Apr 21

Global Marketing – Making and Selling Movies across Cultures

Cross Cultural Training, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management No Comments »

In recent years the once ascending star of Asian cinema, Bollywood, is increasingly making its mark on foreign markets while Hollywood’s hit engine is losing traction in the East. Some of Hollywood’s biggest releases are missing in some Asian markets where home-grown cinema is on the rise. In Japan, for instance, an increasing number of successful movies which often stem from the global phenomena manga are locally developed and filmed. International film makers are increasingly seeing the challenges of making movies for a global market and selling across cultures.

Film Oleksiy Mark i Global Marketing – Making and Selling Movies across Cultures

© istockphoto.com/ Oleksiy Mark

In an effort to adjust to these dynamic cultural environments, Hollywood has started to produce Western-friendly versions of Asian films that they are now selling across cultures. For example, the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs was remade into the western version called Departed a few years ago and was a huge success in the West. This adaptation of films from one culture to another works both ways, evident in the recent remake of classic Hollywood success film Ghost for an Asian audience called Gôsuto.

Another illustration of this East-West relation and effort to sell films across cultures is the growing trade that now exists between Hollywood and the writing talent of Korea which gives American cinema fresh perspectives and exciting new voices in cinema. Koreans can take advantage of useful funding models and some protection from piracy while the international market of an American funded film also extricates the Koreans from an unpromising domestic export market.

The usefulness of co-producing manifests itself by increasing the skill set of the Korean workforce and giving Hollywood low-cost original content. Other international collaborations like the strong partnership between Hollywood and China together with Japanese ownership (via Sony’s presence) of most Hollywood studios is helping to redefine the international film market.

In a global economy, building cross-cultural cooperation with domestic markets is one of the safest and successful moves that most companies take. Such cross-cultural collaborations can be riddled with difficulties, however, mainly caused by different working values and communication styles. In order to avoid frustrations and, ultimately failure, cross cultural training courses help people working with international counterparts to develop the sensitivity required to successfully communicate, work and sell across cultures. Cultural awareness training can also help your business have more insight into new market preferences and trends which can help any company selling across cultures.

As with movies, successfully adapting products for other markets has become necessary for both large and small businesses. The influence of expanding Asian markets has an increasing impact on marketing strategies and product design. Being aware of cross-cultural preferences and expectations is crucial for anyone selling across cultures, whether a major producer of international films or a small business vendor.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

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Nov 30

Cultural Sensitivity Training – Helping your Company to Work Successfully across Cultures

Cross Cultural Training, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources No Comments »

Working across cultures is commonly seen as a challenging experience, with many obstacles and differences often hindering progress or success. Even the best employees can fail when they are operating outside their usual and familiar cultural context. Working successfully across cultures does not have to be challenging, however, especially if you have the right intercultural knowledge, support and cultural sensitivity training. There are several examples of successful international managers who have proven that it is possible to succeed in a cross cultural context.

Business Meeting 13 track5 i Cultural Sensitivity Training – Helping your Company to Work Successfully across Cultures

© istockphoto.com/ Track 5

Is there some kind of “secret recipe” to ensure this success? Schools of global management like Thunderbird University claim that a global mindset increases the cultural sensitivity of international managers, allowing them to excel regardless of the culture they are dealing with. But what exactly do we mean by “cultural sensitivity”?

Anyone with a high level of cultural sensitivity will adapt more easily and effectively to the values, attitudes and communication styles of another culture. With a high level of cultural sensitivity, international managers or members of international teams are able to better understand and harness the potential of their multicultural team. Cultural sensitivity can help anyone working across cultures recognise what motivates people in that culture and know how to reward performance while avoiding cultural faux pas and incidents that could put the cohesion and success of the team at risk.

Cultural sensitivity can also be useful for companies when it comes to selling to or making strategic decisions with organisations or individuals from a different culture. Many western brands have shown a terrible lack of cultural sensitivity when they tried to do business across cultures. When Pepsi used light blue for its product packaging in South East Asia, for instance, they did not realise that light blue was actually the colour of mourning in that specific culture so sales decreased and Pepsi lost money changing their marketing campaign. Providing cultural sensitivity training to the Pepsi team responsible for this new branding could have helped avoid a costly and unnecessary situation.

Developing cultural sensitivity can take time but it can be increased through experience working across cultures.  Employees working across cultures can benefit immensely from cultural sensitivity training courses which will give them a solid cross cultural framework and skills to help them to avoid cultural pitfalls and misunderstandings. The combination of international exposure and cultural sensitivity training will give anyone working across cultures the skills they need to reach their full potential in any cultural environment.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Nov 25

Is Cultural Sensitivity Training the Key to Successful Global Marketing?

Cross Cultural Training, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management 1 Comment »

Global marketing is now vital for international firms wishing to sell their products abroad. While most international companies conduct thorough research and market surveys, they often fail to consider the impact of culture on their global marketing strategy. This absence of cultural sensitivity can create huge financial and credibility losses even for world renowned brands. Companies starting to sell their products in a new market need to carefully consider the differing attitudes and expectations between their domestic and their international customers. Perceptions of key elements such as brand, colours, packaging, selling methods and slogans can vary widely from one culture to another. Failing to acknowledge and understand this carries significant risks.

Globes Mike Bentley i Is Cultural Sensitivity Training the Key to Successful Global Marketing?

© istockphoto.com/ Mike Bentley

There are several examples of famous brands that failed to show the appropriate cultural sensitivity and unwittingly created cultural faux pas which came with high costs. When McDonald’s opened in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Flag was printed on the take-out bags. This created a massive scandal as a short extract of the Qur’an is written on the Saudi flag. Most Saudis were infuriated to see an excerpt from their holy book printed on an American burger bag! With greater cultural sensitivity, the people behind this marketing initiative would have been able to avoid costing millions of dollars to their company.

Such incidents can be caused by the belief that all cultures are “the same” and have the same expectations. This assumption of similarity is often the main reason behind poor judgment or initiatives. It takes great cultural sensitivity and knowledge to adapt a brand name or an entire marketing campaign to a new cultural environment.

Some companies have perfectly understood that displaying the appropriate level of cultural sensitivity is a shortcut to success. The example of Tesco selling methods in China immediately comes to mind. Tesco executives understood that Chinese customers have their own preferences when buying certain products and decided to adapt to their specific expectations. Fish, for instance, is not sold in plastic packaging like in most western countries but is displayed while still alive in water tanks enabling customers to choose their favourite fish and buy it. This kind of initiative has made Tesco one of the most successful western retailers in the Chinese market.

Cultural sensitivity training courses are an excellent way to learn and understand the cultural factors that come into play when selling across cultures. From language to humour to the use of symbols, a cultural sensitivity training programme will help you to create the best marketing strategy and to understand the expectations and purchasing motives of your new customers. It will allow you to penetrate specific markets more easily and provide you with the relevant marketing tools to make sure that your products are well received by the local population.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Sep 14

Cross-Cultural Differences – Chinese Audience Gives Two Thumbs Up

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for the Public sector No Comments »

A recent survey showed that Chinese and American film reviewers had rather different responses to the same or similar films. Chinese comments were more subtle and kind towards mediocre productions, while American comments were more open and critical. Does this mean that Chinese audiences are more easily satisfied or is this simply a matter of different communication styles? Or perhaps Chinese audiences like different things than American audiences?

Chinese laterns 3 tom hall i1 Cross Cultural Differences – Chinese Audience Gives Two Thumbs Up

© istockphoto.com/ Tom Hall

 

Some argue that this finding could be linked to the distinction between collectivistic and individualistic societies. For example, in a collectivistic culture there is more importance placed on group cohesion and harmony than individual actions and competition. Asian countries in particular reflect this collectivist attitude so they tend to prefer constructing messages in an ambiguous way. This helps them to avoid causing conflict in the group or losing face in case a specific request is ignored or denied.

Conversely, many countries in northern Europe and North America are more individualistic and therefore tend to focus more on the individual and personal achievement. Individualistic cultures tend to value sincerity and openness when communicating, while veering from the subject can be seen as an effort to hide something.

People from individualistic cultures therefore tend to be more open and honest when communicating their preferences, while people from collectivistic countries are more reserved in expressing their views because they are more concerned with maintaining harmony rather than saying exactly what they think. This could explain the different film ratings and comments by Chinese and Americans.

Understanding that different cultures have preferences for different working styles and business values shows the importance of being able to adjust your style when doing business in an international environment. Differences in views and how they get expressed can have significant implications for any organisation that is launching a product in a new market, working on a cross-cultural M&A or implementing a global matrix structure.

Cultural awareness and flexibility should therefore inform not only the business side of your company, but also the marketing research and planning. Sometimes marketing tools like a simple survey might provide you with misleading data if used in a culture where people are not used to or comfortable with expressing their opinions openly.

For instance, when dealing with collectivistic cultures, basing market predictions and strategies on findings from an online poll might give you the wrong perspective and hinder your desired results. cross cultural training courses can provide you with a set of cultural knowledge and tools that will help you make the right decisions and adapt your approach effectively when marketing a service or product in another culture.

Many organisations have successfully adapted their product to suit another market. Kraft, for instance, modified their Oreo cookie recipe to a less sweet formula to accommodate the Chinese taste. Similarly, Tesco’s new CEO Philip Clarke adapted Tesco stores in China to include live fish in big tanks so Chinese customers could pick what they want and be assured of its freshness. These small changes adapted to the expectations and cultural preferences of the market and resulted in a successful product.

Other organisations have been less successful adapting their approach or product to the cultural preferences and expectations of customers in another country. PepsiCola is one example of an organisation who failed to do their research and adapt their product accordingly. When they changed the colour of its vending machines and coolers from deep “Regal” blue to light “Ice” blue in Southeast Asia PepsiCola lost its majority share in the market to Coca Cola. What they failed to realise was that light blue is a colour associated with death and mourning in Southeast Asia so the change did not create the desired effect and in fact hurt their profit.

Failure to understand the culture you operating in can have serious implications on any business. Anyone who wants to ensure that their marketing planning, strategies implementation and business as a whole gets a real thumbs up needs to pay extreme attention to what their international customers expect and want.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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