Cultural Dynamics
Take off the shoes to win
I was meeting with a group of Japanese businessmen in Tokyo, and our morning
discussions had not gone well. For lunch my hosts rented a private room in a
restaurant. As is the custom, they took off their shoes. I was wearing my dress
cowboy boots and removed them. No sooner had we sat cross-legged on the dining
mats than I began to receive the first smiles and laughter of the day. I was puzzled
until one man said, "Mickey Mouse," pointing to my socks. My children had
packed this footwear, which they had given me for my birthday. Not realizing I
would be taking off my boots, I wore the socks. That moment in the restaurant was
the turning point of the trip, and before I left Japan we had an agreement.
National Differences in Culture
 What
is CULTURE?
– shared system of values and norms that offer a
design for living
 Values:
abstract ideas about what is good, right and
desirable
 Norms: social rules and guidelines that prescribe
appropriate behavior in particular situations
Culture Quiz
http://www.branchor.com/culturequiz
.htm
Determinants of Culture
Social Structure
•Group and
individual
•Social classes and
mobility
Religion
Political
Philosophy
Norms/
Values
Economic
Philosophy
Language
•Spoken and silent
Education
Cultural Issues







Technological and Material Culture
Communication and Language
Aesthetics
Education
Religion
Attitudes and Values
Social Organization
Technological and Material
Culture

Material Culture - tools and artifacts (physical
things) in a society, excluding those physical
things found in nature unless they undergo some
technological change e.g. tree to Christmas tree
or orchard

Technology - Techniques to make and use those
things.
Technological and Material Culture
Effect on consumption




Car - Suburbs
Television - Advertising, Home
Shopping etc.
Microwave oven - Food preparation
and nature of the food consumed.
Sony Walkman, Cellular phone
Communication and Language
Language as a Communication Tool
Verbal or Nonverbal Communication
 Nonverbal
 Verbal - Language is a mirror of
culture; 3000 languages

Gestures
 American
- ok
 Southern France - sale is worthless
 Brazil - %%@@ **&
International Marketing Blunders
 Coors
put its slogan, "Turn it loose," into
Spanish, where it was read as "Suffer from
diarrhea."
International Marketing Blunders
 Scandinavian
vacuum manufacturer
Electrolux used the following in an
American campaign:
 Nothing sucks like an Electrolux.
International Marketing Blunders
 The American
slogan for Salem cigarettes,
"Salem-Feeling Free", was translated into
the Japanese market as
 "When smoking Salem, you will feel so
refreshed that your mind seems to be free
and empty."
International Marketing Blunders
 Colgate
introduced a toothpaste in France
called Cue, the name of a notorious porno
magazine.
International Marketing Blunders
 An American
T-shirt maker in Miami
printed shirts for the Spanish market which
promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of "I saw
the Pope" (el Papa),
 the shirts read "I saw the potato" (la papa).
International Marketing Blunders
 In
Italy, a campaign for Schweppes Tonic
Water translated the name into "Schweppes
Toilet Water.”
International Marketing Blunders
 Pepsi's
"Come alive with the Pepsi
Generation" translated into
 "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from
the grave," in Chinese.
International Marketing Blunders
 Frank
Perdue's chicken slogan, "it takes a
strong man to make a tender chicken" was
translated into Spanish as
 "it takes an aroused man to make a
chicken affectionate.”
International Marketing Blunders

When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in
Mexico, its ads were supposed to have read, "it
won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you".
 Instead, the company thought that the word
"embarazar" (to impregnate) meant to embarrass,
so the ad read: "It won't leak in your pocket and
make you pregnant".
Religion

Holidays

Taboos and Consumption Patterns

Economic Development and Materialism
Religion
 Muslims
and Ramadan
– Tunisia - market slumps
– Saudi Arabia - pilgrimage to Mecca
 Swedish
co. for transportation system
Religion
 Christians
and Christmas
– Dutch - St. Nicholas Day (Dec 6th)
– Russians - Frost Man’s day (January 1)
Taboos

Never touch the head of a Thai or Pass an object
over it

The head is considered sacred in Thailand.
Some Cultural Facts
• An American
firm lost floor wax sales in Brazil because a change in
the formula made the product less effective as a lighter fluid to ignite
Sunday Barbecues.
• Germans prefer salad dressing in a tube.
• Kellogg’s Pop Tart failed in Europe, as many homes do not have
toasters.
•Mountain Dew soft drink in difficult to pronounce in Portuguese,
and sales have been slow in these markets.
• Two-liter pop bottle failed in Spain because of small refrigerators
• Although 89% of Americans agree that everyone should use
deodorant, only 53% of Australians agree with this statement
Values and Attitudes
Marketing Activities
 Wealth, Material Gain, and Acquisition
 Work Ethic
 Change
 Risk Taking
 Competitiveness
 Status Symbols
 Nationalism

Values and Attitudes
 Colac
Laxative in Japan - Richardson-
Vicks
– Psychological dimensions of constipation
– discuss only in group - no westerners present
– dissatisfied with slow-acting herbal remedies
– wary western laxatives too strong
Colac Laxative in Japan
 Two
little pills with natural qualities
 “Three
things to consider for stubborn
constipation - salad, beauty exercise, and
Colac before bedtime”
Education
 Levels
of Participation
 Literacy
Rates
 Emphasis
on Specific Subjects
World Education
League
Who’s top?
Some countries seem to
educate their children much
better than others? Why? No
comprehensive answer has
emerged yet but plenty of
lessons are being learned
Economist 3/29/97
Aesthetics
 Design
 Color
 Music
 Choice
of brand names, packaging etc.
Aesthetics - Cultural differences

SHAPES
– Avoid using triangular shapes in Hong Kong,
Korea, and Taiwan.
– The triangle is considered a negative shape
Aesthetics - Cultural differences
 NUMBERS
– The number 7 is considered bad luck in Kenya
and good luck in the Czech Republic and
Magical connotation in Benin, Africa
– The number 10 is bad luck in Korea.
– The number 4 means death in Japan
Aesthetics - Cultural differences
 COLORS
– Red represents witchcraft and death in many
African countries
– Red is a positive color in Denmark
Social Organization
 Family
Unit
 Peer
Groups
 Role
models