Culture and its affects on marketing
We have now been discussing different cultures and the affect these differences have on marketing.
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| Oreo's packages on the Chinese market |
I found a neat article on global brands going to China and the ways they have had to change their marketing, but also the whole product to appear more desirable in those markets. This article is by Jeff Beer "Oreo's Chinese Twist" and it focuses mostly on Oreo cookies and its challenges to make it to the Chinese markets. They had to change the flavors to accommodate Chinese taste buds with flavors like orange-mango and blueberry-raspberry because during the summer months the sales of normal Oreo's went down. This was because in China you eat "heaty" foods during the colder months and cooling foods during the warmer months. Fruits in general are considered cooling, and this is why they have been a huge success. Oreo also created a filling that when licked would create a cooling sensation with vanilla and green-tea flavoring. This particulas article is found in Canadian Business; 12/10/2012, Vol. 85 Issue 20, p66-67, 2p.
This article shows just how important the knowledge of your host country is. Oreo lost sales for years, because they didn't know that during the warmer months the Chinese wouldn't eat the kind of cookies they were making for the western markets.
The concept of "heaty" or hot products and cool(ing) products might also be worth checking if you are on the Chinese market.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you are e.g. offered a ginger drink after you have had hairy crabs, a specialty of autumn. This has something to do with heaty and cool products.