Standardized Multinational Advertising: The Influencing Factors

Market convergence and advertising standardization in the European Union

“…Research on advertising standardization has found that for many MNCs, building a uniform brand image across markets is the single most important reason to standardize, while ''saving money'' is less important (Duncan & Ramaprasad, 1995). In this vein, Harris (1994) contends that achieving uniformity of the global image and message is a key consideration of advertising standardization by MNCs operating in European markets.…”

“…Firms tend to seek customers who share similar needs and wants, and sometimes attempt to identify an intermarket (i.e., cross-market) segment for more effective targeting (ter Hofstede, Steenkamp, & Wedel, 1999). In the same vein, perceived similarity in advertising regulations and media availability has been pointed to as an important incentive for the use of uniform advertising strategy (Duncan & Ramaprasad, 1995). In addition, given the increasing homogeneity of European markets, the level of competition in those markets is thought to be increasing.…”

“…While there is widespread agreement that there has been movement toward convergence within the EU and elsewhere, thereby allowing for the use of more standardized approaches (e.g., Duncan & Ramaprasad, 1995;Harris, 1994;Ö zsomer & Simonin, 2004), some consumer researchers have questioned the extent to which consumers are becoming more homogenous (Boddewyn & Grosse, 1995;de Mooij, 2004;Diamantopoulos, Schlegelmilch, & Du Preez, 1995;Kahle, Beatty, & Mager, 1994). Consumer culture theory (CCT) emphasizes heterogeneity that exists both within and across cultures.…”

“…Prior research shows these factors to be particularly important. The first factor, consumer homogeneity is reflective of findings that increasing homogeneity of consumers across industrialized nations has been an important determinant of the feasibility of advertising standardization (Duncan & Ramaprasad, 1995;Levitt, 1983). In a recent exploration, Samiee, Jeong, Pae, & Tai (2003) found that advertising managers' perceptions of consumer homogeneity among Chinese-speaking markets significantly affects the level of advertising standardization in this region.…”

“…Cross-border segments are segments that transcend national borders and share common dimensions, via which firms can formulate common marketing strategies for a product or brand (Jain, 1989;Samiee & Roth, 1992). In such cross-border segments, customers are likely to share ''uniform'' characteristics, in terms of needs, preferences, lifestyles, and tastes and habits (Boddewyn, Soehl, & Picard, 1986;Duncan & Ramaprasad, 1995;Jain, 1989;Onkvisit & Shaw, 1987).…”