Deck 17: Global Marketing and RD

Question 1

Imagine you are the marketing manager for a U.S. manufacturer of disposable diapers. Your firm is considering entering the Brazilian market. Your CEO believes the advertising message that has been effective in the United States will suffice in Brazil. Outline some possible objections to this plan. Your CEO also believes that the pricing decisions in Brazil can be delegated to local managers. Why might she be wrong

Answer 1

While babies' behinds serve the same function in all cultures, and the product's technical standards may be similar, sensitivity to bodily functions does vary across cultures.  Thus, the advertising message may need to be changed for different attitudes towards what is appropriate advertising.  Likewise, where it might be progressive to show an ad with a male changing a diaper in some countries, in other countries this message could be lost or misinterpreted.  Another consideration would be the noise level created by the advertising message of competitor's products, which may well be different in Brazil.  While local demand and price elasticity decisions should play an important role in Brazil, pricing should not be left solely to the discretion of the local managers.  Since this is a global business, your firm will likely be competing in Brazil with some of the same competitors as elsewhere.  Thus pricing decisions in one country can have an impact on pricing and competition in other markets.  Similarly, your firm may want to position and price the brand similarly across different South American countries.

Question 2

The consumer purchase of specific brands is an indication of the relationship that develops over time between a company and its customers. Locate and retrieve the most current ranking of global brands . Identify the criteria that are used. Which country (or countries) appears to dominate the top 100 global brands list Why do you think this is the case Prepare a short report identifying the countries that possess global brands and the potential reasons for success. In addition, identify the traits of companies that are new to the list.

Answer 2

not answer

Question 3

Why do you think Unilever chose to move away from its local customization strategy, and tried to position Dove as a global brand What emerging conditions in the global marketplace made this strategy feasible

Answer 3

Unilever was able to capitalize on new technologies that made it easier than ever to generate excitement about a product across markets.  Unilever's message that Dove could help women everywhere feel more beautiful was well received.  Some students may point out that Unilever was able to develop its campaign using ideas from multiple countries - something that might have broadened its appeal.  Students will probably also note that while Unilever positioned Dove as a global brand, it tweaked its message from market to market to respond to local cultural preferences.

Question 4

Within 20 years, we will have seen the emergence of enormous global markets for standardized consumer products. Do you agree with this statement Justify your answer.

Question 5

Part of developing a sustainable research and development (R&D) strategy is to locate facilities in countries that are widely known to be competitive. Your company seeks to develop R&D facilities in Asia to counter recent competitor responses. A publication that evaluates economies based on their competitiveness is The Global Competitiveness Report . Locate this report and develop a presentation for the top management team that presents the benefits and drawbacks.

Question 6

Do you think Unilever could have pursued the same basic strategy 30 years ago If not, why not, and what has changed to make it possible today

Question 7

You are the marketing manager of a food products company that is considering entering the Indian market. The retail system in India tends to be very fragmented. Also, retailers and wholesalers tend to have long-term ties with Indian food companies, which makes access to distribution channels difficult. What distribution strategy would you advise the company to pursue Why

Question 8

Despite being globally branded, Unilever still tweaked the Dove campaign from nation to nation. Why did it do this What does this tell you about national differences in consumer behavior

Question 9

Price discrimination is indistinguishable from dumping. Discuss the accuracy of this statement.

Question 10

You work for a company that designs and manufactures personal computers. Your company's R D center is in North Dakota. The computers are manufactured under contract in Taiwan. Marketing strategy is delegated to the heads of three regional groups: a North American group (based in Chicago), a European group (based in Paris), and an Asian group (based in Singapore). Each regional group develops the marketing approach within its region. In order of importance, the largest markets for your products are North America, Germany, Great Britain, China, and Australia. Your company is experiencing problems in its product development and commercialization process. Products are late to market, the manufacturing quality is poor, costs are higher than projected, and market acceptance of new products is less than hoped for. What might be the source of these problems How would you fix them

Question 11

Reread the Management Focus feature on Levi Strauss and then answer the following questions:
a. What marketing strategy was Levi Strauss using until the early 2000s Why did this strategy appear to work for decades Why was it not working by the 2000s
b. How would you characterize Levi's current strategy What elements of the marketing mix are now changed from nation to nation
c. What are the benefits of Levi's new marketing strategy Is there a downside
d. What does the Levi's Strauss story tell you about the "globalization of markets"

Question 12

Historically Unilever has had a reputation for customizing its product offerings and marketing messages to local market conditions. What are the benefits of this approach What are the drawbacks