why?'." Ethiopia. "The American is very explicit. He wants a 'yes' or 'no'. If someone tries to speak figuratively, the American is confused." Iran. "The first time my American professor told me 'I don't know, I will have to look it up', I was shocked. I asked myself 'Why is he teaching me?'" INDIA

1. India has a high POWER DISTANCE (77), much higher than the world average (56.5). In India social hierarchies are very much in place and even at work it is not easy to be friendly with ones boss in most organisations. Calling ones boss by his first name is rare in Ind ia. In fact abuse by seniors is also common and usually the employee is helpless and his only recourse is to leave. As for Indian politics, one can see the grovelling that goes on! China has a slightly higher PD (80) as compared to India and both India and China are higher than the Far Eastern Asian nations which have an average of 60. Japan is only 50. Countries In Northern Europe have a lower PD as compared to countries in Southern and Eastern Europe. The United States has less than 40 and the United Kingdom around 30. 2. India is at 61 in LONG TERM ORIENTATION, higher than the world average of 48 but lower than the Asian average of 85. Asian cultures generally have higher scores on long-term thinkingwhich means that they are more perseverant and parsimonious. Its interesting to note tha t even when Indians travel abroad they work very hard and sacrifice a lot for long-term benefit, which is the education of their children. Staying put in one job is also an indication of long term orientation and this is used to be very common in India once. It is changing now. Perhaps because staying in one job is not that beneficial in the long run! Leads to stagnation as opportunities to grow become limited. China is at 95 and Japan at almost 80. Western nations are on the opposite ends of the scale. The United States and Sweden score below 30. Britain and Canada score even lower, around 20! 3. Indias MASCULINITY score is 56, slightly higher than the world average of 51 and the Asian average of 53. I am not at all surprised that we score high on masculinity as compared to countries like Sweden. But at the same time in India we are not as masculine as Japan, b ut the materialism and aggression in our society seems to be increasing. Our scores are bound to change soon, as India tries hard to reach the developed state level. Just one example at one time in India businessmen were not respected, but today they are revered. A poor teacher would get as much respect as a rich person, but not anymore. However India has always been male oriented so I am not sure why high masculinity scores (materialism and aggression) in a society are associated with male dominance and a greater difference in between the sexes (in terms of these qualities). I am sure that this was always so in our society. Japan is the most masculine culture with scores of above 90. Such cultures are usually male oriented and workplaces are often autocratic. China at 50 has average scores. Sweden is the most feminine culture in the sense that the Swedish population has qualities the qualities of sensitiveness and empathy and they give less importance to material things than countries with masculine traits. This also means that there is less difference between the sexes with regard to these qualities. Both men and women are like this. Canada is just below 50, United States just below 60 and Britain just above 60. 4. India gets just 40 in the UNCERTAINITY AVOIDANCE (UA) dimension as compared to the world average of 65. A low score is good, as it means that the society that has fewer rules and does not attempt to control all outcomes and results. It also means a greater level o f tolerance for a variety of

ideas, thoughts, and beliefs and a high tolerance for ambiguity. Well, it is not surprising that we are like this, the multi-cultural cauldron that we are! However we do have rigid rules where religion and dress (for women) are concerned so I am not sure that we deserve such a high score. We are also an extremely prudish society and therefore I wonder how we scored so well on this dimension. Maybe they didnt ask questions regarding sexuality! The Asian average is 60, but Japan is almost at 90! This indicates a less tolerant society. China does well at 35. The US is 46, Canada around 45 and Britain at 30. The European average is 74, and it is the Mediterranean cultures which bring it up. Germany (around 60) and Switzerland (58] dont do too well but its the Swedes who are the best, at 25. 5. India doesnt do too badly on the INDIVIDUALISM dimension (45) if one compares it to the Asian average of 24. Well, we Indians are pretty much bound by community ties, but at the same time I see that individuals in that community get a fair amount of leeway to be individualistic. I dont know whether it is our democratic tradition, or the freedom within the Hindu religion, but overall individuality is not seen as threatening. From what I read religion does influence individualism. Some religions have a greater set of rules that need to be followed. Japan is also just about average (40), but China ranks poorly here (20). A low score means that the society has committed members as in a collectivist culture. Loyalty in a collectivist culture is considered the most important thing and generally people in this society are bound together strongly. The higher the Individualism score, the poorer the bonds that people in the society have with each other. The European average is about 52, but Germany scores 62 and Sweden 68and Britain 85! Britain is at the same level as the United States (almost 90) and Canada (80). Such high scores indicate a highly individualistic culture with loose bonds with others. The populace is self -reliant and independent and guards their privacy zealously Cultural Influences on advertising The way cultures react to communications and messages differ. Advertisers that understand these differences succeed. Korea and China are word-of-mouth advertising country. A customers testimony is more effective than television or newspaper advertising. The testimony of a friend, family member or opinion leader is valued. The concept of family is important to the Chinese and is thus played up in ads. The contents of ads with in a society mirror that of the society. Ads in countries high in collectivism contain more group-oriented situations than ads found in individualistic societies. Cultures high on the power dimension have more ads with characters of unequal status than low-context countries Asian cultures get more information from contextual items than Europeans TV ads that work well in low-context cultures often seem cold and arrogant to those from high-context cultures. Similarly ads made for high-context cultures confuse low-context cultures Verbal ads preferred by high context cultures tend to be too language dependent, boring and poor at eliciting imagery when viewed by those from low-context cultures. Indian visuals contain a disproportionately high percentage of children; France uses the aesthetic visual proportionally higher. Korea includes the price 38% of the time. USA has five to ten times more comparative ads. Role of advertising in bringing about changes in culture, customs and traditions Impact of advertising on attitudes, behaviour, societal norms, perceptions, needs life styles.

A characteristic of human culture is that change occurs. Reading a 20 year old magazine can see that peoples habits, tastes, styles, behaviou r and values are not constant but continuously changing. However, this gradual cultural growth does not occur without some resistance. New ideas, methods and products are held to be suspect before they are accepted even if they are right. The degree of resistance to the new pattern varied. In some cases new ideas are accepted completely and rapidly and in others, resistance is so strong that the acceptance if never forthcoming. Concern is often expressed over the impact of advertising on society, particularly on values and lifestyles. While a number of factors influence the cultural values, lifestyles and behaviour of a society, the overwhelming amount of advertising and its prevalence in the mass media lead many critics to argue that advertising plays a major role in influencing and transmitting social values. Rapid industrialisation has change many long honoured attitudes regarding time and the position of women. Today instant food other time saving devices all support a changing attitude. Although a variety of innovations have been accepted there are many that face resistance. India has been engaged in intensive population control programmes for many years but the progress has been limited. Most attribute this to the low level of education and beliefs. The high birth rate is due to early marriage. Religions emphasis of bearing a son, the depen dence on children for security in old age. All these are important cultural values are in variance with the concept of birth control. The introductions of the I pill and the 72 hour pill to stop pregnancy are gaining popularity.

The institutions of family, religion and education have grown noticeably weaker over each generation. Many feel traditional authority is lessening and advertising has become a kind of social guide. It provides ideas about style, morality and behaviour. Ads establish what is cool in society; ads show whites, blacks and kids from different social strata, dancing together. Ads show gays. Ads on pizzas McDonalds fast foods, jeans etc have definitely has influenced our food habits, dress and our life but this has taken place only at the superficial level and mostly in the metros and bigger town and cities. Recent years have seen a lot of changes in our cultural base. This has been the result of the opening up of the channels of communications and exposures of other cultures. The educated class has grown and some transformation was achieved without any change in the entrenched social cultural structure. The life styles of many have changed. Expensive cars, gadgets, designer clothes and five star living was adopted due to the ad bombardment. The economic liberalization has altered the lives of the middle class too. They have become more international in their outlook and aspiration, more sophisticated and liberal in the lifestyle and attitude and certainly more adventurous and demanding of holiday and leisure activity Now almost every consumer durable can be had on instalment and loans. The credit card industry has mushroomed to more than a Rs 2000 crore business. Consumer giant companies spend more than Rs 600 crores in advertising. The explosion of satellite TV brought home the consumer message with more than 100 channels. The impact if such exposure in terms of a desired life style cannot be overestimated The core cultural values in India has still the cultural values of ethics and the social sensitivity of the olden days in spite of the vast changes that have taken place in the behavioural patterns of the Indian people. The pressure of modernity is not strong enough to force a qualitative change in our cultural values.

Advertising and Popular Culture Popular culture refers to beliefs and practices and the objects through which they are organised that are widely shared amongst a population. Popular culture is what we make out of the products and practices of mass produced culture. It is the expressive content that is produced and consumed. It is light entertainment that is delivered through the channels of mass media and finally absorbed voluntarily, to be interpreted by the individual who receives it. Information then goes back in the form of ratings or sales figure that will influence the subsequent round of offerings. To Popular culture is everything from common culture to folk culture to mass culture. Popular culture consists of symbols; Instances of popular culture are television serials, films, comic books, music etc. Popular culture gives pleasurable sensations upon reception. This pleasure giving feature is a central aspect of the popular culture experience. Advertising on the other hand refers to the paid for messages that attempts to transfer symbols into commodities to increase the possibilities of its purchase. For this reason advertising may be looked at warily. Although advertising comes in many forms, television, radio and magazines are normally focused more. Some see advertising as a subset of first order intentions. It is developed with both first order and second order intentions. The first order is when communication occurs. The second orders intentions are of purchasing the advertised goods. Advertising aims at changing behaviour while popular culture aims to give pleasure and not to change viewers Advertising is almost always briefer than instances of popular culture (30 sec of a commercial against 30 minutes of popular culture) Media and space is expensive and advertisers have to work within budgets However advertising and popular culture share much in common. Both are products of culture industries. Both are to be understood as artistic products. Both pay great attention to style. Both share the use of same mass media method. Popular culture is more welcome than advertising and popular culture has come to occupy central positions with a global economic growth. Both are approached as economic entities as well as symbolic entities. Popular culture offers lavish store to advertisers who try to create attractive messages for consumers. Advertisers will appropriate popular culture material as celebrities, music, comedy styles and anything else that can be used as accepted and enhanced symbol for their products. To communicate with consumers, advertisers thus have a fertile an ample mixture of symbolic material to draw upon. The lore of popular culture that advertisers find usable is comedies, music and celebrities. Music has the ability to stimulate extraordinary emotional feelings. Adult consumers derive emotional benefit from popular music. It is this appeal that advertisers try to exploit to stimulate consumers interest in their products. An advertisers choice of leading entertainers as spokespeople, as opposed to Lesser known individuals, carries with it valuable contextual inferences when The transfer of meanings from the endorser to the product and from the Performance to the ad works well, it becomes a success. The utility of music is acknowledged within the advertising industry. Background music can set up a mood with targeted consumers and lend an emotional dimension to a brand. Although much of the music in advertising is original an increasing proportion of it consists of reused popular cultural hits. Advertising is not depleting or obliterating popular culture. The interpenetration of advertising and popular culture is recognised. Highlights from one adds lustre to the other. The target audience are always on the lookout for symbols and meanings which reverberate back and forth between the two domains. Popular culture can even aid in the creation of new norms. To communicate with consumers, advertisers have an ample stock of purchasable symbolic material to draw upon. Advertisers turn to popular culture that if pleasurable, emotional and non-coercive. Popular culture is the seed belt of the stars who can command general recognition from a diverse population. The stars are likely to deliver the emotional material the spectator is looking for; The popular song Dhoom Machale became a part of the day to day lingo of youngsters. Advertisers use Dhoom Macha Diya below their visual have Reported increase in sales. Although cultures meet most newness with some resistance or Rejection that can be overcome. Cultures are dynamic and change occurs when Resistance slowly yields to acceptance gradually there comes an awareness of the need for change, ideas once too complex become less so because of the cultural gains in understanding. Once the need is recognized, the acceptance cannot be prevented. Possible methods and insights are offered by social scientists that are concerned with concepts of planned social change. The Impact of Global Competition in the field of Advertising

The integration of western Europe and the opening up of the eastern European market and the crumbling of political, economic and customs barriers made it easier for companies to operate in a truly global manner. Consumers in the rapidly emerging markets of Asia and elsewhere are showing a voracious appetite for branded goods. This has led to the increased attention to the need to create global brands that can take advantage of such growing economies. N America, Europe and Japan realised the need to look for other markets for their growth. The growth of global media & satellite and cable-based TV channels across the world has also led to increase in global/international advertising campaigns. There is no doubt that global marketing and advertising are becoming very important today because major companies and brands have begun to see the need to grow in countries outside their traditional domestic bases Advertising agencies themselves have begun to form global networks and alliances. This was because their global clients began to seek global servicing capabilities and also because they wished to gain a larger share of the fast growth in advertising revenue The advantage that global companies enjoy is operating economies of scale. This means that having larger volumes of the same product and sold over a larger market area can produce and market them at a lower cost per unit due to economies of scale. The globalisation has thus resulted in the rush of companies to market their products on a global scale. The competition of the various brands introduced by various firms along with the competition of local or domestic brand had a impact on the advertising world. Ad agencies began to form global networks and alliances. The increasing global clients began to seek global servicing capabilities and also because these agencies wished to gain a larger share of the fast growth in advertising revenue Advertisers realised that advertising campaigns that work in one market may not work in another. Consumers in every country are still somewhat differe4nt from each other, with different habits, tastes and preferences. E.g. Americans like to drink orange juice for breakfast the French dont. In the Middle East most prefer toothpaste that tastes spicy; this taste may not work in other markets McDonalds has to vary its menu in different countries. Advertisers are aware of the disastrous mistakes made by agencies that failed to understand local consumer differences. Pepsodent was trying to a teeth whitening appeal in parts of Asia but failed because dark-stained teeth were considered prestigious A multinational advertiser must understand the cultural nuances of a local market in order to be successful because it may differ substantially from the culture of the home market. Advertisers have to know about the government regulations and the media availability and distribution arrangements of the country where they have their campaign.. The competitive environment may vary dramatically. Agencies may also face brands that follow very different positioning strategies across many markets Making Messages Culture Specific Cultural misunderstanding can raise havoc on the best business plans. Even though it is basic communication tool of advertising in foreign lands advertisers often fail to develop even a basic understanding of a foreign, much less master the linguistic nuances that reveal unspoken attitudes and information. Even a good interpreter does not solve the problem. Linguistic communication, no matter how imprecise is explicit, but much of the business communication depends on implicit messages not verbalised. In some cultures, messages are explicit; the words carry most of the information. In other cultures less information is contained in the verbal part of the message since more lies in the context. The advertiser must achieve expert communication that is gained by a thorough understanding of the language for making messages culture specific. Advertising copywriters should be concerned less with the obvious differences between languages and more with the idiomatic meanings expressed.eg Tamboo means a roadside Inn in Peru, Equador, Columbia and Bogota. In Argentina and Uruguay it means a dairy farm and in Chile it means a brothel. A dictionary translation is not the same as an idiomatic interpretation and will not suffice. In USA a very successful advertising slogan it takes a tough man to make a tender chicken came out in Spanish as it takes a virile man to make a chicken affectionate Carelessly translated message not only lose its intended meaning but can suggest something very different obscene, offensive or just plain ridiculous. Advertisers should never take it for granted that they are communicating effectively in another language. What is needed is a cultural translation. Translating a message and getting the right meaning is a problem for all cultures. Eg in Acapulco, a hotel had the following message to convey quality control all the water in the hotel has been personally passed by the manager. Advertisers have to realise that different cultures often seek the same value or benefit from the primary function of a product eg a car to take you from A to B, a camera to take pictures or a wrist to tell time. But what is important is that other features and psychological attributes of the items can have significant differences. Eg a camera in America can be taken with easy foolproof operation. In Germany and Japan the camera must take excellent pictures but it must also be state of the art in design. In Africa the concept of taking pictures must be sold .I n all the three excellent pictures as it is the primary function of a camera but the additional utility or satisfaction from a camera differs among cultures. Thus many companies follow a strategy of pattern advertising, a global advertising strategy with standardized basic message allowing some degre e of modification to meet local situations. The popular saying i8s think globally, act locally. In this way some economies of standardization can be realized while specific cultural differences are accommodated. Lee Strauss & Co changed from all localized ads to pattern advertising where broad outlines of the campaign are given worldwide but the details are not. Quality and Levi American roots are given worldwide but in each country different approaches express these two points. In Japan, the Blue Diamond brand of almonds was an unknown commodity until it launched its campaign of exotic new almond- the basic products that catered to local tastes. Television ads featured educational messages on how to use almonds in cooking, their nutritional value, the versatility of almonds as a snack and the California mystique and health benefits of almonds. As a result, Japan is now the Associations la rgest importer of almonds

No generalised recommendation can be made about whether to adapt or standardize international advertising. It depends on the products, the culture, the usage pattern and so on. Advertising efforts are moving towards a centralized position, standardized where possible and adapted where necessary. Nescafe has a global brand but advertising messages and formulations vary to suit cultural differences. In Japan and UK tea is popular, in France, Germany & Brazil ground coffee is preferred. Even in this situation there some standardization. All ads have a common emotion al link whatever good coffee means to you and however you like to serve it, Nescafe has a coffee for you Markets are constantly changing and are in the process of becoming more alike but the world is far from being a homogenous market with common needs and wants for all products. McDonalds worldwide is well known for the high degree of respect for the local customs and cultures. It has developed a menu especially for India with vegetarian selections to suit Indian tasted and preferences. It has introduced vegetarian and non-vegetarian items with local flavours that have appealed to the Indian palate. Cross Culture Psychological Segmentation

The system of segmenting consumers, clustering them on different behavioural and psychological dimensions is psychological segmentation. In the USA the popular classification is VALS 2 where the respondents are classified on the basis of resources and the extent to which they are action oriented. There are eight groups as follows: Fulfilleds Believers Actualizers Achievers Strivers Strugglers Experiencers Makers In Japan a specially designed VALS is operative In Europe other approaches to psychographic segmentation have been used. One large study of 7,600 European from the continents five major luxury markets were conducted to identify the relationship between culture, trend following, income and the acquisition of luxury goods. Consumers worldwide traits, presenting opportunities for standardized advertising. Among the global psycho-demographic segments that have emerged are the following: Global teenager Psychographically, teenagers are described as astute consumers with precise desires for brand name clothing, products and entertainment. They purchase Levis and Jeans, Nike shoes and Ralph Lauren clothing. They listen to Madonna a nd World Beat music, go to discos and see newly released movies. This segment has been successfully targeted with messages local and international celebrity endorsers. MTV and CNN and Star Tv are into homes across the globe; global fast food franchise are appearing at street corners; it appears that we are moving toward one homogenized global community. Teenagers all over the world are more exposed than most cultural influences from other countries through music, clothing food, personal appearance and sports. Teenagers are less likely to be parochial and nationalistic and more likely to identify with pan national organizations. Global Elite. This group has the highest income of all consumers; From a psychographic perspective, they travel the globe, often have homes in more than one country and spend money on luxury brands, such as Rolex and Mercedes. Targeting this group focuses on status, exclusive distribution, high price and status-oriented ad messages While a common ad strategy might be possible for some countries, the need is also to accommodate country specific difference. An interesting segment is a combination of the two, a youth driven Euroculture where natural heritage has become less important for a multilingual, educated, well traveled, cosmopolitan commonalities based on continental values and lifestyles. This spectrum covers a wide spectrum of male, female consumers A study suggests that 95% of the population surveyed in 18 countries can be put in one of the five global segments given below: Strivers 26% , Achievers 22% , Pressured 13%, Adapters 18% and Traditional Young and Rubicum had its own theory based global segmentation scheme called Cross Cultural Consumer Characterisation in whi ch consumers in 20 countries have been placed in seven segments based on their goals, motivations and values In sum, there are many others with various groups of consumers varying chiefly on the dimensions of income, desire for material success and social acceptance and personal or social idealism Every country has its rich, middle class and poor, those that live their lives keeping up with the Joneses those who are dreamers and rebels. Human nature and circumstances are essentially the same no matter where you live. The challenge facing the global advertiser is not only knowing the global segment to which the target consumer belongs but also the local difference. There is need to focus on both simultaneously.. Cross cultural psychological segmentation

Cross-cultural anthropologists talk about cross-cultural cohorts, groups of people who belong to different cultures or nationalities but nevertheless share common sets of needs, values and attitudes. No matter where they live, consumer groups such as new mothers, computer users, international business travellers, audiophiles, high-end photographers and so on represent groups with similar needs and wants, Because babies bottoms are the same everywhere, diapers such as Pampers can use the same marketing and advertising strategies worldwide. Global segments can be identified using psychographic research. Studies in Germany, UK and France reveal similarities and differences. All the three countries had four types, or segments of women labelled traditional homemaker contemporary homemaker appearance-conscious and rd spontaneous While the traditional homemaker accounted for 1/3 the proportion of the other two varied dramatically. While a common ad strategy may be possible for these countries, the dramatic variations across countries it would be advisable to accommodate country-specific differences. Agencies have attempted to find common Euro-Consumer segments and found four lifestyle groups common across western Europe- successful Idealists, affluent materialists, comfortable belongers and disaffected strivers Other researchers put 95% of the population into one of the five global segments. 1. Strivers 26% in US, France and Spain; young, success-seeking, leading time-pressured lives. Materialistic, pleasure-oriented, seek instant gratification and convenience. 2. Achievers 22% in US and high in Spain. Slightly older, already successful, affluent. Opinion-leaders, status conscious. Seek to buy quality. 3. Pressured 13% US mostly women facing financial or familial pressure. Highly stressed 4. Adapters 18% US, higher in Germany. Older, with somewhat traditional values but open-minded, Living comfortably in their golden years 5. Traditionals. 16% US, conservative, prefer to stick to the familiar and established in their personal Lives and their consumption patterns. There are many other very interesting differences and patterns both within and across countries. In Japan, for instance, there appear to be major differences in value-orientation between men and women, and between the older and the younger consumers. Men believe more in traditional family roles than women and the younger are more materialistic and consumption-oriented. Many Japanese and American women work outside of the home (which enhances the need for many convenience and time saving products) Japanese women have been slower to embrace the liberated attitudes of their counter part in the US One has to treat Japanese and American women differently. We also have the VALS psychograhic segmentation where the population is grouped into 8 sections; Fulfilleds , Believers, Actualisers, Achievers, Strivers, Strugglers, experiencers and Makers. But humans are both deeply the same and obviously different. Underlying the similarities that exist between people, the external influences serve to differentiate them into distinct market segments Cultural differences are of great importance to advertisers. Values in peoples need to be uncovered to understand the motiva tions that drive both attitudes and behaviour.

Many of the global psychological segmentation schemes are between five to seven or eight groupings of consumers, varying chiefly on the dimensions of income, desire for material success and social acceptance and personal or social idealism. Each country has its rich, middle-class and poor those who live their lives keeping up withy the Joneses and those who are dreamers and rebels. Since human nature are essentially the same no matter where one lives.

The challenge facing a global advertiser is in not only knowing the global psychological segment to which the target consumer belongs but also the local differences that make that same consumer different in one country than in another; There is a need to focus on both simultaneously. An understanding of the similarities and differences that exists between nations is critical the foreign advertisers, who have to devise appropriate strategies to reach specific foreign markets. The greater the similarities between nations, the more feasible it is to use relatively similar strategies in each nation. Cross Cultural Advertising A portion of the consumers exposure to different cultures tend to come about through consumers own initiatives, their trave l, working in foreign countries, immigration to a different country, movies, theatre, art and exposure to unfamiliar and different products. The other major category of cultural exposure is often undertaken by marketers and advertisers seeking To expand their markets by in a different country possessing a different cultural view. In this context advertisers in foreign provide a form of cultural transfer Cross- cultural advertising is a responsible effort to borrow those cultural ways seen as helpful for the better solutions to a societys particular problem. It is important for an advertiser to learn about the different cultures world wide if a brand has to be sold in a foreign country.. There are two types of knowledge, factual knowledge about culture which is obvious and must be learnt. Different meanings of colour, different tastes and other traits indigenous to a culture are facts that an advertiser can anticipate, study and absorb. The other is interpretative knowledge, an ability to understand and fully appreciate the meanings of different cultural traits and patterns eg the meaning of time, attitudes towards other people and certain objects, the understanding of ones role in the society can differ considerably from one culture to anothe r and require more than factual knowledge.

Factual knowledge as a fact about culture assumes additional significance and has to be interpreted within the context of the culture eg Mexico is 98% Roman Catholic. However it is equally important to remember that in Spain or Italy or any other country Catholicism is practiced in a slightly different manner. Another conflict arises if one possesses factual knowledge but little interpretative knowledge. Taiwanese emphasise the collective while the westerners emphasise the individual. Emphasis on the collective results in a close-knit, supportive teams and creates a mind set which does not work with the western client. The problem is that when the local staff acts humble and cautious the westerner perceives the humility as ignorance or lack of knowledge. An example of a good cross cultural advertising is the Idea ad which has a Sumo wrestler buying vegetables. That was a fanta stic way of advertising a foreign product in a country. Idea wanted to go local in India. For that they showed a sumo wrestler buying vegetables in a typically Indian vegetable market. He is talking to the grocer and finding out the rates, which a very typical Indian way of buying vegetables and how the rates are brought down.

Cross Cultural Advertising

How does culture impact advertising campaigns in foreign countries?

Culture is a like dropping an Alka-seltzer into a glass you dont see it, but somehow it does something. Hans Magnus Enzensberger Culture affects everything we do. This applies to all areas of human life from personal relationships to conducting business abroad. When interacting within our native cultures, culture acts as a framework of understanding. However, when interacting with different cultures this framework no longer applies due to cross cultural differences. Cross cultural communication aims to help minimise the negative impact of cross cultural differences through building common frameworks for people of different cultures to interact within. In business, cross cultural solutions are applied in areas such as HR, team building, foreign trade, negotiations and website design. Cross cultural communication solutions are also critical to effective cross cultural advertising. Services and products are usually designed and marketed at a domestic audience. When a product is then marketed at an international audience the same domestic advertising campaign abroad will in most cases be ineffective. The essence of advertising is convincing people that a product is meant for them. By purchasing it, they will receive some benefit, whether it be lifestyle, status, convenience or financial. However, when an advertising campaign is taken abroad different values and perceptions as to what enhances status or gives convenience exist. These differences make the original advertising campaign defunct. It is therefore critical to any cross cultural advertising campaign that an understanding of a particular culture is acquired. By way of highlighting areas of cross cultural differences in advertising a few examples shall be examined. Language in Cross Cultural Advertising It may seem somewhat obvious to state that language is key to effective cross cultural advertising. However, the fact that companies persistently fail to check linguistic implications of company or product names and slogans demonstrates that such issues are not being properly addressed. The advertising world is littered with examples of linguistic cross cultural blunders. Of the more comical was Fords introduction of the Pinto in Brazil. After seeing sales fail, they soon realised that this was due to the fact that Brazilians did not want to be seen driving a car meaning tiny male genitals. Language must also be analysed for its cultural suitability. For example, the slogan employed by the computer games manufacturer, EA Sports, "Challenge Everything" raises grumbles of disapproval in religious or hierarchical societies where harmonious relationships are maintained through the values of respect and non-confrontation. It is imperative therefore that language be examined carefully in any cross cultural advertising campaign Communication Style in Cross Cultural Advertising Understanding the way in which other cultures communicate allows the advertising campaign to speak to the potential customer in a way they understand and appreciate. For example, communication styles can be explicit or implicit. An explicit communicator (e.g. USA) assumes the listener is unaware of background information or related issues to the topic of discussion and therefore provides it themselves. Implicit communicators (e.g. Japan) assume the listener is well informed on the subject and minimises information relayed on the premise that the listener will understand from implication. An explicit communicator would find an implicit communication style vague, whereas an implicit communicator would find an explicit communication style exaggerated. Colours, Numbers and Images in Cross Cultural Advertising Even the simplest and most taken for granted aspects of advertising need to be inspected under a cross cultural microscope. Colours, numbers, symbols and images do not all translate well across cultures.
Colours, Numbers and Images in Cross Cultural Advertising Even the simplest and most taken for granted aspects of advertising need to be inspected under a cross cultural microscope. Colours, numbers, symbols and images do not all translate well across cultures. In some cultures there are lucky colours, such as red in China and unlucky colours, such as black in Japan. Some colours have certain significance; green is considered a special colour in Islam and some colours have tribal associations in parts of Africa. Many hotels in the USA or UK do not have a room 13 or a 13th floor. Similarly, Nippon Airways in Japan do not have the seat numbers 4 or 9. If there

are numbers with negative connotations abroad, presenting or packaging products in those numbers when advertising should be avoided. Images are also culturally sensitive. Whereas it is common to see pictures of women in bikinis on advertising posters on the streets of London, such images would cause outrage in the Middle East. Cultural Values in Cross Cultural Advertising When advertising abroad, the cultural values underpinning the society must be analysed carefully. Is there a religion that is practised by the majority of the people? Is the society collectivist or individualist? Is it family orientated? Is it hierarchical? Is there a dominant political or economic ideology? All of these will impact an advertising campaign if left unexamined. For example, advertising that focuses on individual success, independence and stressing the word "I" would be received negatively in countries where teamwork is considered a positive quality. Rebelliousness or lack of respect for authority should always be avoided in family orientated or hierarchical societies. By way of conclusion, we can see that the principles of advertising run through to cross cultural advertising too. That is know your market, what is attractive to them and what their aspirations are. Cross cultural advertising is simply about using common sense and analysing how the different elements of an advertising campaign are impacted by culture and modifying them to best speak to the target audience.

Many of us may have heard of these infamous errors made by multinational corporations when translating brands or slogans abroad. Language, of course, is only one of many cultural barriers you may have to bridge with your partner organization. We hope this list will entertain you while giving important insight on the potential pitfalls of cross culture communication and serving as a reminder of the importance of a good sense of humor! American and Canadian groups may need to explain to their international partners some of the finer meanings of certain words used below. en entered the Chinese market, to their horror they discovered that their slogan "finger lickin' good" came out as "eat your fingers off" -kou-ke-la because when pronounced it sounded roughly like Coca-Cola. It wasn't until after thousands of signs had been printed that they discovered that the phrase means "bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax", depending on the dialect. Second time around things worked out much better. After researching 40,000 Chinese characters, Coke came up with "ko-kou-ko-le" which translates roughly to the much more appropriate "happiness in the mouth". -rival Pepsi. When they entered the Chinese market a few years ago, the translation of their slogan "Pepsi Brings you Back to Life" was a little more literal than they intended. In Chinese, the slogan meant, "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Grave". it's not just in Asian markets that soft drinks makers have problems. In Italy, a campaign for "Schweppes Tonic Water" translated the name into the much less thirst quenching "Schweppes Toilet Water". Feeling Free," got translated in the Japanese market into "When smoking Salem, you feel so refreshed that your mind seems to be free and empty." st efforts, they weren't selling many cars. They finally realized that in Spanish, "nova" means "it won't go". Sales improved dramatically after the car was renamed the "Caribe." . After watching sales go nowhere, the company learned that "Pinto" is Brazilian slang for "tiny male genitals." Ford pried the nameplates off all of the cars and substituted them with "Corcel," which means horse. changes the whole meaning. When Parker Pen marketed a ballpoint pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to say "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you." However, the company mistakenly thought the Spanish word "embarazar" meant embarrass. Instead the ads said "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant." reign companies have similar problems when they enter English speaking markets. Japan's second-largest tourist agency was mystified when it expanded to English-speaking countries and began receiving requests for unusual sex tours. Upon finding out why, the owners of the Kinki Nippon Tourist Company changed its name. The company didn't change the name of all its divisions though. Visitors to Japan still have the opportunity to take a ride on the Kinki Nippon Railway. g its upholstery, "Fly in Leather," it came out in Spanish as "Fly Naked."

Association's huge success with the campaign "Got Milk?" prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico. It was soon brought to their attention the Spanish translation read "Are you lactating?" ng in an American campaign: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux" airol introduced the "Mist Stick," a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that "mist" is slang for manure. -shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit Instead of "I Saw the Pope" (el Papa), the shirts read "I Saw the Potato" (la papa) And some more differences in cross-cultural communication styles to consider "Consider the story of an American executive who was designated to deliver a formal presentation at a Japanese conference. During her presentation, the woman became acutely aware of a man in the audience who proceeded to make strange faces at her. Following the conclusion of her presentation, the woman voiced her disapproval to the Japanese hosts. And while an apology was immediately provided, it was discovered that the man in the audience had not intended to offend the American speaker. He simply became so fixated on her facial gestures that he inadvertently began imitating her. Should this story be considered an isolated incident of a simple misunderstanding or is this a prime example of everyday miscommunication between cultures? Many experts would support the second conclusion. "Most of the problems caused by cross-cultural clashes are usually the result of the failure by some or all parties involved to recognize and account for differences in culturally-based communication styles. They assume that all peoples communicate using the same set of modes and rules (many of which, like body language styles, are unconsciously held). For example, numerous professionals from the US make the mistake of assuming that all people want to be spoken to informally, just as they assume that simple body gestures strike the same chord in any culture, or the notion that an openly frank style of negotiating is most appreciated. "We should first realize that there is no such thing as a universal form of communication. Take the simple gesture of a smile. It is not unusual for Americans to exchange smiles with complete strangers. We smile at people on the street, at the airport, in restaurants, shopping malls and so on. We consider it a friendly gesture. However, in other cultures a smile can take on a completely different meaning. A smile can be considered insulting or it can signal embarrassment. Many Americans fail to realize that common gestures such as shrugging one's shoulders or scratching one's forehead can be completely misinterpreted by someone from another country. "Each culture has its own rules of communication. A French executive would probably be offended if a new acquaintance were to address him by his first name. Giving the "thumbs up" signal in Australia is impolite. And a display of frankness so common to Americans perpetuates the Japanese impression that the American people exhibit a lack of discipline. Even though such cultural collisions often elicit negative feedback, they rarely provoke extreme hostility. Instead, committing a cultural taboo is usually regarded as improper, discourteous, or disrespectful. The individual who has the misfortune of committing the taboo is "rewarded" with expressions of anger or flat-out silence, which in turn can be misinterpreted. Such mishaps in communication almost always serve to diminish one's credibility. "Usually, cross-cultural gaffes stem from misjudging situations that involve mingling and communicating with others. These include: the dress code for appointments, the manner in which we introduce ourselves and greet others, expressing thanks to the hosts as well as proper etiquette for the presentation of gifts. While the majority of Americans consider such events to be very routine, the fact remains that the interpretation of these social commitments varies from country to country. If we fail to educate ourselves in advance as to what is and what isn't acceptable, then we prime ourselves for unintentional embarrassment, possibly at the worst given moment. "Miscalculating the pertinence of cross-cultural communications can be counter-productive at best, or abysmal at worst. Cultural differences with regard to eye contact, when it is acceptable to smile, and name protocol for addressing foreign counterparts are all qualities that dramatically impact all angles of negotiation and interpersonal communication. For example, the word "no" is a response that the Japanese tend to avoid altogether. As strange as it may seem, if they are not optimistic about a given proposal, rather than tell you in so many words, they may choose to make a counter inquiry, they may avoid eye contact with you, or they may simply choose to walk away. Their answer is for all practical purposes spelled out in their behavior. Obviously, this can be very frustrating to American negotiators who are used to a straight forward "yes" or "no." Understanding and accepting cultural differences is critical if one expects to be successful in an overseas assignment."

Creating Cross Cultural Advertising Cross cultural advertising means more than translation. The language, style, colors, numbers and symbols of advertising are all important factors to be considered. To outsource cross cultural marketing to a professional located in the intended target market is an effective way to broaden your global business. As international trade grows, getting your business to cross over and translate to global markets means significant future growth for your company. Marketing your business and focusing your efforts beyond traditional trade boundaries is a reality for most companies. In fact, thanks to the advancement of digital technology its easier to conduct business abroad

Therefore, marketing strategies have evolved to take account of cross cultural differences so that they may appeal to distinctly different target markets. The key is to remember that the core of any marketing strategy, be it full color print media or TV commercials, is to encourage, motivate and convince them to believe the benefits they can receive and therefore buy your product Nevertheless; trying to communicate your idea to those living abroad is not as easy as it sounds. Some concepts may be acceptable, while others may be annoying if not appalling or distasteful for most. Cross cultural marketing therefore, means successfully incorporating characteristics to complement the values, traditions, and perceptions of your target market, whether locally or abroad. But how does someone achieve this? For some, they employ the services of an experienced international marketing company but for others that simply do not have the budget; they may consider online outsourcing to a professional located in the intended target market. By employing a professional who already understands what works and what doesnt you may be able to avoid and e asily negotiate some of the following pitfalls of unsuccessful marketing campaigns. Language Different language, different words, and different accents all contribute to the success or failure of your marketing campaigns. How can your target market appreciate your business and products and services if they cannot understand what youre trying to say in the first place? Most people fail to realize how language can affect a marketing campaign. This is apparent in various tag lines and slogans in marketing material and other print ads. Therefore, one must be conscious that otherwise regular and harmless words can easily be misinterpreted from one culture to the next. Style Generally communication should be straight forward and to the point. But when attempting to relate to different cultural markets each respond to a different style and understanding the style that is appropriate is vital in creating an effective marketing campaign for any business. This difference can be seen when comparing US search engine homepages like msn.com to those of China such as sohu.com. While one has a simplistic straightforward layout, the other utilizes every inch of the webpage. Colors, Numbers and Symbols These elements play significant roles for marketing. In several cultures for example, even the most ordinary shade of red can translate a different message, red may mean luck in China, but can mean death in another country. Likewise the numbers 13 and 4, for example mean different things in the US and Japan. The number 13 is a very unlucky while the number 4 means death. Symbols just like images can also convey a variety of meanings and it is advisable to do thorough research before using them.
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The bottom line is that to create ads that appeal to different cultures, remember to be aware of the principles and traditions observed in each culture. The best way to accomplish this is identify your target markets needs, wants and desires. Once you are able to do that, cross cultural advertising will become a breeze.

The Hazards of Cross-Cultural Advertising

It was reported that in the early 1950s, an American ink manufacturer attempted to sell bottled ink in Mexico while its metal outdoor signs told customers that they could "avoid embarrassment' (from leaks and stains) by using its brand of ink. The embarrassment, it seems was all the ink company's. The Spanish word used to convey the meaning of "embarrassed' was "embarazar,' which means "to become pregnant.' Many people thought the company was selling contraceptive device.

A laundry detergent company found sales in Quebec slumping after introducing a new point-of-purchase campaign announcing that the detergent worked particularly well on the dirtiest parts of the wash--"les parties de sale.' The advertiser later learned that this phrase was similar to another Quebecois expression for "private parts.'

An American airline in Brazil advertised the "rendez-vous lounges' in its jets, until they found that in the Brazilian brand of Portuguese this meant a place to make love.

No advertising agency would hire someone to write an ad in the United States simply because he spoke English fluently. Neither is an American's fluency in a foreign language enough for him to re-create a foreign advertisement. A perfectly literal translation may urge users of a product to apply their food, ignite their clothes, or weld false eyelashes to their eyes. Millions of dollars have been wasted on promoting cigarettes with low "asphalt.'

Advertising copy, in any language, usually is designed to catch the public eye and ear with appealing printed or spoken messages, sometimes together with attractive imagery. But American advertisers sometimes lose sight of the fact that sales of a product will suffer if advertising copy intended for use abroad is improperly translated. The sort of advertising disasters just cited should make advertisers aware that the most effective translation for advertising purposes will often not be the most literal one.

But many advertisers find this caveat a difficult one to heed, particularly those who prefer to adapt material already prepared for domestic media in the preparation of American advertising for foreign use. This practice may be acceptable provided that the adaptation is not simply a straight translation-- especially a translation of verbal contents which are highly idiomatic or narrowly American in meaning. Translation of advertising communications often involves words with multiple meanings and definitions that lack direct equivalences in a foreign language. An advertising heading which depends on a play on words peculiar to the English language will not be rendered sensibly in other tongues; the entire message may be destroyed.

Thus, it would appear that effective translation of advertisements should be a simple matter of careful lexical research within and beyond the dictionary. This conclusion, although quite incomplete, is derived from the belief that grammatical, syntactical, and idiomatic equivalences are the overriding concern in translation. Of course, no linguistic counterparts may exist for certain vocabulary items in another language. Additionally, dictionaries are of limited usefulness because the language of the dictionary generally is not the language of the people. For example, animals, household objects, terrain features, biological terms, etc. are categories in which vocabularies may differ so radically between languages as to prohibit attaining equivalence.

Translating cannot, except in the most mundane of technical texts, be reduced to a task of mere word, phrase, or sentence replacement between languages. Frequently, conceptual, not lexical, obstacles frustrate the search for equivalence between languages. Concepts may not be equivalent in two languages because the languages are welded intimately to the culture in which they are spoken. Moreover, a particular concept within one culture may not exist at all in another culture--thus rendering the construction of translated materials much more complex matter than initially imagined.

This means an inexperienced advertiser will have to rethink his entire idea of translation and to discard preconceived notions about the technique of translating. To be effective, the technique used to re-create advertising for foreign cultures must avoid the all-too-common tendency toward translating verbal and pictorial message content without regard to the form it takes. This suggests that advertisers need to explore in greater detail the symbolic forms and the concepts embedded in their advertisements before re-creating-- because translations of concepts, alone, without attention to their form, is risky.

There was an anecdote in the press several years ago which illustrates this point. It seems a baby food company unsuccessfully tried to peddle its product (with a label showing a cuddly infant) in an African nation whose people were unfamiliar with Western pictorial conventions. It turned out many of the prospective customers there thought the jars contained ground-up babies. In a similar occurrence, a firm tried selling refrigerators to the Islamic Middle East with an advertisement picturing their appliance filled with food-- including a giant ham.

While these examples represent extremes of conceptual mistranslation, such impropriety is made possible because many of the underlying processes of advertising go unapprehended by the advertisers themselves. The reason for this lack of vision is that in attempts to communicate or to persuade or simply to interest audiences, advertisers are being motivated by, and using cultural models among whose differences they may choose, but from whose totality they cannot escape. These cultural models carry messages about the advertiser's perception of the world. One seldom marks the innumerable messages received or sent out in one's lifetime, and seldom is person able to decipher the greater patterns into which the messages fall.

But even if decoding were possible, a member of a particular society would still be compelled to rely on these same models of value implicit within his culture in order to obtain fundamental psychological, social, and ideological support and direction.

Thus, in a way, advertisements provide an indication of what constitutes acceptable or desired features and behaviors within a society. For this reason, the single most important element to be exploited in advertising is perhaps the association of ideas. Aster all, advertising depends on the act of association in order to relate a product or service, either directly or indirectly, to a symbolic situation; i.e., something that already has associated with it certain feelings, attitudes, and values.

For example, a man who was reared in New York City wears a cowboy hat, which is deeply rooted with the cowboy image in American culture. The cowboy is perceived as powerful, self-reliant, and master of his environment. The New Yorker's behavior intimates that he is responding to what may be called the myth of the cowboy.

Throughout history, myths have helped form cultures' communications behavior. On a superficial level of analysis they may remain unapprehended or, in the case of cross-cultural communication, be misunderstood. The possibilities for such misinterpretation multiply for advertising via media such as television, radio, or print, since they continually draw upon and perpetuate cultural values and meanings. An advertiser should not assume that members of different cultural groups will respond to a particular advertisement in the same way. Consequently, when two cultures differ widely in basic values, socialization, and ways of life, achieving equivalence in a translation may be difficult --perhaps impossible--even if care has been taken from the standpoint of language.

For instance, a print advertisement for a men's cologne, picturing a man and his dog in an American rural setting, failed to attract the male market in North Africa. The advertiser was unaware that dogs, the American "man's best friend,' were alleged to have eaten one of Mohammed's regiments centuries ago and therefore are considered either signs of bad luck or uncleanliness in parts of Moslem North Africa and elsewhere

Similarly, a U.S. manufacturer introduced its mouthwash in Thailand with an advertising campaign portraying a boy and a girl, overtly found of each other, one telling the other to use the mouthwash to fight bad breath. Such an open display of boy-girl relationships was considered improper by the Thai people. Sales increased only when two girls were selected to appear in the same scene.

In each of these examples, one can see that the advertisers in question were relying on their own sets of cultural myths to make clear to their domestic audiences abstract ideas in cases where long, drawn-out oral or written explanations might attenuate their effects. However, the foreign target cultures did not attribute to these myths quite the same significance as did the advertisers. One might conclude from those advertisers' experiences that the reason successful advertising is successful is because it can elicit a culturally positive concept by means of a printed or pictorial message which is significant to the target culture.

However, the concepts expressed in an advertisement do not always have to be visual. A few years ago, a famous American designer began to advertise her new women's fragrance to the Latin American market. The advertising campaign emphasized the perfume's fresh camellia scent. The fragrance did not move from the shelves of stores in Latin America because camellias are the flowers used for funerals in most of Latin America.

Such cross-cultural advertising horrors are the result of a failure to perceive that a specific product, together with its advertising, can be viewed differently in different cultural settings. The creative expert for the campaign was inattentive to the fact that when the same product is presented to a foreign market, the product may be associated with certain different values in the different culture.

Cross-cultural advertisers also have to evaluate the products they introduce into a culture in the context of that culture's preexisting habits and practices in order to determine their compatibility with cultural norms. For example, a toothpaste claiming to give users white teeth was especially

inappropriate in many areas of Southeast Asia where betel-nut chewing is a habit among the well-to-do, and black teeth are viewed as a sign of higher social status.

Nevertheless, certain concepts are fairly universal in their application across cultures. One can see that the avoidance of physical pain and the sanctity of the family seem to be concepts that are equally acceptable in many cultures. However, like the connotations of white teeth, concepts of civilized eating or drinking may take certain forms in one culture and be totally unthinkable in others.

In the United Kingdom, for instance, hot milk-based beverages often are drunk just before going to bed. These drinks are viewed as having sleepinducing properties.

In Thailand, however, these same hot drinks are consumed outside the home and mostly on the way to work and are viewed as possessing invigorating properties.

Yet, despite the importance of culture in explaining consumer behavior, this factor appears to be misunderstood and undervalued by many advertisers as they enter the international market. While market research is often desirable in home-market advertising, it is likely that an advertiser will use only his own personal experience to guide him. This method is not a valid tool for entry into cross-cultural markets. For instance, whether a bicycle is viewed as a mode of transportation or as a leisure equipment item should have a tremendous effect on how one would attempt to market and advertise bicycles. Indeed, in different countries bicycles are used in completely different ways, and an advertiser must be fully aware of those differences.

It is perhaps advisable that future cross-cultural advertising should take a different direction from what has been tried so far. Appropriate cultural research prior to introducing a new product abroad or launching an advertising campaign in a foreign language can help advertisers avoid transmitting ambiguous or twisted messages to foreign cultures. An advertiser must be mindful of the fact that each culture represents a different way of coming to terms with life, thought, and of taking as given a multitude of assumptions about social conventions and institutions, economics, politics, and the universe. These assumptions form the basis of a culture's beliefs, norms and involvement with the symbolic word, which in turn shape the behavior patterns of a people. Controversial advertising The controversy about many ads shows how our traditional conservative society is still trying to decide how much sexuality to allow in advertising. Indias growing economy and rapid internationalization are adding to the issue as they challenge Indias home -grown mores in new ways. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting refers all complaints of ads that are controversial to the ASCI, Advertising Standards Council of India, which is the industrys self-regulatory body. Once the ad-industry council has issued its opinion, the ministry has the final say. The ASCI has taken action on ads that it thought went too far. Dark Temptation ad showed a woman taking bites out of a man who is coated in chocolate after using the chocolate flavoured deodorant. the Ministry of Information and Broadcastion stopped the from being broadcast after receiving a complaint from a viewer who found it offensive the shot of a woman biting the chocolate off a the mans bottom.The ASCI banned the ad and now the ad is shown without the woman bitin g off the chocolate Wild Stone, a deodorant ad shows a woman tricking her way into her brother-in-laws arms because of the effect his deodorant has on her. The brands tag line says barely legal. Another deo ad called Fuel for Men launched by Elder Health Care Ltd in alliance with VLCC Healthcare Ltd, shows a woman so attracted to a man using the product that she starts unbuttoning her blouse. The ASCI , after receiving a complaint contact the respective advertisers for their explanation before taking a decision to pull these ads off-air. These companies, however say they have not stepped out of line with the above commercials. They feel that there are certain category truths that are known to sell products like toothpaste results in clean teeth and shampoo in clean hair. Similarly, fragrances are associated with attraction and the above ads are based on that premise. The ad agency that created these ads also defended it. They argued that behavioural scientist have established that males groom themselves for the female species and that is exactly what the ad is reflecting. However, it may be that males groom themselves for the female species , the objection is the reaction of the female in the ads that is offensive. It is demeaning to women There are several ads on deodorants that have raised objections such as Fa Mens Xtreme and Zatak are also airing ads with sexual overtones. These ads gained ground after the campaign for the Axe deo ad. The Axe ad has been the only body spray to face scrutiny from the government even though competitors have run racy ads of their own.

The Amul Macho underwear ad was another very controversial ad which was found very offensive. It showed a young woman comes to a river to wash her husbands clothes. She pulls pair of men bovver shorts from the laundry pile and begins to wash it, giving sultry l ooks to the camera and throwing her head back in a suggestive manner. The ad ends with a breathy female voice saying Amul Macho crafted for fantasies Pepsi ad was banned after human rights groups said it promoted child labour. It depicted a young Indian boy bringing drinks to the Indian national circket team. The ad was withdrawn. India is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and is committed to putting an end to child labour in any form A cancer vaccine commercial seen on Indian television urge parents to get their young girls inoculated the vaccine Gardasil to protect against cervical cancer, the second most major cancer in women. What the ad hides is that it is mired in a controversy in the USA. It was launched in India in October 2008 with television ads. Advertising prescription on television is unethical enough, but using fear to sell them is worse. Gardasil is an efficient vaccine but the safety and risk information about it has not been available to parents. Anchor and Havells were involved in a hair raising controversy. Anchor electricals accused Havell of copying a concept for its hair raising tel evision commercial and demanded that Havells take the campaign off the air. The Havell ad showed a boy whose everyday life is disrupted when his hair stands on end because he used a faulty switch at home. Anchor claimed the concept was taken from a previous television ad created for Anchor switches. Anchor wrote a letter to Havell to stop airing the ad. Havell said they had not received the letter. An insurance ad showing a father in a hospital carrying a new born baby girl saying hai to pyari magar boge hai bhari. The authorities in Delhi had the ad scrapped. . The makers of Complan moved the Mumbai High Court to stop the Horlicks from airing their Horlicks ad which said it had all the required 23 nutrients but was still Priced at Rs 128 against Rs 174 the price of Complan. The Mumbai High Court refused to grant any relief to the makers of Complan.

Social implications of advertising The central issues of advertising and society can be divided into three categories. The first is nature and content of the advertising to which people are exposed. Is advertising inherently unethical:? Are appeals used to manipulate consumers against their will? Is advertising too repetitious? Is it too preoccupied with sex? There is also the questions about the fairness of advertising to children+ The second category represents the aggregate effects on society as a whole. It refers to the sescondary consequences or effects. What is the effect on societys values and lifestyles? Some believe that advertising competes with or dominates such other socialization agents as literature, plays, music, the home and the school. That it fosters materialism at the expense of other basic values. That it may serve to reinforce racial discrimination or that it promotes harmful products. The third category is the effect advertising has on societys economic well-being and the efficiency of the operation of the economic system. Can the power of advertising lead to the control of the market by a few firms, which will weaken competition and raise consumer prices? Is alcohol and cigarette advertising ethical. These advertising are now banned in India. A much wider range of ethical issues and concerns are now being addressed as packaging, professional services ads by physicians, attorneys, accountants and emerging social issues about environmental or green marketing. There is considerable overlap between what many consider to be ethical issues and the issues of manipulation, taste and advertisings effects on values and lifestyles Does advertising manipulate? The essence of a free marketplace and a free society is the freedom to make decisions to select or not select a particular brand. Some feel this freedom is overpowered by advertising which can manipulate a buyer into making a decision against his or her will. When advertising utilizes appeals that go beyond a basic communication the charge of manipulation via emotional appeals is raised. The implication is that with emotional appeals the consumers will make less than optimal decisions. A typical theme running through these commercials is to hold the brand out as the pathway to success and happiness and the antidote to what is otherwise a drab, boring or lonely life. Dishwashing liquids are advertised as sweeping away the dullness of life. Bath soaps have rejuvenating capacity and so on. These observations are related to issues of deception. There is also a general claim that advertisers have the raw power to manipulate consumers by their capacity to generate large numbers of ad exposures and highly sophisticated scientific techniques to make ads effective. However the fact remains that consumer choice behaviour is determined by many factors in addition to advertising- the advice of friends, decisions and lifestyles of family members news stories, prices and so on. Advertising is but one of many variables and it has a limited role. Some feel that advertising is objectionable because the4 creative effort behind is not in good taste. Some feel that television advertising is often like a visitor who ahs overstayed his welcome

Advertising to children has been a major focus and concern for many years. It is said that children between 2 to 11 spend about 25 hours a week watching television and see approx20,000 ads per year/ Ads presumably have and effect on what people buy and on their activities. It has an impact on the values and lifestyles of society and that this impact has its negative as well as positive side. It is stated that appeals to mass markets tend to promote conformity appeals to status promote envy, pride and social competitiveness appeals to fears promote anziety appeals to newness promote disrespect for tradition, durability, experience, appeals to youth promote reduced family authority and appeals to sexuality promote promiscuity The key issues are which values and lifestyles are to be encouraged as healthy, which are to be avoided and what relative impact or influence ads have on them The environmental movement has thrown up a number of new issues about advertising and its effects on values and lifestyles. Advertising has played a valuable role to encourage recycling, energy conservation and many ecologically positive behaviours. It was informative and educative However advertisers have seized on environmental advertising claims as an effective way to sell their products and services by using terms such as recycled and recyclable Gender Roles Gender roles refer to the roles that women and men are expected to hold in a society When one engages in business or advertising internationally, it is important to understand the role that women are expected to hold in the respective society. In East Africa and in parts of West Africa (Nigeria) the role of women in business is crucial and more important than the role of men. However men still hold an important decision-making role when it comes to major sales or purchase decisions In India and Pakistan women share responsibility with men in business. Women play a more limited role politically where a few hold notable positions, despite women leaders who have left important legacies in these countries. In most traditional Islamic countries, womens business activities are channeled toward interaction in a w omen-only environment. In Saudi Arabia women depend on men in the family for simple activities, such as driving them to and from a destination; the law does not permit women to drive a car. Personal services can be performed only by individuals of the same gender. Eg women can bank only at womens bank , can have their hair done only by other women. The genders, typically do not interact in the very traditional Islamic countries except within the family. Even in less traditional Islamic countries women are seated separately form men. In countries such as Turkey and Pakistan women have historically held prominent government positions. In Saudi Arabia women cannot be portrayed in ads. It is appropriate to show the covered arms and wrists of a woman demonstrating a product use. In Malaysia , women should not be shown sleeveless, whereas in Turkey one can actually see ads of women modeling bras It is also necessary to study the Masculinity-Femininity Index for the gender roles. ADVERTISING AND CHILDREN The world of children has changed a great deal over the last decade; Kids are no longer Passive consumers of brands that they once used to be, but are active seekers and influencers for a whole range of products affecting their lives. While this is true for products like chocolates, biscuits, icecreams, it is also true for a whole other range of high end consumables like packaged food, computers and believe it or not, cars The new generation of youngsters sis an avid consumer of mass media, especially television. They are increasingly vocal and influential when it comes to brand choice and brand purchase. The influence spreads to categories which may not be directly used by kids (refrigerators, mobile phones, (salt ads, spices ) advertisers are making their pitches to more and more younger audiences. catch them young seem to be the motto of the day. Children learn how an item fits the lifestyle from cartoons, soap operas and serials. Children Develop an unrealistic idea of how people live. Children are getting older beyond their years. Todays generation is more computer literate and advertising literate. Children are the now generation Children respond more positively to messages communicated visually, rather than voice message. Visual action is closer to their own play experience where actions speak louder than words. One of the most controversial topics advertisers must deal with is the issue of advertising to children Studies have also shown that tv is an important source of information for children about products . Critics argue that children are especially vulnerable to advertising because they lack the experience and knowledge to understand and evaluate critically the purpose of persuasive advertising appeals. They also feel that pre-school children cannot differentiate between commercials and programmes and cannot distinguish between reality and fantasy. Critics charge that advertising to children is inherently unfair and deceptive and should be banned. On the other hand are those that advertising is a part of life and children must learn to deal with it in consumer socialization process of acquiring the skills needed to function in the marketplace. Some feel that parents should be involved in helping children interpret advertising and can refuse to purchase products they believe are undesirable for their children. Some countries have strict guidelines for advertising to children The issues of advertising directed to children has been receiving greater attention recently. There is also a growing concern over how advertisers are using the internet to communicate with and sell to children

Advertising to children will remain a controversial topic. Some groups feel that government is responsible for protecting children from the potentially harmful effects of advertising while others argue that parents are ultimately responsible for doing so. It is important to many companies to communicate directly with children. However only by being sensitive to the naivete of children as consumers will they be able to do so freely and avoid the conflict with those who believe children should be protected from advertising. One group feels that banning tv ads will deny advertisers the right of free speech to communicate with other audience members. They also feel that no authority has the professional competence to serve as the national nanny deciding what children should be exposed to. Th ey say children are aware that fruits and vegetables are more nutritious than the highly sugared foods. There have been attempts to ban sugared food products directed to or seen by children with nutritional and or health disclosures It is reported that children between the ages of two and eleven spend about 25 hours per week watching television and see approx 20,000 ads per year and 7,000 of these ads are for sugared products. Realising that children are imaginative and that make-believe play constitutes and important part of the growing-up process, advertisers should exercise care not to exploit the imaginative quality of children. Unreasonable expectation of product quality or performance should not be stimulated either directly or indirectly by advertising Recognising that advertising may play an important part in educating the child, information should be communicated in a truthful and accurate manner with full recognition by the advertiser that the child may learn practices from advertising that can affect his or her health and well-being The controversy on ads aimed at children has generated an ongoing steam of research on the effects of childrens advertising. The effect of advertising can be both positive as well as negative . All toothpaste ads like Colgate, Pepsodent etc inculcate a good habit of brushing the teeth in the morning and at night. They create awareness among the children regarding the ill effects of germs, weak gums etc. The Raymond ads shows depressed school student wishing good bye to their principal. Out of respect and love for their principle they buy him a Raymond suit piece. It influences the kids to give the teacher the respect they deserve and love them for the knowledge they bestow on them. The Thums up ad had a man standing at a cliff and performing ;bungee jumping A kid after watching this ad attempted a simila r feat and jumped from the fifth floor of a building only to fall to his death. Kwality Walls came out with a series of double meaning ads with lines like what on your stick? it showed a group of girls ra gging a few guys, where an extremely rude and vulgar behaviour was displayed with an all the more vulgar line the big F. Several parents complained Clinic Shampoo ad featured a girl child who is embarrassed because of her extremely lifeless hair. Is this the age when a kid should be worried about her looks and hair? Such ads make children grow older beyond their years and thus induce wrong attitudes and beliefs in them The LG television ad showed a kid not going back home from school and standing outside a TV show room just to watch TV because at home his mother does not allow him to do the same. The ad said that kids could watch TV for unlimited hours without spoiling their eyesight. This influenced the child in a negative way. The Lizol ad shows a child taking a biscuit and takes it all around the house, even the dirty nooks and corners of the house, even the toilet. After this he takes the biscuit and puts it the plate from which he had taken it. Although many influences affect a childs personal and social development, it remains the prime responsibility of the parent to provide guidance for children. Advertisers should contribute to this parent-child relationship in a constructive manner. Advertising and Women The role of the women in our society has changed. The traditional role cannot be accepted now. Women are playing a diversified role in the socioeconomic context in our society. Women are emerging as a powerful influence group. The portrayal of women in advertising is an issue that has received a great deal of attention through the years. Advertising has been criticised for stereotyping women and failing to recognize the changing role of women in our society. Critics have argued that advertising of ten depicts women as decorative objects or sexually provocative figures. Gender stereotyping has varied little over time. Women have been shown as lacking intelligence and credibility. They are shown as dependent on men and do make decision on their own Advertisings portrayal of gender roles was a representation of the long-existing unequal relationship of dominance and subservience between the two sexes. The axe ad shows that a body spray can make the sexual availability of women easy. Gender stereotyping is also prevalent in ads aimed at children. Boys are shown as being more knowledgeable, active, aggressive and instrumental than girls. Dominance and control are associated more with boys than girls Feminist argue that advertising that portrays women as sex objects contributes to violence against women. Some feel that image of the educated woman is type cast as arrogant, insensitive, self-centered, Wily or the economically independent woman shown as domineering, hard, ruthless and the cause of all the suffering around her. While sexism and stereotyping still exist, advertisings portrayal of women is improving in many areas. Many advertisers hav e begun to recognize the importance of portraying women realistically. He increase in the number of working women has resulted not only in women having more influence in family decision making but also in more single-female households, which mean more independent purchasers Women have now crossed the boundary from the domestic sphere to the professional arena, expectations and representations of women have changed as well. Many ads are now depicting women in a diversity of roles that reflect their changing place in society. In many ads, the stereotyping traits attributed to women have shifted from weak and dependent to strong and autonomous.

The advent of woman reporters and the presence of some senior women journalists in positions of responsibility have made a significant difference to the coverage of womens issues in the press . While sports and athletics sported more men than women in the past. However, real achievers like Sania Mirza have changed all that. You see a cricketer like Mahendra Dhoni almost as often as you see Mirza..

Advertising and youth Youth is seen as the most global segment as it is felt they show amazing similarities in taste, interest, language and attitude, music, fashion, film, video games & technology for global culture. The youth in USA< Latin America, Europe, Asia, Australia are surfing the net, talking on their cell phones, playing their video games, watching MTV, drinking Coke and Pepsi Young consumers around the world are spending, substantial money Global youth is very ripe and growing market as there are over 200 million teens in Europe, Latin America and the Pacific Rim countries of Asia along with 40 million in USA and Canada. There are; -21% of US is 14 years and under -25% in China -33% in India -37% in Philippines -29% in Brazil -27% in Argentina Many youth around the globe have a strong interest in US culture and lifestyle and their hunger for Americana is being fed by their access to satellite tv and the net. Music, movie and sports are universal language for young people. Celebrates with global appeal appear in ads targeting youth. Pepsi (Britney Spears), Tiger Woods, Micheal Jordan (Nike) The most important characteristic of young consumers globally is the sense of collectivist values have been the norm. Although there are similarities of global youth, cultural differences still exist from one country to another.

Growing influence of advertising and its criticism Advertising by its very nature receives wide exposure. It presumably has an effect on what people buy and thus on their activities. The wide exposure and advertisers persuasive vehicle, it is argued, has its impact on the values and lifestyles of society and that this impact has its negative as well as positive side. It is argued that appeals to mass markets tend to promote conformity, appeals to status promote envy, pride and social competitiveness, appeals to fear promote anxiety, appeals to youth promote reduced family authority and appeals to sexuality promote promiscuity. The key issues are which values and lifestyles are to be encouraged as healthy, which are to be avoided and what relative impact or influence advertising has on them. It is interesting that the issues are hotly debated a the international level. Three issues have attracted particular attention: the relationship of advertising to materialism the role that advertising has played in creating harmful stereotypes of women and ethnic minorities the possible contribution of advertising in promoting harmful products. Materialism is defined as the tendency to give undue importance to material interests and presumably there is a corresponding lessening of importance to non-material interests such as love, freedom and intellectual pursuits. In the world of television commercial all of lifes probl ems and difficulties, all of our individual yearnings, hopes and fears can yield instantly to a material solution and one which can work instantly without any effort skill or trouble on our part. Such a link is impossible to prove or disprove. It is true that advertising and the products advertised are a part of our culture and thus contribute to it in some way. It is also true that advertising does not have the power to dominate other forces (family, religion, literature etc) that contributes to the values of society. There is little support the view that advertising is a pervasive force in altering consumer spending and savings habits In a free society people can choose the degree to which they indulge their desires, needs and fantasies Promoting Stereotypes. The accusation that advertising has contributed to the role stereotyping of women and ethnic minorities has been supported by several studies. The ads reflected that women do not do important things, are dependent on men, are regarded by men as primarily as sex objects and should be at home. Minorities were in low status roles Advertisers are aware of these accusations and are sincerely trying to avoid such situations in their ads. The image of women in advertising has changed significantly in the last few years. Promoting harmful products. After many debates advertising of cigarettes and alcohol are now banned. Ofcourse arguments have been put forward that ads do not promote consumption, it is only geared toward brand choice. It is also argued that countries that have banned advertising of alcohol and cigarettes have lowered the consumption of these products. It is felt, therefore that banning such products may not be the most effective way of handling the problem

Green Marketing has brought up a new issues about advertising its effect on values and life styles. Advertising has been a part of the Environmental Protection Agency. These ads have had many ecologically positive behaviour. However may corporations have begun using environment appeals in marketing regular products to sell their products and services. This so called green marketing has been challenged on a number of grounds. Authorities have attempted to establish voluntary guidelines on the use of the terms such as recycled and recyclable. Many products with environmental claims susch as shaving creams that contain no CFCs, laundry detergents that are biodegradable and disposable diapers that are degradable require special scrutiny because they are es pecially likely to confuse consumers. Advertising makes people buy things they do not need. Critics claim advertising merely increased demand for unnecessary products that are not really needed by consumers. The counter argument to this is who is to determine the need of a consumer? Advertisers try to convince people that their brand will make them sexier, healthier or more successful but they cant make them buy. If it is so easy to convince people to buy why do more products fail than succeed? Advertisings power has been greatly exaggerated. Another aspect of the manipulation argument is that advertising creates artificial needs. Consumers control the marketplace by the choices they make with their discretionary income. Advertising debases our language. Critics claim that advertising copy is too breezy, too informal and too casual and therefore improper. They believe that advertising has destroyed the dignity of the language. Research however has shown that people respond better to down-to-earth conversational language than to the dignified , formal copy. Good copywriters develop a style that is descriptive, colourful and picturesque as well as warm, human and personal. They use simple words that are lively, full of personality and reflects the language usage and patterns of their target audience Advertising is in bad taste. Taste is highly subjective. What is bad taste to some is perfectly acceptable to others. Also taste changes. What is offensive today may not be so tomorrow. People were first outraged when the first deodorant ad for underarms appeared. Today no one questions such ads. Today grooming and personal hygiene products often use near nudity in their ads. In international markets nudity in commercial is commonplace. Ultimately the market has the veto power- it can simply ignore material it considers offensive or in vbad taste Advertising is deceptive. Critics define deceptiveness not only as false and misleading statements but also as false impressions conveyed, whether intentional or not. For advertising to be effective, consumers must have confidence in it. So continued deception is self-defeating. Even puffery claiming to be best, or greatest or premier is sometimes believes and therefore deceptive. Numerous regulations determine what advertisers can and cannot do but they also allow a significant amount of leeway. Thats where ethics and social responsibility come into play. An advertiser can act unethically or socially irresponsibly and not break any laws. The Scope and Challenges of International Advertising Scope Never before have business, large and small, been so deeply involved in and affected by international business. A global economic boom, unprecedented in modern history, has underway as the drive for efficiency, productivity and open unregulated market sweeps the world. Powerful economic, technological, industrial political and demographic are converging to build the foundation of a new global economic order on which the structure of a one-world will be built. The world is mesmerised by information technology boom. International advertising is affected by all these things. Now more than ever one cannot escape the effects of the ever-increasing number of firms exporting, importing, and manufacturing abroad. Of all the events and trends affecting international business and therefore affecting international advertising there are four which stand out as dynamic the rapid growth of World Trade Organisation and regional free trade areas like NAFTA and EU the trend towards thre acceptance of the free market system among developing countries in Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe burgeoning impact of the Internet and other global media on the dissolution of national borders, the mandate to properly manage the resources and global environment for the generation to come. Today most business activities are global in scope. Technology, capital investment, production ands marketing, distribution and communications all have global dimension. Every business, including advertising must be prepaid to compete in an increasingly interdependent global economic and physical environment. The globalisation of the worlds market and the growth of emerging markets cannot be ignored. Being international is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Challenges of International Advertising Cultural Diversity Culture is pervasive in all marketing and advertising activites, International advertisers need to operate at the highest creative level. For successful advertising one has to have a deep understanding of the local culture. It is a challenge to understand cultural similarities and differences and create a strategy to fit the particular needs one has to develop a sensitivity to cultural dynamics. It is imperative for international advertisers to appreciate the intricacies of cultures different from their own if they are to be effective in a foreign market. Eg in India, Domino Pizza stresses its fast delivery to differentiate itself from its competitors. In Britain, customers dont like the idea of home delivery. In Japan, houses are not numbered sequentially, so finding an address becomes difficult. In Iceland many dont have phones.

Pillsbury marketed canned sweet corn because it felt that sweet corn would not require any flavour changes across international markets. But to its surprise, adjustments had to be made, not in its flavour but how it had to be positioned. The French add it to salad and eat it cold; In UK, it is a sandwich filler and pasta topping. In Japan, children have it as an after school snack. In Korea, it is sprinkled on ice cream. Advertising in the European Common Market is not easy as one would thi nk. Childrens clothes are not popular in France where children are dressed as small adults. In Southern Europe, form-fitting clothes sell well but not in Netherlands where they loose clothing/ Cultural factors largely determine the way various phenomena are perceived. If the perceptual framework is different, perception of the message itself differs Existing perceptions based on tradition and heritages are often hard to overcome. In additions to concerns with differences among nations, advertisers find subcultures within a country require attention as well. In HongKong there are ten different patterns of breakfast eating. Besides these differences, there is the problem of changing traditions. In all countries, people of all ages, urban or rural, cling to their heritage to a certain degree but are willing to change some areas of behaviour. All differences have to be taken into account when advertising internationally. The point is that culture matters. Advertisers must appreciate the influence of political economy on social institutions and cultural values and ways of thinking. The position of men and women in society, the family, social class, group behaviour, how societies define decency and civility are interpreted differently within every culture. Advertisers must have an understanding of the influence of religion otherwise ads can offend consumers deeply. Legal considerations. Different countries have different advertising laws that need to be accepted and followed. Therefore while creating advertisements it is very important to know the laws that are imposed in that country. Laws that control comparative advertising vary from country to country in Europe. In Germany, it is illegal to use any comparative terminology .Belgium and Luxembourg explicitly ban comparative advertising, where as in UK , Ireland, Spain and Portugal it is allowed. Advertising on television is strictly controlled in many. In Kuwait the government-controlled Tv network allowed only 30 minutes of advertising per day, in the evening. Now it is a little more than 30 minutes. Some countries have special taxes that apply on advertising. It is very important for the advertisers to identify this and act accordingly. Media Limitations In international advertising, an advertiser must consider the availability, cost , coverage and the appropriateness of the media. There are also media effectiveness varies across cultures. Imagine the ingenuity required of advertisers confronted with a situation, where eg in Brazil tv commercial s are sandwiched together in a string of 10 to 50 commercials within one break. in Japan there are only 5 national daily newspapers and conditions are necessary to buy advertising space. Asahi, Japans largest newspaper, is known to turn down a million dollars worth of advertising a month of ad revenues Language limitations Language is one of the major barriers to effective communication . The problem involves different languages of different countries, or different languages or dialects within one country and the subtler problem of linguistic nuance and vernacular. Incautious handling of language has created problems in nearly every country. In Spanish-speaking countries one has to be careful of words that have different meanings in different countries. The word ball translates in Spanish as bola. Bola means ball in one country, revolution in another, a lie or fabrication in another and in yet another country it is an obscenity. Language translation encounters innumerable barriers that impede effective, idiomatic translation and this comes in the way of communication Everyday words have different meanings in different countries. Even pronounciations cause problems. Wrigley had trouble selling its spearmint gum in Germany until it changed the spelling to Speermint. Low literacy in many countries impedes communication and calls for greater creativity and use of verbal media. Even a tiny country like Switzerland had four languages, Advertising copywriters should be concerned less with obvious differences between languages and more with the idiomatic meanings expressed. It is not just sufficient to translate; it is necessary to interpret. Without a culturally correct interpretation of a countrys ae sthetic values, a lot of advertising problems can arise. Interpretive knowledge requires a degree of insight that may be described as feeling. It is a kind of knowledge that depends on past experience for interpretation and is prone to misinterpretation if ones home country frame of reference is used. The Japanese, for example revere the crane as being very lucky because it is said to be lucky, however the number 4 should be avoided completely because 4 stands for death. Teacups are sold in fives and not fours, In understanding different cultures metaphors is a key doorway to success It is a mistake to discount myths, beliefs, superstitions or any other cultural beliefs Cultural elements must be evaluated in the light of how they might how they might affect a proposed advertising campaign Successful international advertising begins with cultural sensitivity Key issues in global marketing: Typically, marketing includes the following activities: Market research. Concept & idea generation.

Product design. Prototype development & test marketing Selection of packaging material, size and labelling Positioning Choice of brand name Choice of advertising agency Development of advertisement copy Execution of advertisements Recruitment and posting of sales force Pricing Sales Promotion Selection and management of distribution channels.

Some of these activities are amenable to a uniform global approach. Others involve a great degree of customisation. Again, within a broadly defined activity, some sub activities can be more easily globalised while others cannot. For instance, product development may be customised to suit the needs of different markets but basic research may be conducted on a global basis. A global marketing strategy typically evolves over a period of time. In the initial phase, the main concern for a global company is to decide which market(s) to enter. Then comes choosing the mode of entry. A related decision is whether to expand across several markets, simultaneously or one at a time. With growing overseas presence, global companies have to resolve issues such as customisation of the marketing mix for local markets and in some cases, development of completely new products. In the final phase, global companies examine their product portfolio across countries, strive for higher levels of coordination and integration and attempt to strike the right balance between scale efficiencies and local customization. Phillips, Doole and Lowe have suggested a model to help companies identify the information to be collected while entering an overseas market. The 12 Cs of this model are: Country: General information, environmental factors Choices: Competition, strengths and weaknesses of competitors Concentration: Structure of market segments, geographical spread. Culture: Major characteristics, consumer behaviour, decision making style. Consumption: Existing and future demand, growth potential. Capacity to pay: Pricing, prevailing payment terms. Currency: Presence of exchange controls, degree of convertibility. Channels: General behaviour, distribution costs and existing distribution infrastructure. Commitment: Market access, tariff and non-tariff barriers. Communication: Existing media infrastructure, commonly used promotional techniques. Contractual obligations: Business practices, insurance, legal obligations Caveats: Special precautions to be taken

Dealing with cultural issues Before entering a new market, companies must carefully understand the cultural environment, and avoid common pitfalls. Cultural anthropologist, J A Lee has used the term, Self Reference Criterion to describe the tendency of people to be biased by their own cultural experience and value systems while interpreting a business situation in an overseas environment. Managers must look at the business problem both in terms of the home country and host country cultures to minimize the cultural bias. They must avoid ethnocentricism, the tendency to view the home culture as being superior to the host culture. At the same time, cultural differences should not be overestimated. Sometimes it is the foreign element which appeals to local customers. Two commonly used examples in the literature on global marketing illustrate these points. Procter & Gamble (P&G) introduced the Ace detergent in Mexico without modifying the chemical composition. P&G did not take into account that people used washing machines in the US while Mexicans washed clothes in rivers. Consequently the product failed to click. Later, P&G not only modified the chemical composition but also packed it in smaller sizes using plastic bags instead of cardboard to keep the detergent dry. In contrast, the leading toy maker, Mattel decided to customize its Barbie doll for the Japanese market. For eight years, sales did not pick up momentum. Only when Mattel reintroduced Barbie with more western looks, did sales take off. . Culture has an important influence on the marketing mix. Culture also determines buying motivation. For example, in highly feminine and low uncertainty avoidance cultures, people look for safety and value. Culture also influences pricing. Pricing is dependent on how willing customers are to pay for products. While in some cultures, high price may signal premium quality, in others, it can be interpreted as taking customers for a ride. Culture can also affect the distribution strategy. For example, in some cultures, direct selling is looked down upon. Avon, for example, had to reorient its direct selling approach in countries like China and Taiwan. Last but not the least, culture has a major influence on the communication strategy. Advertising campaigns that are highly effective in one culture may be counter productive in another. At the same time, global companies should always watch out for commonalities across cultures. An universal is a mode of behavior which spans cultures. For example, music as an art form is applicable across cultures. So the musical song type commercial can be used across cultures. However, the type of music used may have to be varied across cultures. Because of greater travel and better means of communication such as satellite television and the Internet, trends in categories such as clothing and beverages are converging. Global marketers must look for universals so that they can standardise some elements of the marketing mix to cut costs and keep the price affordable to customers. Understanding new markets

While choosing new markets, global companies must consider various macro and micro factors. Macro level issues include the political/regulatory environment, financial/economic environment, socio cultural issues and technological infrastructure. At a micro level, competitive considerations, availability of manpower, local infrastructure such as transportation & logistics network and sophistication of mass media for advertising are important. It usually makes sense to do a preliminary screening on the basis of different criteria and then do an in-depth analysis of the selected countries. The factors which need to be examined carefully, include legal and religious restrictions, political stability, economic stability, income distribution, literacy rate, education, age distribution, life expectancy and penetration of television sets in homes. Political risks, especially the attitude of the local government and political parties need to be evaluated carefully Entering new markets Companies have to choose between simultaneous and incremental/sequential entry into different markets. Simultaneous entry involves high risk and high return. It enables a firm to build learning curve advantages quickly and pre-empt competitors. On the other hand, this strategy consumes more resources, needs strong managerial capabilities and is inherently more risky. In contrast, incremental entry involves less risk, less resources and a steady and systematic process of gaining international experience. The main drawbacks with this method are that competitors have time to catch up and retaliate. Within a given market too, companies have to decide on incremental or phased expansion. Again, let us take the case of India. Setting up a national presence can take some doing. But the task looks easier when certain practical realities are kept in mind. While India is huge, much of the target segment for many global marketers lies in the mega cities of Delhi, Mumbai and the six largest urban agglomerations Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Pune. By focusing on these areas, quicker results can be obtained more cost effectively. Timing is another important issue while entering new markets. An early entrant can develop a strong customer franchise, exploit the most profitable segments and establish formidable barriers to entry. On the other hand, an early entrant may have to invest heavily to stimulate demand and build the distribution infrastructure, especially in developing economies. Competitors who enter the market later, may be able to market their wares incurring relatively low promotional expenditure. The key questions while entering overseas markets include: Which product line/lines should be used as the launch vehicle for globalization? Which markets should be entered first? What would be the optimal mode of market entry? How rapidly should the company expand globally? One of the best examples of a company which entered the right overseas market at the right time is Suzuki Motor of Japan. Suzuki looks well positioned today in emerging markets, even though it is small compared to Toyota, General Motors and Ford, thanks to the bold strategy pursued by Chairman, Osamu Suzuki. Suzuki chose to go to India instead of North America or Europe, at a time when India was still a caged tiger. He saw the underdeveloped Indian car market as a great opportunity. After about 25 years of operations in India, Suzuki has a 55 percent share of the Indian car market. Suzukis venture in India called Maruti Udyog Ltd is the unchallenged leader in the Indian auto industry. Choosing the mode of entry While entering new markets, a company has various options. These include contract manufacturing, licensing, franchising, joint ventures, strategic alliances and wholly owned subsidiaries. Contract manufacturing A local partner can be appointed to manufacture the product. Contract manufacturing avoids the need for heavy investments and facilitates a quick entry with a lot of flexibility. But, there can be supply bottlenecks in such arrangements if the partner does not make the necessary investments and production does not keep pace with demand. It may also be difficult to maintain the desired quality levels, if the partner does not have the required expertise/commitment. Licensing Licensing confers the right on a local partner to utilize a specific asset such as patent, trademark, copyright, product or process for a fee over a specified period of time. Licensing is particularly advantageous for companies that lack the resources and expertise to invest in foreign facilities. Licensing not only allows a company to get around import barriers but also lowers exposure to political/economic stability in the foreign market. Except for the fluctuations in royalty income, all the other risks are absorbed by the local partner. Licensing of course comes with some disadvantages. Revenues from licensing may cannibalize those which were getting generated by exports earlier. It is quite possible that the licensee may not be fully committed to the agreement, especially in the long run. If the commitment/enthusiasm of the licensee is half baked, the revenues generated will be well below their potential. If a trademark is involved, any wrong or short term opportunistic moves by the licensee will end up tarnishing the trade mark. Licensing builds up a future competitor (if licensees decide to part ways) and restricts future market development. Quality control is also a source of worry in licensing. Franchising Franchising is similar to licensing but more complex, with the franchisee being in charge of various managerial processes, typically including a strong service element. The franchisee gets the right to use the franchisors trade name, trademarks, and expertise in a given terri tory for a specific period of time. In global marketing, master franchising is often used. The franchisor appoints a master franchisee who in turn sells local franchises within the country/region.
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Franchising involves limited financial investment. As in licensing, the investments and risks of the franchisor are limited. Since the profits of franchisees are directly related to their efforts, they can be highly motivated. But finding suitable franchisees is not easy. The franchisor may also find it difficult to exercise control over franchisees. Quality control is again an area of concern in franchising. Joint Ventures In a joint venture, a company agrees to share equity/other resources with another partner(s) to establish a new entity in the market being entered. The partners are typically local entrepreneurs or local government agencies/government linked companies. For example, Suzuki the Japanese car maker established a highly successful joint venture with the Indian government in the early 1980s. The joint venture virtually redefined and significantly expanded the Indian car market. It helped Suzuki to deal with government regulations effectively. Despite occasional tensions, the joint venture survived for several years. Only a couple of years back, the Indian government began divesting its stake as part of its efforts to relinquish control on the economy. Today Suzukis Indian subsidiary, Maruti Udyog Ltd sells more cars in India than the parent company sells in Japan. Joint ventures can be of two types. A cooperative joint venture involves collaboration between the partners, without any equity investments. For example, the foreign party may bring to the table manufacturing expertise while the local partner may provide distribution support. Such joint ventures may also take the shape of strategic alliances. (This is covered in the next section). In an equity joint venture, the partners pool in capital too. Starbucks has taken the joint venture route for entering the Russian market. The partner is MH Alshaya, a Kuwait retail firm that operates Starbucks locations in the middle east. Unlike licensing/franchising, the revenue potential in a joint venture is greater. So is the control over local operations. Joint ventures also generate more synergies. For example, the local partner can bring to the table expertise on the local environment, distribution network, personal contacts with government officials and close relationships with opinion leaders in the country. Full control cannot be exercised over a joint venture but a global company can call the shots by putting key people in critical functions. A joint venture spreads risk, minimises capital requirements and provides quick access to expertise and contacts in local markets. However, most joint ventures lead to some form of conflict between partners. If these conflicts are not properly resolved, they tend to collapse. Differences between partners can arise in areas such as pricing, resource allocation and control over key assets. Often, the reason for such tensions is a clash of objectives. Unilevers joint venture with AKI in South Korea, for example, had to be term inated after seven years, following disagreements in various areas-branding, resource allocation and new product development. Similarly the joint venture between Procter & Gamble and Godrej in India was terminated following major differences (Please see box item). Goldman Sachs, the global investment bank started off with a joint venture in India. After about 10 years, Goldman decided to go on its own, in a country with mouth watering prospects. Indias market ca pitalization recently 2 touched $1 trillion, up from $280 billion five years ago. Goldman has quickly put together a team of expatriates who understand the companys systems and cultures well. The team has got off to a flying start, being involved in two record breaking deals Vodafones $11 billion purchase of Hutchinson Essar and ICICI Banks $4 billion public issue. Alliances Companies may sometimes come together, in a more informal arrangement, to pursue important goals that are beneficial to both organizations. The nature of the alliance can vary depending on the objectives and the skills being pooled in. Sometimes, the partners may share technological expertise. In other cases, they may pool distribution assets. Alliances can be a useful tool to defend the existing market position, catch up with competitors and in some cases restructure. Alliances are not easy to manage. Often they collapse after a period of time. The ones which do well are characterized by top management commitment, clear objectives and cultural similarities among the companies involved. A dynamic approach is desirable as the scope of an alliance often tends to change over time. (Alliances are covered in more detail in Chapter 9). The P & G - Godrej split In late 1992, the American FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) giant, Procter & Gamble (P & G) and a leading Indian business group, Godrej set up a marketing joint venture, P&G -Godrej (PGG) in which P&G held a 51% stake and Godrej the remaining 49%. David Thomas, P&G's country manager in India was appointed as CEO while Adi Godrej, the head of the Indian company, became the chairman. P&G paid Godrej roughly Rs 50 crores to acquire its detergent brands, Trilo, Key and Ezee. Godrej became the sole supplier to the joint venture on a cost plus basis. P&G, on its part, gave a commitment that it would utilise Godrej's soap making capacity of 80,000 tonnes per annum. Godrej was allowed to complete its existing manufacturing contracts for two other MNCs, Johnson & Johnson and Reckitt & Coleman, but could not take up any new contracts. P&G, on its part, would not appoint any other supplier until Godrej's soap making capacity had been fully utilised. Godrej transferred 400 of its sales people to the joint venture. For both sides, the joint venture seemed to make a lot of sense. P&G got immediate access to Godrej's soap making facilities. It would have taken P&G at least a couple of years to implement a greenfield project. Godrej also had expertise in vegetable oil technology for making soaps. This expertise was useful in a country like India, where beef tallow could not be used and soap manufacturers had to depend on vegetable oil such as palm oil and rice bran oil. P&G also gained immediate access to a well connected distribution network consisting of some two million outlets. Even though P&G had been around in India for some time, its Indian operations were essentially those of the erstwhile Richardson Hindustan, which dealt primarily in pharmaceutical products such as Vicks. The non-pharma distribution network of Godrej, acted as a fine complement to P&G's existing pharma network. Godrej, on the other hand, was struggling with unutilised capacity. Godrej also hoped to pick up useful knowledge from P&G, in

Time, October 15, 2007.

areas such as manufacturing, brand management and surfactant technology. In short, it looked as though the joint venture had created a win-win situation, with tremendous learning opportunities, for both partners. The P&G Godrej alliance became operational in April 1993. Around this time, P&G increased its stake in its Indian subsidiary P&G (India) from 51% to 65%, while Godrej, after having operated for several years as a private company, went public. P&G engineers introduced new systems such as Good Manufacturing Practices and Material Resources Planning in Godrej plants. The two companies seemed to show a considerable amount of sensitivity to the cultural differences between them. For about a year, it looked as though things were going fine. Thereafter, elements of distrust began to surface and the two companies found the differences in management styles too significant to be brushed aside. By December, 1994, rumours were rife that P&G and Godrej did not see eye to eye on many key issues. One of the main problems that the joint venture faced was that performance did not match up to expectations. In 1992, Godrej had sold 29,000 tonnes of soap. After increasing to 46,000 in 1994 the figure declined sharply to 38,000 tonnes in 1995. While sales volumes did not pick up as expected, costs began to rise. Due to the cost plus agreement, Godrej had little incentive to cut costs. Informed sources felt that Godrej was charging Rs 10,000 more per tonne than the accepted processing costs. Godrej, on its part, was unhappy that P&G was not doing enough to promote brands like Key and Trilo that it had nurtured over the years. It was also uncomfortable with P&G's methodical and analytical approach as opposed to its own instinctive method of launching brands at breakneck speed. P&G, on its part, felt that there was little logic or coordination in Godrej's brand 4 building exercises. Its multinational, worldwide policy set its own priorities, as explained by a P&G executive : "We believe in introducing long-term brands with sustainable consumer propositions. Without that, we just don't know how to sell." By mid 1994, sharp differences had developed between P&G and Godrej. A senior Godrej executive, H.K. Press, on deputation to the joint venture, was quietly eased out and sent back to a Godrej group company. A report in a leading Indian magazine aptly summed up the situation: "In an atmosphere of fraying trust, the advantages of the alliance faded into the background. P&G realized it had gained distribution strengths but found itself locked into an unsustainable manufacturing agreement and a loss making joint venture. Godrej felt let down on two counts. The capacity was not being utilised as guaranteed and more cruci ally, P&G's manufacturing process was not delivering any benefit to Godrej's painstakingly built portfolio of brands." In late 1996, P&G and Godrej announced that the alliance was being terminated. The two companies would have little to do with each other, except for Godrej continuing to make Camay on behalf of P&G for two more years and providing office space to P&G at its Vikhroli complex. PGG would be taken over by P&G, which would also retain the detergent brands, Trilo, Key and Ezee. Most of PGG's 550 people and the distribution network consisting of some 3000 stockists would stay with P&G. Godrej would absorb about 100 sales people and get back its seven soap brands, which had been leased to PGG. Both P&G and Godrej felt that the amicable parting of ways made sense. Adi Godrej remarked : "This will enable us to pursue business expansion 2 opportunities that have occurred as a result of liberalization." David Thomas explained that the parting of ways would enable "both parties to independently pursue the broad array of growth prospects offered by the strong pace of economic reform."
6 5

Wholly owned subsidiaries A wholly owned subsidiary gives a global company full control over the operations. Marketing, operations, and sourcing can all be planned and executed exactly the way the company would like it to be. By setting up a subsidiary, the company also indicates its strong commitment to the local market. But the risks of this approach are also high. The company will have to bear the full burden of losses if things go wrong. Moreover, heavy resource commitments will have to be made in terms of management time and attention. Substantial political risks may also be involved. But in some cases, wholly owned subsidiaries may be unavoidable. Indeed, they may make a lot of business sense. For example, many global banks are setting up captive off shoring centres in India. One of the key reasons for not using third party vendors is confidentiality of client data. Whenever there is a danger of leakage of proprietary knowledge, wholly owned subsidiaries may be the route to take.

CURRENT GLOBAL TRENDS

Surfactant is a key chemical ingredient in soaps and detergents to facilitate the cleansing action.

Developing markets all over the world are experiencing rapid industrialization, creating growing industrial and consumer markets, economic growth and new opportunities for foreign investment. In China, few days before the new year the foreign outlets are jammed with bargain hunters pushing carts loaded high with food, kitchen appliances and clothing. The shoppers here are Chinas noveau rich. Mega stores ha ve opened in a number of Chinese cities. The Chinese market may be difficult to tap and may not be profitable for short business firms as they are learning about the ways and tastes of the east, which is so different from the west. Extended families are spending money on kids, a common form of conspicuous consumption in the developing world. Even in China the spending power of youth is not to be discounted. China and other emerging markets throughout the world will account for 75% of the wor lds total growth. The transition from socialist to market driven economies, the liberalization of trade and investment policies in developing countries, the transfer of public sector enterprises and the rapid development of regional alliances are changing the way countries will trade and prosper. Decades ago larger parts of the developing world were hostile toward foreign investment and imposed severe regulatory barriers to foreign trade. Today it is different with the collapse of the Marxist- the socialist economic setup and the spectacular success of Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and other Asian countries. It has become apparent that the path to prosperity was open and direct investment. China, Taiwan, HongKong, South Korea, Poland, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and India are some countries undergoing impressive changes in their economies and emerging as vast markets. In these countries there is over expanding and changing demand for goods and services, markets are dynamic and developing entities are reflecting the changing life style of culture. A pattern of economic growth and global trade appears to be emerging. It consists of three international market region that comprise major trading blocks. Europe, Asia, America, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines are beginning to chase the lenders. These are the global trading blocks of the future. India now has the look and feel of the next China, but it continues to have problems. While it has overthrown the restrictions of earlier years it is not moving towards reforms and open markets with the same degree of vigour found in other emerging markets. Resistance to change comes from bureaucrats, farmers, union members as well as some industrialists who have lived behind protective barriers that excluded competition. India is second in size only to China and both contain enormous low- cost labour. India ghas a large industrial base and is developing as a centre for computer software. These give India enormous potential. Indias weak infrastructure makes many aspects of doing business difficult and costly but the Indian government is addressing these problems. Private sector have entry power generation, oil and gas exploration, telecommunications, civil aviation, cellular phones. India still presents a difficult business environment. Widespread corruption and a deeply ingrained system of bribery make every transaction complicated and expensive. This corruption is persuasive, systematic, running from the bottom to top of the political order.

Multinational Competition and its impact on Indian Brands With the entry of multinationals companies Indian brands now had to compete with the array of MNC brands. theMNC brands enjoyed several strengths: -money that support brand building over several years -superior marketing/brand building skills -ability to adapt to the local conditions -backup of superior technology -experience gained from operations in several markets around the globe. The Indian brands had the advantage of operating in the home ground, they were culturally closer to the consumer and had a well entrenched distribution channel and a reasonable amount of brand patronage and loyalty. However the MNCs were able to easily nullify al l such advantages enjoyed by Indian brands. Indian brands had the the advantage of the lower cost of production and therefore they could compete on price. But the trouble was that these brands were often perceived to be of a lower quality compared to the multinational brands. The MNCs w ere able to narrow the cost/price differential and also redefine the quality standards and improve the price-performance equation of their brands relative to the Indian brands. The Indian consumer has no particular affinity for Indian brands. The average Indian consumer does not seem to be g uided by the be Indian- buy Indian slogan. Indian brands were affected in multiple ways: -loss of volumes and market shares -squeeze on profit margins -the compulsion to allocate additional resources for the brand, often beyond the capacity of the firm -losing the race finally to the foreign brand -takeover of the brand by the MNC if the brand managed to do well. The onslaught of the foreign brands is most visible in the colour television segment. While ther collective share of BPL, Videocon, Onida and other desi brands has dropped, the MNC brands have grown. Some Indian players have been forced to do contract manufacturing for MNC brands to make use of their idle production capacity. In the Audio segment the MNC brands like Aiwa. Sony and Panasonic have been gaining steadily and Indian brands like BPL are now going further down in their market shares.

In shampoos too MNC brands have been dominating the Indian market. Sunsilk, Clinic, Pantene. Pantene holds the number one position among shampoos internationally It has been an unequal battle between players of unequal strength. It was unequal due to: lack of technology clout capital inadequacy lack of economy of scale lack of product clout and brand power The MNCs with their global capacities could feed the Indian market on the basis of marginal costing. Against this the Indian companies had very unviable production capacities and cost,. The new all pervasive competition is the major challenge facing business firms in India in the liberalised era. The ground has become free for all. There is competition from imported products, competition from substitute products, from new sources of supplies. There is competition from the technology angle. Many industries turned to exports due to domestic competition. Most Indian firms find global marketing a difficult game due to; lack of global size low productivity low quality lack of brand power

Product packaging for international markets

The packaging component includes style, features, labelling, trademarks, brand name, quality, price and all aspects of a products package. Packaging components frequently require both discretionary and mandatory changes. Some countries require labels to be printed in more than one language while others forbid the use of any foreign language. Elements in the packaging component may incorporate symbols, which convey an unintended meaning and thus must be changed One companys red circle trademark was popular in some countries but was rejected in parts of Asia where it brought up images of the Japanese flag. Yellow flowers used in another company trademark were rejected in Mexico where a yellow flower symbolized death or disrespect. Package size and price have an important relationship in poor countries. Companies find they have to put the product in small packs to bring the price within the spending norms. Unilever makes its Sunsilk brand shampoo affordable in India by packaging in sachet packs Care must be taken to ensure that corporate trademarks and other parts of packaging component do not have unacceptable symbolic meaning. Particular attention must be given to translations of brand names and colours used in the packaging. When Ford tried to sell its Pinto automobile in Brazil, it quickly found that the cars name translated to tiny male genitals. White is the colour of purity in western countries but in the easte rn world it is the colour of mourning. In China P&G packaged diapers in a pink wrapper. The Chinese shunned the pink package. The Chinese do want anyone to thinkhey have a girl; they prefer the male child. There are countless reasons why a company may have to adapt its packaging. In some countries law stipulates specific packaging and measuring units. Words like jumbo pack, giant pack may be illegal. High humidity and the need for long shelf life (because of long extended distribution system) may need extra heavy packaging for some products. The Japanese attitude about quality includes the packaging of a product. A poor packaged product conveys an impression of poor quality to a Japanese Again in Japan, Lever sells Lux soap in stylish boxes because in Japan more than half of all soap cakes are purchased during the two gift giving seasons. Soft drinks are sold in smaller size to accommodate the smaller Japanese hand. Labelling laws vary from country to country. In Saudi Arabia product names must be specific. Hot Chilli will not do; it must be spiced hot chilli. Coca Cola had problems in Brazil with its Diet Coke. Brazillian law interprets diet to have medicinal qualities and under the law producers must give daily recommended consumption on the label of all medicine. Coke had to get special approval to get around this restriction. The expensive labelling to meet Chinese market entry cost prohibitive. Marketing managers must examine each element of the packaging component be certain that the packaging of the product convey the appropriate meaning and value to a new market. Otherwise they may find themselves the USA soft drink company which had six-pointed stars as decoration in its package labels. Weak sales revealed that Arabs interpreted the stars as pro-Israel sentiments Special packaging and marketing requirements must be considered for shipment destined to be transported over water. Packaging for domestic markets often falls short for goods subject to extreme climates or unprotected outdoor storage. Protection against rough handling, moisture and pilferage may require heavy crating which increases total packaging costs as well as freight rates. All countries regulate the marking of goods and containers on on imports and non-compliance can result in severe penalties From the consumer side it is seen that consumers see far more than a container of label. They are buying a personality, an attitude perhaps even a set of beliefs. A majority of consumers transferred the sensation from the container to its content. The look of the packaging has an enormous impact on how product quality will be. Colour is one of the most potent tool in packaging. Studies of eye movement have shown that colours trigger the fastest response of any element of a package. lt is felt that yellow is the most noticeable hue but for some products yellow had negative connotation. Feminine forms, circles and ovals suggest completeness, receptiveness and enclosure and provides the underlying theme for many packages because these have the most positive associations. But to work well it must be inflicted with some other symbol.

The success or failure of packaging abroad depends on an awareness of the fundamental differences in cultures. Understanding of cultural values of colour, shapes, symbols of the various countries is necessary. Thus packaging is a silent seller it attracts consumers it should ensure good sealing should maintain quality for long time shelf life keep transportation in mind should be cost effective should be environmentally friendly and biodegradable colours should be carefully chosen information on packaging should be as prescribed by the legal authorities should be tamperproof should be of international standards. Meanings and significance of colours across various countries. West Red danger anger cowardice caution sex greed safety purity virtue machismo masculinity death Japan danger anger happiness nobility future energy youth death mourning villainy cold evil China joy festivity honour royalty youth growth Brazil anger hate money wealth hope wealth Nigeria danger evil sunshine brightness wealth Korea danger anger wealth nature peace freshness innocence purity cool freshness evil darkness Middle East danger evil

yellow green

happiness prosperity fertility strength

white

mourning humility strength power evil

purity peace happiness

purity

purity mourning protection

blue

calm peace evil

black

death

evil mystery

Promotion in International Markets ,Sales promotion consists of those promotional activities other than advertising, personal selling and publicity. As such, any promotional activities that do not fall under advertising, personal selling and publicity of the promotional mix are considered sales promotion In markets where the consumer is hard to reach because of media limitations, the percentage of the promotional budget are increased. In some less developed countries sales promotions constitute the major portion of the promotional effort in rural and less accessible parts of the market. In parts of Latin America, a part of the advertising-sales budget for both Pepsi and Coco-cola is spent on carnival trucks, which make frequent trips to outlying villages to promote the brand. When the carnival van makes a stop in a village, it may show a movie or provide some other fkind of entertainment, the price of admission is an unopened bottle of the brand purchased from the local retailer. The unopened bottle is to be exchanged for a cold bottle plus a coupon for another bottles. This promotional effort tends to stimulate sales and encourages local retailers, who are given prior notice of the carnival trucks arrival, to stock the product. An effective promotional tool when the product concept is new or has a small market share is product sampling. Nestle Baby Foods faced such a problem in France in its attempt to gain share from Gerber, the brand leader. The company combined sampling with a novel sales promotion programme to gain brand recognition and to build goodwill. Most French take off for long vacation in summer, with the whole family piled up in the car and staying at well-maintained campgrounds, nestle provided rest-0stops structures along the highway where parents would feed and change their babies. Sixty four hostesses at these rest stops welcome 1.20,000 babies visits and dispense 6,00,000 samples of baby food each year. There are free diapers , a changing table and high chairs for the babies to sit in while dining. When Kellogs expanded its business abroad, it had to enlighten consumers in South and Central America, Middle East and Asia about dry cereal and cold breakfast. To instil this new eating habit, Kellogs used samples and demonstrations in conjunction with a heavy advertising campaign A success of a promotion may depend on local adaptation. Responses to promotions can vary across promotional types and cultures. Major constraints are imposed by local laws, which may not permit premiums or free gifts to be given. Some countries law s control the amount of discount

given at retail outlets and others require permits for all sales promotions. In one country no competitor is permitted to spend more on sales promotion than any other company selling the product. Sales promotion is not restricted to the stimulation of demand at the consumer level. It may be used to gain middlemens support as well. It is also not limited to consumer products. Pfizer attracts drug wholesalers by sponsoring trips and other events. Gifts are given to doctors and their wives are taken on shopping sprees Sales promotion is effective when a product is first introduced to a market. A Japanese firm created a great deal of excitement in Thailand by including game cards in its detergent boxes and consumers could not stop buying more and more in search of the winning cards. Premiums and Gifts European countries have a larger number of restrictions than USA for sales promotion. The legal requirements are so diverse that standardization of promotion regulations in Europe may be difficult. Belgium requires a government tax on window signs. Most countries in Europe have a limit on the value of the premium given. Colgate was sued by a local blade manufacturer in Greece for giving away razor blades with shaving cream,. Austria considered premiums to be a form of discriminatory treatment towards buyers. In France, it is illegal to offer premiums that are conditional on the purchase of another product. In Finland, premiums are allowed as long as the word free is not used with them. When Radio Shack duplicated its US strategy by giving away flashlights the firm found itself in violation of Germanys sales law regarding premiums and gifts. Germany and Scandinavia have strict laws concerning promotions to protect their consumers from being distracted from the true value of the brand. Argentina, Austria, Norway and Venezuela virtually ban the use of merchandise premiums Price Reductions, Discounts and Sales Austria prohibits cash reductions that give preferential treatment to different groups of customers Scandinavia discounts are prohibited In Germany authorities have to be notifies in advance when a sale is planned. It is allowed when a firm is going out of business or is giving up its product line; or end of winter or end of summer and a twenty-fifth anniversary Samples In Russia tobacco firms freely distribute samples. In USA alcoholic beer cannot be offered as a free sample Germany restricts door-to-door free samples that limit population coverage as well as the size of the sample pack Sweepstakes, Games and Comtests In France the entry form must be separate from the order form, for a sweepstake to be valid. Germany permits sweepstakes as long as they do not create psychological pressure on customers; it should not be misleading and should not offer a prize of substantial value. Lotteries are illegal in many countries eg France, England, USA. A sweepstakes, game or a contest to be valid must have only two of the following elements, chance, consideration or price. Internet Marketing The Internet has become a powerful marketing tool for present day marketers to make their presence on the global marketing scenario. The rapidly changing technological environment that has led to the creation of the internet and the worldwide web (www) is now used to pursue international markets aggressively. Almost 80% companies/businesses use the Internet to grow their business and keep in touch with their customers. The Internet mediums potential as both a communication and transaction vehicle has been realized by all the companies or businesses that operate globally and internationally. The use of the internet for telephone communications and facsimile transmissions is growing at an alarming rate that large telecommunication companies are providing services for internet telephony. Almost all companies have set up their commercial web sites and have set their place firmly in cyber space. The Internet is a worldwide means of exchanging information and communicating through a series of interconnected computers. It was started as a U.S. Defence Department project, but is now accessible to anyone with a computer and a modem. The most popular component of the Internet is the World Wide Web (www).The Web has developed as a communication & sales tool. Website- A site developer or a web master creates any one of the following (3 types of websites: 1) Information website- this is product oriented. 2) Recognition & association website- this is promotion oriented. 3) Experimental website- this connects with the user through sensory audio visual effects. Role played by World Wide Web:

It facilitates the marketer to concentrate on the target audience. It enables the marketer to tailor the message in the most appropriate manner to connect with the audience.

World Wide Web enjoys maximum speed in communication & it overcomes the geographical barriers. Compared to other media, it enjoys tremendous cost advantage since it achieves global reach with minimum expenditure. 4. The World Wide Web provides the marketer scientific mechanism to measure the viewership of the marketers advertisements. 5. Updating & upgrading the campaign are very easy in www. 6. Interactive techniques can be best employed in the web. 7. Modern youth indulge in multi-tasting & the www facilitates such operations. 8. WWW creates virtual markets as well as real markets for the marketer. 9. The latest mechanism of m-commerce (mobile commerce) is based on e-commerce techniques. 10. Customer service operations like helplines can be easily managed through the www. 11. The web can be used to crystallize the brand image in the minds of the viewers. 12. It is a very effective mechanism to obtain feedback. Problems of www: 1. These advertisements are exposed to the risk of computer viruses which are deliberately planted by hackers. 2. Web snarls may occur. This is when very often the users of the web may have to spend much time in uploading & downloading. 3. Web clutter- This is due to too many advertisements appearing on the screen. Thus the impact is lost. 4. Deception- Cyber crimes are very common and this spoils the brand equity of the product/service. 5.Wasteful expenditure- Since the viewers can block such advertisements it could be a wasteful expenditure for the marketers if advertisements are blocked by the viewers. 6. Inadequate infrastructure- The less developed countries lack adequate infrastructure & thus connectivity using this mechanism cannot be adopted to these countries.

Steps in internet advertising

Creation of home page

Home page identifies a company, a brand, a business to a customer. It can be used to interact on a B2B basis or a B2C basis. It can be product oriented or lifestyle oriented. It can act as the base link with many sub links.

Selection of internet tools. Banner advertisements The most common form of advertising on the Web is banner ads. Banner ads may be used for creating awareness or recognition or for direct-marketing objectives. Banner ads may take on a variety of forms, as well as a number of names such as side panels, skyscrapers, or verticals. Initially banner ads constituted the vast majority of advertising on the Net, but studies indicating their questionable effectiveness have led to a decline in usage. Reports on click-through rates vary, but most studies indicate a less than 1 percent response rate. A few studies have shown an increase in response rates in recent years. These findings may lead to increased use of this method of advertising in the future.

Sponsorships - Another common form of advertising is sponsorships. There are two types of sponsorships. Regular sponsorships occur when a company pays to sponsor a section of a site, for example, BMWs sponsorship of a page on AutoWorld.com and TATA equity fund s ponsorship of a page on FT.coms financial section. A more involved agreement is the content sponsorship, in which the spon sor not only provides money in return for name association but participates in providing the content itself. In some cases, the site is responsible for providing content and having it approved by the sponsor; in other instances, the sponsor may contribute all or part of the content. Due in part to the lack of effectiveness of banner ads, sponsorships have been increasing in popularity. Pop-Ups - When you access the Internet, have you ever seen small windows appear such as Cursor Mania, Bharat matrimonial etc? Such windows are known as pop-ups, and they often appear when you access a certain site. Pop-ups are usually larger than a banner ad but smaller than a full screen. Pop-unders are ads that appear underneath the web page and become visible only when the user leaves the site. While some companies believe that pop-ups and pop-unders are effective forms of advertising, others disagree. Consumer complaints have led Google.com, to no longer accept these advertising forms. (According to iVillage, its research indicates that as many as 90 percent of its users dislike such ads.) Nevertheless, indications are that despite the annoying qualities of pop-ups and pop-unders, more and more websites are offering this type of advertising. Interstitials - Interstitials are ads that appear on your screen while you are waiting for a sites content to download. Although some advertisers believe that interstitials are irritating and more of a nuisance than a benefit, a study conducted by Grey Advertising found that only 15 percent of those surveyed felt that the ads were irritating (versus 9 percent for banner ads) and that 47 percent liked the ads (versus 38 percent for banners). Perhaps more importantly, while ad recall of banner ads was approximately 51 percent, recall of interstitials was much higher, at 76 percent. For example Zapak.coms website features such type of ad; when the game is being loaded on to your browser.

Push Technologies - Push technologies, or webcasting technologies, allow companies to push a messa ge to consumers rather than waiting for them to find it. Push technologies dispatch web pages and news updates and may have sound and video geared to specific audiences and even individuals. Companies provide screen savers that automatically hook the viewer to their sites for sports, news, weather reports, and/or other information that the viewer has specified. Users can use personalization that is, they can personalize their sites to request the kinds of specific information they are most interested in viewing. For example, if you are into college sports, you can have updates sent to you through sites providing college sports information. The service is paid for by advertisers who flash their messages on the screen. Links - While considered by some as not a type of advertising, links serve many of the same purposes as are served by the types discussed above. For example, a visitor to one site may click on a link that provides additional information and/or related materials at another site. At the bottom of the homepage at women.com are a number of links to magazines, including Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping among others. Clicking on one of these takes you to the magazines site and usually a pop-up for a subscription to the magazine appears. Other forms of advertising, such as ads placed in chat rooms, are also available. Given the limited use of many of these alternatives, we suggest the reader consult additional resources for more information. Button - An advertisement smaller than a traditional banner ad. Buttons are usually square in shape and located down the left or right side of the site; sometimes referred to as tiles. Rich mail/media - Advanced technology used in Internet ads, such as streaming video, which allows interaction and special effects such as music, animation graphics, audio etc to be included in the e-mail message. When you open up a rich e-mail, your e-mail client automatically calls up your Internet connection & launches an html page in your browser. E-mail clients that are offline will invite you to click on the link when you have your Internet connection open again. Adver game videos these are used to project advertisements through games. They enable the users to play games with celebrities in the virtual world. E.g. Thums up, Rebook Hexride games. Contests - online contest are announced as an advertising tool. E.g. Roadies Battle ground. Search Engine Marketing Used in search engines such as Yahoo!, a meta ad is an advertisement displayed on the results page of a search, specific to the searched term. Meta ads are also referred to as keyword advertising. This method enables an advertiser to target a specific audience. Advertisers pay search engines to display their banners only when relevant keywords are searched for by a user.

Classified Ads- These are similar to the classified ads in newspaper. There are several classified ad websites and many offer free classified advertising opportunities since they are supported by ad banners of other websites. You can search for homes, cars, jobs, furniture, business opportunities etc and the search can be narrowed to your city or expanded nationwide. E-mail Advertising: This is one of the fastest growing forms of Internet advertising. Marketers have also known that direct mail advertising is the most effective medium for generating inquiries & leads and for closing a sale. It is also one of the most expensive medium on a cost-per-exposure basis. Now, thanks to the Internet, the power of direct mail has increased even more, and the cost has reduced dramatically. It is however very important to differentiate responsible e-mail advertising from spam which is really just electronic junk mail.

Spam generally refers to unsolicited, mass e-mail advertising for a product or service that is sent by an unknown entity to a purchased mailing list or newsgroup. Spammers face the wrath of frustrated customers, tired of having their inboxes filled with unwanted e-mails. In contrast, responsible e-mail advertising is personalized, targeted, graphically sophisticated, and sent from established companies/brands with the recipients permission. Many marketers focus the bulk of their e-mail efforts on customer retention and relationship management (CRM) rather than on prospecting. One of the most popular trends on the Internet today is actually an application of e-mail- Viral Marketing ( successful examples are Amazon.com, eBay, Napster, Hotmail).

VIRAL MARKETING: Viral marketing is the Internet version of word-of-mouth advertising via e-mail. The term was coined in 1977 by Steven Jurvetson and his partners at the venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson. They were describing free e-mail provider Hotmails incredible growth to 12 million users in just 18 months through the use of a little message at the bottom of every e-mail. The message invited recipients to sign up for their own free Hotmail account. Since that time, many other marketers have come up with ways to induce their satisfied customers to recommend their product or service to friends & family members. One of the keys to the success of viral marketing is to present an offer with real perceived value- one that people will want to share with one another; this may happen by using a referral program and in this manner members are rewarded each time when someone they refer to the site signs up and becomes a member. Monitoring the advertisement The projection of the ads must be constantly monitored to identify any snag in its projection Measuring the impact The number of clicks (hits) experienced by a specific web page indicates the number of times an ad might have been viewed.

Upgrading and updating the content The marketer should ensure the constant updating of information and upgrading the quality of the advertisements. Web pages Our world is ever changing. In todays day and age, on of the most important ways of communication and one of the most import ant elements of the mass media are Web pages. It is a new and innovative way to get in touch with the world outside. It is a step forward in the direction of complete globalization. It basically is a symbol of increased global unity. The web brings every continent closer together Regarding the increased global unity, it is true that many different kinds of information are now available on the web and for those who wish to know other societies, their cultures and people, it becomes easier. When one travels to a foreign country or a remote town, some information about the place can be found. The web is available to individuals outside mass media. In order to publish a web page, one does not have to go through a publisher or other media institution and potential readers could be found in all corners of the globe. The WWW can be a great place to accomplish research on many topics. But putting documents or pages on the web is easy, cheap or free, unregulated and unmonitored. The great wealth that the net has brought to so much of society is the ability for people to express themselves, find one another, exchange ideas, discover possible peers worldwide they never would have otherwise met and through hypertext links in web pages, suggest so many other peoples ideas and personalities to anyone who comes and clicks. Most pages found in general search engines for the web are self-published or published by business small and large with motives to get you to buy something or believe in a point of view. The web is about making information available. Making web pages accessible is actually pretty easy once one is aware of the common elements that affect how they are displayed. A webpage is a page of the www is a hypertext system that operates over the Internet. Types of web pages 1. informative pages 2. personal web pages 3. political/interest group web pages 4. marketing oriented web pages 5. entertainment pages There are various types of web pages and all of these cater to the different needs of different audiences and consumers. Web pages are need specific. They offer something for everyone. Web pages which are marketing oriented or which are product specific are now a new wave in the media business. These web pages are not just read. They are used web sites fuel the imagination people interact with the information visitors interact with the brand communication is two way- from brand to visitor and vice versa it is not a monologue. There is actual conversation with the visitor web pages help the user familiarize the visitor with the brand it is the only media where you can actually buy through advertising eg you can book tickets purchase products go into details also the increased opportunity to individuals is certainly observable in the countless personal pages as well as other groups such as families, small shops, which are not aming those who publish materials. The emergence of free web hosting services are perhaps an important factor in bringing this possibility into reality. The alternative media expanded into the web as well.

Web pages are used as a tool for democracy. But this is misused. The web has uncensored material or content in it which could be viewed by children or adults and this leads to corruption of the power of freedom vested in the individuals using the net and giving out information on the net Web pages for premium brands are also extremely helpful. they make the consumers appreciate the uniqueness of the product they help the users be up to date this helps the product make their brand image and their prices clear Most individuals visit a web site with some specific goal in mind; most requested information will be foung recent updates will be available the web has dynamic elements that change with time there is some sort of structured navigation web pages have a sort of clarity and simplicity to them. Hierarchy of the net. at first you have the net as a whole, as a medium of communication to mass audiences the net consists of search engines, eg google, alta vista etc these search engines help us find web sites these web sites are made up of web pages

Characteristics of web pages -It is the only form of media wherein other media are also available. Local newspapers, government publications and other materials are available on the net and therefore easier to access and so a variety of information obtainable with the same effort. -Web pages are a revolution in the thought process of the media. It is here that any type of in formation can be published. Web pages are not checked for accuracy. Some sites and pages may be used to express the personal opinion of certain individual on some issues which may not necessarily be facts. We find both supporting and countering arguments to web pages. -by using search engines the users can locate specific web pages in accordance to their needs -the net is a great tool for research, but finding quality web material and using it to your advantage is a challenge. -web pages are completely interactive sources of information in the media. It is a two way communication. Information is not just given out but the user can question and give in his own inputs as and when he pleases -web pages have a hierarchical structure, it is very different from the structures that newspapers or magazines may follow. The in formation in this case is divided into chapters, sections and sub sections making it easier for the consumers to find exactly what they are looking for. Drawbacks of web pages the actual purpose of the internet may not be articulated clearly it may be difficult to separate advertising form the actual and accurate information some marketing sites may offer misleading information in order to sell their products it does not have a far and wide reach as tv because illiterates, the lower class or the lower middle class may not have access to computers and even if they do they may not know how to operate them old people may not be computer savy the credibility is compromised the site creator may not be easily identified research may be difficult due to various reasons as a website may contain mounds of info but the user may not be able to tap into these sources All in all the net and its components are an interactive medium for finding information and asking questions. It is definitely a step towards global unity. The media is a new tool of communication and has had a great impact on the lives of many individuals including students and professionals Internet marketing Internet is a world wide system of computer network so that one person can access information available within seconds from all over the world on his computer screen. The nit also makes it possible for one computer to communicate with anyone in the world. World wide web www as this is commonly referred to is almost synonymous with the net. It is actually the most widely used part of the net and is an interlinked connection of hypertext documents over the net, known as homepages. Communication rings is a sort of network that helps one person communicate or chat with another using two different PCs. This sends messages directly between individuals Bundling this is a pricing tactic that is both common and powerful. It is the combination of products into larger packages. It is simple in concept, it can have larger effects on competition and consumers. Online suppliers are aggressive users of bundling. Content trees are indirect, they use central gathering point, such as still respond to each other, but flow of information happens at the central point. The use of www as a marketing tool. multimedia approach. What makes the web such an effective marketing tool is the fact that the files need not be simple text. The web offers a cost-effective opportunity to represent oneself using colour pictures, film clips and sound. - instant global coverage. The internet puts all big and small companies on equal footing and thus gives the smaller companies a considerable competitive advantage by moving to a global market from a simply a local one. Public relations PR activities are possible over the net and this gives the company increased exposure direct sales the web page should be built so that it can accept data entry to allow customers to order goods and services directly form the website. Today credit card payments, cash on delivery is also being allowed to increase sales marketing research the web page allows for online customer surveys. While this may not allow statistically sound random sampling methods, it does provide rapid feedback improved customer targeting one of the main uses of the web is browsing and gathering purchase related information. The web provides a highly targeted and self-selecting audience, unlike more traditional forms of media - personalisation Customers want a product or service that best matches their needs. The web can serve as the matchmaker that discovers and delivers personal information and individualised products. Personalization is a special form of product differentiation. It transforms a standard product or Service into a specialize solution for an individual new product development companies are able to achieve new ways of doing product development by relying on a few essential ideas flexibility modularity and feedback. Flexibility allows the new product process to respond effectively to rapidly changing market conditions. Modularity allows work to proceed in parallel

. Finally improved communication and feedback from early users can lead to higher quality in formation from customers much earlier than has been possible in the past/ www as a marketing tool 1. to establish a presence. There are more than 900 million people world wide who have access to the web, They cannot be ignored. 2. to network. To make connections with other people, with millions of potential clients and partners telling Them what the company does and how they can be reached, 24 hours a day, inexpensively and simply on the www 3. to make business information available 4. to serve the customer 5. to heighten public interest 6. to relese time sensitive material 7. to sell things 8. to make pictures, sound and film files available 9. to reach a highly desirable demographic market 10. to answer frequently asked questions 11. to stay in contact with salesperson 12 to open international market 13 to create a 24 hours service 14 to make changing information available quickly 15 to allow feedback from customers 16 to test market new services and products 17 to reach media 18 to reach the education and youth market 19 to reach the specialized market 20 to serve the local market Online marketing strategy

Step one: create your overall theme to your online business You cannot develop a business around a single product. Even if you are promoting a single p Product upfront, it is not the product that people want. They want benefits they receive out of the product. When designing the site, think about an ultimate benefit to build your site Ultimate benefits are what your prospects are really seeking. So do not base your busine just on products but on benefits. This will be the theme that binds everything else to the site and make people return to the site over and over again. Step two: develop a unique aspect, the USP, something that brings a uniqueness to the brand. An Unique selling proposition will make the brand stand out from the crowd online. Everyone is Selling books online but Amazon.com has become the most well known. They developed the Usp worlds largest bookstore which is what they are Step three: build relationship with the prospects. Credibility online is a major issue because there are many fly by night, get rich operators on the net. Develop credibility by an overall strategy to include such tools as message boards, schats, conference calls, dealer programmes

step four: traffic generation is probably the most important aspect of running an online business. No matter how well designed the website is, how great and powerful the sales letter is, people cannot buy if they do not know of the existence of the site. People can visit the site if they are made to click on the ads that are created on the net. They Can be made to come back to the site by the creation of more banners and placing them on Sites that are used most by the target audience

Global Advertising international advertising Consumers and business markets in N America, western Europe and Japan have begun to show signs of slower growth and companies realized the need to look to other markets for the growth. Consumers in the rapidly developing markets in Asia and other emerging markets are showing a voracious appetite for branded goods reflecting changing social aspirations. This has led to the need to create global brands .

The growth of global media has led both to the increasing homogenization of consumer tastes across the world and to the use of standardized or global advertising campaign which can be seen simultaneously in many different countries. With the growth of satellite and cable TV channels across the world, global brands such as Nike and Cannon have begun to strengthen their global brands through the use of standardized global campaigns. The advantage enjoyed by companies that operate with a global strategy is that they can enjoy operating economies of scale. This means having larger volumes of the same product manufactured and sold over a larger market, this companies can market them at a lower cost per unit Counteracting the policy of global advertising is the reality that consumers in every country are still different from each other , with different habits, tastes and preferences, so a product that works in one country may not work in another. Americans like to drink orange juice for breakfast , French consumers do not. Middle Easterners prefer toothpaste that tastes spicy, this taste may not work in other markets. McDonalds has to vary its menu in different countries serving beer in Germany, wine in France and milkshakes flavoured with local fruits in Singapore Stories of disastrous mistakes made by advertisers who failed to understand local consumer differences can be found in numerous books on advertising such as Pepsodent trying to use a teeth-whitening appeals in parts of Asia where dark-stained teeth were considered prestigious. A multinational advertiser must understand the cultural nuances of a local market in order to be successful because it may differ substantially from the culture of the home market. Consumers have different expectations concerning colours used in packaging ( purple is a death colour in Brazil, whereas white is the colour for funerals in HongKong) . Brands may need different positioning strategies across many markets. Cultures differ in the ways in which they construe and communicate meaning of the ad. A strategy of localizing the ad message but is necessary. It is true that the world is moving toward greater cultural convergence and it is also true that with political and customs barriers crumbling, with television channels like MTV and CNN and STAR TV being bounced off satellites into homes across the globe, with more people travelling and vacationing in other countries and with fast food franchises appearing at street corners from Beijing to Buenos Aries it often appears that we are indeed all moving toward one homogenized global community. Teenagers, the world over, are more exposed than most to cultural influences from other countries through fashions, music, clothing, food, personal appearance and sports. Teenagers are less likely to be parochial and nationalistic and more likely to identify with pan-national organisations. Women the world over are seeking more actively to participate in workplace success and identify less closely than before with the traditional female roles of mother/nurturer/wife and homemaker. It may seem paradoxical that as consumer preferences are supposedly becoming homogenized, consumers are also supposedly becoming more differentiated in their wants and needs Advertisers need to reconcile these divergent trends. (give points from making messages culture specific to show how cultural differences exists) ( give the example of how Nescafe dealt with the advertising of coffee internationally) Advertising thus has to both standardise and to localise given the many differences that exist across countries, cultures and markets. Ad campaigns for food and beverage products are often the hardest to standardise and it is easier to standardise campaigns across western markets than across western and eastern markets. It is easier to standardize on the core positioning platform for the brand while allowing for local variations in other brand elements. Thus Oil of Olay uses the same positioning- a moisturizing cream for mature women-even though the name, packaging, formulation can vary slightly across markets The solution is to modify products juist enough in local markets to make them strong in those local markets, but of maintain whatever uniformity is possible across multiple markets. This is often called glocalization or planning globally but acting locally There are many who see global advertising as impossible, given the many fifferences that exist across countries, cultures and markets. The issue is not one of whether an ad campaign can be completely globalized, but rather of the extent or degree to which a global brands campaign can be standardized across the world. Social Marketing Social marketing is the design, implementation and control of programmes seeking to increase the acceptability of a social idea, cause or practice in a target group. Social marketing is one of the promising new developments expected to increase the effectiveness of social change. Social marketing is a set of programmes calculated to influence acceptability of social ideas to play its role as an educator the changes in public attitudes the changes in the quality of life the standard of living the building of efficient economic and social institutions Social marketing seeks to influence social behaviour, not to benefit the marketer but to benefit the general public/target audience. Social marketing has been used in international health programmes especially in areas like heart diseases, organ donations, prevention of alcohol and drug abuse. Social marketing is a tool to improve society. Advertising exerts a powerful influence on society. It has the ability to shape social trends and mould personal attitudes. In addition to the economic benefits of improved competition, lower price and more product choices, advertising promotes freedom of speech, supports the media and promotes information of social issues. It helps in the awareness of social problems. Social responsibility is closely related to advertising ethics, Social responsibility issues are complex. The advertising industry has an important say in how the public view social issues eg the aids scare has caused advertisers to tone down the use of sexual images in their ads. Environmental concern s

are inducing advertisers around the world to be more socially responsible. Chevron advertised how the company delayed a gas pipeline project to avoid upsetting the mating season of the local grouse. Wall Mart advertised a green campaign highlighting merchandise that is environmentally friendly Social marketing is needed for the general public to create an awareness of certain issues that they are ignorant of and thus bring about a desired level of social awareness and thereby a social change. The principles of social marketing for non-profit oranisation are the same as those for profit organisations key markets and audience must be identified segmentation has to be utilised consumer behaviour has to be studied market positioning has to be planned results have to be monitered corrective measures have to be taken if needed The people should believe that a specific change will give more advantage than disadvantage. In order to be effective the social marketing programme should be based on extensive research on the problem to be solved the target audience or the population which suffers the problem the message the channels to be used The specific goal has to be determined. The creation of awareness is the main step in social marketing Social marketing shares the main components of general marketing process in the form of product, price, promotion and place. In this case the product is not physical in nature. It refers to a change in the behaviour or support required for the programme. eg anti-smoking, family planning. Its strategy popularises the positive ideas and encourages favourable behavioural changes in social values and individual values. Price here refers to the effort that is put into the behavioural change. It is what the consumer should do to obtain the product. The place refers to where the target audience are located at the time of the campaign. Promotion . the person or the institution associated with the social marketing should use advertising, sales promotion or direct response marketing to promote the campaign Some campaigns cannot be carried out without institutional partnerships eg health organisation, social welfare units, academic units etc Since social marketing is associated with the community in general, political and government patronage is required to make it a success. It makes marketing easier and effective in the long run. Social marketing aims at providing mental guidelines for future behaviour. Benefits of Social Marketing is needed to promote the desired pattern of behaviour in a society to promote health and hygiene among the public ( polio drops etc) to promote awareness among the illiterate section to promote sustainable development to promote ecological consciousness to promote social emancipation like women empowerment, ban on female infanticide, dowry, sati, Social marketing is the need of the hour Steps in Social Marketing In order to be effective the Social Marketing programme should be based on extensive research such. This research should be done regarding: 1 the problem to be solved 2 the population which suffers the problem, 3 the message 4 the channels which may be used Research will give a background for a successful social marketing. The focus should be on a single specific goal The creation of awareness is the main step in social marketing and then reaching out to the target audience For any social marketing campaign to be successful, the following dconditions need to present to some extent A positive intention to undergo change The target audience should believe that the change to be made has more advantages than disadvantages The behavior change should suit the self image of the peson The emotional reaction to perform the behavior should be more positive than negative Stages of Change Create awareness and interest Change attitudes and conditions Motivate people to want to change their behcviour Empower people to act Prevent backsliding Steps in Social Marketing Campaign -Identify the behavior that has to be change -identify the audience

-identify and reduce barriers -pretest the ideas -publicize actions and benefits It may be necessary to segment the market and different messages may be needed to reach different segments of the target populations