Global advertising

The world is becoming a global market for an ever-increasing and varied number of companies with a common aim: to sell their products to as many consumers as possible. However, the globalization of markets also means that companies today are addressing an incredibly varied target group, with many different languages and, more importantly, cultures.

Advertising as a form of impersonal communication aimed at a wide and diffuse audience, is the ideal tool to promote products targeting large markets in which consumers are not strong differentiated in terms motivations, preferences, attitudes, etc.

The power of successful transfer of promotion campaign around the globe is a considerable advantage of a globally oriented company in term of competitiveness. To expand globally it must find markets for its products worldwide.

With the continuing trend towards globalization, multinational corporations (MNCs) are increasingly faced with the challenge of planning and executing global advertising campaigns.

Companies such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Dell, and Apple have used global advertising campaigns to build their global brands. Yet, in the international advertising literature, the concept of global advertising remains elusive, offering little guidance to MNCs' global advertising campaigns.

Advertising message for global markets, as both product and activity, is distributed through different means of mass communication; it endures strong competition and comes in contact with those to whom it isn't aimed. Such message should be repetitive, general and must stimulate recipient's behavior.
Global advertising

Social factors in international marketing

Marketing experts included reference groups, family, roles and status within social factors. It also include both objective and subjective elements about the socio-cultural forces such as language, work habits, customs, religion and values.

Growth and movement in populations around the world are important factors heralding social changes. 80%of the world’s population live in developing countries, by 2025 this is likely to reach 85%.

This has a powerful implications for international marketing. The explosive population growth is a boon to international business for selling goods in untapped markets of the world.

Europe and Japan both have strong social safety nets for their older populations. These social programs increase the tax burden on the younger population. The increased tax burden decreases the ability to purchase.

Developing countries, on the other hand, have a much larger population of younger people, With shrinking family sizes, these younger people have higher disposable incomes. This market has higher potential for international marketers.
Social factors in international marketing

Cultural factors that influence international business

There are numerous macro-factors that influence international business, such as politics and economic climate of the region involved.

Differences in social conditions, religion and material culture all affects consumer’s perception and patterns of buying behavior.

Because society is composed of people and their culture, it is not possible to speak of one without relating to the other.

Social and culture affect employer-employee relations, buyer-seller interaction, business to business interchange, and government to business negotiations.

Cultural factors definitely influence consumer values and preferences. Areas most often impacted by cultural factors include this consumer products that must conform to local dietary needs, health practices, and religious guidelines.

Ideally, the internal culture of a firm should fit more or less with the culture of the region or nation where firm is located.

Host factors and policies may be managerial principles that are operational at home but may be ineffective in other countries or a manager may have to initiate policies and procedures that were not necessarily appropriate in the home country.

Cultural factors that influence international business

Hypermarkets

Hypermarkets
A hypermarket is very large store, usually over 50 000 square feet, typically on one level and selling a wide range of food and non foods products. Hypermarkets are usually located on the edge of town or in retail parks.

The first hypermarket was developed by French retailer Carrefour in 1963. The concept quickly spread within France and throughout Europe through the internationalization efforts of French operators who were sharing their expertise and establishing joint ventures.

At the end 1980s the share of food sales through hypermarkets was estimated as approximately 20 per cent for the UK, however, a changing focus in UK planning regulation meant a move away from large out of town developments, thus inhibiting the growth of hypermarket sales.

Hypermarkets remain an important feature in French food retailing. Despite the legislation aimed at restricting the growth of hypermarkets, 58% of grocery sales and 31% of specialty retailing is commanded by supermarkets and hypermarkets.

Originally strongly price focused, the leading hypermarket chains have responded to the advent of pan-European hard discount formats and the introduction of pricing laws which prohibit loss leader prices, thus inhibiting deep discounting, by turning to geographical expansion into rural areas.

Hypermarkets operators have also continued to internationalize. In recent years, French hypermarkets changed their marketing approach and started to make individual departments look like local shops to break up the scale of the store, which can otherwise be perceived as intimidating.
Hypermarkets