INTERNATIONAL

MARKETING
COMMUNICATION
- CULTURAL CONTEXT
Cultural marketing
globalization has often been mistaken for homogenization
the standardization and individualization of international
marketing strategies
commercial actions of an international character, with a focus
on international standardization and expansion, without
appreciating the significance of cultural differences
failure determined by the cultural background on the
international markets
the role of culture in marketing - the vision of marketing of
the future
International sportswear brand Puma launched a pair of
limited edition trainers in the colours of the UAE flag (2011)

The problem: feet are considered to be unclean in Islam; they

remove their shoes before entering their homes and/or the
mosque.
The message: Puma did not intend to offend the Emirati people.
However, placing the colors of the national flag on their feet was
seen as walking on their flag, thus, associating their colors with
the lowest of insults.
Nike Black And Tan sneakers (2012, St. Patricks Day )
Americans think of black and tan as Harp-or Bass-mixed with
Guinness.

The problem: People in the UK see it differently. The Black and Tans
were a British paramilitary unit responsible for various horrific
actions against the Irish, back in the '20s.
Nike run a LeBron James advertisement in China,
defeating traditionally dressed Chinese elders, women,
and a dragon

The problem: Many Chinese people are still quite traditional.

Dragons - power, strength, and luck.
Elders - high sense of respect and authority.
The message: People were offended by the weakening of
their strong traditional figures that the ad received negative
publicity.
Tesco, a London grocery store chain was accused of
"insensitive marketing."

Employees at Tesco set up a "Ramadan Mubarak" or "Blessed

Ramadan" display box for a popular Pringles flavor: Smokey
Bacon any form of Pork is prohibited in Islamic diets.
United Airlines unknowingly got off on the wrong foot during
its initial flights from Hong Kong. To commemorate the
occasion, they handed out white carnations to the passengers.

The problem: When they learned that to many Asians white

flowers represent bad luck and even death, they changed to red
carnations.
1994 World Cup - Heineken printed the flag of
each qualifying country under the bottle cap.

Saudi Arabia was included, which has a holy verse on its flag =
the verse was then associated with alcohol.
Heineken reacted by recalling all the bottles and stopping
their marketing campaign.
 Glocalization
Globalization + localization, term first appeared in a late 1980s publication of
the Harvard Business Review. In 1997, the sociologist Roland
Robertson stated that glocalization means the simultaneity the co-presence
of both universalizing and particularizing tendencies.
In marketing - glocalization means the creation of products or services for
the global market by adapting them to local cultures.
e.g. in France, McDonalds replaced its familiar Ronald McDonald mascot
with Asterix.

The Bank HSBC advertising campaign

HSBC Holdings PLC, the worlds sixth largest bank by total assets, is a British
multinational banking and financial services company. It was established in
its present form in London in 1991 by The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking
Corporation Limited to act as a new group holding company. The origins of
the bank lie mainly in Hong Kong and in Shanghai, where branches were first
opened in 1865.
HSBC: The Worlds Local Bank
The HSBC will never underestimate the importance of local knowledge, that
is the reason why we have local banks staffed by local people in over 80
countries across the globe.
Culture Stereotypes In Advertising ???
HSBC commercial series
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_WAmt3cMdk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhIzGrIqAk0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsIOwPACyOw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKZH3dXDJA0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShKF0yU5mWk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jrbu0lCWjk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-KYlI-qLXY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1vvLQd53Ps&index=5&list
=PLAEKUX2eV4jJEqwQnxJjXjlz09G7GGk7f
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiOtvckmIDI&list=PL5846D
420C4662FF2&index=3
 Models of National Culture
Edward T. Hall (1914-2009) is an American anthropologist and
cross-cultural researcher.
Geert Hofstede (born 1928) is a Dutch social psychologist,
former IBM employee, and Professor Emeritus of
Organizational Anthropology and International Management
at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.
Fons Trompenaars (born 1953) is a Dutch-French
organizational theorist, management consultant and author in
the field of cross-cultural communication.
Trompenaars' model of national culture
differences
Halls Cultural Factors - context
 Low and High Context
(direct and Indirect communication)
2 examples of presentation of scientific institutions (Switzerland and Argentina)
Paul Scherrer Institute is the biggest research centre in the area of engineering and
natural sciences in Switzerland. Research works are focused on three main subjects:
matter and materials, energy and protection of environment, as well as human and
health. The Institute designs, builds and manages complex installations on a big scale.
Every year 2000 scientists from Switzerland and the whole world come to the Institute to
conduct in this exceptional place their experiments, which couldnt be carried out
anywhere else. The Institute employs 1500 people and has an annual budget worth
about CHF 365 million. It is financed mainly by the Swiss Confederation. The Institute
belongs to the association of scientific-technical universities and research institutions of
the Swiss Confederation (ETH-Bereich), which includes also ETH Zrich and ETH
Lausanne, as well as research institutes Eawag, Empa and WSL. The Institute is located
in the Aargau canton on the territory of the Communities of Villigen and Wrenlingen
on both banks of the Aare river. The Institute contributes to raising the qualifications of
future generations by educating professionals, as well as students and doctoral
students. The Institute offers the iLab laboratory to students.

Switzerland is classified as a country inclined towards a direct style of communication.

clear and factual message, which can be easily understood by the recipient and which
provides all the necessary data to make a decision
satisfies the expectations present in low-context locations
a lot of factual data supported with figures
is focused on the substantial presentation of the Institute
 Science-Technology Park FAUBA in cooperation with Area Science Park
and the University of Parma-PcyT Fauba was established in order to
implement research results in companies from the agricultural and
food sector. The activities of the Park cover the creation of a network
between companies from this production sector or ancillary sectors, as
well as research and innovation companies and units, which facilitates
the creation of an engine in which specialization of production can be
maintained and developed over time. Relations between PcyT Fauba
and public institutions, credit institutions, as well as national and
international research centres make Park a point of reference for
innovations, development and internationalization of small and
medium companies from the food and agriculture sector in Argentina.
Additionally, PcyT Fauba takes advantage of the support of the Council
of Advisors, which consists of personages from the public and private
sectors, who cooperate in order to help Park satisfy the real needs of
the country.
Argentina is classified as having an inclination towards indirect style of
communication.
the script focuses on establishing and maintaining social relations
going directly into the essence of the matter could be regarded as a breach of
the rules of interdependence and reducing the contact to the impersonal layer.
the focus is on mutual relations
we cannot find any figures
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5EFm9l6Esc
by train or plane
Polish hosts talk about something with passion
a creative-looking meeting
joint celebration of the started cooperation
contextual data: the location of Poland, Poznao is close to the
Polish-German border ??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzAtLLHr0o8
apart from images, we can hear a voice
detailed description
reference to statistical data
historical data
Sources
Pawel Pietrasienski, International Marketing Strategies, Polish Economic Publishing House,
2005.
Dominika Hirsch, International marketing communication - cultural context, MINIB, No.
4(5), 157-170, 2012.
http://bazhum.muzhp.pl/media//files/Marketing_Instytucji_Naukowych_i_Badawczych/Ma
rketing_Instytucji_Naukowych_i_Badawczych-r2012-t-
n4(5)/Marketing_Instytucji_Naukowych_i_Badawczych-r2012-t-n4(5)-s157-
170/Marketing_Instytucji_Naukowych_i_Badawczych-r2012-t-n4(5)-s157-170.pdf
Delia Pop-Flanja, Provocarea intercultural n epoca globalizrii, EFES, Cluj-Napoca, 2015.
http://www.backpackingdiplomacy.com/3-international-marketing-blunders-you-
shoulding-forget/
https://www.slideshare.net/hsiemons/fh-aachenjune2013
https://www.britannica.com/topic/glocalization
https://blogs.ubc.ca/haozheng/2014/11/10/hsbcs-funny-advertisement-humour-is-
powerful/
https://foxhugh.com/multicultural/cross-cultural-analysis-of-advertising-project/