By Palvi Sachdeva

Businesses are experiencing phenomenal opportunities to

expand internationally.

The ease of doing so depends on which country they

choose to enter, what products they are selling, & what methods they choose to build their brands. different languages, cultures & levels of economic development.

International marketers face many challenges related to

Most companies today are international

International Companies
Companies that sell outside their national borders.
Even if they dont sell outside their national borders ,

some or most of their raw materials or equipment comes from other countries.
Even if their customers & materials are domestic , their

competitors may very easily come from other countries.

Domestic ( national ) marketers

Companies that focus their marketing efforts on their home countries. A national market, then is an individual country such as India, Germany, Australia etc. and a national brand is one that is sold in only one country.

Multinational marketers
Companies that market products in several different

countries .
They treat each country as a separate market- and one

that is foreign from the home country.

Global marketers
Companies that consider their market to be just one

the world.
Brands sold around the world are called global brands. This does not mean they have to enter every country in

the world.
E.g. coco cola

Mc Donald's

Emergence of international marketing

Less demand in domestic markets
Due to decline in population growth rate, increased competition etc. e.g. Coca cola obtained nearly 62% of its total revenues from non US markets in the year 2001s.

Decline in profit margins

due to competitors , brand similarities & consumer preferring cheaper products.

Opening up of economies
Simplified regulatory environment & opening up of economies.

Growth of international media

The advent of cable & satellite technology helped popular channels like HBO, CNN enter the homes of customers living across the world.

Global marketers & their home countries

Unilever United Kingdom & the Netherlands
Procter & Gamble United States Nestle - Switzerland

L'Oreal - France
Coco cola United States Sony - Japan

International marketing environment

The economic environment Marketers can enter into developed or developing countries. It deals with the standard of living of people, demand patterns, facilities like communication, transportation & media.

The demographic environment It includes Age , income levels , education & population size. e.g. India is one of the largest markets in the world in terms of overall market size. Mass marketing is preferable as a cost effective approach. Lower & middle income constitute the major portion. So positioning should be more on affordability & value for money.

The legal & regulatory environment Different countries have different media policies, restriction on product launches, tax policies towards advertising.
Many countries like USA, China, India etc have now banned alcohol and cigarettes in the media.

The cultural environment Culture refers to learned behaviors of people that come from traditions passed on from generation to generation. E.g. values & attitudes , customs, language, their music, religion etc It also includes values & ways of looking at people. When planning international marketing communication , companies must assess a country or target groups culture as part of SWOT analysis.

Cultural differences & similarities

2 schools of thought: 1. On one hand managers believe that all cultures are different & that brand messages should always be customized for local culture. 2. On the other hand there are managers who believe that universals such as love & happiness can be the basis for cross culture campaigns.

 The degree of cultural difference is often related to the

product category.
Some products do not differ much by country e.g.

medicine, computers etc.

Whereas products such as food & fashion , may have

significant differences.

Standardization vs. Adaptation

Standardization

It involves the use of similar advertising campaign elements i.e. the message, the execution style etc. across countries the countries where the company has a presence or is planning to enter. Adaptation It refers to developing separate advertisements for each country in which it operates.

Some argue that companies should concentrate on satisfying universal drives. E.g. security , happiness. Others argue that companies face many difficulties in standardizing advertisement strategies.

Advantages of standardization
Economies of scale
Consistency Creating talent pools

Cross fertilization

Challenges to standardization
Cultural differences
Product life cycle Competition

Glocalization
A mid way between standardization & adaptation. A standardized campaign with a few changes is used to

suit local needs. Also known as THINK GLOBAL, ACT LOCAL . Here certain aspects like logos, underlying themes & visual images are standardized , while the models and tag lines are designed to suit local needs.
E.g. models are changed as per the popularity of

his/her in the country.

International advertising strategy

Key decisions: Message strategy Selection of agency Media strategy

Other promotional elements in global marketing communication

Sales promotion
Personal selling Public relations