Question

Class: Global Marketing

Using the internet, find and report on a company that is using any of the “Elements of Culture” presented in the text in their marketing efforts. Make a determination of which elements are being used in each effort and report your findings to the class with documentation of the usage, providing reasoning whether or not you feel the use was effective.

Answer 1

Cultural factors in marketing:

Marketing is a not only scientific tool but also a skill, which needs to grab the pulse of the consumer and should force him to buy the product. Consumer behavior will be greatly influenced by the cultural factors in any country. There are several companies in this turn using the cultural factors as driving force to enhance their sales. Those companies which could not able to catch the pulse of the customer ended up failing miserably.

Language and customs:

Victorian Bitter Beer of Australia tried to encash the cultural association of the people of Australia by shaping the product, colors and appearance to suit the local customs and traditions. Victoria Bitter Beer managed to emerge the leading Beer seller in the region for long time due to the marketing edge the company possesses.

Traditions:

Swarovski of Czech Republic is highly regarded in its parent countries for selling crystals as valuable gifts of all occasion. With the same spirit and vigor, Swarovski entered into the Indian market, but struggled to stand up, since the region is not popular for crystals and Indians and neighboring countries are more interested in gold and silver items for all occasions. Accordingly Swarovski changed its business plans to sell gold and silver items in Asian countries.

Customs and traditions:

Mc Donalds Big Mc was a failure in India since cow is a sacred animal in India and the food is against the cultural sentiments of the people of the country. Later Mc Donalds floated products to meet the local taste and cultures and became successful.

Socio-cultural factors:

Coca Cola is another good example of the multinational companies who used the cultural factors successfully to grab the local markets. The particular strength of Coca-Cola lies in its advertising channels, which are very particular in launching the promotional schemes with people like local celebrities for promoting their brands.