Chapter 3: Cultural Differences in a Marketing Context: Further Value Dimensions


The previous chapter covered the first four of our seven dimensions. Now let's look at the remaining three.

THE DILEMMA BETWEEN ACHIEVEMENT AND ASCRIPTION

All societies give certain people higher status than others, showing that unusual attention should be focused upon them and their activities. Some cultures accord status on the basis of personal achievements whereas others ascribe status by virtue of gender, age, class, education, etc. The first we call achieved status and the second, ascribed status. While achieved status refers to what you do or to what you have done, ascribed status refers to who you are. Achievement-oriented cultures market their products and services on the basis of their performance. Do customers want functional products that achieve a utilitarian purpose or are they buying status?

In achievement-oriented cultures, the emphasis is on performance, reliability, and functionality. In ascribed-status cultures, such as those in Asia, status is ascribed to products that naturally evoke admiration from others, such as high technology and jewelry . You can tell the time from a $1 digital watch just as well as you can with a $10,000 Rolex. But the latter is a symbolic representation of status, not only a watch. This status is less concerned with the functional capabilities of the product. Motives for acquiring ascribed status by making purchases vary across cultures.

Of course the same product, such as a Mercedes, is sold in different countries. But in Germany you will be selling reliable, quality German engineering that will get you to work down the autobahn quickly and safely; in India, with exactly the same product, you would be selling status. Figure 3.1 shows the relative orientation of a number of countries along this dimension.

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Figure 3.1: Relative orientation to achieved or ascribed status for a number of selected countries

Use of Experts in Advertising in China

We looked briefly at endorsements by authorities in China in the previous chapter. Let's consider it again here. Acknowledged authorities are used by manufacturers all over the world, but their power of persuasion goes virtually unquestioned in China. The influence of ascribed status in Chinese culture is most conspicuous in the use of authorities and experts in marketing campaigns .

The influence of experts has increased considerably in the course of economic reforms. The bulk of Chinese R&D and product development is conducted in a network of research institutes. In addition to the large national institutes, there are also research centers established by provincial or municipal governments . As a part of the reforms , the research institutes now also have to provide at least part of their income. One of the ways for them to generate income is to help manufacturers improve their production processes or to develop their inventions into marketable products. An easy way for Chinese researchers to make some extra money is to assist manufacturers in promoting products. Many write articles about the products that appear in prominent publications ; others promote the products at seminars , etc. Those who enjoy national fame may even be featured in television commercials.

Status is not only ascribed to people, but also to buildings , locations, etc. It would be an impossible task to make an exhaustive list of Chinese products that use the Great Wall as their brand name . There are Great Wall cigars, Great Wall wines, Great Wall computers, and Great Wall canned foods . Famous foreign locations, like the Egyptian pyramids , are also popular as brand names in China. In a similar fashion, status is ascribed to a famous brand. This is a trait of Chinese culture that has regularly forced western companies to litigate against Chinese imitators of their brand-name-with-identical-logo packaging. One of the brands suffering most from this " honor " is Coca-Cola. Several colas have emerged and disappeared in China after Coca-Cola's booming success in the country. The most interesting domestic cola product was Shaolin Cola, named for the famous Shaolin temple, the cradle of Shaolin kung fu.

Celebrity Endorsements

In the US, a popular way of marketing new products is through celebrity endorsements. In Ireland this is much more rare, and one can count on one hand the number of celebrities advertising products on TV.

This is partly due to the fact that the Irish do not like to be told what to think or buy by people who may see themselves as superior . They tend to be cynical about the motives of the celebrities involved and there is a general mistrust of the rich and social elite. For example, if a successful Irish millionaire recommended driving a certain type of car, the typical reaction would be "It's fine for him..." This reaction reflects the mistrust as to where someone's money came from that is common among the Irish. They treat celebrities differently than Americans do. In fact the Irish refuse to give status openly to stars and are just as likely to react with cynicism as with enthusiasm to the suggestion that they want to be like them.

One exception to this attitude toward celebrities is the Irish attitude toward sports heroes, especially those they can identify with on a personal level. Advertising that has used well-known Irish athletes has had a lot of success in Ireland. Michelle Smith-DeBruin's success in winning three gold medals for swimming in the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 was followed by her brief appearance in a shampoo commercial and in another aimed at encouraging people to speak the Irish language. She inspired a very positive reaction, as an ordinary person who had managed to achieve her dream through her own hard work and, in doing so, had brought success to Ireland. People felt they could connect with her ordinary background and fly with her heroic success.

Sports sponsorship also proved to be a valuable marketing strategy for the auto manufacturers Opel, when they took a risk in sponsoring the Irish soccer team for the World Cup in 1990. In the end the team's success far outstripped everyone's expectations, and soccer's consequent rise in popularity resulted in excellent free advertising for Opel.

In most countries, marketers often reach their targeted consumers by using models in commercials who look like their targets. However since status is ascribed to Caucasians in Japan, they are often used to sell products.

There are three categories of Caucasians used in marketing in Japan. The first is the Caucasian Hollywood star. Jodie Foster has successfully promoted coffee and Harrison Ford, Kirin Beer; Leonardo DiCaprio advertises credit cards and autos. The second category is the stereotypical Caucasian blond who represents ultimate beauty. These models advertise clothes and many other products. The last category is the slightly Japanese-looking Caucasian, who represents ultimate Japanese beauty. These models often promote products such as cosmetics, which the consumers feel need to be made specifically for the Japanese.

Japanese-looking Caucasians are also often used in ads for Japanese banks. Sakura Bank uses a Caucasian model with slightly Japanese features in traditional Japanese settings; they want to attract women since they control household finances. Depending on the product and target, Caucasian models are very effective in sending a message to the consumer.

Koreans are very easily influenced by people with high status, such as experts, gurus, and celebrities, so many companies use such people in marketing campaigns. They can be used for advertisements but also for other forms of publicity. Health experts are frequently used to promote food or body care products. Companies are eager to associate the name of a management guru with their company. The use of local Korean celebrities in advertisements has proven to be very effective. Samsung used Kim Won-june, a 19-year-old local singer , to promote its teen clothing line, Count Down. Count Down is now extremely popular and Kim Won-june became a national celebrity.

Using celebrities to promote products can also be very successful in Taiwan. Sports celebrities, pop music celebrities, local celebrities, movie celebrities can all be effective. The most important thing is that they symbolize the lifestyle that viewers aspire to.

Although celebrity endorsement is used in the UK, it tends to be rather different than that used in the US. Achievement is admired, but the British tend not to take their heroes too seriously. They may gently make fun of them or show them in a situation where they are laughing at themselves. Examples of this are the advertisements for Walker's crisps (potato chips). Gary Lineker, a well-known soccer player respected for his integrity, is shown adopting a variety of effective but silly disguises in order to cheat other people out of their crisps. The implication is that you'd better watch out, these crisps are so good that anybody might be waiting to steal them. In a recent promotion, empty crisp bags could be exchanged for free books for your local school. The advertisement shows a school headmistress collecting full packets of crisps from children and one boy asks "But why do they have to be full bags, Miss?" "They just do!" she replies. The next shot shows the headmistress taking the crisps into her room, where her double is tied up and struggling. The headmistress with the crisps tears off a mask to reveal Gary Lineker - triumphant in getting the crisps yet again. Some cultures would find it inappropriate to show children being exploited in this way. Some would also find it inappropriate to make fun of a national hero like this.

There are many uses of celebrity endorsements in the US. For example, Michael Jordan has a whole line of Nike athletic wear. The idea, of course, is that if you wear the same shoes as Michael Jordan, you will be able to jump as high as he can on the basketball court . This type of marketing is particularly effective if you are appealing to younger consumers; they are more likely to tell their mothers that they want Wheaties (an athlete-endorsed breakfast cereal) if they have seen Michael Jordan eating them for breakfast on TV. Young Americans are often easily convinced that if they wear the same clothes or eat the same foods, they will be able to achieve the same level of greatness.

Measurable Results

Many UK companies, like American ones, test their products to show how well they perform. Advertisements then use the results of the test. For instance, a major cat food manufacturer states: "Of those who expressed a preference, nine out of ten cat owners said their cats preferred [our brand]." This emphasis on measurable results is common in the UK and seems to be effective. It is also used when marketing services. Individuals applying for work are also encouraged to quantify their achievements on their curriculum vitae (r sum ). Sometimes these achievements are stated in an individualistic way, as if other people were not involved in their accomplishments.

Senior-Junior Relationships

The importance of age and experience in relationships cannot be overstated. In ascribed-status cultures, status is ascribed to anyone who is older or who has entered a university or company before someone else. It is accepted that the older person is wiser and always deserves respect. In the university and company settings, there are even special words to describe this relationship. The Japanese consider people who enter before them to be senpai and all those after them to be koohai. The decisions made by senpai are respected and adhered to by koohai even if there is strong disagreement . In addition the Japanese are expected to learn from their senpai and are therefore not promoted above them.

A recent advertisement for eye-drops shows a young worker squinting at the computer screen and rubbing his eyes. An older-looking man offers him eye- drops with an "I know what he needs" look on his face. In the last shot the younger man smiles, and the older man puts his arm around the younger man's shoulder. The older man has passed on his knowledge to the younger worker. A marketer could ruin the image of a product if it is promoted in a way that indicates disrespect for an older person or senpai.

Corporate Image

Building a strong corporate image is an important marketing tool. The status and prestige of a company influences the buying decisions of customers. Koreans tend to be very brand loyal, and brand image is extremely important. Sony, IBM, Motorola, Samsung, Calvin Klein, and Gucci are examples of strong corporate brand images. The image of quality is often more important in terms of influencing buying decisions than the price of the product. The press can help tremendously in building a good corporate image in Korea. It is a good idea for top managers to establish some informal contacts with journalists and to involve the press in PR campaigns. Sponsoring big events and being visible at them as a company is also very effective.

Cook Like a Professional Chef

In countries that place high value on achievement, advertising often involves some kind of endorsement. The implication is that if you buy a product you will be as good as the high-achieving person who is endorsing it. For example, an advertisement for pans in a recent woman 's magazine in the UK read: "Designed by professionals, used by the UK's top professional chefs such as [two top chefs named] and now exclusively available to you. Cook like a professional chef for just four instalments of ‰49.99. Impress your friends with this completely new 11-piece range of professional stainless steel cookware as used by BBC's Food and Drink and the Carlton Food Network."

Reconciling Achievement and Ascription

A French project does not get underway solely because it is self-sustaining and will ultimately generate income, but because it is felt to be important for the hegemony of the firm. Typically French firms can easily develop large and complex projects if their top management feels they are important - regardless of the return on investment. This could be referred to as the TGV syndrome (TGV stands for Train a Grande Vitesse, the "train with great speed" developed by SNCF, the French railway company, as a matter of national priority). The TGV is an interesting example because everyone agrees that the result has been worthwhile. However, for the people involved in the project, building the thing - whatever the cost - was far more important than creating a self- sustaining activity. As it so happens, the TGV is now also profitable in commercial terms, but financial profit was not its first objective or priority. Investment fond perdue, along these lines, is typical of French culture.

In practice, most French projects need a patron to get off the ground. The project will continue, as long as le patron, the boss, is happy; which means as long as the boss feels the project is necessary. Again, to the British or Americans, this can sound like disguised nepotism, but it is in fact the symptom of a truly different way of operating. The relationship between superior and subordinate is closer to feudalism; you have my blessing to do whatever you want, and I have your support if I need it.

Both the TGV and the supersonic airliner Concorde have incurred substantial financial losses and, by British or American standards, may not be regarded as fine achievements but as commercial failures. Yet the French admire state of the art technology and ascribe status to it. Furthermore, since accountability is difficult to define in terms of specific results, no one seems to have looked closely at the financial figures. An entire project might cost far more than can be paid back in thirty years , and it is often unclear whether the original investment will ever be recouped.

All great projects of this kind have a patron in the government and represent brilliant engineering, a work of art and science. They are supported by a relationship of trust (confiance), or rather mutual confidence between the sponsor and the executor. This relationship is mostly established based on ascribed competence, which is measured in terms of Grande ‰cole background, previous post, and general opinion rather than demonstrable results.

What is it worth to France to invest so heavily in infrastructure and be Europe's major transportation hub? Does the payoff include less automobile congestion, faster trunk roads , cheaper exports, involved investments, fuel saving, and national reputation? The truth is that the payback from better infrastructure is almost incalculably large and isn't well represented by ticket sales, but by what the alternatives would cost. After all is said and done, even the Concorde, losing as it did $40 a minute whilst flying, may well have advanced aeronautics and, in that sense, was worthwhile (Figure 3.2).

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Figure 3.2: From "catastrophe" to "gloire"



Marketing Across Cultures
Marketing Across Cultures (Culture for Business Series)
ISBN: 1841124710
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 82

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