INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

MASTER PROGRAMME

INTERNATIONAL MARKETING

REVIEW OF THE GLOBALIZATION OF MARKETING

Authored by Theodore Levitt

02.06.2014

1 INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate The Globalization of Marketing article written by
T.Levitt and reconcile it with the general body of global marketing knowledge. First, I will
identify the article and summarize its arguments and key conclusions. I will also identify any
key points presented in support of the article's arguments. Second, I will reconcile the major
points and key argument with our course. Global marketing and literature from sources outside
the materials that either support or refute the arguments and conclusions of the article I evaluate.
Finally, I will restate my conclusions regarding the key arguments presented in the article.

2 SUMMARY
Theodore Levitt is often considered to be the first to recognize the trend towards globalization
and states that: companies must learn to operate as if the world were one large market ignoring superficial regional and national differences... In addition, he argues that the
companies that do not adapt to the new global realities will become the victims of those that
do. Furthermore, in his article about the globalization of markets does the emphasis on
homogenization and standardization of Global market and the marketing technique needed for
that. He argued that with the trend of globalization and the speed of its happening one must
presume that marketing for certain products can be done without having into account the local
culture and the difference in the market depth. He believed that technology had become a
powerful force that drove the world toward a converging commonality by starting a debate
between standardization and adaptation.

3 GLOBALIZATION
Regarding to nowadays literature Globalization is the process of international integration
arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture.
Advances in transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, including the rise of the
telegraph and its posterity the Internet, are major factors in globalization, generating further
interdependence of economic and cultural activities.
Globalization has been encouraged by the growing liberalisation of markets around the world,
giving western multinationals access to customers they never thought they would reach, easy
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internet access and cheap international telecommunications, the most obvious manifestation of
which is call centres in India that are servicing customers and corporations in Europe and the
United States and the rapid growth of large developing countries such as China, India and
Brazil, and their growing demand not only for western consumer goods and technologies.
Levitt did not provide a compelling definition of globalisation in his article and the void has
subsequently encouraged a dizzying proliferation of competing definitions. Also while Levitt
indited the article The Globalization of Marketing in 1983, the term of globalization was very
young. People were eager to use new products that they dont or havent produced in their
country as most of the things were new because of less interaction between countries. Thats
why the products that are exactly same as at home, can be called standard, were prefered
immediately and sold well. But now people are traveling, communicating, relatedly consuming
in a manner of being infected from one to other. In this case, its hard to satisfy the need of
having more and the newest one (in this days unique and original items) because of increased
access and reachability.

4 STANDARDIZATION AND ADAPTATION

In advance, to understand it deeper and to appreciate the complexity of standardized versus
adapted products, one needs to understand how cultural influences are interwoven with the
perceived value and importance of market places on a product. A product is more than a
physical item :it is a bundle of satisfactions or utilities that a buyer receives ,these includes its
form, taste, color, odor , and texture ,how it functions in use, the package the label; the warranty
;the manufacturers and retailers servicing , the confidence or prestige enjoyed by the brand the
manufacturers reputations, the country origin, and any other symbolic utility received from the
possession or use of the goods .In short, the market relates to more than a product's physical
form or primary function. The values and customs within a culture confer much of the
importance of these benefits. In other words, a product is the sum of physical and psychological
satisfactions it provides the user.
Nowadays, in global markets, companies diversify their product scale not by lots of products
but by customizing them with national/local specialties. It becomes a secret formula that can be
applied to their from production, distribution to marketing, from in the product itself or service
and even advertising, lauching the company. Adaption process of company strategy starts to
touch people in their way of understanding, living and feeling.
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Levitts approach starts to show cracks as in many cases it's been proved that implementing
bluntly the strategy of standardizing a product in all cultures failed completely or failed to make
a desire results company wanted to . Disney and the famous case of failure of euro Disney gives
us the insight in the fault lines of this approach as American companies in their famous arrogant
tried to implement the formula of standardization.

Table 1. The process of standardization and adaptation of a product

5 THE WIND OF THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY

In global marketing, in terms of Think globally act locally priciple creates a difference and
regaridng success to the company expanding and appropriate marketing communications
techniques will accelerate acceptance of these products.
Todays industrial revolution of technology has made communication instantaneous, feeding
the creation and fast growth of a global culture. In such circumstances, cultures are merging,
always in interaction consequently not a homogenized world is possible. So, in a such
consumptive and demanding environment, localization approach is advantageous than
standardization. Even its a small piece of local flavour or perhaps a reflection in an advertising
campaign, its important to touch people for a worldwide company. In my opinion, maybe not
for all products but generally having a certain brand gets ahead of the item. Because, in this
over consumptive, over communicative and fast life style, people wish to feel unique. They
want to have special and different products or a warm image of the brand with their traditional
traces combined by their modern product style. When customers find a specially characterized

part in the companys aspect, this correlation generates brand loyalty which triggers the success
in customer section of the globalization.
We, now, live in a world that people desire to have something rather than to be something.
Everyday, people want to have something new, different to keep changing not ourselves but the
things around us. In this case, globalization of marketing targets to satisfy this intense demand
of buying by selecting a product among quite variant alternatives. When the information
technologies became widespread and gradually people started to be over communicative, even
the global products are served, people got banalized and found this items ordinary. So the
solution is localization; instead of wide variety of standard products, the producers, designers,
marketing and even advertising people found the diversity in richness of cultures, local habits,
in different colors of nations, historical backgrounds of countries and unique tastes. So the
qualities of the product has been improved by national, regional or local tunes all over the world.
Each individual wants to feel special and progress of materialism in the world causes a gap for
sentimental, affective matters. While the awareness of this scope to fulfill, companies started to
serve something more with the product that people can not achieve just by product itself. The
thing is here to present yourself and your qualites as more than purchased item. When you find
a nuance to adaptate your product or service to local people, you touch and appeal their feelings.
It can be with either your product attribute, service characteristics or philosophy behind.
Integration to the market generates a major difference and pereference for the brand completely.
In the article, Levitt claims about standardization that in necessary to be powerful and
competetive in world market arena. But today standardization is required in the process in
supply chain that increases efficiency and reduces costs in high level qulity. So standardization
should be in production system, not the product. So the brand should be standardized by
widespreading all over the world in terms of expanding strategy. For instance, Mango has a
certain production system but for each country designs, patterns and materials are different by
adaptating the collections to local tastes and needs considering many variables. For each
country or region, the strategies, adaptations and the customed nuances should be developed to
be preferred in the market and achieve success.
Instead of conflicting with customers national background and culture values, adopting them
by using the differences as distinction advantages and acquire superiority in heavy competiton
in the market, would be a better approach. When people catch an equilavent piece to their

culture, traditions or roots, they automatically adopt the product so the brand creates preference
hook to customers mind.
People try a new product in a curiocity but are tend to prefer constantly to use similar products
compitable with their habits, life style that even a trace of, can be a reason to be prefered. So
when you plan to enter a market, its an artificial way to sell a uniform product, applying a same
strategy. The literature of nations, the habits, cultural accumulation and life style is different
that can not be ignored or left immediately.
As seen, even standardization is prefered in Levitts article by companies both in supply chains
and products for marketing, people got bored of standard treatment and to see the same items
all over the environment. Indeed, they desire and wish to have the same technology, appearance,
service or items in some product classes, but also they want to feel special. So localization of a
typical product makes people excited and cared about. Customers consider that the company
dont treat them as just a customer but an invidual who has a cultural, historical, ethnical,
emotonial background, values, specialties and variety of tastes.

Graph 1. Adaptation levels of product classes

In the meantime, considering human factor gained importance day by day in the effect of
accessibility of every kind of products, as much as the product itself, it constitudes imprortance
and recognition how you serve it. Even a standard product, possible to create a difference to
affect your target consumers while serving. If the service qualities and criterias overlaps with
the peoples culture, people evaluate as a specialty, they feel exclusive, compitable manner to
traditional behaviours and affected by the product fondly. The differentiation is the humanistic
side of marketing and the product. In this way, service of the product, acquire importance and
becomes a key factor for company image directly functioning as a success indicator. Among
the mass of products in the market, its remarkable to be differentiated with the service rather
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than to be treated as just a customer not a human being. Especially, this aspects intersects with
the cultural backgorund of eastern countries that have cultural values, conservative structure to
adopt new trends and sensibility in relations. Service quality and style both improves your
company image as differrentiation and represents a meaning as diversification for value
oriented nations.

6 CONCLUSION
The recurrent theme in international marketing in whether companies should aim for a
standardized or country-tailored marketing approach is discussed. On one hand it has been
argued that the global market has become homogenized that multinational companies can
market their products and services the same all over the world by using identical strategies with
resultant lower costs and higher margins. On the other hand, it isemphasized the obvious
dissimilarities between the markets of various countries, especially those for consumer goods
and argue in favor of using international differentiated marketing programs.
The standardization process should be applied to production process in the companies supply
chains but adaptation is required to take place alternatively in at least one stage of manufacture,
distribution, production itself, marketing strategies, advertising or the company philosphy and
touch point in the target country.
Consequently, the identification and implementation of the right degree of integration are
essential as it increases the chance for multinational companies to remain competitive and
marketing orientated within their industrial structure and international marketing arena. As
shown above, Table.1 would be also a reference to determine adaptation and standardization
characteristic levels of a product to be well-positioned in target market. Also, in today's diverse
markets a strategy of total standardization marketing will not be as successful as the adoptive
examples of these have been seen many times even in same country different location might
need to have some localization done.

7 REFERENCES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization

Innovative Marketing, Adaptation vs. standardization in international marketing the

country of origin effect

Presentations of Global Marketing Course

Criticals of the globalization of markets

YMCA George Williams College, London infed: Globalization

http://theinternationalcouncil.blogspot.com.tr/2005/08/then-now-theodore-levittglobalization.html

http://media.johnwiley.com.au/product_data/excerpt/79/07879685/0787968579.pdf

http://www.businessperspectives.org/journals_free/im/2007/im_en_2007_04_Vrontis.
pdf

Literature Overviews

Business to Business International: What is Globalisation?

NetMBA Business Knowledge Center: The Marketing Mix (The 4 P's of Marketing)

Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Document Repository: Introduction to

Global Marketing