2.

International marketing

I. Work in groups and discuss the following questions:

a. Provide examples of companies which have expanded beyond their domestic markets. Think of
underlying reasons and advantages.
b. What kinds of problems do companies face when they go international?
c. Provide examples of international slogans that have impressed you.
d. Think of some global brands. Have they tailored their products to meet local needs or did they prefer
to keep standardised products?

II. a. Read the following article and complete the table:

Finding the right international mix

In these days of increasing global integration, the task many international marketers face is not so
much market entry as managing the marketing mix in different national markets. Is it better to standardise
or to adapt it across different markets?
Consumer tastes in cars are very different in North America, the Uk, Germany, Italy, Japan and India.
A global car that does not have country-specific differentiating features will fail. The manufacturer,
therefore, has to find the balance between designing a separate car for each market which would be
exorbitantly costly and designing one car for all markets. Nissan was a pioneer in this area. It reduced
the number of different chassis designs from 40 to 8 for cars meant for 75 different national markets.
Some companies, however, do develop the same product for all markets, regardless of existing local
preferences. Companies such as Kellogg have succeeded in changing consumption patterns. Breakfast
cereal was unknown in France 20 years ago. Today it is common. Kellogg ignored the research that said
cereal would not sell in France. In contrast, Coca-Cola changes the flavour of its soft drink to conform to
local tastes. Coke in the US tastes different from Coke in the UK, which in turn tastes different from
Coke in India.
Thus there is a spectrum of new product development strategies. Firms sometimes customize a
product to every market; at other times they offer one standardised product everywhere; and sometimes
they compromise and settle in the middle.
New product development that co-ordinates efforts across national markets leads to better products
and services. Such opportunities are not normally available to a company that operates only in one
country or is only just entering a new country.
The advent of the Internet and Intranets has the potential to accelerate the process of mining all
markets for relevant information and for features that can be included in new products. Unilever has four
global research laboratories that develop products for their different national markets while providing
inputs for global products. The laboratories co-ordinate their efforts by looking at the possibilities of
melding product ideas arising from different countries. Motorolas software development establishments
coordinate their efforts in working on different modules of the same project.
Companies also develop products in different countries in markedly different ways. Japanese
companies, for example, tend to believe much more in getting new products to market and then gauging
the reaction to them. The product itself may have been developed with reference to observations of
present and potential customers rather than conventional market research. US companies, on the other
hand, tend to use more formal market research methods. And for German companies, product
development schedules tend to be more important.
Clearly, companies decide on different launch strategies for different categories of products. Toshiba
launched the Digital Video Disk (DVD) in Japan in November 1996, in the US in March 1997 and in
Europe in autumn 1997. however, Intel launches its latest PC chips practically simultaneously in all
countries. The launch decision also includes marketing mix decisions. When Citibank introduced its
 credit card in the Asia-Pacific region, it launched it sequentially and tailored the product features for each
country while maintaining its premium positioning. The promotional, pricing and distribution strategies
also differed from country to country.
As a contrast, consider Rolex. The genuine Rolex watch is the same certified chronometer anywhere
in the world; its positioning as the timepiece for the elegant high achiever is the same around the
world, as is the advertising message. One will always find a Rolex in an upmarket distribution outlet and
at a premium price. Or consider Unilevers Lifebuoy soap, which has different ingredients in India
compares to East Africa. However, Unilever positions the soap in the same way in both markets as an
inexpensive everyday soap that has antibacterial properties and protects health.

Company Product Marketing approach

NISSAN cars reduced number of chassis designs
KELLOGGS
COCA-COLA
CITIBANK
UNILEVER

b. Find noun phrases in the text which have similar meanings to the explanations below:
1. things that make a product different for a particular country;
2. general trends in the way people buy and use goods;
3. range;
4. to design specially;
5. places where worldwide markets are investigated;
6. places where software is produced;
7. to assess, evaluate or judge;
8. methods of investigating markets;
9. programmes for developing goods;
10. choices about price, product, promotion, place;
11. a place where expensive goods are sold;
12. a high price for something special or unusual.

III. The words in each of the following noun phrases are in the wrong order. Write them in the
correct form and introduce them into meaningful sentences:
1. impressive figures sales really;
2. department new public relations;
3. highly research market ambitious programme;
4. overseas expanding operations;
5. rapidly sheet balance improving;
6. extremely rate exchange volatile;
7. highly marketing report confidential;
8. successful incredibly fair trade.

IV. Complete the statements with suitable marketing expressions from the box:
buying habits economic situation government bureaucracy
income distribution monetary regulations political stability

1. Because of tight ..company profits could not be taken out of the country.
2. Red tape and other examples of .hinder a companys entry into a market.
3. The country is attractive to exporters because it has enjoyed for the last 50 years.
4. The purchasing behaviour of consumers can be described as their
5. The ..is improving, leading to a rise in employment.
6. is a term used by economists to describe how wealth is shared in a country.

V. Fill in the gaps in the following text, taking into account the first letter of the missing word:
The dictionary defines advertise as to make (something for sale, services offered, etc.) known to
the public. Advertising can therefore be considered a form of c.................1.................., the ultimate aim
of which is to p....................2............... consumers to choose a specific product or service. Every company
tries to d.............3.................. its products from those of the competition, and a key element here is the
strategy of branding.
A b..............4............... can be defined as the name attached to a product or service, how that name is
visually expressed through a l.................5................ and how this together with the name are extended
throughout a companys communications.
However, a brand is much more than just a noun. It also represents some intangible aspects of a
product, as it is how the product or often even the whole c................6....................is perceived by its
c................7........... . It is a nexus of ideas, feelings and perceptions about lifestyle and status, image and
q...................8.......... . Creating a powerful brand identity is essential to g...........9...........a strong
competitive a................10.................. . A successful brand will make customers think of your company
first when they think of the particular product category to which the brand is attached. A classic example
is the Hoover brand. The word hoover became a synonym for vacuum cleaner, and many people
still use the word hoover even if the apparatus they use was manufactured by another company.

VI. Make up new words from the words given:

1. advertise
In our new company, our main ................medium will be television.
Benetton produced a series of eye-catching ............................for their products.
2. associate
Engineering firms often work in ..........................with other companies on a major contract.
When there is a financial scandal, business people often try to ..................themselves from those
involved.
3. consume
Food, clothing and household products are all examples of ........................goods.
Wine .........................is high in France, and on the increase in other European countries.
4. market
To make money, you dont just need a good product you also need excellent ................. .
Some products are very innovative, but they simply arent ..................... .
5. produce
Although the meeting went on for hours, it was rather ...................................... .
Since we introduced the new pay structure, ....................................has improved enormously.
6. profit
This line of raincoat is highly .................................... we must discontinue it as soon as possible.
If we are serious about improving the ............................of these outlets, we should take a good
look at staffing costs.