Global Marketing: Strategy, Culture, Trade and Intellectual Property

What is global marketing?

Addressing the world market as a whole with fully integrated promotion, rather than as a collection of separate countries

Pro-globalisation view

Globalisation is an opportunity (Friedman). Neoliberal, trusts the invisible hand

Anti-globalisation view

Free markets create inequality, so markets need regulating

Skeptics on globalisation

Globalisation is exaggerated: about 20% of output exported, FDI about 7%, 3% of people live outside their birth country

Hyperglobalists believe...

World without limits run by MNCs, homogeneous consumers and cultures, standardised products. Globalisation is inevitable

Globalisation's two parallel processes

Localisation of global culture, brands and products AND globalisation of local culture, products and brands

Standardisation vs adaptation (global localisation)

Standardisation = same product and marketing everywhere (mass marketing, saves costs). Adaptation = tailored per market ("think globally, act locally")

Single-country vs global marketing strategy

Single country: target market and marketing mix. Global: choose which markets to enter, adapt or standardise each P, and coordinate activities across markets

BRICS and MINT

BRICS: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa. MINT: Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey

The 4 As for emerging markets

Affordability (low-price versions), Availability (new distribution systems), Acceptability (legitimate and fits local norms), Awareness (new ways to build awareness, e.g. word of mouth and influencers)

Ethnocentric orientation

Home country is best, sees only similarities, standardised approach. "International" company

Polycentric orientation

Every country is unique, each subsidiary makes its own strategy, adaptation. "Multinational" company

Regiocentric orientation

The region (e.g. EU) is the unit, with an integrated regional strategy and autonomous regional heads

Geocentric orientation

Blend of similarities and differences, integrated global strategy that resonates locally. "Global/transnational" company

PESTEL

Macro environment: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental/legal

Competitive analysis

Porter's five forces (industry competition) plus internal audit such as SWOT (strategic capabilities)

Major shifts in the world economy

Capital movements replaced trade as the main driver; production uncoupled from employment; global competitors displace local ones; e-commerce weakens national barriers

Traditional economic systems: the two axes

Resource ownership (private vs state) and resource allocation (market vs command)

Anglo-Saxon model

US/UK: private ownership, free enterprise, minimal safety net, flexible employment

Social market model

Germany/France/Italy: private ownership with unions, employers and banks involved in government; inflexible employment

Nordic model

Sweden/Denmark/Norway: state and private ownership mix, high taxes, generous safety net

Income groups (GNI per capita)

High: $12,746 or more. Upper-middle: $4,126 to $12,745. Lower-middle: $1,046 to $4,125. Low: $1,045 or less

G7 and OECD

G7: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, US. OECD: 37 democracies with market economies that set policy standards for sustainable growth

Culture: Hofstede's definition and the iceberg

Hofstede: collective programming of the mind that distinguishes one group from another. Iceberg: surface culture is visible, deep culture is hidden and only insiders understand it

Hofstede's six dimensions

Power distance, individualism vs collectivism, masculinity vs femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, indulgence vs restraint (the sixth)

Indulgence vs restraint

Indulgence = society allows enjoying life and having fun. Restraint = suppresses gratification through strict social norms

Critique of Hofstede

Essentialist view of national cultures, but still widely used and re-validated

Low-context culture (Hall)

Explicit messages, words carry the meaning, monochronic (one thing at a time, task first)

High-context culture (Hall)

Meaning is in the context and relationships, polychronic (many things at once, relationship first), people stand closer together

Appadurai's main tension

Cultural homogenisation vs cultural heterogenisation

Appadurai's five scapes

Ethnoscape (people), technoscape (technology), finanscape (money), mediascape (images and information), ideoscape (political ideas)

Mediascape and hypereality

Mediascapes produce images of the world that blur reality and fiction (hypereality)

How are the scapes related?

Deeply disjunctive and unpredictable: each has its own constraints and also constrains the others

De-territorialisation

Production is separated from where goods are consumed, and brand images are separated from what they represent

Production fetishism vs consumer fetishism

Production fetishism = illusion hiding production relations, capital flows and workers. Consumer fetishism = consumer turned into a sign (simulacrum) through advertising

Kjeldgaard and Askegaard (2006)

Youth culture is glocalised: global practices are reworked locally. Three structures of common difference: identity construction, center-periphery, youth cultural consumption styles

Where does homogenisation happen (Kjeldgaard and Askegaard)?

At a structural level, because societies organise along similar institutional arrangements created by globalising power blocs like transnational corporations

Civil law vs common law

Civil: Roman-based, codified rules (Europe, Asia, Latin America). Common: English-based, precedent from court rulings (North America)

Islamic law (Sharia)

Works by example rather than principle, inconsistent for international business; Gulf states have codified corporate laws

Intellectual property principle

Territoriality: each country decides what is protected, for whom, how long and how it is enforced

Trademark systems

First to file (no proof of use needed, so open to squatters) vs first to use. Renewable as long as used

Madrid agreement and Community Trademark

Madrid (WIPO): protection in all member countries for 10 years via one registration. Community Trademark: unitary rights across the EU

Patents

Exclusive rights to make, use or sell an invention for a set period. PCT = one international application for many countries. EPC = apply in English, French or German, each country decides. Eurasian Patent Office = one application in Russian

Copyright

Ownership of original works; US and EU author's life plus 70 years, Canada 50 years; extends via international treaties

Software piracy

Unauthorised copying, common in emerging economies, costly to fight; protect with copyrights (more international than patents)

Trade secrets

Not protected by property law, protected by non-disclosure agreements

GATT and WTO

GATT 1947-1994, replaced by the WTO in 1995 (160+ members). Forum for trade deals and disputes. Cut average tariffs from 22% (1949) to 5% (1994)

Ways to resolve trade disputes

Litigation, arbitration, mediation

Arbitration

Binding decision by arbiters, parties can't withdraw, enforceable, confidential, cheaper than litigation

Mediation

Non-binding, a mediator guides the parties, faster, good for preserving the relationship

Marketing mix regulations

No worldwide product standard (EU is harmonising); each country has its own product and promotion rules that firms must adapt to

Political risk: micro vs macro

Micro (firm-specific): expropriation, kidnapping, limits on technology transfer, contract breaches. Macro (country-level): civil unrest, currency inconvertibility, forced local shareholding, nationalisation

Managing political risk

Can't be eliminated, only reduced. Strategies: joint ventures, licensing, adaptation, flexible supply chain, localisation, dependency, lobbying, community initiatives, insurance (e.g. OPIC, AIG)

Firms most exposed to political risk

High international revenue share, large capital abroad, global supply chain, assets concentrated in one country, dependent on international growth

Protectionist policies

Tariffs (taxes on imports), quotas (import limits), non-tariff barriers (quality/content mandates, buy-local rules)

Regionalism vs globalism

Global trade deals are hard, so regional blocs have outpaced them; trade is concentrated within regions and most MNCs use regional strategies (88% of European cars sold in Europe)

Triad nations

US, China and Germany: about 15% of world trade

Free trade area

No internal tariffs, but each member keeps its own external tariffs (NAFTA, now USMCA)

Customs union

Free trade area plus a common external tariff (e.g. Eurasian Customs Union)

Common market

Customs union plus free movement of people and capital (EU). EU also aims for monetary and political union; political union not achieved

Free trade vs fair trade

Free trade = removing trade barriers. Fair trade = fair prices and decent conditions for producers in developing countries

Emerging markets (definition)

Low- and middle-income countries transitioning toward a free market economy, with growing middle class, global integration and improving living standards

BRIC strengths and weaknesses

Brazil: leading South American economy, but weak growth and infrastructure. Russia: resources and skilled labour, but population decline. India: young population and IT skills, but weak infrastructure and low savings

STP

Segmentation (divide the market), Targeting (choose segments), Positioning (decide the brand's place)

Two levels of global segmentation

Macro (countries: culture, economy) and micro (individuals: values, lifestyles)

Segmentation by usefulness

Segmenting by how products are used, e.g. skincare routines of 3 steps in France vs 5 steps in Japan

Global segments

Transnational groups with shared needs that cross borders (e.g. by skin tone or hair colour)

Targeting and positioning in global markets

Targeting: size, growth, accessibility, brand fit. Positioning: balance global consistency with local cultural relevance

CSR and sustainability

Not just ethical duty, increasingly strategic differentiation

L'Oreal and Munroe Bergdorf

L'Oreal hired her for a diversity campaign, then dropped her over her comments on racism; public backlash followed and L'Oreal later apologised, spoke with her and donated to LGBTQ+ charities

Middleton and Turnbull (2021)

Marketing doesn't just mirror society, it shapes it and is shaped by it. Segments are not fixed but co-constructed by marketers, media and society. About advertising moving away from gender stereotypes ("woke")

Product definition

A good, service or idea with tangible and intangible attributes that creates value for a buyer

Product standardisation-adaptation alternatives

Export unchanged; export with some adaptation; global standardised product; global product with local adaptation; new product for a market

Product attributes that can be adapted

Regulations, physical characteristics, style/design/quality, packaging, branding, country of origin, service

What is a brand?

A bundle of images and experiences in the customer's mind. Functions: a promise of quality, and helps customers identify and differentiate products

Brand image vs brand equity

Image = associations consumers hold. Equity = total value from marketing investment in the brand (loyalty, perception)

Branding

All practices to build, manage and protect a brand's meanings and associations

Local, international and global brands

Local: one market. International: several markets in a region. Global: same name and similar image/positioning worldwide

Why global brands?

Easier to defend position, higher margins, loyalty and channel power, and can standardise communication. But leaders hold a portfolio of global and local brands

Standardisation vs adaptation in branding

Standardisation: global HQ decides (Gillette). Adaptation: local decisions for local tastes (Nestle)

Nestle's four brand levels

10 worldwide corporate, 45 worldwide strategic, 140 regional strategic, 7,500 local

Glocalised brands

Global brand image with locally adapted products or communication

Product/brand decision matrix

Local/global product x local/global brand: local-local, global product-local brand, local product-global brand, global-global

Keegan and Green's communication strategies

1) Dual extension (same product, same communication). 2) Product extension, communication adaptation. 3) Product adaptation, communication extension. 4) Dual adaptation. 5) Product invention

Global branding strategies

Tiered (corporate plus product name, Sony Walkman), co-branding/ingredient (Intel in HP), brand extension (stretch to new categories without dilution), licensing (pay a fee to use a brand)

Brand name options abroad

Keep the original name, use a translated version (Coca-Cola phonetic), or use a completely different name (often after acquiring a local brand, linked with a common logo)

Country-of-origin effect

Perceptions of a country rub off on its products (made in Germany vs China). Countries also use place/nation branding

Holt, Quelch and Taylor (2004)

Studied global brands in 41 countries. Consumers see three things: quality signal (44%), global myth (12%), social responsibility (8%), explaining 64% of brand preference

Global myth

Global brands are symbols of cultural ideals that let consumers feel like cosmopolitan citizens. "Local brands show who we are, global brands who we want to be"

Pricing variables

Customer value, competitor alternatives, production cost, plus a country's GDP/disposable income

Price standardisation vs adaptation

Standardisation: same price positioning, centralised at HQ. Adaptation: price varies by market, decided locally

Skimming vs penetration

Skimming: high initial price for exclusivity, lowered over time. Penetration: low initial price for fast market share

Global marketing research process

Objectives, methodology, research design, collect data, analyse, report

Types of research

Exploratory, descriptive, causal

Primary vs secondary data

Primary = newly collected for the project (observation, surveys, interviews). Secondary = already existing (census, reports, internal files). The L6 slide has these labels swapped

Qualitative vs quantitative research

Qualitative: small sample, text-based, interviews and focus groups, interpretive. Quantitative: large representative sample, numbers, surveys and experiments, generalisable

Qualitative analysis methods

Content (words and images), thematic (patterns), narrative (stories), discourse (language and society)

Quantitative analysis methods

Coding, factor analysis (reduce data to factors), cluster analysis (group similar things), multidimensional scaling (perceptual maps)

Marketing intelligence vs research

Intelligence = continual market monitoring. Research = project-based, with a start and an end

Entry modes: the three groups

Export, intermediate, hierarchical