Mar-3023 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Pepsis, Rolex, Toothpaste
Reaching Global Markets
Cultural Differences
The key to understanding how to take products overseas is to understand cultural differences
• Traditional customs in one country don’t match customs in another
• Ads can be translated differently
English language
➢ Some words in U.S. English mean something different in British English, for example smart can
mean either smart or conniving.
➢ Chinese sign was translated into English as dangerous road, kids caring
➢ Pepsi’s Coma Alice with Pepsi was translated into Come out of the grave with Pepsi in
Germany
Dialect
➢ The name Coca-Cola in China was first rendered as Ke-kou-ke-la. Unfortunately, Coke didn’t
discover until after thousands of signs had been printed that the phrase means bite the wax
tadpole, or female horse stuffed with wax, depending on the dialect. Coke then researched
4, Chinese characters and found a close phonetic equivalent, ko-kou-ko-le, which can be
loosely translated as happiness in the mouth.
History
➢ Nike created a shoe called the black and tan after the Irish drink to celebrate Irish culture,
but apparently black and tan refers to a terrible Irish war and is offensive to the Irish.
Getting it right…
➢ In rural India, people brush their teeth with ash and a reed. Colgate didn’t try to change their
habit, they adapted the product to suit local tastes by creating Colgate tooth powder
➢ Colgate also adapted to local flavor with salt toothpaste
Understanding Global Markets
• Sociocultural Forces – Language / interpretation difficulties
• Economic Forces – BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) are forcing many market
changes
• Political, Legal and Regulatory Forces – Tariffs, Embargos, Quotas, Trade, etc.
• Ethical and Social Responsibility Forces – Situational Ethics, Corruption, Bribes, Market Entry
• Competitive Forces – Global Competition is increasing
• Technological Forces - Use of Internet, advertising, mobile technology, etc.
Adaptation/Standardization
Adaptation: Modifying elements of the marketing program to accommodate specific customer
requirements in individual foreign markets.
• Similar to segmentation – split into Western market, European market, etc.
• Adapting is more common than standardizing
➢ Auto making for UK markets
➢ McDonald’s adapts to local tastes and needs… Philippines – chicken and spaghetti, Germany –
sausage burger, India – delivery
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Reaching global markets: ads can be translated differently mean either smart or conniving. The key to understanding how to take products overseas is to understand cultural differences. Some words in u. s. english mean something different in british english, for example smart can: traditional customs in one country don"t match customs in another. Chinese sign was translated into english as (cid:498)dangerous road, kids caring(cid:499) Pepsi"s (cid:498)coma alice with pepsi(cid:499) was translated into (cid:498)come out of the grave with pepsi(cid:499) in. The name coca-cola in china was first rendered as ke-kou-ke-la. Unfortunately, coke didn"t discover until after thousands of signs had been printed that the phrase means (cid:498)bite the wax tadpole,(cid:499) or (cid:498)female horse stuffed with wax,(cid:499) depending on the dialect. 4(cid:882),(cid:882)(cid:882)(cid:882) chinese characters and found a close phonetic equivalent, (cid:498)ko-kou-ko-le,(cid:499) which can be loosely translated as (cid:498)happiness in the mouth. (cid:499)
