German advertising rarely intends to be funny. Jokes are very rare and advertisements avoid making the product or its manufacturer look ridiculous at all costs. Slapstick or silly rhymes and jingles are therefore rather unpopular. Seriousness and a neutral, stereotypical happiness rule supreme. For more intangible products, advertisers usually choose the conservative setting of a happy family or loving couple whose perfect world is maintained by having the advertised product. For more technical products, on the other hand, advertisements clearly focus on the "objective" product features.
Endorsements by Authorities in China
One way in which neutrality towards displaying emotions is reflected in Chinese advertising is the frequent use of experts rather than enthusiastic users of the product being advertised. A common western way of advertising pharmaceuticals-for example, let's take an antacid-is to first show a person suffering from heartburn, followed by a shot of the same person after taking the antacid. The expression on the face of the sufferer leaves no doubt about the effectiveness of the drug. While such techniques are also used in China, pharmaceuticals are most frequently endorsed by a person wearing a long white coat (a doctor). Even when a happy patient is shown, the doctor will also be there confirming that the product is approved by experts. In a similar way, candy may be recommended by happy children, but a parent, doctor, or kindergarten nurse will also be there to add that the product is good for the child's health, does not harm the teeth, etc.
Reconciling Affective and Neutral Cultures
Overly affective (expressive) or neutral cultures have problems in relating with each other. The neutral person is easily accused of being stone cold and having no heart; the affective person is seen as way out of control and inconsistent. When such cultures meet it is essential for international managers to recognize the differences, and to refrain from making any judgments based on emotions-or the apparent lack of them. This aspect of culture is quite clearly seen in the amount of emotionality people can stand across cultures.
Figure 2.8: The emotional-neutral dilemma
Let's look at one example of reconciling passion and control, which we have mentioned in previous books, but which is clearly relevant here.
Club Med's prodigious growth had overstrained its traditional management structure. It had become intoxicated by its self-celebrations, week after week, and was not keeping track of costs or logistics. The company's downward spiral had begun and chronic under-investment made it worse. It was not competent in the more neutral hard side of the business (travel, finance, logistics, etc.) Resorts were not profit centers and several had lost money without anyone realizing. Opening was often too early in the season or not early enough. Moreover, hospitality had simply been increased with no awareness of diminishing returns; the food and wine expenditure had escalated too far. When it is about esprit, ambience, and all the affective and diffuse aspects of life-leave it to Club Med. This was also their under-sponsored strength. At this point CEO Philippe Bourguignon was very aware that he had to reconcile these neutral and affective necessities. He helped Club Med to refine the art of placing immaterial experiences above the bits and pieces of the material world, while insuring that the bits and pieces paid off.
The wholeness of experience with its esprit is vital. But taken too far, (as Club Med had in the early 1990s), the personalized and unique vacation was driven to the point of destruction. It had become a vendor of incomparable experiences but couldn't survive in a more cost-conscious world. But the opposite, more neutral approach, where elements are standardized into a reliable, high volume and therefore affordable holiday, would risk abandoning Club Med's founding values.
With ever-advancing living standards, the separate elements of luxury and good living are available to more and more people. What is often missing and is more elusive is the integration of these elements into a diffuse and affective sense of satisfaction, a savoir vivre. Bourguignon no longer manages villages, but a shared spirit, a seamless scenario of satisfactions, an ambience or atmosphere, like Planet Hollywood or the Hard Rock Cafés, augmented by food and wine. The dilemma is shown in Figure 2.9.
Figure 2.9: The global ingredients of a personal dream
Chapter 3:
Cultural Differences in a Marketing Context: Further Value Dimensions
The previous chapter covered the first four of our seven dimensions. Now let's look at the remaining three.
THE DILEMMA BETWEEN ACHIEVEMENT AND ASCRIPTION
All societies give certain people higher status than others, showing that unusual attention should be focused upon them and their activities. Some cultures accord status on the basis of personal achievements whereas others ascribe status by virtue of gender, age, class, education, etc. The first we call achieved status and the second, ascribed status. While achieved status refers to what you do or to what you have done, ascribed status refers to who you are. Achievement-oriented cultures market their products and services on the basis of their performance. Do customers want functional products that achieve a utilitarian purpose or are they buying status?
In achievement-oriented cultures, the emphasis is on performance, reliability, and functionality. In ascribed-status cultures, such as those in Asia, status is ascribed to products that naturally evoke admiration from others, such as high technology and jewelry. You can tell the time from a $1 digital watch just as well as you can with a $10,000 Rolex. But the latter is a symbolic representation of status, not only a watch. This status is less concerned with the functional capabilities of the product. Motives for acquiring ascribed status by making purchases vary across cultures.
Of course the same product, such as a Mercedes, is sold in different countries. But in Germany you will be selling reliable, quality German engineering that will get you to work down the autobahn quickly and safely; in India, with exactly the same product, you would be selling status. Figure 3.1 shows the relative orientation of a number of countries along this dimension.
Figure 3.1: Relative orientation to achieved or ascribed status for a number of selected countries
Use of Experts in Advertising in China
We looked briefly at endorsements by authorities in China in the previous chapter. Let's consider it again here. Acknowledged authorities are used by manufacturers all over the world, but their power of persuasion goes virtually unquestioned in China. The influence of ascribed status in Chinese culture is most conspicuous in the use of authorities and experts in marketing campaigns.
The influence of experts has increased considerably in the course of economic reforms. The bulk of Chinese R&D and product development is conducted in a network of research institutes. In addition to the large national institutes, there are also research centers established by provincial or municipal governments. As a part of the reforms, the research institutes now also have to provide at least part of their income. One of the ways for them to generate income is to help manufacturers improve their production processes or to develop their inventions into marketable products. An easy way for Chinese researchers to make some extra money is to assist manufacturers in promoting products. Many write articles about the products that appear in prominent publications; others promote the products at seminars, etc. Those who enjoy national fame may even be featured in television commercials.