When a company decides to go global it has to look at the global marketing environment. It also has to decide which markets to enter and how to enter it. Also it has to decide on the global marketing program and organization. When looking at the global marketing environment a company must look into economic, political-legal, and cultural factors. A company must look into the demographic, geographic, and economic factors. When entering a foreign market, a company must decide what entry strategy they want to take between exporting, joint venturing, and direct investment. Companies also need to figure out if its necessary to adapt its marketing program to the desired market or not. Finally, a company must decide on the global marketing organization.
For my teams practicum we looked at the impact of culture on marketing strategy and the impact of marketing strategy on cultures. Sellers must understand the ways that consumers in different countries think about and use certain products before planning a marketing program. Companies that ignore culture norms and differences can make some very expensive and embarrassing mistakes. For example Burger King ran a print ad in Spain that featured Lankshmi, the Indian Goddess of wealth, sitting on top of a meat burger, with a Spanish caption that reads “la merienda es sagrada” which means, “The snack is sacred”. Eating meat is forbidden under the Hindu religion. As a result BK was forced to remove the ads and Hindu groups demanded an apology from BK for showing a lack of culture and religious sensitivity.
http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/burger_king/
As for the impact of marketing strategy on culture, Social critics contend that large American multinationals, such as McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Starbucks are not just globalizing their brands, they are Americanizing the world’s culture. Has a result countries around the globe are losing their individual cultural identities. For example In China, most people never drank coffee before Starbucks entered the market. Now Chinese consumers rush to Starbucks stores because to them it’s a symbol of a new kind of lifestyle.
McDonald’s was very successful in adapting to different markets. For example in India they have a lot of vegetarian options since the Indian cultural does not eat meet for religious reasons. In Europe McDonald’s sells beer because is popular among the Europeans and the drinking age is 5 years younger than in America. In the Philippian McDonald’s sells rice since it’s a common and popular food. McDonald’s has adapted well to other cultures by changing the menu options accordingly.
https://docs.google.com/a/csumb.edu/file/d/0B5l70s2tJT21NU0wMW1wZEI4YXc/edit
Marketing Portfolio 