Page 328 - DMGT408DMGT203_Marketing Management

Unit 14: The Global Marketplace

Notes
Example: When Mattel Toys introduced its famous Barbie Doll in Japan, customers did
not buy it. Later the company introduced a modified Barbie Doll with slightly oriental eyes and
girlish figure, the sales rapidly picked up.
In some countries, religion is a powerful influence on purchase behaviour of local consumers,
such as acceptance of certain type of foods and clothing.

Example: McDonald’s entered India and opened its first outlet in Jaipur. After facing
problems, it had to make many dramatic changes and adapted products appropriate for dominant
cultural groups in India. Eighty per cent of the Indian population is Hindu and they don’t eat
beef so there is no Big Mac containing beef. In its place there is Big Maharaja, which contains
mutton and for strictly vegetarian consumers McDonald’s offers Vegetable Burgers. McDonald’s
also claims that only vegetable oils are used. The menu also does not contain any product
containing pork because a sizable population in India is Muslim and considers it unclean.

Note Inadvertent Offence
There are in excess of 1.2 billion Muslims in the world, yet multinational companies often
offend them. An incident in 1994 involved the French fashion house of Channel which
unwittingly desecrated the Koran by embroidering verses from the sacred book of Islam on
several dresses shown in its summer collection. The designer said, he took the design, which
was aesthetically pleasing to him, from a book on India’s Taj Mahal palace and that he was
unaware of its meaning. To placate a Muslim group that felt the use of the verses desecrated
the Koran, Channel had to destroy the dresses with the offending designs along with negatives
of the photos made of the garments. Channel certainly had no intention of offending Muslims
since some of the most valued and important customers belong to that religion.
Source: Based on a report in Wall Street Journal, January 21, 1994.
Difference in language often discourages companies from entering foreign markets. Literal
translation of a brand name or communications message in a foreign language may sometimes
mean something quite ridiculous to consumers in a foreign market.

Case Study Doing Business in China

hina, knowledge of the company behind a product or service is key to everything,
whether it’s in a consumer or business-to-business market, or whether you are
Ctrying to get the government to accept your products or services.
It is often that Chinese consumers are in a drift. But the rise of the middle class, particularly
in the urban areas, is changing all of the buying habits. Fifty-six per cent of those surveyed
in 2000 were optimistic about the economy, compared with 41% in the U.S and 43% in
Australia. Only 13% were pessimistic compared to 25% in the United States, and 24% in
Australia.
There is a growing recognition of brand names and a growing preference for them. It
becomes important because the bureaucratic mind wants to know that it has made a safe
decision in picking a particular company for a joint venture. So it is in our interests to
make that as many people as possible to know about our companies and who we are.
Contd...

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