EuroMed Journal of Business

Promotional channels of FMCG firms and tourism: A standardisation/adaptation

perspective
Konstantinos Poulis Efthimios Poulis
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Promotional
Promotional channels of FMCG channels of
firms and tourism FMCG firms
A standardisation/adaptation perspective
5
Konstantinos Poulis
University of Essex, Southend-on-sea, UK, and
Efthimios Poulis
Buckinghamshire New University, High Wycombe, UK

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to shed more light on the influence of a tourism-oriented
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environment on the promotional channel strategies of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms.
Design/methodology/approach – The study utilises an exploratory, qualitative research design
among 14 case studies of FMCG firms operating in the tourism-oriented environment of Greece.
Findings – Findings show that most firms utilise adapted promotional channels due to the influence
of structural characteristics of the tourism industry and tourists’ modes of behavior.
Research limitations/implications – The outcomes of this qualitative study are limited to the
context that is investigated and thus, future researchers are encouraged to investigate similar contexts
with the goal of generalising findings.
Practical implications – Findings suggest that firms ought to appreciate the contextual
idiosyncrasies of Euro-Mediterranean countries (as a result of international tourism) and thus,
tailor their programs to these idiosyncrasies, which are distinct from other non-tourism-oriented
environments.
Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that investigates
the effect of tourism-induced idiosyncrasies of Euro-Mediterranean countries on FMCG firms’
promotional strategies. In light of the increasing importance of global consumer mobility, such studies
are expected to increase.
Keywords Greece, Tourism, Promotional methods, Fast moving consumer goods
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
International marketing, as a scientific field with a well-grounded evolution over time,
has offered a holistic picture of how firms market their products across countries.
Pitfalls, blunders, success stories and several models highlighting strategies and factors
have been presented that allow us to better understand how firms serve the needs of
millions of people around the world (Whitelock and Fastoso, 2007; Vrontis, 2003;
Dalgic and Heijblom, 1996; Ricks, 1993; Kashani, 1989; Jain, 1989). In particular, the
international marketing constructs of standardisation vs adaptation (henceforth
described as SA) have been long utilised in order to portray the strategic marketing
alternatives firms have when they deploy their international operations (Vrontis et al.,
2009; Chung, 2009; Lages et al., 2008; Fastoso and Whitelock, 2007; Vrontis and Vronti, EuroMed Journal of Business
Vol. 6 No. 1, 2011
2004; Boddewyn and Grosse, 1995; Cavusgil et al., 1993). pp. 5-23
This literature on the SA debate has been largely developed upon a major premise. q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1450-2194
This is the assumption that all consumer groups in a country are culturally DOI 10.1108/14502191111130280
 EMJB homogeneous (or at least, treated as such) or that, intra-country cultural variations
6,1 are less important than inter-country differences. This might have been a necessary
condition for the field to excel however, several studies increasingly highlight the
strong influence of the multi-cultural character of national markets, as a result of,
e.g. immigration or inherent, within-country racial pluralism (Cui, 1997; Chung and
Wang, 2006). Therefore, the relevance of political boundaries as frameworks of national
6 homogeneity is decreased to a certain extent and inducements stemming from
within-country cultural diversity also feature as influential for strategy making.
From the point of view of the present paper, an even more important feature of such
studies is that these researches use the SA construct to explain marketing strategies
of firms in a domestic context. For example, Cui (1997) uses the SA framework to explore
alternative marketing strategies of consumer goods firms operating in the single but
multi-ethnic market of America (as a result of immigration) while Chung and Wang (2006)
recently considered the multi-cultural cities of China and applied the SA framework in the
services sector across culturally diverse Chinese cities. These authors point out that “the
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same framework of standardization vs customization can be applied to marketing to

consumers of different ethnic cultures in the domestic market” (Cui, 1997, p. 125) since
such markets are “[. . . ] a small scale model of the global market” (p. 125) in which,
similarity of the marketing offering to all consumers denotes standardization whereas
different strategies denote adaptation. Thus, one can witness an apparent parallelism
with international marketing studies that perceive standardization as the “same” strategy
and adaptation as a “completely different” strategy (Lages et al., 2008).
Therefore, authors such as Cui (1997) or Chung and Wang (2006) applied a
standardization/adaptation lens on local marketing actions directed towards people
with diverse backgrounds. Such works are particularly relevant since the marketing of
food, beverage and cosmetics products is portrayed as being heavily influenced by the
cultural diversity of consumers (Cui, p. 126). These industries are the focus of this study,
too and it seems that the cultural pluralism within a country is of vital importance for
firms marketing such products.
In particular, this paper is interested in how fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)
firms’ promotional channel strategies are influenced by the idiosyncratic character of
most Mediterranean countries, either towards standardization or adaptation. As this
study will explain, this character comes as a result of international tourism. Hereafter,
the nature of the problem is delineated, research questions are posed, methodology is
explained and findings are presented with the purpose of generating a relevant model
and empirically laden propositions.

2. Contextual background and research objective

The approach Cui (1997) and Chung and Wang (2006) utilize, that is applying the SA
framework to intra (or within) country diversities, is also used in this study. However,
this time, it is done so with a particular reference to the tourism-induced character of
Euro-Mediterranean countries such as Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Malta or Greece. This
project is in line with the quote in the EuroMed Journal of Business that “the challenges
and threats to managers and researchers that operate within the region often have
distinct differences to those experienced in other geographic areas in the world” (http://
info.emeraldinsight.com/products/journals/journals.htm?id ¼ emjb, accessed 6 June
2009), e.g. as opposed to Northern European or Northern American countries.
 This quote matches with the motivation for the formulation of this paper. Promotional
In particular, this paper approaches the phenomenon of international tourism (which is a channels of
key macro-environmental feature of the Euro-Mediterranean region) as a challenge for
FMCG firms; a phenomenon that warranties closer attention. Thus, a main aim of this FMCG firms
study is to explain this contextual idiosyncrasy of the region and explore how the
environmental opportunities and threats that this unique marketplace development
brings induce firms’ promotional channel strategies towards standardisation or 7
adaptation.
Specifically, in a number of Euro-Mediterranean countries, there is a large influx of
foreign consumers, or tourists, from many countries and for a significant part of the year.
As can be seen from Table I, for developed countries with mature markets such as
France or Spain, the annual influx of tourists collectively exceeds the population of these
countries by large margins.
In these countries, tourism transforms a relatively limited national market into a
much larger market. In a sense, during the tourist season (which can be most of the year),
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firms operating in these countries face “international” marketing tasks but within the
confines of an enlarged country. These firms do not have to serve only the “native”,
permanent population but also a multi-cultural group of consumers on a temporary
basis per annum. For this research though, the most important thing is that it is not only
firms in the tourist sector (e.g. hotels, tour operators, airline companies, travel agents,
etc.) that are thus affected. Clearly, tourists are also consumers of a whole range of
goods and services that are not produced by the tourist industry. For example, tourists
consume beers, soft drinks, ice creams, toothpastes and snack food. Thus, tourists
are consumers of packaged goods belonging to product categories that are sold in the
destination/market even if tourism was not developed at all in the country and also are
sold in the tourists’ usual habitat back home.
This market feature, while having challenging implications for FMCG firms is a
reality the research community in business studies has not investigated before. Despite
tourism’s importance as one of the largest industries in the world, the fact that it affects
numerous non-tourism-related firms in several countries is still unexplored. Research
has not shown how these FMCG firms selling food, beverage and cosmetics products
tackle this additional and nationally heterogeneous consumer base that temporarily
changes the status quo of the markets they operate. Therefore, the research objective of
this study is the following:
RO. To explore the consequences of within country diversity as a result of inbound
tourism for the promotional channel strategy of FMCG firms operating in the
tourist-receiving country.

Tourist arrivals (millions of tourists) Domestic population (millions of inhabitants)

France 79.08 60
Spain 58.45 40
Italy 41.05 58
Greece 14.78 11
Table I.
Notes: 2006 data are the latest, more accurate, available annual data with regard to international Foreign and domestic
tourist arrivals by the time of this paper’s submission; World Tourism Organization/World Tourism consumers in a country
 EMJB 3. Research questions and literature review
6,1 The literature review revolves around the core SA debate in international marketing
research. This rich body of established knowledge has been developed for many decades
already with proponents of standardization (Yip, 1996; Levitt, 1983; Buzzell, 1968) arguing
for a common marketing strategy across countries. The main premise behind this thesis
is the homogenization of consumer preferences or the convergence of cross-market
8 segments and the increasingly similar environmental characteristics across the world
(Griffith, 2010). On the other hand, advocates of adaptation (Cavusgil and Zou, 1994; Jain,
1989; Kashani, 1989) support the view that strategies must be tailored to the unique
characteristics of each market. The main reason behind this need for local responsiveness
is the cultural diversity that exists across the regions of the world. Cultural differences are
still tenacious and thus, ignoring the need for more responsive strategies (as a result of
these differences) can lead to low performance (e.g. lower market share).
This bipolar approach to international marketing strategy has occupied a significant
position in the marketing literature but in several respects it is considered unfruitful.
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The “either/or” dichotomy that many researchers advocated seems neither pragmatic
nor efficient for firms. Rather, reality indicates that firms strive to achieve a certain
degree of standardisation but nevertheless, a more customer-oriented view on markets
eventually necessitates elements of an adapted strategy, too (Vrontis et al., 2009). This
contingency approach is dependent on a number of determinants. Behavioural aspects
(reasons) may pull firms towards each side of the continuum while factors moderate the
relative importance of these reasons (Vrontis, 2003).
Given the RO, this paper also builds on such studies which focus on the SA debate.
Thus, this literature was the main pool of insight that guided data collection and
informed case data analysis. Specifically, the SA literature was approached with the
purpose of extracting insights related to the following research questions:
RQ1. How does the contextually idiosyncratic character of a Mediterranean market
as a result of international tourism influence FMCG firms’ promotional
channel strategy towards standardization or adaptation?
RQ2. What are the significant forces that collectively lead to one or the other
approach?
At this point, the following definitions for the two main constructs used in this study
are clarified (adapted from Cui (1997) and Chung and Wang (2006)).
Standardization refers to using the same promotional channel strategies towards
the tourist population with the ones used for the permanent, local population throughout
the year while.
Adaptation refers to using promotional channel strategies which are different to the
ones used for the permanent, local population.
The background forces that influence a firm’s decision to standardize or adapt its
strategy are numerous and the literature has identified and investigated a wide range of
them (Okazaki et al., 2007; Whitelock and Fastoso, 2007; Calantone et al., 2006). Typical
factors that are suggested to favor standardization include business-to-business contexts,
the quest for cost reductions and economies of scale achieved through standardization or
the similarity in stages of economic development and institutional environments between
countries (Griffith, 2010). On the other hand, the culture-bound nature of products,
 the variations in consumer preferences or differences in regulations and legal frameworks Promotional
call for a more responsive strategy through adaptation (Lages et al., 2008). channels of
One of the pioneers who modeled aforementioned factors that seem to favor
either approach was Buzzell (1968). He made a thorough analysis of the benefits of FMCG firms
standardization including significant cost savings, consistency with customers, improved
planning and control and the exploitation of good ideas on a worldwide scale. However, he
also considered the barriers to standardization, which impose a limit to the degree of 9
standardization in elements of the marketing mix. Overall, he offered a comprehensive
model of the influential variables with regards to the degree of standardization of
marketing elements. Those variables were classified as market characteristics including
the physical environment, the stage of economic development and cultural factors,
industry conditions including product life cycle and competition, marketing institutions
including the distribution system and the advertising channels and legal restrictions.
Another set of the numerous factors that dictate SA strategies are the environmental
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factors. These consist of economic, socio-cultural, political forces (political environment,

religion, climate, laws, etc.), which influence international operations directly or
indirectly (Chung, 2003; Cavusgil et al., 1993; Akaah, 1991). Such factors can be
prohibiting for the implementation of a standardization approach (especially with
regards to promotional decisions; Griffith, 2010), no matter how desirable it is, and it is
suggested that firms must always scan the external environment before launching their
standardised/adapted strategies (Vrontis and Pavlou, 2008).
Additionally, market factors are those market characteristics that determine the level
of potential demand in a market (Rau and Preble, 1987) and account for “[. . .] changes in
customer composition, customer needs, customer base, customer preferences and market
demand growth” (Powers and Loyka, 2007, p. 682). For example, the market size has
an impact on standardization decisions as the larger the market, the more adaptation is
generally required or even preferred. This is because the potential for higher sales volume
in a large market will cover the higher costs of adaptation (Chhabra, 1996). This
observation is particularly relevant for tourism-oriented, Euro-Mediterranean markets
(e.g. Malta or Cyprus), which are significantly enlarged each year because of incoming
tourism flows. Therefore, this study, which deals with such unexplored markets, is
interested in their contextual characteristics (e.g. seasonality of tourism or length of stay of
tourists). The focus on the contextual characteristics is critical since the tourism-oriented
market is the platform that annually and temporarily generates new forms of customer
composition, customer needs, customer base, customer preferences and market demand
growth (Powers and Loyka, 2007) with attendant consequences for SA.
Competition-related factors include the structure (monopolistic vs oligopolistic),
nature (price vs nonprice) and intensity (mild vs fierce) of competition in foreign markets
(Theodosiou and Leonidou, 2003; Rosen, 1990; Jain, 1989). Contrary to the view that
marketers should consider the origin, number and position of competitors in each
market (Buzzell, 1968; Jain, 1989) the structure and nature of competition does not have
a significant impact on the decision to standardize or adapt (Vrontis et al., 2009;
Theodosiou and Leonidou, 2003). The intensity of competition though is positively
associated with promotion adaptation (Cavusgil et al., 1993) whereas the intensity
of competition and the competitive hostility in a market affect the inducements for
responsiveness by firms (Slater and Narver, 1994; Kohli and Jaworski, 1990).
 EMJB In any case, many researchers have identified the correlation between competition
6,1 and SA making it an omnipresent factor in every SA attempt (Theodosiou and
Katsikeas, 2001; Sorenson and Wiechmann, 1975; Michell et al., 1998; Ozsomer et al.,
1991; Jain, 1989; Buzzell, 1968; Boddewyn et al., 1986). Even since the 1970s, Sorenson
and Wiechmann (1975) stated that competition among MNEs leads to greater
standardization while competition against purely local firms leads to higher adaptation.
10 Cavusgil and Zou (1994) also argued that the presence of foreign competitors across
foreign markets and the intensity of competition in the field of pricing are correlated with
adaptation. In other words, intensive local competition is expected to lead to higher
adaptation as such pressures may necessitate a better fit with local needs that only
modifications on promotional aspects can bring.
Product and industry factors refer to the type of the product (consumer or industrial),
the role of technology in the industry and the stage of product life cycle (Boddewyn et al.,
1986). Despite the ubiquitous belief that industrial products receive more
standardization due to the rational rather than emotional buying process that
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underlines purchasing of such products, the literature only partially confirms such
views empirically. For example, in Michell et al. (1998) research, the type of product was
not associated with the degree of standardization with industrial firms having similar
levels of standardization with consumer firms. The analysis indicated that the degree of
standardization related more to within-firm variables than industry type while the
degree of adaptation was connected more with country variables (customs, consumer
characteristics, culture, legal system, channels structure, etc.). However, the desirability
of culture-bound products’ adaptation is well manifested, at least theoretically, in the
literature (O’Donnell and Jeong, 2000; Cavusgil and Zou, 1994; Samiee and Roth, 1992;
Whitelock, 1987; Rau and Preble, 1987).
Organizational/managerial factors often intermingle and refer to internal characteristics
or processes of the firm (Whitelock and Pimblett, 1997; Cavusgil et al., 1993). They more or
less coincide with the field of research that deals with the resource-based view of the firm
(Barney et al., 2001), i.e. company-specific, internal actions and facts as opposed to
industrial organization theory (Porter, 1980). Items in this category can include the
nationality of the parent company, the nature of company ownership, firm’s international
experience or the attitude toward international operations including the centralization of
decision making and corporate openness towards foreign approaches (Chung, 2009;
Cadogan et al., 2002; Solberg, 2002; Ozsomer et al., 1991; Rau and Preble, 1987). The
implications for companies vary according to the status of the firm (MNE vs local firm and
even further an MNE with a geocentric vs a polycentric approach; Perlmutter, 1969) and one
can expect different influences on each firm. As shown in Ozsomer et al. (1991), the
influencing role of nationality of the parent company was important. For example,
American firms tend to standardize more than most of their European counterparts
whereas findings also supported the view that MNEs tend to desire more globally
integrated marketing programs through higher control over subsidiaries. This is mostly
reflected on product design decisions, brand name, packaging and advertising message.
Yip (1997) also found that parent firm’s characteristics such as nationality and size define in
a way a polycentric, ethnocentric or geocentric orientation while Cavusgil and Zou (1994)
stated that firms’ skills and constraints profoundly influence firms’ strategies.
Therefore, the literature has offered a wide array of factors that may influence the
strategy of firms towards standardization or adaptation. This growth of research has
 given rise to classification schemes which summarize factors via meta-analyses, Promotional
modeling and integration of empirical research (e.g. Vrontis, 2003; Papavassiliou and channels of
Stathakopoulos, 1997; Agrawal, 1995). The outcome of these classifications has given
rise to several reasons and/or factors (internal vs external, mandatory vs desirable, FMCG firms
environmental-industrial-organizational, controllable vs uncontrollable factors, etc.)
which offer an insightful portrayal of reality.
A recent development in the literature, though is the need to distinguish between 11
“significant” and “peripheral” forces pinpointing towards either direction (Vrontis et al.,
2009). For example, “market development” and “political reasons” were found by authors
to significantly influence firms towards adaptation whereas “competition” and “culture”
were found to have less influence on adapted practices. In a similar vein, control-and
cost-related considerations significantly call for standardization whereas uniformity of
image and economies of scale were seen as “peripheral reasons” pushing towards the
same direction. This study focuses on the significant forces that collectively dictate
standardized or adapted strategies since these emerge as common after the cross-case
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analysis.
Moreover, Vrontis (2003) and Vrontis et al. (2009) have also noted that international
marketing decisions do not follow an “either/or” approach with standardization
and adaptation being exclusive of each other. Rather, real-life decisions will almost
inevitably incorporate both standardized and adapted elements concurrently. For
example, product decisions may tend to be more standardized but at the same time
pricing decisions may tend to be adapted to local conditions. Moreover, even within each
marketing mix element, both standardized and adapted elements are often found. As
Vrontis (2003) indicates, within, e.g. promotion, adaptation is mostly applicable to sales
promotion, public relations and personal selling whereas this is less evident in direct
marketing and advertising. The standardization/adaptation framework, however, is
often portrayed as a dichotomy in the literature with many authors advocating one or the
other approach and this may mislead the reader. Thus, it is important to note that firms
do not exclusively adopt either standardization or adaptation across their marketing
program or even within each marketing mix element (Vrontis, 2003; Gabrielsson and
Gabrielsson, 2004; Vrontis and Papasolomou, 2005; Soufani et al., 2006).
This study, through an inductive, exploratory mode of investigation aims to identify
which significant reasons indeed come into play when FMCG firms choose their
promotional channel strategy in a typical Mediterranean country such as Greece.
Building on Eisenhardt and Graebner (2007), a model is developed and a posteriori
propositions are generated that reflect the way FMCG firms deal with the contextual
idiosyncrasy of a tourism-oriented market. However, before presenting findings and the
emerging model, the chosen methodology is explained.

4. Methodology
A qualitative approach was deemed as more appropriate because of the non-typical,
under-studied context of the project. Indeed, culturally idiosyncratic markets such as
those identified in Euro-Mediterranean countries are rarely investigated through
a multi-cultural lens (with exceptions such as Poulis and Yamin, 2009). The decision
to embark on a case-based methodology matches with the fundamental objective
of qualitative research (Hyde, 2000; Silverman, 2000), which is to uncover and
illuminate contextual particularities, i.e. in this case, to gain a deeper understanding
 EMJB of the interrelationships that shape practices of FMCG firms in a typical “international”
6,1 environment. Therefore, at this point, it must be noted that the purpose of this research is
not to measure causal relationships but rather to explore an unknown phenomenon
through the integration of in-depth views as expressed by respondents. In this respect,
a qualitative, case study-based methodology is adopted, which is the preferred
methodology when currently unexplored and/or complex phenomena need to be studied,
12 and especially when questions of how and why need to be asked (Eisenhardt and
Graebner, 2007; Yin, 2003; Miles and Huberman, 1994).
The study followed a literal replication logic, i.e. each case was selected because it
predicts similar results (Alam, 2005; Johnston et al., 1999). These similar results refer to
FMCG organizations which acknowledge the effect of inward tourism on their
operations. This focus resulted to the selection of 14 firms operating in Greece, for which
the influence of tourism on their promotional strategy is clearly manifested. In order to
have an as maximum variation of sample as possible, the research included packaged
food (F), fast-food (FR) firms, cosmetics (C) and beverages (B) firms, i.e. a wide range of
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FMCG firms. The focus is on these cases because the main consideration was to use a
sample that was purposefully suited to explore the questions through information-rich
cases (Eisenhardt and Graebner, 2007; Yin, 2003; Patton, 1990).
In order to enhance the robustness of the sampling framework and consequently the
arguments, the study had to focus on firms which are explicitly influenced by
tourism-induced heterogeneity but at the same time, they are also active in the market
throughout the year. In other words, opportunistic or temporary, sporadic players which
tailor their offering to tourists “by default” cannot be relevant for this study. Relevant
firms were identified by a mixture of techniques (corporate databases, corporate web
sites, four pilot studies) but the most concrete channels to identify them was through
direct observation in diverse retailing outlets of tourism- and non-tourism-related areas
of Greece. Three major types of outlets that can be found in both areas (mini-markets,
convenience stores and kiosks) were visited twice a year by the researchers and a
structured recording of brands that were identified in both areas took place. This
allowed a comparison between brands:
.
sold by firms to locals only; and
.
brands sold to both locals and foreigners.

The process informed researchers on which are the firms that are affected by both
consumer groups. This method resulted to a relevant list of 157 firms, which are influenced
sales-wise by the idiosyncratic character of the market and by both consumer groups.
Out of these firms, sampled firms were chosen based on a maximum variation
(Patton, 1990) logic with the effort to have firms across major FMCG industries. Firms
offered 43 in-depth interviews of almost one hour and a half each and respondents
included trade and marketing directors, senior brand managers, group product
managers, regional sales managers and similar staff from the sales or marketing
departments of firms. This managerial diversity of respondents stems from the request
to firms to “nominate” the respondents themselves. After explaining the nature
and scope of the investigation, firms decided on who are the most suitable managers to
answer this study’s questions.
Individual in-depth interviews were conducted, which are credited as being a largely
valid method of data collection especially, in the international business field
 (Marschan-Piekkari et al., 2004; Yeung, 1995). The richness of information they provided, Promotional
the much-needed empathy and direct communication that the interviewer developed with channels of
respondents, the control over the data collection procedure and the chance for dissolving
ambiguity or probing further analysis in the view of the present researcher have FMCG firms
compensated for the drawbacks of cost and time that this approach usually entails (Hall and
Rist, 1999). Interviews started with unstructured questions and allowed respondents to
freely express their knowledge and experience regarding the topic of investigation. The 13
questions did not reduce the flexibility that is required in a qualitative study and were
susceptible to changes during the interview that allowed expansion and better illustration
of responses.
Data analysis commenced with the transcription of interviews and then, data
reduction took place with the purpose of “selecting, focusing, simplifying, abstracting
and transforming the data” (Miles and Huberman, 1994, p. 10). The selection of the
relevant parts of the interviews was a cyclical process that sharpened the analysis and
organized data in such a way that meaningful excerpts were immediately evident to the
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authors. Analysis of each case followed and the responses to questions reflected a clear
reference to the way tourism influences selection of promotional channels.

5. Findings and propositions

As the research questions suggested, the focus of this study is on the promotional
channels firms utilize in order to address to incoming tourists (as opposed to local
consumers). There is a dominant indication from findings that most firms utilize adapted
channels of promotion tailored to the tourism-specific idiosyncrasy of the market. These
idiosyncrasies lend themselves to a new mix of below-the-line and above-the-line
activities where “traditional” channels of promotion are not fitting. Table II shows that
ten out of 14 firms use adapted channels to promote their brands across tourists since
channels used for the local, permanent population do not suffice.
Promotional channels are thus, heavily adapted with a strong geographical focus
and intensification of the promotional activity during summer. Whereas during winter,

Promotional channels strategy

Standardisation Adaptation

FR1 U
FR2
FR3 U
FR4 U
F1 U
F2 U
F3 U
F4 U
F5 U
B1 U
B2 U
C1 U
C2 U Table II.
C3 U Channels of promotion
Total 4 10 by sampled firms
 EMJB the firm utilizes promotional channels such as television or radio, during summer,
6,1 a large part of promotional activity takes place through non-conventional channels that
are never used during winter. The following quotes are characteristic:
We cannot use, radio, television, etc. So, the channels are usually outdoor advertising or
collaborations with tour operators such as TUI, which brings masses of tourists into the
country. We also have collaborations with, e.g. rent-a-car offices; we have a joint promotion
14 where we both win. These are tactics that ‘run’ regularly in areas like these (Marketing
Supervisor in a food retailing company).

There was a leaflet distributed in X,Y,Z (airline firms) with a printed map of the country at
the back. On it, there were the spots where FR2 is located; and at the front, it was written what
FR2 is all about. We estimate that through this medium, the message of what FR2 is reached
2.5 million people (Marketing Supervisor in a food retailing company).

During summer, we focus on below-the-line activities. It is difficult to reach the consumer

with above-the-line activities during summer [. . .] they do not stay home like locals do. For
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the latter, we almost exclusively use above-the-line activities (Group Product Manager in a
packaged food company).

In tourist areas [. . .] we use special promotions with samples, gifts, etc. For example, we have
more promo-packs, which means ‘when buying two brands you get two miniatures as gifts’
[. . .] Within outlets in tourist areas, we also pay attention to the aesthetic part. For example,
we have placed a beautician in the outlets in Santorini and Mykonos constantly promoting
brands for three months. Thus, we had a more specialized promotional strategy in areas with
high tourism activity (Group Product Manager in a cosmetics firm).
Therefore, firms have exercised innovative ways to exploit promotional opportunities
among tourists under conditions of limited time, non-traditional use of channels and
clustered target groups. Empirically grounded data have identified channels such as the
following:
.
in-store promotion is heavily used as it is one of the few instances where firms
have the opportunity to come into contact with prospective consumers;
.
road signage is especially utilized by fast food chains who need to showcase their
location within tourists’ limited time of stay;
.
gates of entrance are used for their enhanced visibility among foreign consumers;
and
.
tourism firms/organizations such as airlines, passenger ships or tour operators
are seen as prime channels of promotion since they are part of the “tourists’ trail”.

The few firms that followed a standardized approach and kept using the same
channels of promotion did so because they believe that promotion adaptation is not
as effective as distribution adaptation. Thus, they preferred to standardize their
promotional channels and invest the relevant budget on tailoring their distribution
channels to the specificities of the tourist market (e.g. tailoring the choice of
middlemen):
The effort is to reach the trade and not promote among consumers. Thus, we standardize our
promotional strategy and we prefer to invest the amount that we save on expanding our
distribution base (Group Product Manager in a cosmetics company).
 At this point, building on aforementioned findings, the following propositions can be Promotional
suggested: channels of
P1. FMCG firms operating in a tourism-oriented environment adapt the FMCG firms
promotional channels they use in order to promote their brands among tourists.
P2. FMCG firms operating in a tourism-oriented environment use a new mix of
above and below-the-line activities to promote their brands among tourists as 15
opposed to an exclusive use of above-the-line activities that is used for the
permanent population.
P3. FMCG firms operating in a tourism-oriented environment will use the same,
standardized promotional channels as with the permanent population
whenever other marketing mix elements are considered more critical for the
effectiveness of marketing strategy
P3 introduces the RQ2, i.e. the reasons behind the choice of primarily adapted
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promotional channels by FMCG firms operating in Greece. As far as the channels of

promotion are concerned, structural elements of the tourism industry/tourist modes of
behavior necessitate a focused approach with adapted channels. These elements/modes,
which are seen as forces pushing towards adaptation, are:
.
the distinct travel path of tourists:
The tourist’s spatial behavior is very specific. Most of them move within specific
territories and follow specific itineraries. If we do not adapt to these, we lose our chance to
communicate (Marketing Manager in a beverages company).

.
high seasonality of the tourism phenomenon in Greece:
The selection of channels through which we communicate our brands to incoming tourists
is largely dictated by seasonality. As you probably know, the vast majority of incoming
tourists in the country come during summer. This, by default, means that we must
adapt our promotional strategy to meet the peculiarities stemming from this seasonality.
This is the first factor we consider in conjunction with the geographical allocation of
tourists.

.
the limited length of tourists’stay in the country:
Each tourist stays here for approximately ten days. If we do not tailor our channels to this
length of stay, then we have no chance to establish any kind of promotional contact with
them (tourists) (Group Product Manager in a packaged food company).
Owing to these forces, promotional channels reflect geographical and time
considerations that firms have when promoting their brands among non-permanent,
mobile consumers. For example, the distinct travel path of tourists and their limited
spatial behavior actually means that firms that want to communicate their brands
to these tourists must follow the latters’ “trail”. Such observations are in line with the
need for fit between deployed strategies and environmental contingencies that several
studies have pointed out in the strategic management (Venkatraman and Prescott,
1990) and international marketing literatures (Okazaki et al., 2006; Katsikeas et al., 2006).
 EMJB If firms, especially those operating in Mediterranean resorts, ignore the local peculiarities
6,1 and the unique environmental characteristics of a tourism-oriented environment, they
will fail to communicate what they need across the millions of tourists who visit their
markets of operation. At this point, therefore, the following propositions can be put
forward:
P4. The travel path of tourists dictates adaptation of promotional channels for a
16 FMCG firm operating in a tourism-oriented environment.
P5. The length of stay of tourists dictates adaptation of promotional channels for
a FMCG firm operating in a tourism-oriented environment.
P6. The seasonality of tourism dictates adaptation of promotional channels for a
FMCG firm operating in a tourism-oriented environment.
As a result of the heavy influence of contextual factors on promotional strategy,
traditional factors that can be found in the international promotional literature such as
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company/organizational (e.g. firm’s international experience) or industry/product

characteristics (e.g. product uniqueness) (Cheon et al., 2007; Cavusgil et al., 1993; Sandler
and Shani, 1992) are either not relevant or must be re-interpreted in a tourism-oriented
context. Therefore, promotional channels adaptation primarily reflects context-specific
considerations but serves typical purposes such as brand awareness, location
awareness, acknowledgement of product offers, etc. However, the latter purposes go
beyond the scope of this study since they refer to performance consequences of
promotional strategy. Thus, the contribution of the paper lies in the following emergent
model (Figure 1) which, for the first time, aims to portray the simple, yet unexplored
reality in a tourism-oriented Mediterranean country.
On the one hand, FMCG firms in such contexts primarily standardize their promotional
channels because they put more emphasis and commit resources on adapting other
elements such as distribution channels. On the other hand, firms choose to adapt their
promotional channels to the idiosyncrasies of the tourist market because structural
elements of the tourism reality in the country (such as tourists’ length of stay, seasonality of
the tourism phenomenon and tourists’ distinct travel path) push towards such an approach.

Perceived importance
of other marketing mix elements

Standardization

Adaptation

Figure 1.
Standardization/
adaptation of promotional
channels for FMCGs in a
tourism-oriented market
Length of stay Seasonality Travel path
 6. Discussion Promotional
The international marketing literature has identified many families of variables channels of
that affect SA promotional strategies by firms. The nature of the product, cultural
inducements, competitive structures and intensity of competition, organizational FMCG firms
considerations and infrastructure-related inhibitors/facilitators largely influence
promotional decisions (Okazaki et al., 2006; Harvey, 1993). Despite the prevalence of
cultural heterogeneity in the context of this paper, though, cultural forces have not 17
influenced the decisions of firms towards promotional strategy-making. This is not to
claim that cultural inducements do not influence promotional decisions towards either
standardization or adaptation. The literature has manifested this in a robust way across
different product categories with cultural forces being omnipresent and featuring in a
large number of both empirical and conceptual studies (Chung, 2007; Singh et al., 2005;
Vrontis, 2003; Koudelova and Whitelock, 2001; Whitelock and Rey, 1998). However,
it seems that, paradoxically, culture’s influence becomes less relevant in a multi-cultural
market as a result of international tourism.
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Instead, the collective identity of “tourist” and his/her unique characteristics

(as opposed to the “ethnic” identity of a British, German, Scandinavian consumer) are
perceived as more influential for the selection of promotional channels by firms. These
characteristics lead to primarily adapted promotional strategies, an observation which
agrees with prior findings in the literature that promotion is one of the most adapted
elements of the marketing mix (Chung, 2007; Vrontis, 2003). On the other hand,
whenever firms resort to a standardized strategy, they do so as a result of internal
considerations. More specifically, managers perceive distribution as more critical for
performance among foreign consumers and thus, they devote respective resources in
adapting distribution channels.
Therefore, collectively, two broad categories of forces influence firms’
adapted/standardized strategies of promotional channels: on the one hand,
context-specific forces related to the nature and structure of the tourism industry push
towards adaptation while on the other hand, internal/organizational forces that reflect
performance-related considerations push towards standardisation. At this stage though,
an important point must be noted: these dichotomies do not imply that some forces
(e.g. internal) work in isolation to others (e.g. external). Rather, as Vrontis (2003) has
empirically shown in his seminal work among the largest UK multinationals, marketing
decisions (at least, with regards to product and promotional strategies) are dependent on a
number of reasons and factors, which may include, e.g. both mandatory and desirable
forces. This insightful and necessary observation is something that, if neglected, will
imply that some forces are mutually exclusive with others. However, as stressed in Vrontis
(2003), more than one reason usually work out towards standardization/adaptation of
marketing strategy while other factors moderate the influence of such reasons.
Given the limited number of firms that proceed to standardized practices though,
what emerges as more important is the strong relevance of local, context-specific
variables for promotional strategies in a tourism-oriented market. Authors such as
Kanso and Nelson (2007) or Papavassiliou and Stathakopoulos (1997) have also stressed
the influence of context on promotional decisions. In particular, in the context of this
study, the co-alignment between selection of promotional channels and an idiosyncratic
environment seems to be a fundamental pursuit by firms in the Greek market. Such
an environmental isomorphism (Okazaki et al., 2007) posits that the external market
 EMJB environment is a principal driver of firms’ conduct when it comes to the decision
6,1 between standardization and adaptation. Indeed, the peculiarities of the Greek
context support this isomorphism view, which is reflected in the previously presented
model.
Such observations suggest that marketing standardization and adaptation
are situation-specific decisions that cannot follow a pre-determined “golden rule” or
18 equation of success. In fact, most recent research still cannot suggest the superiority
of one strategy over the other (Navarro et al., 2010). Rather, decisions are the outcome of
the need for fit between the chosen strategy and environmental contingencies
(Katsikeas et al., 2006; Okazaki et al., 2006) and they must be applied “in ways that take
account of given circumstances” (Vrontis, 2003, p. 296). Therefore, an important issue for
the firm/researcher is to unravel the complexity of factors that work out towards
standardization or adaptation and preferably do so through a context-specific lens.
Especially, in Euro-Mediterranean contexts such as the one described here, such a lens is
essential due to contextual idiosyncrasies stemming from consumer mobility.
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7. Contribution, limitations and further research

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper which explains how and
why FMCG firms deploy their promotional strategies in a tourism-induced market.
This is particularly important for reasons that have to do with the following.

(i) The growth of the tourism industry

Annually, the total number of tourists visiting destinations across the world is
expected to reach 1.6 billion individuals by 2020 (www.unwto.org/facts/eng/vision.
htm, accessed 8 June 2009). Such a figure, makes tourism one of the largest industries
in the world and consumer mobility one of the most interesting social phenomena with
attendant consequences for businesses. However, respective investigations on the
effect of consumer mobility on firms’ practices are still scarce.

(ii) The effect of tourism on non-tourism-related firms

Tourism may be an industry with its own characteristics but it is also an industry, which
overlaps with functions in other industries and the performance of firms in these (such as
firms in the consumer goods industry). This is because firms in the latter industry, e.g. serve
as suppliers of products to the tourism industry and their sales performance is partly
dictated by the influx of tourists in their countries of operation. This special case of derived
demand affects a large number of both business-to-business and business-to-consumer
firms but nevertheless, implications have been unnoticed in the literature.

(iii) The particular role of tourism in the development and structure of Mediterranean
markets
Even more specifically, the Euro-Mediterranean region is the largest recipient of the
world’s tourist inflows and countries such as France or Spain feature as the most popular
destinations on earth. Therefore, the aforementioned two observations become even more
important in this region, whose economic prosperity is partly dependent on tourism.
For the three reasons above, any study that provides a deeper insight on how consumer
mobility to Mediterranean countries affects the operational activity of non-tourism-related
firms is of critical weight. Currently, this knowledge is limited despite indications from
 the literature that tourism can, e.g. act as leverage for consumer goods firms’ domestic Promotional
sales performance and internationalization processes (Poulis and Yamin, 2009). channels of
Despite this contribution though, the study has its own limitations. Apparently, the
exploratory nature of this investigation does not allow any generalizations to be made. FMCG firms
More research is needed across similar contexts and only then one will be able to draw
generalized conclusions on the causal relationships between factors and strategies
that work out in such a contextually idiosyncratic environment. For the time being, 19
the outcomes of the current paper can be only utilized as a generic guideline for
firms/researchers operating/investigating similar contexts and should not be seen in a
prescriptive fashion. This is a serious limitation of the current study that must be taken
into consideration by readers.
In this respect, a future study could investigate the developed propositions
and measure causal relationships between SA strategies and factors informing them.
Even more specifically, a large-scale survey conducted across countries with similar
characteristics could yield more grounded insights that will counterbalance the inherent
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limitations of this effort. Contexts such as France, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Malta
and even Mexico, Thailand and Malaysia are popular tourist destinations and several
non-tourism-related firms are interested in how tourism affects their operations.
Therefore, a cross-country investigation with a quantitative research design is a
meaningful research path for the future.
Moreover, a future study could focus on other elements of the promotional mix such
as the message that is used to position the FMCG firm in foreign consumers’ minds.
Perhaps, with regards to this element, the cultural heterogeneity of a tourism-oriented
environment is more influential and dictates the positioning strategy of the firm.
Additionally, the focus could be extended to other marketing mix elements such as price
and distribution. It must be noted therefore, that the lack of focus on product, price and
distribution in this study does not deny their significance in the marketing program of a
firm. Actually, implications for the entire marketing mix were discussed during
interviews with selected firms. However, authors decided that the analytical focus of this
study should be on promotional channels for reasons of conceptual clarity and because
the SA debate is mostly associated with this more controllable element of the marketing
mix (e.g. Fastoso and Whitelock, 2007; Calantone et al., 2006).
Through a synthesis of different insights from additional studies, future researchers
will be able to obtain a more holistic view on the unique characteristics of
tourism-oriented markets. Especially, for Mediterranean countries where these markets
are dominant, such a synthesis promises managerially relevant and research-wise
interesting results. Authors hope that the present effort opens an initial path for the
better appreciation of the unique forces that come into play in these countries.

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Corresponding author
Konstantinos Poulis can be contacted at: poulisk@hotmail.com

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