Yes.

I agree to the fact that, Asians are more group-oriented, more family oriented and more
concerned with social status when compared to Americans. There are several cultural
frameworks that support this. I would like to highlight:

Hofstede’s research that demonstrates a wide range of cultural differences exists based on:

 Individualism vs. collectivism: Americans are more individualistic i.e. self centred,
where as Asians are more collectivist and think about the group.

Edward T. Hall’s theory of High vs. low context cultures helps us better understand the
powerful effect culture has on communication.  In low context cultures like North America
value logic, facts, and directness, where as in high context cultures like Japan emphasize
interpersonal relationships, facial expressions and what is not said may be an important clue
to understanding a speaker’s meaning (implicit code).

Marketing in Asia:

Cultural differences impact branding: Cultural differences are indeed a major factor that
has an impact on the success or failure of a brand. For example, Unilever and Nokia
addressed the local sensitivities in Asia, i.e. Unilever catered to the bottom of the pyramid in
India that aspires to consume products but in smaller quantities and at lesser prices. Nokia
also recognized the growing importance of rural customers in the Indian mobile telephone
market by introducing customer friendly handsets.

Understand the consumption patterns: Collectivistic cultures in Asia support customers to

make consumption decisions on a group level. For example buying a car in India is a family
decision.

Marketing communication leveraging family, family values and relationship themes would
have an “emotional connect” with Asians with a greater possibility of striking a chord with
them, also they could be reached at family events and melas in large numbers. Furthermore, it
could be safely deducted that word-of mouth publicity will be effective in Asian market
segment.

Positioning across markets: Firms have to make a trade off between standardization and
customization. McDonald’s has spent a great deal of resources to promote its global image
and also made significant accommodations to local tastes and preferences.

Word Count: 356

References:

http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/international_marketing.html

http://www.marin.edu/buscom/index_files/Page605.htm
http://www.venturerepublic.com/resources/Cross-cultural_branding_leadership.asp