Page 220 - Marketing the Basics 2nd

212 Marketing: the Basics
this equipment be used in rural classrooms. What’s more, the product, promotion and distribution approaches are typically different. Product invention can be costly but the payoff can be substantial, particularly if the innovation can be used in multiple markets around the world.
pRoMoTion
Firms can use the same marketing communications as in their home country or they can change it for other national markets, a process called communication adaptation. If it adapts both the product and the communications, the firm is doing dual adaptation.
The starting point is the message that you are trying to commu- nicate. The firm can use one message globally, varying only the language, name and colours. Exxon has used ‘Put a tiger in your tank’ with just small variations everywhere; this is an idea that seems to resonate in every culture. Colours may need to be changed because of cultural taboos. Purple, for example, is the colour of death in parts of South America, in India and some East Asian countries it is white, and in the West it is black. The second possibility is to use the same theme around the world but adapt the copy to each local market. Recently there was a Camay soap commercial showing an attractive women bathing. In Venezuela, a man was seen in the bathroom with a wedding ring prominently displayed on his hand; in Italy and France, only a man’s hand was seen; and in Japan, the man waited outside. The positioning is the same but the execution reflects local values. The third approach is to develop a global pool of ads, from which each country chooses which would work best for it. Coke and Goodyear have used this approach. Finally, some firms allow their country-marketing managers to create country- specific ads, within global guidelines. Kraft used different ads for Cheez Whiz in different countries. An incredible 95 per cent of Puerto Rico’s homes eat Cheez Whiz, and 65 per cent of Canadian households, while in the US it is considered, and we think they have got it right, junk food. If you look at the ingredients of Cheez Whiz, cheese is not prominently featured.
Which media is used and how may also require some interna- tional adaptation because media availability and effectiveness