Advertising

Campaign

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1. Introduction:

This project is based on the intercultural advertising campaign of Apple Iphone. The Apple

Iphone will be advertised and launched in three countries Italy, Spain and France . The

marketing campaign will be based on the channels like social media and other digital media etc.

2. The Product:

Apple Iphone is smartphone which has been manufactured by Apple Inc. In USA. Apple Inc was

founded in 1976. Apple’s image has changed from computer manufacturers to a full-fledge

consumer’s electronic company. Iphone runs on iOS operating system. Apple Inc releases new

models of Iphone each year. (Rouse, n.d.).

Marketing and advertising strategy is very important for any company. The marketing strategies

vary from country to country. Therefore, in order to have a positive outcome of advertising

strategy on the international audience, the marketing department must consider all the variations

in the strategy which will yield excellent results. (Shankalia & Ramu, 2018).

The product is being launched in Italy, Spain and France. The reason for choosing these

countries is that they are well developed countries and commercial hubs and product like Iphone

can do a good business. The culture varies across these countries and within these countries still

Iphone has managed to gain acceptance due to its high quality and durable nature. The defective

products are almost non existent. Another reason is the continuos innovation from the company

in the product. Another reason is good customer experience and relation.

How has Apple brought cultures together: Every culture has its own music. Apple has

pioneered the downloading and sharing of music and made it easy and mainstream through
iTunes. In this sense.Apppe has brought all cultures together. In terms of attracting customers in

an innovative way, this product enables to attract customers through the songs and music of the

cultures of the countries that have been selected or by promoting tge product through a well-

known singer in this region or by producing a popular song as an advertisement for the product.

3. Channels and Platform:

Advertising channel or platform is an outlet used by the companies to advertise their products or

create alertness towards some sort of promotion. The marketing channels have grown with the

arrival of information technology. (Jim, 2020). The following channels will be used by Apple Inc

for running ads:

Social Media:

Many brands are doing social media marketing to attain marketing and business objectives.

Social Media is used to connect with the customers and runnning campaigns.

Instagram: Apple Inc page on instagram has shown very high level of consumer engagement.

Many of its features are useful for engagement and promotion. Apart from the graphical features,

the conversations and comments make it a mode of communication. The brand account has 24.6

M followers currently. The brand isn’t that active and still level of engagement is high

Digital Ads: This is the era of video markeing and Apple can use digital ads for promotional

purposes. YouTube might be an essential platform to engage the target market. (Pratap, 2018).

Product placement: Product placement can be another strategy. It has the ability to embed the

product in the mind of a target audience.

4. Specific/General Appeal:
Some of the factors must be considered before the intercultural communications:

Language Barriers:

The misunerdtanding is very likely among the people who speak same language. Anthing

ranging from mispronounciation to specificity lacking can lead to misunderstanding. For

example, if you are selling in France, it is very important to learn lanauage as well as ability to

speak it. You should focus on symbolic and idiomatic meanings expression.

Ethnocentrism:

Ethnocentrism referes to looking at then new culture through our own lens shpuld be avoided.

We should not believe that only our way of doing things is right. When marketers com across

different cultures, they tend to judge it with reference to their own standards. Ethonocentrism

varies across age groups and gender.

Cultural Barriers:

Every country has own ethics and values. Cultures also vary in terms accepatable behaviour,

gestures and even face expressions. What may be acceptable In USA might not be acceptable in

Europe. For example, in USA the speakear can share personal anecdotes to build rapport with

audience while it is not accepatable in other countties.

Symbols and Signs:

The signs and symbols also have a different meaning across cultures. Non verbal communication

also differs. It is the communication through non-verbal channels. For example, In France, the

ring sign means zero while in USA it means OK. The thumbs up means approval in west while

in Bangladesh it means insult. (Preeti, 2016).

Coping strategies for culture adaptation and shock:

In order to cope with the adaptation, Apple can hire a local personnel to come up with a local

equivalent of what is said in English instead of translation. The packaging an instruction manual

should be in the local language. For product presentation, become familier with local conditions.

Apple should study the approaches of local companies for effective marketing. Use a focus

group fot test marketing before major launching of campaign. There should be a correct

combination of standardization anf localization. For example in the present case, the customer

support system can be localized while the manufacturing process is standardized. (Markgarf,

n.d.)

 Cultural Diversity Awareness: Cultural awareness exercises and tests have to be done

to help reach this goal. Moreover Hofstede’s and Hall’s theories must be discussed.

 Know your culture: The political, social and historial aspects of ones own culture are

seen in terms of related theories.

 Knowledge of the other culture: The rituals, signs, symbols and values of other cultures

are taught. Other aspects like politics, economy, art and literature which are important to

learn culture.

Specific and General Appeal : A big international marketing blunder would be that global

customers would think alike. We cannot simply translate the ads in the local languages. A lot has

to be done regarding the tone and imagery. Bold statements which are common in American

culture might come across as arrogant in European culture like Italy. The audience in Italy, Spain

and France pay a lot of attention to the product quality. If the quality does not match the ad

campaign, the brand reputation can suffer a lot.

Hofstede’s Dimensions: The Power Distance Index in Italy , Spain and France is which suggests

that Apple should adopt authoritatrian strategy as cosumers would have less bargaining power

and ultimately they can buy the product at slightly high price as well. Italy, Spain and France are

masculine countries which means the people living here are materialistic and they would buy

status symbols like Iphone. The ad campaigns in these countries can be glamourized. (Grigoreva,

2017).

Non-Verbal Communication: There are no universal gestures. An important example here

would be the use of hand gesture “Okay”. In USA if this symbol is used, it represents acceptance

whereas in France, Italy and Spain it means nothing or zero. Such non-verbal communication

must be adapted to these new countries advertisements. (Cultural differences in non-verbal

communication, n.d.)

Diversity: The ad content must cater to the diverse cultural needs. For example, In American

culture portrayal of gay community in ads is considered inappropriate but some ads in French

were open to it. If the messages are relatable, the response rates can be increased.

Environmental Context: The environmental context is one critical factor. Not all audience and

customers are expecting the ad in the same location. What and where and why of how they are

seeing the ad is very important. Dislocating the ad context and asking audience to join dots is not

appropriate. (Hewat, 2015).

Microculture:

Microculture is another factor which is very important in international communucation. The

countries Italy,Spain and France are further divided into different cultures. The cultures may
vary depending on the social class, religious groups, consumers etc. For example, there are some

areas in these countries whose residents are wealthy while others belong to middle class. So it is

better to make advertising campaigns more frequently in wealthy areas as Iphone is likely to be

buyied by elite class and upper middle class

Role of cultural issues in international communication and collaboration:

One of the greatest barrirer in inter cultural communication is culture. Culture is socially learned

and shared.There are some international collaborations for some tasks The cultural backgrounds

and common values and inividual expereineces impact the way people communicate wirh others.

There are some factors which should be considered when communicating with a person from a

different culture. I) Differences should be assumed until similarity is proved. II) Description

should be emphasized rather then interpretation. In interpretation we evaluate and reference what

someone says with our culture which can cause miscommuniction. III) Consider our

interpretation as hypothesis which needs to be tested (Robin & Judge, 2013).

Skills and Competencies required to live harmoniously in international

culture:

There are three steps which can provide people with enough knowledge to

communicate efficiently in intercultural communication:

a) No adaptation if one believes that knowledge and awareness of differences in

culture is enough to avoid miscommunication.

b) Complete adaptation: For example, French people were given some guidelines

by Guetin (1989) know the environment, become a team player, don’t be modest,

be a doer and outgoing.

c) Set a boundary: Understanding another culture does not mean that one should

completely adapt to it. If one tends to completely adapt, he might be irritated and

this may lead to ineffective ot failed communication. (Pinto, 1990).

5. Description and Market Research:

The following elements can be incorporated in the digital advertisement:

The ad can be shot in the local locations of Italy, Spain or Frace. The celebrity casted can be

native. Both these aspects will increase the relatability of the audience. It is better to higher a

local advertising agency. Conduct the analyses of the local competitors.

Advertising has always been an integral a part of the promotional mix in international

marketing.Only in recent years, however, have scholars investigated cultural factors that affect

thedevelopment of international advertising programs. Because understanding of advertising

isculture-bound, companies that strive to attain successful international campaigns

shouldrecognize specific cultural aspects of each single market. Intense competition for world

marketsand increased cost of advertising production have led multinational corporations (MNCs)

to huntmore sophisticated advertising strategies. However, these companies are confronted

withmany challenges starting from using effective messages to selecting appropriate media. In

that specialize in this major element of the foreign effort, one can develop a stronger

understanding of whether MNCs effectively consider cultural dynamics in media selection.

Specifically, the objectives of the study are to: (1) indentify the foremost serious problems that

American advertising managers face in their media selection for foreign markets,(2) invetigate

the degree of access to media when designing international campaigns, (3) figure out if

advertising executives place more importance on certain factors in their media selection for

overseas markets, and (4) determine if the kinds of advertising decisions (decentralization vs.

centralization) among U.S. multinational companies have any referring to their media selection

for non-domestic markets.(Kanso & Nelson, 2019). In international marketing field, the fierce

debate whether to standardize international advertising across countries or to adapt it to countries

is very studied and discussed.Till today, international advertisers still be confronted with the

question of whether to “standardize” or “adapt” their commercial messages within the

advertising process. This debate over the standardization versus adaptation issue has involved

both advertisers and advertising researchers since the 1950s to the current (Agrawal 1994). As

the author Krishnamurthy (2016) explains, on one hand, standardization offers significant cost

advantages, but it fails to deal with a number of the differences associated with each individual

market. On the opposite hand, adaptation strategy offers the possibility to require in

consideration every individual market and customers’ difference; however, adaptation comes for

an additional cost and this fact may compromise price competitiveness of relevant products and

services. (Aresi, 2017).

Article Review:

The effiectiveness of cross culture communication depends upon many factors . In oirder to deal

with other cultures , the identification of cultural boundaries is required. Behaviour stamdards,

value differences and language barries must be understood. Stereotypical thinking and lack of

knowledge are also the obstacles for cross-cultural communications. (Lifintsev, 2017). The main
factors which are responsible for miscommunication in cultur include languaage differences,

similarity assumptions, stereotypes, wrong symbols and signs (non-verbasl communication). The

basic foundations of understanding this processs include studying the culture and language of the

country and being acquainted with it. (Tarasenko & Kulykova, 2018).
References:

 Aresi, M. (2017). INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN PROCESS ON

MNCs: THE MANAGEMENT DECISION-MAKING ON ADAPTATION AND
STANDARDIZATION STRATEGIES.

 Cultural differences in non-verbal communication. (n.d.). Retrieved from:

https://online.pointpark.edu/business/cultural-differences-in-nonverbal-communication/

 Grigoreva, A. (2017). Effects of cultural components on business in Italy. Retrived from:

https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/126496/Grigoreva_Anna.pdf.pdf?
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 Hewat,N. (2015). The context effect: how the right environment can shape an ad's
impact. Retrieved from: https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/context-effect-right-
environment-shape-ads-impact/1367958

 Jim,B. (2020). What Is an Advertising Channel?. Retrieved from:

https://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-advertising-channel.htm#

 Kanso, A. M., & Nelson, R. A. (2019). INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING DECISION

MAKING: HOW ARE THE CHOICES INFLUENCED?. QRBD, 263.

 Lifintsev, D.; Canhavilhas, J. (2017). Cross-cultural management: obstacles for effective

cooperation in multicultural environment. Scientific bulletin of Polissia, [S.l.], 2(10): 195-202,
Sep.Available at: http://journals.uran.ua/nvp_chntu/article/view/110415. Date accessed: 15
Sep.2018.

 Markgarf. (n.d.) Cultural Adaptation in the Global Marketplace. Retrieved from: Cultural
Adaptation in the Global Marketplace (chron.com)

 Pratap,A. (2020). Apple Social Media Marketing Strategy. Retrieved from:

https://notesmatic.com/2018/09/apple-social-media-marketing-strategy/

 Preeti. (2016). Barriers to cross-culture communication. Retrieved from:

http://www.simplynotes.in/mbabba/barriers-to-cross-cultural-
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%20misunderstandings.
 Robbin & Judge. (2013). Organizational Behaviour.

 Rouse,M. (n.d.). Ipone.Retrieved from: What is iPhone? - Definition from WhatIs.com

(techtarget.com)

 Shankalia,U & Ramu,M. (2018). A study on marketing strategy of Apple products.

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 Тарасенко, Т. В., & Куликова, Л. А. (2018). The ways of overcoming misunderstanding

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