International Advertising

International Advertising  

International advertising has been a very fascinating subject to me for years, because of the great amount of traveling I've done in my lifetime. I love going to a new country and seeing the different types of advertisements that companies that advertise in the U.S have in that country. I remember going to Europe as a kid and seeing the toys that were in the happy meals and then going to the Unites States and seeing the difference in toys and meals offered. That's how my fascination with observing different countries advertisement started. 

What exactly is International advertising? As you probably have guessed already, it is advertising for target audiences of a specific country or region. "Advertising differs from country to country in terms of how they perceive or interpret symbols or stimuli, respond to humor or emotional appeals, as well as in levels of literacy and languages spoken (Douglas, and Craig)." 

When companies advertise, they have the decision to either make it a global or regional advertisement.

Global / International Advertising

Global advertising could be seen as a communication process for different cultures that are unique in styles, culture and values. "International advertising is also a major force that both reflects social values, and propagates certain values worldwide (Douglas, and  Craig)." The negative side of global advertising is that many sayings in one language can sound odd or inappropriate in another. An example was when the famous slogan "Got Milk?" of the American Dairy Association went to Mexico and literally translated the slogan to "Are You Lactating?". This is also an example of symbols, a symbol that represents one thing does not represent the same thing in another country. In America the color green is associated with safety and red is associated as cautious and danger. In China on the other hand, Red is associated with happiness, primarily because its used in positive settings such as weddings, and green is associated as danger and cautious. Being aware of these differences in symbols and styles is essential as an effective communication tool (including advertisements).
"A global campaign offers a number of advantages. In the first place, it can be an important means of building a strong and coherent global image for the firm and/or its products worldwide. Use of the same image in different countries builds familiarity and generates synergies across world markets. It allows utilization of good ideas and creative talent (both of which are scarce commodities) on a worldwide basis ( Douglas, and Craig)."

Regional/ Local Advertising 

 Regional and Local advertising is when a company advertises to a targeted group of customers, culture, country, etc..
I believe this form of advertising is more efficient for companies promoting products that could be tailored to the customers liking such as a fad food chain. There are many fast food chains that promote the same products completely differently in other countries or even completely change the product for the country's taste and style. An example of this is McDonald which changes their burgers and meal options to the country's preferences. In India, McDonald does not sell beef, their burgers are mainly vegan with different flavors that would accommodate the customers in India.   

Works Cited 

Douglas, Susan, and Samuel Craig. "International Advertising." Section5.2.Article31 Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://people.stern.nyu.edu/sdouglas/rpubs/intad.html>.