International Marketing

Sixth Edition
International Student Version

Masaaki Kotabe • Kristiaan Helsen

Chapter 12
Communication Strategies

Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

 Chapter Overview

1. Global Advertising and Culture

2. Setting the Global Advertising Budget
3. Creative Strategy
4. Global Media Decisions
5. Advertising Regulations
6. Choosing an Advertising Agency
7. Other Communication Platforms
8. Globally Integrated Marketing Communications (GIMC)

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 Introduction

• There are many cultural challenges that advertisers face

in global marketing.
• Global advertising encompasses areas such as advertising
planning, budgeting, resource allocation issues, message
strategy, and media decisions. Other areas include: local
regulations, advertising agency selection, coordination of
multi-country communication efforts and regional and
global campaigns.

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 1. Global Advertising and Culture

• Language Barriers
– Language is one of the most formidable barriers in global
marketing.
– Three types of translation errors can occur in international
marketing:
• Simple carelessness
• Multiple-meaning words
• Idioms
(See Exhibit 12-1.)

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 Exhibit 12-1: Five Different Ways
of Saying Tires in Spanish

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 1. Global Advertising and Culture

• Other Cultural Barriers

– Religion
– Cultural traps/cultural dimensions
• Geert Hofstede’s cultural grid can be used to assess the
appropriateness of comparative advertising campaigns. The
five cultural dimensions include:
– Power distance
– Uncertainty avoidance
– Individualism
– Masculinity
– Long-termism

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 2. Setting the Global Advertising Budget

• Companies rely on different kind of advertising

budgeting methods:
– Percentage of Sales
– Competitive Parity
– Objective-and-Task Method
– Resource Allocation

• The U.S. has the largest ad expenditures, followed by

Europe

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 Exhibit 12-2: Top 20 Global Advertisers–Measured
Media Only (2010)

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 Exhibit 12-3: Measured Advertising Spending by
Region (2011)

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Exhibit 12-4: Top Ten Advertisers in BRIC Countries

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Exhibit 12-4: Top Ten Advertisers in BRIC Countries
(continued)

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 Exhibit 12-5: 2007 Ad Spending Allocation by 3
Biggest Advertisers in Key Markets

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 3. Creative Strategy

• The “Standardization” versus “Adaptation” Debate

• Merits of Standardization:
– Scale Economies
– Consistent Image
– Global Consumer Segments
– Creative Talent
– Cross-Fertilization

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 3. Creative Strategy

Successful universal appeals include:

1) superior quality
2) new product/service
3) country of origin
4) heroes and celebrities
5) lifestyle
6) global presence
7) market leadership
8) corporate image

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 3. Creative Strategy

• Barriers to Standardization:
– Cultural Differences
– Advertising Regulations
– Market Maturity
– “Not-Invented-Here” (NIH) Syndrome

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 Exhibit 12-6: Examples of Universal Appeals

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 3. Creative Strategy

• Approaches to Creating Advertising Copy:

– “Laissez Faire”
– Export Advertising
– Global Prototype Advertising
– Prototype Standardization
– Regional Approach
– Concept Cooperation
• Modular Approach

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 4. Global Media Decisions

• Media Infrastructure
– Media infrastructure differs from country to country
• Media Limitations
– The major limitation in many markets is media
availability.

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 Exhibit 12-7: Average Cost of a Prime-Time 30
Second TV Spot (2007)

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 4. Global Media Decisions

• Recent Developments in Global Media

– Growing commercialization and deregulation of mass
media
– Shift from radio and print to TV advertising
– Rise of global and regional media
– Growing spread of interactive marketing
– Growing popularity of text messaging
– Improved monitoring
– Improved TV-viewership measurement

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 5. Advertising Regulations

• Major advertising regulations:

– Advertising of “Vice Products” & Pharmaceuticals
– Comparative Advertising
– Content of Advertising Messages
– Advertising Targeting Children
– Issues of local languages
– Tax issues
– Advertising rates

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 5. Advertising Regulations

• Strategies to deal with advertising regulations:

– Keep track of regulations and pending legislation
– Screen the campaign early on
– Lobbying activities
– Challenge regulations in court
– Adapt marketing mix strategy

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 Exhibit 12-8: China’s 1995 Advertising Law

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 6. Choosing an Advertising Agency

• Options for choosing an ad agency:

1. Work with the agency that handles the advertising in the
firm’s home market.
2. Pick a purely local agency in the foreign market.
3. Choose the local office of a large international agency.
4. Select an international network of ad agencies that spans
the globe.

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 Exhibit 12-9: Advertising Agency Selection Criteria

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 6. Choosing an Advertising Agency

• When screening ad agencies, consider:

– Market coverage
– Quality of coverage
– Expertise with developing a central international campaign
– Creative reputation
– Scope and quality of support services
– Desirable image (“global” versus “local”)
– Size of the agency
– Conflicting accounts

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 7. Other Communication Platforms

Sales Promotions
Sales promotion refers to a collection of short-term
incentive tools that lead to quicker and/or larger sales of
a particular product by consumers or the trade.
– Rationales explaining the local character of promotions:
• Economic development
• Market maturity
• Cultural perceptions
• Trade structure (pull vs. push promotions)
• Government regulations (See Exhibit 12-10.)

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 Exhibit 12-10: Which Techniques Are Allowed in
Europe

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 7. Other Communication Platforms

• Direct Marketing
• Event Sponsorships
• Mobile Marketing
• Product Placement
• Viral Marketing
• Global Public Relations & Publicity
• Trade Shows

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 7. Other Communication Platforms

Trade Shows
• Decide on what trade shows to attend at least a year in
advance.
• Prepare translation of product materials, price lists, selling
aids.
• Bring plenty of literature.
• Bring someone who knows the language or have a translator.
• Send out, ahead of time, direct-mail pieces to potential
attendees.
• Find out the best possible space, for instance, in terms of
traffic.
• Plan the best way to display your products and to tell your
story.

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 7. Other Communication Platforms

Trade Shows
• Do your homework on potential buyers from other
countries.
• Assess the impact of trade show participation on the
company’s bottom line. Performance benchmarks may need
to be adjusted when evaluating trade show effectiveness in
different countries since attendees might behave differently.
• On-line information on trade show events is plentiful (e.g.,
www.tsnn.com). A recent phenomenon is the emergence of
“virtual trade shows” (e.g.,www.unisfair.com/Showcase.asp)

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 Exhibit 12-11: Global Sponsorships by Region

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 8. Globally Integrated Marketing Communications
(GIMC)
• Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC):
– IMC coordinates different communication vehicles – mass
advertising, sponsorships, sales promotion, packaging,
point-of-purchase displays, so forth.

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 8. Globally Integrated Marketing Communications
(GIMC)
• Globally Integrated Marketing Communications (GIMC):
– GIMC is a system of active promotional management that
strategically coordinates global communications in all of its
component parts.
– Both horizontal (country-level) and vertical (promotion
tools) approaches are used in GIMC.

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