International Marketing 5

Strategic adaptation to foreign markets

- Company considerations

- Product characteristics

- Regional, country, or local characteristics

- Government regulations 

- Nontariff barriers 

- Customer characteristics, Expectations and preferences 

- Purchase patterns 

- Economic status of potential users 

- Stage of economic development 

- Competitive offerings 

- Climate and geography 

- Product constituents 

- Brand 

- Packaging (e.g., size, styling, color) 

- Functions, attributes, features 

- Method of operation or usage 

- Durability quality 

- Ease of installation 

- Maintenance, after sale service 

- Country of origin 

- Profitability 

- Market opportunity (e.g., Market potential, product-market fit) 

- Cost of adapting 

- policies (e.g., commonality, consistency) 

- Organization 

- Resources 

Adapting products to local requirements so that they can legally and physically operate in the respective countries 

Examples: 

- Left-hand driving in the United Kingdom 

- 220 volt appliances in Europe, 110 volt appliances in the U.S. 

- Adapting a product to better meet the needs of the local market, even though such adaptation is not mandatory 

Example: McDonald's opening vegetarian restaurants in India 

“a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of these, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from the competitors.” 

Memorable 

Meaningful 

Likeable 

Transferable 

Adaptable

- Should suggest features and benefits 

- Easy to pronounce and remember internationally

- Must be distinctive 

- Must translate easily into other languages 

- Must be capable of registration and legal protection 

Fade-in/fade-out strategy 

Summary axing 

Transparent forewarning 

The global brand name is somehow tied to an existing local brand name. After a transition period, the old name is dropped (e.g. Euro Disney became Disneyland Paris). 

Alerts the consumer about a brand name change (e.g. Raider became Twix “…for it is Twix everywhere in the world”) 

The company simply drops the old brand name and immediately replaces it with the global name 

- The development costs for products launched under the global brand name can be spread over large volumes 

- A global brand can generate much more awareness than a local brand 

- Global brands are also able to leverage positive country associations for the product (country of origin effect) 

ADAPTATION 

= different products for different countries

= different brands for different countries

STANDARDISATION 

= same product for different countries

= same brand for different countries

Local branding 

- Interbrew has a portfolio of 200 local and regional brands across the globe 

- Coca Cola in India: Thums Up 

Reasons for local brands 

- Acquisition of established local brands (Chinese brands account for 80% of Danone's sales in China) 

Brand name already used (Merck Germany vs. USA) 

Negative image of home country (Mecca Cola in France) 

Cultural barriers 

Perceptions about and attitudes toward particular countries often extend to products and brands known to originate in those countries. E.g. 

- Germany – Automotive industry 

- France – Food culture 

- Japan – High-tech products 

- What is the cost of creating and maintaining awareness and associations for a local brand versus a global one? 

- Are there significant economies of scale in the creation and running of a communication program globally? 

- Is there value to associations of a global brand or of a brand associated with the source country? 

- What local associations will be generated by the global name? Symbol? Slogan? Imagery? 

- Is it culturally and legally do-able to use the brand name, symbol, slogan across the different countries? 

- What is the value of the awareness and associations that a regional brand might create? 

- Any aspect of the product is vulnerable to piracy, including the brand name, the logo, the design, and the package 

- In the area of brand protection, the oldest treaty is the Paris Convention for the Protection of Intellectual Property 

- There is difference in opinion held by industrialized and developing countries on intellectual property 

- Many elements of the brand franchise may require protection