Cross Cultural Advertising

How does culture impact advertising campaigns in foreign countries?

Culture is a like dropping an Alka-seltzer into a glass you dont see it, but somehow it does something. Hans Magnus Enzensberger Culture affects everything we do. This applies to all areas of human life from personal relationships to conducting business abroad. When interacting within our native cultures, culture acts as a framework of understanding. However, when interacting with different cultures this framework no longer applies due to cross cultural differences. Cross cultural communication aims to help minimise the negative impact of cross cultural differences through building common frameworks for people of different cultures to interact within. In business, cross cultural solutions are applied in areas such as HR, team building, foreign trade, negotiations and website design. Cross cultural communication solutions are also critical to effective cross cultural advertising. Services and products are usually designed and marketed at a domestic audience. When a product is then marketed at an international audience the same domestic advertising campaign abroad will in most cases be ineffective.

The essence of advertising is convincing people that a product is meant for them. By purchasing it, they will receive some benefit, whether it be lifestyle, status, convenience or financial. However, when an advertising campaign is taken abroad different values and perceptions as to what enhances status or gives convenience exist. These differences make the original advertising campaign defunct. It is therefore critical to any cross cultural advertising campaign that an understanding of a particular culture is acquired. By way of highlighting areas of cross cultural differences in advertising a few examples shall be examined. Language in Cross Cultural Advertising It may seem somewhat obvious to state that language is key to effective cross cultural advertising. However, the fact that companies persistently fail to check linguistic implications of company or product names and slogans demonstrates that such issues are not being properly addressed. The advertising world is littered with examples of linguistic cross cultural blunders. Of the more comical was Fords introduction of the Pinto in Brazil. After seeing sales fail, they soon realised that this was due to the fact that Brazilians did not want to be seen driving a car meaning tiny male genitals. Language must also be analysed for its cultural suitability. For example, the slogan employed by the computer games manufacturer, EA Sports, "Challenge Everything" raises grumbles of disapproval in religious or hierarchical societies where harmonious relationships are maintained through the values of respect and non-confrontation. It is imperative therefore that language be examined carefully in any cross cultural advertising campaign Communication Style in Cross Cultural Advertising

Understanding the way in which other cultures communicate allows the advertising campaign to speak to the potential customer in a way they understand and appreciate. For example, communication styles can be explicit or implicit. An explicit communicator (e.g. USA) assumes the listener is unaware of background information or related issues to the topic of discussion and therefore provides it themselves. Implicit communicators (e.g. Japan) assume the listener is well informed on the subject and minimises information relayed on the premise that the listener will understand from implication. An explicit communicator would find an implicit communication style vague, whereas an implicit communicator would find an explicit communication style exaggerated. Colours, Numbers and Images in Cross Cultural Advertising Even the simplest and most taken for granted aspects of advertising need to be inspected under a cross cultural microscope. Colours, numbers, symbols and images do not all translate well across cultures. In some cultures there are lucky colours, such as red in China and unlucky colours, such as black in Japan. Some colours have certain significance; green is considered a special colour in Islam and some colours have tribal associations in parts of Africa. Many hotels in the USA or UK do not have a room 13 or a 13th floor. Similarly, Nippon Airways in Japan do not have the seat numbers 4 or 9. If there are numbers with negative connotations abroad, presenting or packaging products in those numbers when advertising should be avoided. Images are also culturally sensitive. Whereas it is common to see pictures of women in bikinis on advertising posters on the streets of London, such images would cause outrage in the Middle East. Cultural Values in Cross Cultural Advertising When advertising abroad, the cultural values underpinning the society must be analysed carefully. Is there a religion that is practised by the majority of the people? Is the society collectivist or individualist? Is it family orientated? Is it hierarchical? Is there a dominant political or economic ideology? All of these will impact an advertising campaign if left unexamined. For example, advertising that focuses on individual success, independence and stressing the word "I" would be received negatively in countries where teamwork is considered a positive quality. Rebelliousness or lack of respect for authority should always be avoided in family orientated or hierarchical societies. By way of conclusion, we can see that the principles of advertising run through to cross cultural advertising too. That is know your market, what is attractive to them and what their aspirations are. Cross cultural advertising is simply about using common sense and analysing how the different elements of an advertising campaign are impacted by culture and modifying them to best speak to the target audience.

Many of us may have heard of these infamous errors made by multinational corporations when translating brands or slogans abroad. Language, of course, is only one of many cultural barriers you may have to bridge with your partner organization. We hope this list will entertain you while

giving important insight on the potential pitfalls of cross culture communication and serving as a reminder of the importance of a good sense of humor! American and Canadian groups may need to explain to their international partners some of the finer meanings of certain words used below. When Kentucky Fried Chicken entered the Chinese market, to their horror they discovered that their slogan "finger lickin' good" came out as "eat your fingers off" Chinese translation also proved difficult for Coke, which took two tries to get it right. They first tried Ke-kou-ke-la because when pronounced it sounded roughly like Coca-Cola. It wasn't until after thousands of signs had been printed that they discovered that the phrase means "bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax", depending on the dialect. Second time around things worked out much better. After researching 40,000 Chinese characters, Coke came up with "ko-kou-ko-le" which translates roughly to the much more appropriate "happiness in the mouth". Things weren't much easier for Coke's arch-rival Pepsi. When they entered the Chinese market a few years ago, the translation of their slogan "Pepsi Brings you Back to Life" was a little more literal than they intended. In Chinese, the slogan meant, "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Grave". But it's not just in Asian markets that soft drinks makers have problems. In Italy, a campaign for "Schweppes Tonic Water" translated the name into the much less thirst quenching "Schweppes Toilet Water". The American slogan for Salem cigarettes, "Salem Feeling Free," got translated in the Japanese market into "When smoking Salem, you feel so refreshed that your mind seems to be free and empty." General Motors had a perplexing problem when they introduced the Chevy Nova in South America. Despite their best efforts, they weren't selling many cars. They finally realized that in Spanish, "nova" means "it won't go". Sales improved dramatically after the car was renamed the "Caribe." Things weren't any better for Ford when they introduced the Pinto in Brazil. After watching sales go nowhere, the company learned that "Pinto" is Brazilian slang for "tiny male genitals." Ford pried the nameplates off all of the cars and substituted them with "Corcel," which means horse. Sometimes it's one word of a slogan that changes the whole meaning. When Parker Pen marketed a ballpoint pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to say "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you." However, the company mistakenly thought the Spanish word "embarazar" meant embarrass. Instead the ads said "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant." Foreign companies have similar problems when they enter English speaking markets. Japan's second-largest tourist agency was mystified when it expanded to English-speaking countries and began receiving requests for unusual sex tours. Upon finding out why, the owners

of the Kinki Nippon Tourist Company changed its name. The company didn't change the name of all its divisions though. Visitors to Japan still have the opportunity to take a ride on the Kinki Nippon Railway. When Braniff translated a slogan touting its upholstery, "Fly in Leather," it came out in Spanish as "Fly Naked." Coors put its slogan, "Turn It Loose," into Spanish, where it was read as "Suffer From Diarrhea." The Dairy Association's huge success with the campaign "Got Milk?" prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico. It was soon brought to their attention the Spanish translation read "Are you lactating?" Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux" Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick," a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that "mist" is slang for manure. An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit Instead of "I Saw the Pope" (el Papa), the shirts read "I Saw the Potato" (la papa)

And some more differences in cross-cultural communication styles to consider "Consider the story of an American executive who was designated to deliver a formal presentation at a Japanese conference. During her presentation, the woman became acutely aware of a man in the audience who proceeded to make strange faces at her. Following the conclusion of her presentation, the woman voiced her disapproval to the Japanese hosts. And while an apology was immediately provided, it was discovered that the man in the audience had not intended to offend the American speaker. He simply became so fixated on her facial gestures that he inadvertently began imitating her. Should this story be considered an isolated incident of a simple misunderstanding or is this a prime example of everyday miscommunication between cultures? Many experts would support the second conclusion. "Most of the problems caused by cross-cultural clashes are usually the result of the failure by some or all parties involved to recognize and account for differences in culturally-based communication styles. They assume that all peoples communicate using the same set of modes and rules (many of which, like body language styles, are unconsciously held). For example, numerous professionals from the US make the mistake of assuming that all people want to be spoken to informally, just as they assume that simple body gestures strike the same chord in any culture, or the notion that an openly frank style of negotiating is most appreciated. "We should first realize that there is no such thing as a universal form of communication. Take the simple gesture of a smile. It is not unusual for Americans to exchange smiles with complete

strangers. We smile at people on the street, at the airport, in restaurants, shopping malls and so on. We consider it a friendly gesture. However, in other cultures a smile can take on a completely different meaning. A smile can be considered insulting or it can signal embarrassment. Many Americans fail to realize that common gestures such as shrugging one's shoulders or scratching one's forehead can be completely misinterpreted by someone from another country. "Each culture has its own rules of communication. A French executive would probably be offended if a new acquaintance were to address him by his first name. Giving the "thumbs up" signal in Australia is impolite. And a display of frankness so common to Americans perpetuates the Japanese impression that the American people exhibit a lack of discipline. Even though such cultural collisions often elicit negative feedback, they rarely provoke extreme hostility. Instead, committing a cultural taboo is usually regarded as improper, discourteous, or disrespectful. The individual who has the misfortune of committing the taboo is "rewarded" with expressions of anger or flat-out silence, which in turn can be misinterpreted. Such mishaps in communication almost always serve to diminish one's credibility. "Usually, cross-cultural gaffes stem from misjudging situations that involve mingling and communicating with others. These include: the dress code for appointments, the manner in which we introduce ourselves and greet others, expressing thanks to the hosts as well as proper etiquette for the presentation of gifts. While the majority of Americans consider such events to be very routine, the fact remains that the interpretation of these social commitments varies from country to country. If we fail to educate ourselves in advance as to what is and what isn't acceptable, then we prime ourselves for unintentional embarrassment, possibly at the worst given moment. "Miscalculating the pertinence of cross-cultural communications can be counter-productive at best, or abysmal at worst. Cultural differences with regard to eye contact, when it is acceptable to smile, and name protocol for addressing foreign counterparts are all qualities that dramatically impact all angles of negotiation and interpersonal communication. For example, the word "no" is a response that the Japanese tend to avoid altogether. As strange as it may seem, if they are not optimistic about a given proposal, rather than tell you in so many words, they may choose to make a counter inquiry, they may avoid eye contact with you, or they may simply choose to walk away. Their answer is for all practical purposes spelled out in their behavior. Obviously, this can be very frustrating to American negotiators who are used to a straight forward "yes" or "no." Understanding and accepting cultural differences is critical if one expects to be successful in an overseas assignment."

Creating Cross Cultural Advertising

Cross cultural advertising means more than translation. The language, style, colors, numbers and symbols of advertising are all important factors to be considered. To outsource cross cultural marketing to a professional located in the intended target market is an effective way to broaden your global business.

As international trade grows, getting your business to cross over and translate to global markets means significant future growth for your company. Marketing your business and focusing your efforts beyond traditional trade boundaries is a reality for most companies. In fact, thanks to the advancement of digital technology its easier to conduct business abroad

Therefore, marketing strategies have evolved to take account of cross cultural differences so that they may appeal to distinctly different target markets. The key is to remember that the core of any marketing strategy, be it full color print media or TV commercials, is to encourage, motivate and convince them to believe the benefits they can receive and therefore buy your product

Nevertheless; trying to communicate your idea to those living abroad is not as easy as it sounds. Some concepts may be acceptable, while others may be annoying if not appalling or distasteful for most.

Cross cultural marketing therefore, means successfully incorporating characteristics to complement the values, traditions, and perceptions of your target market, whether locally or abroad. But how does someone achieve this? For some, they employ the services of an experienced international marketing company but for others that simply do not have the budget; they may consider online outsourcing to a professional located in the intended target market. By employing a professional who already understands what works and what doesnt you may be able to avoid and easily negotiate some of the following pitfalls of unsuccessful marketing campaigns.

Language
Different language, different words, and different accents all contribute to the success or failure of your marketing campaigns. How can your target market appreciate your business and products and services if they cannot understand what youre trying to say in the first place?

Most people fail to realize how language can affect a marketing campaign. This is apparent in various tag lines and slogans in marketing material and other print ads. Therefore, one must be conscious that otherwise regular and harmless words can easily be misinterpreted from one culture to the next.

Style Generally communication should be straight forward and to the point. But when attempting to relate to different cultural markets each respond to a different style and understanding the style that is appropriate is vital in creating an effective marketing campaign for any business.

This difference can be seen when comparing US search engine homepages like msn.com to those of China such as sohu.com. While one has a simplistic straightforward layout, the other utilizes every inch of the webpage.

Colors, Numbers and Symbols These elements play significant roles for marketing. In several cultures for example, even the most ordinary shade of red can translate a different message, red may mean luck in China, but can mean death in another country. Likewise the numbers 13 and 4, for example mean different things in the US and Japan. The number 13 is a very unlucky while the number 4 means death. Symbols just like images can also convey a variety of meanings and it is advisable to do thorough research before using them.

The bottom line is that to create ads that appeal to different cultures, remember to be aware of the principles and traditions observed in each culture. The best way to accomplish this is identify your target markets needs, wants and desires. Once you are able to do that, cross cultural advertising will become a breeze.

The Hazards of Cross-Cultural Advertising It was reported that in the early 1950s, an American ink manufacturer attempted to sell bottled ink in Mexico while its metal outdoor signs told customers that they could "avoid embarrassment' (from leaks and stains) by using its brand of ink. The embarrassment, it seems was all the ink company's. The Spanish word used to convey the meaning of "embarrassed' was "embarazar,' which means "to become pregnant.' Many people thought the company was selling contraceptive device. A laundry detergent company found sales in Quebec slumping after introducing a new point-of-purchase campaign announcing that the detergent worked particularly well on the dirtiest parts of the wash--"les parties de sale.' The advertiser later learned that this phrase was similar to another Quebecois expression for "private parts.' An American airline in Brazil advertised the "rendez-vous lounges' in its jets, until they found that in the Brazilian brand of Portuguese this meant a place to make love. No advertising agency would hire someone to write an ad in the United States simply because he spoke English fluently. Neither is an American's fluency in a foreign language enough for him to re-create a foreign

advertisement. A perfectly literal translation may urge users of a product to apply their food, ignite their clothes, or weld false eyelashes to their eyes. Millions of dollars have been wasted on promoting cigarettes with low "asphalt.' Advertising copy, in any language, usually is designed to catch the public eye and ear with appealing printed or spoken messages, sometimes together with attractive imagery. But American advertisers sometimes lose sight of the fact that sales of a product will suffer if advertising copy intended for use abroad is improperly translated. The sort of advertising disasters just cited should make advertisers aware that the most effective translation for advertising purposes will often not be the most literal one. But many advertisers find this caveat a difficult one to heed, particularly those who prefer to adapt material already prepared for domestic media in the preparation of American advertising for foreign use. This practice may be acceptable provided that the adaptation is not simply a straight translation-- especially a translation of verbal contents which are highly idiomatic or narrowly American in meaning. Translation of advertising communications often involves words with multiple meanings and definitions that lack direct equivalences in a foreign language. An advertising heading which depends on a play on words peculiar to the English language will not be rendered sensibly in other tongues; the entire message may be destroyed. Thus, it would appear that effective translation of advertisements should be a simple matter of careful lexical research within and beyond the dictionary. This conclusion, although quite incomplete, is derived from the belief that grammatical, syntactical, and idiomatic equivalences are the overriding concern in translation. Of course, no linguistic counterparts may exist for certain vocabulary items in another language. Additionally, dictionaries are of limited usefulness because the language of the dictionary generally is not the language of the people. For example, animals, household objects, terrain features, biological terms, etc. are categories in which vocabularies may differ so radically between languages as to prohibit attaining equivalence. Translating cannot, except in the most mundane of technical texts, be reduced to a task of mere word, phrase, or sentence replacement between languages. Frequently, conceptual, not lexical, obstacles frustrate the search for equivalence between languages. Concepts may not be equivalent in two languages because the languages are welded intimately to the culture in which they are spoken. Moreover, a particular concept within one culture may not exist at all in another culture--thus rendering the construction of translated materials much more complex matter than initially imagined. This means an inexperienced advertiser will have to rethink his entire idea of translation and to discard preconceived notions about the technique of translating. To be effective, the technique used to re-create advertising for foreign cultures must avoid the all-too-common tendency toward translating verbal and pictorial message content without regard to the form it takes. This suggests that advertisers need to explore in greater detail the symbolic forms and the concepts embedded in their advertisements before re-creating-because translations of concepts, alone, without attention to their form, is risky. There was an anecdote in the press several years ago which illustrates this point. It seems a baby food company unsuccessfully tried to peddle its product (with a label showing a cuddly infant) in an African nation whose people were unfamiliar with Western pictorial conventions. It turned out many of the prospective customers there thought the jars contained ground-up babies. In a similar occurrence, a firm tried selling refrigerators to the Islamic Middle East with an advertisement picturing their appliance filled with food-- including a giant ham. While these examples represent extremes of conceptual mistranslation, such impropriety is made possible because many of the underlying processes of advertising go unapprehended by the advertisers themselves.

The reason for this lack of vision is that in attempts to communicate or to persuade or simply to interest audiences, advertisers are being motivated by, and using cultural models among whose differences they may choose, but from whose totality they cannot escape. These cultural models carry messages about the advertiser's perception of the world. One seldom marks the innumerable messages received or sent out in one's lifetime, and seldom is person able to decipher the greater patterns into which the messages fall. But even if decoding were possible, a member of a particular society would still be compelled to rely on these same models of value implicit within his culture in order to obtain fundamental psychological, social, and ideological support and direction. Thus, in a way, advertisements provide an indication of what constitutes acceptable or desired features and behaviors within a society. For this reason, the single most important element to be exploited in advertising is perhaps the association of ideas. Aster all, advertising depends on the act of association in order to relate a product or service, either directly or indirectly, to a symbolic situation; i.e., something that already has associated with it certain feelings, attitudes, and values. For example, a man who was reared in New York City wears a cowboy hat, which is deeply rooted with the cowboy image in American culture. The cowboy is perceived as powerful, self-reliant, and master of his environment. The New Yorker's behavior intimates that he is responding to what may be called the myth of the cowboy. Throughout history, myths have helped form cultures' communications behavior. On a superficial level of analysis they may remain unapprehended or, in the case of cross-cultural communication, be misunderstood. The possibilities for such misinterpretation multiply for advertising via media such as television, radio, or print, since they continually draw upon and perpetuate cultural values and meanings. An advertiser should not assume that members of different cultural groups will respond to a particular advertisement in the same way. Consequently, when two cultures differ widely in basic values, socialization, and ways of life, achieving equivalence in a translation may be difficult --perhaps impossible--even if care has been taken from the standpoint of language. For instance, a print advertisement for a men's cologne, picturing a man and his dog in an American rural setting, failed to attract the male market in North Africa. The advertiser was unaware that dogs, the American "man's best friend,' were alleged to have eaten one of Mohammed's regiments centuries ago and therefore are considered either signs of bad luck or uncleanliness in parts of Moslem North Africa and elsewhere Similarly, a U.S. manufacturer introduced its mouthwash in Thailand with an advertising campaign portraying a boy and a girl, overtly found of each other, one telling the other to use the mouthwash to fight bad breath. Such an open display of boy-girl relationships was considered improper by the Thai people. Sales increased only when two girls were selected to appear in the same scene. In each of these examples, one can see that the advertisers in question were relying on their own sets of cultural myths to make clear to their domestic audiences abstract ideas in cases where long, drawn-out oral or written explanations might attenuate their effects. However, the foreign target cultures did not attribute to these myths quite the same significance as did the advertisers. One might conclude from those advertisers' experiences that the reason successful advertising is successful is because it can elicit a culturally positive concept by means of a printed or pictorial message which is significant to the target culture. However, the concepts expressed in an advertisement do not always have to be visual. A few years ago, a famous American designer began to advertise her new women's fragrance to the Latin American market. The advertising campaign emphasized the perfume's fresh camellia scent. The fragrance did not move from

the shelves of stores in Latin America because camellias are the flowers used for funerals in most of Latin America. Such cross-cultural advertising horrors are the result of a failure to perceive that a specific product, together with its advertising, can be viewed differently in different cultural settings. The creative expert for the campaign was inattentive to the fact that when the same product is presented to a foreign market, the product may be associated with certain different values in the different culture. Cross-cultural advertisers also have to evaluate the products they introduce into a culture in the context of that culture's preexisting habits and practices in order to determine their compatibility with cultural norms. For example, a toothpaste claiming to give users white teeth was especially inappropriate in many areas of Southeast Asia where betel-nut chewing is a habit among the well-to-do, and black teeth are viewed as a sign of higher social status. Nevertheless, certain concepts are fairly universal in their application across cultures. One can see that the avoidance of physical pain and the sanctity of the family seem to be concepts that are equally acceptable in many cultures. However, like the connotations of white teeth, concepts of civilized eating or drinking may take certain forms in one culture and be totally unthinkable in others. In the United Kingdom, for instance, hot milk-based beverages often are drunk just before going to bed. These drinks are viewed as having sleep-inducing properties. In Thailand, however, these same hot drinks are consumed outside the home and mostly on the way to work and are viewed as possessing invigorating properties. Yet, despite the importance of culture in explaining consumer behavior, this factor appears to be misunderstood and undervalued by many advertisers as they enter the international market. While market research is often desirable in home-market advertising, it is likely that an advertiser will use only his own personal experience to guide him. This method is not a valid tool for entry into cross-cultural markets. For instance, whether a bicycle is viewed as a mode of transportation or as a leisure equipment item should have a tremendous effect on how one would attempt to market and advertise bicycles. Indeed, in different countries bicycles are used in completely different ways, and an advertiser must be fully aware of those differences. It is perhaps advisable that future cross-cultural advertising should take a different direction from what has been tried so far. Appropriate cultural research prior to introducing a new product abroad or launching an advertising campaign in a foreign language can help advertisers avoid transmitting ambiguous or twisted messages to foreign cultures. An advertiser must be mindful of the fact that each culture represents a different way of coming to terms with life, thought, and of taking as given a multitude of assumptions about social conventions and institutions, economics, politics, and the universe. These assumptions form the basis of a culture's beliefs, norms and involvement with the symbolic word, which in turn shape the behavior patterns of a people.