Seminar 2

International marketing
Previous exams

17.04.2023
Exam example 1
Suppose you are hired as a sales director for Diplom-Is, a Norwegian producer of ice cream. Your boss is
interested in expanding the company outside Scandinavian countries. You are considering two options:
entering the European market through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) or forming a joint venture with a local
European firm.

1. Discuss the opportunities and risks of both FDI and collaborative ventures, and explain your choice of entry
strategy.

2. Assess and choose a market in Europe for Diplom-Is to enter, and

3. Develop an international marketing strategy.

You should use theoretical concepts and models from the course and apply available data and information as
appropriate to support the analysis. Remember to clearly indicate your use of information and data with
references.
What you could do…
1. FDI vs. Collaborative ventures
Discuss does not equal name/list in bullet points
Aim for a combination of theory and case-based explanations
2. Choosing a foreign market
E.g., assessment of different types of risks, country-clustering index – preliminary
market assessment, eliminating unattractive markets
GlobalEdge, Euromonitor, Coface
Do not forget to assess multiple levels of analysis: start with environmental
level, continue with firm level, etc.
☹ SWOT
☹ PESTEL is only based on the analysis of the external environment
It is your decision how to structure your response: you can build on an extensive
explanation of your chosen market(s), you can compare several markets, etc.
What you could do…
3. International marketing strategy
• For example, you could address:
- standardization/adaptation of the marketing mix
- Market segmentation
• Marketing strategy is not equal to overall strategy
• You can use your knowledge of overall marketing but do not
forget the international aspect of it
Overall recommendations
• Keep up a good structure: introduction, questions, concluding
remarks – helps with readability
• Try not to refer to lectures but rather to books/articles
• Try not to abuse references of the book (in every single
paragraph)
• Try not to use bullet points to deliver your throughts
Exam example 2
The Norwegian SME “Salmo Salar” is currently operating in the domestic market but is considering to
internationalize the business through exporting farmed salmon to Turkey.

As a marketing director in “Salmo Salar”, you have been made responsible for this task.

Develop an export strategy for marketing of farmed Salmon to the Turkish market.

Explain your choice of strategy and your key considerations that makes Turkey an interesting and attractive
market. Give an account for your reasoning and the steps in the strategic decision process. Use models and
concepts from the course to support your choices as you develop the strategy and make the strategic choices.

You may use the attached information and also make use of other available data and information as appropriate.
Remember to clearly indicate your use of information and data with references.
It was a good idea to:
• Have a good structure

• Demostrate a good knowledge of course and relevant literature

• Adress advantages/disadvantages of making different strategic choices

• Include an in-depth discussion of export entry mode: e.g., address direct/indirect exports

• Use a systematic approach to exporting

• Rely on standardization/adaptation of the marketing programm

• Use different indexes to assess the risk

• Address different marketing channels

It would be best to avoid:

• Using weak and unfounded arguments

• Wrong/missing referencing

• Making generic and questionable assumptions

• Unclear language

• Having long generic descriptions without a point

• Being to elusive and unclear

• Make groundless conclusions