Consumers Across The World Are More Similar Than Different

At the heart of the matter lies the issue: how should communication be localised? High costs of advertising and a brands international image pull in one direction towards standardisation. Cultural nuances peculiar to local markets pull in the opposite direction towards localisation.

How are advertising agencies attempting to resolve the dilemma? What are the dos and donts? What parameters should they consider?

To get a grip on these and other related issues, The Strategist met Fumio Oshima, executive director, in-charge of Dentsu Advertisings Asian operations.

The 60-year old Oshima has spent half his life with Dentsu. During this period he has headed Dentsus German operation and handled such prestigious accounts as Coke, Philip Morris and Nestle.

 

Excerpts from the interview:

Q. What challenges has increasing globalisation thrown for the advertising companies in terms of managing brands across different continents? How are they coping with it?

A. As you know advertising is very local. Unlike other hardware, creatives have to be produced by locals who have good consumer insights in each market. Therefore generally, you cannot mass produce creatives that can be used globally. Therefore, you need partners.

Q. The world's best known brand, Coca-Cola, in recent years has chosen to run different executional campaigns and creative routes all at the same time. Does this hit at the very essence of long-held axiom of single-mindedness or is it a trend that's borne out of increasing heterogeneity of consumer profiles? As a person who worked on the Coke account, is it something you are comfortable with?

A. The number of creatives being developed by Coke is increasing, meeting the needs of each market. Very few creatives can be operated worldwide. It depends on how similar the purchase motivation is. For instance, the reason for buying a Rolex watch is the same no matter where you are. So you do not have to change the communication.

Again, for products like jeans, advertising tends to be pretty much the same. But there are few cases like this. Few creatives are such that they would be appealing to audiences worldwide. If you look at history, in the past 30 years, there have only been four or five such cases. The best example is Marlboro.

At the same time, there are cultural nuances to which advertising must respond. For instance, for Thailand we had to adapt the KFC ads that showed the fingers as a fork or spoon because eating with your hands is considered unhygienic in that country.

Q. In terms of history, pedigree and brand consciousness, Coke will rate alongside Marlboro. So why is that one can have an international campaign for one and not for the other?

A. Yes, it is true that Coke runs different campaigns. The concept always stays the same refreshing, very urban, showing positive aspects of American culture. One has to find out what is the most appealing way.

Q. While crafting advertising for the local market for international brands, some companies seem to have misread the peculiar cultural nuances. If you were to pick out the major reasons this continues to happen, what would they be? What should be the dos and don'ts in this regard?

A. Many global companies try to introduce the same campaigns in, say, the European market. Now, managers in the each country say we are different.

Advertising is very human and humans make mistakes. Something that worked earlier elsewhere sometimes makes managers confident. That leads to their overlooking local nuances.

The way we go about it at Dentsu is to develop a basic concept and the story and then leave it to local managers to work out how they want to present it. They are only required to follow the guidelines and make corrections wherever necessary. Many times when a new manager takes over, he wants to change everything. However, one must not change for the sake of change.

Q. How does one reconcile apparently conflicting situations such as premium brand in a price-conscious market? What should be the decision criteria?

A. Take Sonys case in Thailand. Sony is a premium global brand with a high-tech image. So you cannot straightaway move to price communication. Japanese companies tend to take a long-term view of the situation. They do not look for quick returns. Therefore, when we went to Thailand, for the first year or so, we invested in building the brand in consonance with its international image. Then, later on when we felt sure, we thought now was the time to build up volumes. So only then did we run a price campaign.

Q. Some brands are closely associated with the country of their origin Sony from Japan or a Mercedes from Germany. Does local or third country manufacturing of such products have a negative impact on brand image? How does advertising respond to such a situation?

A. In fact, more people in India know that Sony is from Japan than in the US. There the brand is important; where it is coming from is not so important. Similarly in Japan, when you go to a departmental store, you tend to check where it is coming from.

When German car-maker BMW started shipping South-Africa-made cars and it was reported by an auto magazine sales immediately dipped. I think because of our cultural heritage pedigree is very important. The same is perhaps true for India.

But economics may not permit the export of "Made in Japan" products to all destinations. That is where corporate advertising comes in. Take Toyotas case. Its advertising does not talk at all of its Japanese origins. It only talks about the teamwork, quality values shared across Toyota worldwide. The implicit message is that no matter where your Toyota comes from, it will be just as good.

Q. How has the fragmentation in mass media affected the advertising strategies of global brands?

A. The increase in number of channels has led to a more segmented media for television channels. This means that we can monitor more accurately the viewers for each channel and advertisers can be more effective in the selection of the media. This in turn means that we reach the consumer target more directly. In the future, there will be more creatives made which will be fine-tuned to specific targets as opposed to a few that are aimed more generally at the mass media.

Q. Across western societies and in India too, the entire band of so-called "oriental advertising," prevalent in markets like Japan is seldom understood and appreciated. Is it just another indication that consumers across the world are more different rather than they are similar?

A. We feel that people are more similar, on the whole, than different. Actually, many commercials made can be exported to the West and understood. Some advertisements are tailored specifically to the domestic market, reflecting our own culture and tradition, which sometimes may need explanation if they are used abroad. On the whole, advertising, specially what is good in Japan, can go almost anywhere in the world.

Q. Many products have reached the maturity phase of their life cycle. How does this impact the role of brands? What are companies and advertisers doing to retain the significance of their brands in the wake of the commoditisation of products?

A. Any products life cycle reaches the maturity stage and that is why we have to establish brand power. Sometimes our job includes sustaining a product life-cycle by activities such as line extensions and product diversification, etc., in order to maintain the power of the brand.n

Global advertising agency Dentsus executive director

Fumio Oshima tells Vikas Kaul

Dentsus Fumio Oshima believes that local nuance is important, but not merely for the sake of change.

(Or what Oshima had to say about the worlds biggest brand Sony)

On its 50th birthday this year, Sony Corporation can take pride in the fact that it pipped the century-old Coca Cola as the number one brand that too on Cokes home turf, the US according to a survey on brand power done by Interbrand. Unlike some of its Nippon brethren, Sony has, right from its inception, pursued top quality and product innovation. The small transistor, Trinitron picture tube, Walkman, the list is endless.

For a whole generation of consumers Sony and technology have meant the same thing. Therefore, all it needed to tell the customer was, Its a Sony. But now in the 50th year, there is rethink on the tagline.

Why? Its not that Sony has ceased to be innovative or tech-savvy. There are two factors that have led to the rethink. One, now there are plenty of high-tech innovative companies in Japan. Thus, for the younger lot, its not enough to say, Its a Sony.

Second, Sonys image rests on its achievements in the audio/video business. As it seeks a greater role for itself in IT products both hardware and software, it has to start afresh and establish its credentials. And then, perhaps on its centennial celebration it can revert to Its a Sony.