Global Marketing

Ryan Hamilton,
Associate Professor
of Marketing
 Going Global
Strategic Considerations Tactical Considerations
Creating Communicating Delivering
value value value

1. Who is the customer? Product

2. What do they value? Service

3. How can we deliver that value Brand Communication Distribution

better than the competition? Price

Incentives

• Can we master the cultural and buying
differences of foreign customers?
• Are our offerings’ sources of value still
relevant to a foreign customer?
• Can our offering effectively compete with
local competitors who already understand the
local customers?
• Does the product have a benefit that outweighs the
costs—for this new group of customers?
• Are there existing associations for our brand?
• Can we create a coherent global price positioning?
• Do we have the resources/understanding to
manage local infrastructure and relationships?
• Do we have the understanding to communicate in
a different culture?
Massive Disclaimer
 Going Global

Which Which
Which
Marketing Marketing
Market?
Strategy? Tactics?
 Going Global

Which Which
Which
Marketing Marketing
Market?
Strategy? Tactics?
The World is Your Oyster. Maybe.

GDP
 Pro-tip: Pilot a Market Before
https://www.glossier.com/about
Committing
?
 Glossier in UK: London Pop-up Shop,
2019

Glossier Instagram
100K visitors in 2 months
 Indicators of Market Potential
Demographic Geographic Economic Political and Sociocultural Industry Specific
Characteristics Characteristics Factors Legal Factors Factors Considerations

• Education • Climate • GDP size & • National • Consumer • Market Size

Population Size • Country size growth priorities lifestyles, values, • Market Growth
• Population • Population • Income • Political stability beliefs • Competitive
Growth density distribution Political • Business norms landscape
• Population age • Urban, Rural • Industrial compatibility • Cultural and • Competitive
composition • Transportation infrastructure • Gov’t attitude social norms advantage
structure • Natural towards global • Languages
• Market resources trade
accessibility • Financial and • Gov’t
human resources bureaucracy
• Monetary and
trade regulations
• Risk level
 Political and Legal Factors
Over 1,000
Companies
Have Curtailed
Operations in
Russia
September 22, 2022
 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
Framework
Power Distance Index
How accepting is a society of inequality?
Individualism (vs. Collectivism)
Masculinity (vs. Femininity)
Scoring low means dominant value in society
is caring for others and quality of life.
Uncertainty Avoidance Index
Long term (vs. Short Term)
Orientation
Indulgence (vs. Restraint)
• High (Saudi Arabia): People accept hierarchical order and everyone has a place
Low (Denmark): People demand equalizing distribution of power
• High (US): my self actualization matters most. Taking care of myself and my family is
my responsibility.
• Low (China): community/society/nation matters most
• High (Japan): Extreme drive for excellence, perfection in production, presentation of
gifts, workaholism.
Low (Denmark): preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak, consensus
oriented.
• High (Russia): rigid codes of belief, intolerant of unorthodox ideas, try to control the
future through bureaucracy, heavy focus on context before jumping into discussion
• Low (Denmark): uncertainty is a way of life, society accepts that we cannot control the
future
• High (China): pragmatic approach, modern education
Low (US): good vs. evil framework, focus on short term results in terms of profit and
advancement
• High (US): accept gratification as natural human norm, enjoy life and have fun
• Low (China): Suppress gratification of needs, regulate through strict social norms
YOU ARE HERE

https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/
Some of the
Countries
We Will
Discuss
Today
 Pro-tip: Pilot a Market Before
https://www.glossier.com/about
Committing
?
 Glossier in UK: London Pop-up Shop
(2019)

Glossier Instagram
100K visitors in 2 months
 Going Global

Which Which
Which
Marketing Marketing
Market?
Strategy? Tactics?
 Global Marketing Strategy
1. Who is the customer?
2. What do they value?
3. How can we deliver that value
better than the competition?

Company Competitive Competitive

Co
ny

offering advantage offering

lla
a

Company Customer
mp

bo

value value
rat
Co

Customers OVP Value Value

ors

Competitors Collaborator Customer

value needs

Context
Approaches To A Global Marketing
Strategy
Standardized Adapted

Use same marketing strategy Adjust marketing strategy

(target, positioning) and (target, positioning) and
tactics (marketing mix) across tactics (marketing mix) fir
all international markets each international market

Pros? Cons? Pro? Con?

Regardless of where you are on the spectrum it is VITAL

you have regional and local partners or you will mess it
up.
India
Should Netflix Enter India, 2016?
Evaluating India market via 5Cs Netflix has to decide:
Company Netflix founded in 1997, operated Is India the next market?
solely in US until 2010. First market
expansion was Canada then
Europe, Latin America, Asia.
Context India 2nd largest Internet market Is the addressable market large
(658M users) enough to meet our revenue goals?
This amounts to 4X US population,
2X European population
Customer Strong demand for local language Do we understand the customer
(Hindi, Tamil) / culture and what they value?
programming. Price sensitive.
Competition Hotstar w/ 150M active users, 70% Can we do it better than the
market share of streaming, competition?
$4/month
Collaborator Internet providers (high speed), Can we work with the right
content creators partners to create winning content?
 By 2018, The Answer Seems Even
Clearer

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/netflix-ceo-reed-hastings-why-next-100-million-subscribers-will-be-coming-india-1088301/
 NETFLIX in India, 2022
• Netflix (5.5M subscribers)
• Amazon Prime (19M subscribers)
• Disney+ Hotstar (46M subscribers)
 What Went Wrong?

• Films, especially • 46M subscribers • 19M subscribers • 5.5M subscribers

local/national • Broadcast rights • Programming in • Global hits laced
productions for Indian Premier 10 Indian with violence and
• Sports League (India is languages profanity (Squid
• News worlds biggest • Dominates in film Games, Money
• Family/Multi- cricket market) library Heist, Narcos)
generational • Shopping benefits • Perceived as
content of Amazon upscale (i.e.,
unnecessary) and
foreign
 LinkedIn in China, 2014
Largest professional network on the Internet, with more
Company than 300 million members as of 2014, looking to expand
into China
Strict censorship and data demands. LinkedIn agreed to
Context comply, but… Twitter and Facebook blocked in China in
2009, Google pulled out of China in 2010
Customer Large population who ranks high on collectivism
Competition No major competitors
Venture capital firms, to help with government
Collaborator
regulations
 LinkedIn in China, 2014
• Social feed: While central to American culture/life, the LinkedIn US China
social network aspect of LinkedIn provides no value in Attributes Target Target
China due to the government’s blocking of social Social Feed H H L
networking features and apps.
Self
H H L
• Self Promotion: It is normal to promote your own Promotion
achievements and skills in order to stand out in the United Sharing
States, however this is condemned in Chinese culture. H H L
Articles/Posts
• Sharing Articles/Posts: China’s government strictly Finding Jobs H H M
censors shared articles and posts for sensitive topics. The
extent to which they censor posts and punish those who
make these posts eliminates the value of this feature. October of 2021: LinkedIn
• Finding Jobs: While there are millions of people in China shuts down in China due to
who are looking for work, jobs are most often a “a significantly more
found/gotten through family connections or close challenging operating
relationships. LinkedIn still provides value as many people environment and greater
are in search of jobs outside of this primary network. compliance requirements”
Market Development:
Geographic Expansion
Walmart’s Global Positioning…
“Everyday low price”
Walmart ensures that their customers get
the lowest price possible at all times.

“Stocking up”
Walmart encourages customers to buy in
bulk to save time and money.

Conveniently located
Walmart locations are conveniently
placed near population clusters.

…is just the same as it’s domestic positioning.

It’s worked well so far, right?
 Walmart in Japan
U.S. Target Japanese Consumers

Convenience H L

Freshness L H

Low Prices H M

Quality M M

Shopping Frequency M H

Local Vendors L M

Additional Cultural Characteristics

• Skeptical of Cheap Goods: Japanese consumers believe that cheap goods signify cheap quality.
• Preference for fresh produce: In Japanese food culture, they love freshness from fish, produce, etc… that
opposes Walmart’s pre-packaged goods.
• Urban lifestyle: Japanese people regularly take public transportation and ride a bicycle to go to thousands of
nearby convenience stores
• Shop Everyday: Despite Americans typically buying in bulk on weekends, Japanese people shop nearly
everyday in smaller quantities.
Walmart (More or Less) Exits
Japan, 2020
 Walmart in South Korea
• 싼 게 비지떡 (Cheap is cheap)
• Cheap products often not perceived
positively
• Strong belief in getting what you pay for
• 손님이 왕이다 (Customer is the King/is
always right)
• Expectations of extremely high service
• Service quality often used as point of
differentiation
• Local shopping
• Unusual to travel far for daily necessities
Walmart Leaves South Korea, 2006
Walmart sold their stores to Shinsaegae, a Korean department store franchise. Shinsaegae then restructured
Walmart (to E mart) and successfully relaunched in South Korea. After the rearrangement, E-mart is one of the
Top 1 Retailer in Korea.
Walmart in Germany
Walmart in Germany

In 1997, Wal-Mart had entered in

the German retail market through
acquiring the failing German retail
chain Wertkauf but quickly
encountered problems
Captured 2% of German food sale
Lost $200 million on German
operations
 German Shopping Preferences

Walmart’s failure can mostly be

attributed to trying to impress
American cultural values on Germans
For daily food purchases, German
consumers often prefer small
neighborhood stores to impersonal
chains
German customers found greeters at
the door and the smiley, cheery
demeanor of their employees off-
putting
Walmart Exits Germany, 2006
• Employees, the government, competitors,
AND consumers alike all despised
Walmart: they tried putting others out of
business, treated workers unfairly/oddly
and did not have “typical” operations
• After 5+ years, Walmart only controls 3%
of Germany’s retail market with a profit of
merely 1-2%
• In 2006, Walmart sells all 85 outlets and
reports a loss of around $1billion
Approaches To A Global Marketing
Strategy

Standardized Adapted

Use same marketing strategy Adjust marketing strategy

(target, positioning) and (target, positioning) and
tactics (marketing mix) across tactics (marketing mix) fir
all international markets each international market
 Before launch, IKEA employees visited
about 1,000 homes in various cities to
understand how their Indian customers lived
and what they needed.
 Insights Implemented from IKEA’s Indian
Ethnographies
• Indians prefer closed storage because of dust so IKEA cut back on
open storage items, offering glass cabinets and cupboards
• Families use more water while cleaning up the kitchen (up to 5 meals
a day) so IKEA created a slim ledge on countertops to stop water
from spilling over
• Indians eat fairly elaborate lunches at work so IKEA created lunch
boxes with additional containers
• Prefer hard beds so work mainly with locally made mattresses
• Given India’s lower income levels, IKEA stores featured hundreds
of products—from dolls to spice jars—priced at 100 rupees
(~$1.45)
• Indian women, on average, are shorter than Europeans and
Americans so IKEA featured lower cabinet and countertop heights
• Cafeteria catered to Indian tastes, with biryani, samosas, and
vegetarian Swedish meatballs
USA CHINA
 In Israel, IKEA’s catalogue included
items meant to appeal to the Orthodox
community, including large bookcases
to accommodate holy books many
households like to store and display.

Pictures of women were removed

from catalogues in Israel and Saudi
Arabia to comport with beliefs of
Orthodox and Sharia cultural values.

(This decision proved to be very

controversial in Western countries.)
 Moroccan Inspired
Products and Designs
IKEA in
Morocco

Culturally relevant
promotions

Use of both French and Arabic

Approaches To A Global Marketing
Strategy

Standardized Adapted

Use same marketing strategy Adjust marketing strategy

(target, positioning) and (target, positioning) and
tactics (marketing mix) across tactics (marketing mix) fir
all international markets each international market
McDonald’s in India
Two of the advertisements are part of a
McDonald’s #TrulyIndianBurger campaign,
highlighting how McDonald’s sources Indian
ingredients in its burgers.

The bottom left is a video from this

campaign. This is just one example of the
many campaigns McDonald’s has run over
the years.

Another (bottom right) is a promotion that

gives customers a chance to meet a star
actor if they buy a McSpicy Meal.
McDonald’s in China

Jackson Yee (actor,

singer, dancer), star
of A Little Red Flower
McDonald’s in China
McDonald’s in China

Jackson Yee (actor,

Little Red Flower Ice Cream
singer, dancer), star
promotion, SOLD OUT
of A Little Red Flower
 McDonald’s in Israel
“Kosher”

McDonald’s
written in
Hebrew

Blue coloring instead of red to clearly

mark this McDonald’s as Kosher

McKebab
 Going Global

Which Which
Which
Marketing Marketing
Market?
Strategy? Tactics?
Global Marketing Tactics

Creating Communicating Delivering

value value value

Product

Service

Brand Communication
Communication Distribution

Price

Incentives
UAE
BMW in UAE, 2016
 BMW in UAE, 2016
• Intention: Feature renown Emirati football team to attract football fans;
demonstrate the thrilling experience of driving BWM. It’s so exciting to drive a
BMW we will run out of stadium in the middle of national anthem!

• Perception: Insinuated players preferred cars over patriotism. That BWM as a

brand placed higher importance on cars over country; in a country where
power distance ranks high.

• Result: #SuspendBMWAds went viral

• BMW had to pull the ad and issue an apology
• Tangible expense: produce new creative
• Intangible expense: negative brand associations
Japan
Pampers in Japan, 1982
China
Audi in China, 2017
 Audi in China, 2017

• Intention: Making a car purchase decision is important

• Perception: Making a car purchase decision is as important as marriage.

A mother-in-law has every right to inspect her future daughter-in-law like
an animal. Audi is highly-disrespectful of sanctity if marriage.
 Audi in China, 2017, Results
• Twitter and Weibo users: “Audi is out of the consideration set”
Saudi Arabia
‫تسويق‬

‫تسويق‬
 Cultural Context of Ramadan
● Ramadan
○ The Holy Month of Ramadan is a religious practice in which Muslims engage in
a month of fasting to show their commitment to Islam
○ During Ramadan, Muslims will not eat or drink anything (including water) while
the sun is up. You are allowed to eat for Suhoor (before sunrise) and Iftar (after
sunset)
● Suhoor
○ Suhoor happens incredibly early in the morning, families often wake at about
3 AM to eat
○ Meal is as far away from glamorous as one could get - quite literally wake up in
‫تسويق‬

your pajamas, consume as much food and water as you physically can with your
eyes half open, then go straight back to bed for the next few hours
● Iftar
○ This is a meal which happens after the entire day of fasting, which often takes
place in a large gathering, celebratory type way
 MAC in the Middle East, 2018
• Intention: Connect with Middle Eastern beauty
consumers during biggest moment of the year

• Perception: Rather than showing understanding

of Ramadan importance in Muslim culture, MAC
showed their ignorance; unintentionally
perpetuated an idea that women must always be
“dressed for the part” even for a 3 AM meal that is
followed by going back to sleep

• Result: Video went viral… but for all the wrong

reasons. Quickly removed from all platforms
D&G in China, 2018
 D&G in China, 2018

• Intention: connect with Chinese consumers ahead of

biggest Fashion Shows to show that D&G had arrived;
attempt to show fusion between the 2 cultures

• Perception: mansplaining and making women seem

dumb, disrespectful towards chopsticks and culture and
overall pretentious.
 D&G in China, 2018, Results
• Immediately, D&G closed 10 of their 58 boutiques
within mainland China due to backlash received for the
campaign
• D&G has had to cancel numerous scheduled fashion
shows
• Since 2018 it has been difficult for the luxury apparel
brand to contract with any celebrities or modeling
studios
• D&G has essentially been locked out of the Chinese
luxury consumer market ($54B in 2020)
China
Pandora in China, 2021
 Pandora in China, 2021
• Intention: connect with Chinese consumers during holiday season…but this
is so bad it’s not really clear!

• Perception: Pandora is completely disconnected from Chinese culture

– Chinese gov’t discourages celebration of Western Holidays like Christmas
– Absence of Chinese people from the ad doesn’t resonate with nation
– Depictions in ad are utterly foreign – home decor, attire, style of
celebration
– Products shown are silver…Chinese buyers value gold
 Pandora in China, 2021, Results
The company fails to appeal to the Chinese market
China’s luxury market was valued at $74.4b in 2021, but Pandora isn’t the one winning

On 1 November, Pandora’s Q3 2021 report announced a disappointing 35%

drop in sales across China, despite a 14% global organic growth
year on year. To turn this around, in the near future, the jewelry maker is
set to invest 199 million RMB ($31 million) into the Chinese market.
So is global expansion
just hopeless?
India
Lays in India, 2021
 Lays in India, 2021
• Celebrity endorsements from two well-
respected and relevant actors: Ranbir
Kapoor and Alia Bhatt
• Made the actors relatable by the setting
the ad in a rickshaw
• Emphasizes availability and affordability,
resonating with their target market
• Ad emphasized new flavors created for
local market
China
 Nike in China, 2020
• In Chinese culture, a red packet is a monetary gift
given during the holidays like Lunar New Year
• Most Chinese millennials have been taught to
refuse these red envelopes, usually gifted by an
elder to whom they will return the favor in
adulthood (cycle of good fortune)
• Refusing these envelopes is considered a good
deed, to not appear greedy or take the present for
granted
• After denying the gift multiple times in order to
demonstrate modesty, one may accept the red
envelope
 Nike in China
Nike Revenue in Greater China 2009-
2021 (in million U.S. dollars)
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
2009 2013 2017 2021
Revenue
 Going Global
Strategic Considerations Tactical Considerations
Creating Communicating Delivering
value value value

1. Who is the customer? Product

2. What do they value? Service

3. How can we deliver that value Brand Communication Distribution

better than the competition? Price

Incentives

• Can we master the cultural and buying
differences of foreign customers?
• Are our offerings’ sources of value still
relevant to a foreign customer?
• Can our offering effectively compete with
local competitors who already understand the
local customers?
• Does the product have a benefit that outweighs the
costs—for this new group of customers?
• Are there existing associations for our brand?
• Can we create a coherent global price positioning?
• Do we have the resources/understanding to
manage local infrastructure and relationships?
• Do we have the understanding to communicate in
a different culture?