Developing Foreign
Advertising in France
Abbey Moore & Nataliya
Zhuravleva
Introduction
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Penetrating a foreign market, you have to
know the country’s beliefs, customs,
and traditions is incredibly important.
Advertising programs must be altered all
the time in order to suit each country due
to the rapidly changing cultures
Cultural & Social Forces
Affecting Buyers Behavior
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Cultural distinctions are one of the most
noticeable differences across countries.
Due to cultural distinctions, marketing a product
internationally the advertising campaign must be
altered to overcome the language barrier.
Non-verbal communication may have different
meanings in the United States and France, must
also be taken into account when developing an
international campaign.
Example - Chanel
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The Chanel campaign for Chanel # 5 perfume
attempted to use universal advertising,
packaging, and naming, yet soon discovered that
the original French advertisement was
unsuccessful in the US due to differences in
culture – the French concept of ‘prestige’ is not
the same as in the US.
Example 2 – Kellogg’s
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The slow growth for corn
flakes was related to two
aspects of French culinary
habits.
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First, the French did not
eat corn because 80% of
the corn harvested in
France was fed to pigs and
chickens.
Second, of the people who
ate cereal for breakfast in
France, 40% poured on
warm milk, which damaged
the crunchiness and taste
of corn flakes.
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To overcome these
cultural differences,
Kellogg's printed
instructions on the back
of the cereal boxes to
show people the intended
way of eating the cereal,
and introduced “Tony le
Tigre” in its French media
campaign.
As a result of these
campaign changes –
the consumption of
Corn Flakes in France
increased.
Tactics to make International
Advertising Campaigns
Effective
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When French firms launch international
advertising campaigns in the food and beverage
sector, they should adhere to the following
guidelines:
Guidelines
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Positioning of the product should be more
emotional than informative.
emphasizes the "goodness" of the
product
Humor should be used with consideration
Music should be a major factor in the
commercial because of its ability to convey
emotions and reinforce atmospheres.
Sex Appeal in Advertising
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French advertisers use
sex appeal in advertising
more than American
advertisers.
24 % of the French
advertisements used sex
appeal compared to only
8.6 % of the American
advertisements.
Why do French use More Sex
Appeal?
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The sexual material in French
advertisements acts as an
attention lure and product
recall (especially for perfume
advertisements)
Therefore, when marketing in
France, companies should take
the use of sex appeal in
advertising into
consideration, as this
strategy has been effective in
the French market.
French Advertising Laws
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Tobacco and alcohol
cannot be advertised
Children are not allowed
to endorse products
French can only be used
on television, radio and
other work places
Makes Advertising
expensive for foreign
companies
Issues affecting Advertising in
the Film Industry
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Films cannot be advertised on
TV
Billboards can be used
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For Example:
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The American poster for
Frankenstein was a greenish,
sinister image that evoked a
morgue.
In France, advertisers chose
violent colors and lightening
bolts to combine the idea of
electricity with destruction,
and included a reference to
the author of the novel, Mary
Shelley, well-known to French
audiences.
Conclusion
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In order to achieve a successful advertising campaign
and effectively reach a global target market, it is the
responsibility the advertising company to:
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analyze competition of other products/brands in the
market,
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assess cultural differences
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examine economic trends and communications programs
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research other cultures
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train employees on how to deal with partners in foreign
countries.
Thank You