Page 331 - DMGT408DMGT203_Marketing Management

Marketing Management/Essentials of Marketing

Notes such as TV, cameras, mobile phones sets, and small appliances may pose very slight difficulties
in extending totally unchanged into foreign markets.
The most challenging are personal products to standardise, such as beauty care products, wearing
clothes, and food etc. International marketers adopt a strategy called product adaptation and
modify a successfully selling product to suit the requirements of another country.

Example: Procter & Gamble modified Max Factor cosmetics with brighter shades to suit
Latin American preferences. The global fast food chain McDonald’s modified its burgers to suit
preferences of Indian consumers. Ford and Hyundai studied the weather and road conditions in
India and designed suitable air conditioners and shock absorbers.
Another approach is to invent a totally new product or modify a product for a particular foreign
country.

Example: Gillette has introduced a modified version of twin-bladed Gillette Sensor
shaving system to suit the shaving habits of large number of Indian consumers and named it
Vector Plus. Kellogg’s developed Basmati rice flakes specifically for Indian consumers.
Sometimes companies introduce an earlier product version more suited to the country’s needs
or stage of development.

Example: Panasonic sold its basic version of washing machine to Videocon in India in
1988. Some companies are selling their less advanced models of laptop computers in India.
Companies have to take care about using the same brand names in different countries because
translation of the brand name and its symbol in the host country might carry very funny or even
harmful meanings.
Product packaging is also important while dealing with international markets. In developed
and rapidly developing countries, supermarkets and self-service stores cater to a very large
number of customers and packages work as silent persuaders. Package size should be determined
based on buying habits of consumers in a country. Some countries prefer packages made of
recyclable materials. In certain countries, consumers prefer reusable containers. For perishable
items, the packaging has to be developed according to a country’s climatic conditions.

14.4.2 Advertising and Promotion

The debate over standardisation versus localisation began many years ago. In case of standardised
advertising a number of companies have been very successful.

Example: Gillette introduced its Sensor shaving system and has used the same theme
globally, “The Best a Man Can Get,” and when the company introduced its Mach3 triple-bladed
shaving system, it used the same theme in all countries.
On the subject of standardisation not everyone agrees with Prof. Levitt, particularly with respect
to advertising. Many scholars and professionals argue that products and advertising messages
must be designed or at least adapted to the needs and preferences of consumers in different
countries. Differences in language, tradition, values, beliefs, lifestyle, music, usage pattern,
media availability, and legal restrictions etc., make it extremely difficult to standardise
advertising. Some scholars and experts say, cultures around the world are becoming more
diverse and advertising can do its job within a given cultural context.

According to Rebecca Fannin, advertising standardisation may be suitable under the following
conditions:

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