Business Brief: Marketing Strategies Across Cultures
Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to analyze and evaluate the strategy and tactics of marketing a product in various countries or cultures.
Overview
One of the common drinks at meals in some parts of Europe is made by pouring a small amount of flavored syrup in a glass and adding water. Many flavors are popular, but one of the most enjoyed varieties is mint. Another is anise. Have you ever sat down to dinner and had a nice glass of mint syrup or anise? If you are from North America, you probably haven't. It is not common here. Given their popularity in some parts of Europe, why haven't these drinks made headway in the USA? It is most likely because the mint syrup looks and tastes like mouthwash to Americans, and the anise is like drinking liquid black licorice.
Similarly, while many Americans guzzle root beer, this soda is not consumed very much by Europeans. To them it tastes similar to a medicine they have, and they thus typically abhor root beer when they try it.
Could European companies market syrup drinks in the US? They could try, and perhaps have, but they would need to offer flavors that Americans like in a beverage. This would be just one consideration in such a marketing venture. With globalization of markets now a norm, and the growing significance of market segments based on cultures within countries, it is critical for companies to address culture in their marketing strategies and tactics.
In this assignment, you will get to apply the marketing mix globally/multiculturally. You will assume the role of a new marketing manager. In preparation for offering a new product, you have been assigned to analyze and evaluate the marketing strategies of your company for a product it currently offers in both your home country and other countries. The company executives will review your analysis and evaluation of the marketing strategies and tactics in order to understand the differences between marketing this product in your home country and another nation (you get to choose). They will want to gauge, based on your cultural and environmental scanning, whether or not they are on the right track with their marketing of this product in the country in question. This will help them prepare their strategies and tactics for the design and launch of new products in both your home country and in the other country.
Image from https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirop_de_menthe
Action Items
In this assignment, you will create a business brief for your boss to share with the executive team. To create this brief, do the following:
1. Reread or review the principles of global marketing
2. Choose a product that originates from your home country that is marketed in other countries around the globe.
3. Choose one other country where this product is available.
4. Search online to find advertising samples for the product in both your home country and the other country. Compare print, TV (sample from Internet, i.e., YouTube), and web samples (for example, corporate websites for both countries). It is from these samples that you will derive the marketing strategies and tactics that are being used.
5. Conduct research to find 3 - 5 critical cultural considerations for marketing products in the country you selected. Only cite credible sources. Google should provide more than enough leads for you.
6. Prepare a business brief for your boss and the executive team about the strategies and tactics that are being used to market this product in your home country and the other country you have identified.
7. Follow the Business Brief Guidelines to write your brief. Note: your brief should be 2.5 to 3 pages in length, not counting the appendix. Include the following sections in your brief:
o Purpose: The subject and purpose of the brief
o Relevant Cultural Characteristics
include relevant cultural characteristics of both your home country and the other country
o Macroenvironmental Factors
list and describe the relevant environmental elements - legal/regulatory, economic, competitive, technology
o Marketing Analysis: describe the key marketing elements on the basis of product and customer type:
compare and contrast marketing strategies of the company you chose for the specific product you identifed in the US and another country of your choice
analyze the marketing of the product and evaluate whether the marketing is a match for the culture based on what you found in your research and what you have read in the textbook
o Evaluation and Recommendations
Guidelines for Marketing a New Product: Generate three specific suggestions for introducing any new product by the company you
selected in the country you chose. Give rationale for your suggestions based on your research, other readings, and even any experience you have had in that country. (Describe what guidelines are important and why.)
o Appendix: Include images of advertising samples from both countries.