Global Marketing American companies take many things into consideration when marketing products in other countries. The article “Tough Cookies” by Oliver Libaw, and the article “Not so fast” by Jean-Marc Lehu discuss marketing American Products in other countries. “Tough Cookies” discussed Nabisco and their success of selling Oreos and Chips Ahoy in Mexico.
“Not so fast” discussed the triumph of the store Crazy George, which is like American Rent-A-Center, in the United Kingdom and their failure in France. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was established in 1994, made it possible for Nabisco to sell their products in Mexico. NAFTA produced almost free trade between the United States and Mexico. The European Union (EU) did basically the same thing as NAFTA in Europe. EU produced many marketing advantages because it made it possible not to have to market items by one nation at a time. NAFTA and EU make marketing products in other countries easier.
Nabisco took a big chance by marketing their cookies in Mexico. Nabisco succeeded in establishing their products even though Mexico was in a recession. The company realized that there was an open opportunity for their products. In Mexico there was not a cookie exactly like theirs. Oreo and Chips Ahoy are the best selling cookies in the United States so they thought that the products might do the same in Mexico. They did not have an expansive advertising campaign.
Instead they relied on in-store promotions. On reason for their success is that they have a strong distribution and name recognition. Many people did not think that the product would sell, even though they have great presence. There are two main events that might have helped Nabisco. One event is that snack foods are cheaper, so instead of eating more expensive, healthy foods, people switched to a substitute. Another event is that the people who were buying the cookies are the wealthier individuals, which price would not effect them.
There is research that proved to Nabisco that they would be successful in Mexico. There are generalizations that have been discovered for many cultures, each culture respond to products and marketing differently. Hispanic culture as a whole are very name brand oriented, they especially American products. They are willing to pay a little extra for quality that goes along with a name of a product. This would make sense for the success of Nabisco. Their cookies are slightly more expensive then other cookies but they were still successful in the Mexican market.
Nabisco also did not spend much on advertising, they relied on word of mouth to get their name around. The buying pattern of the Hispanic culture suggests that they listen more to their family and friends rather than advertising. The strategies that Nabisco used for Mexico would not work for European countries. Every country in Europe has different needs and wants as a culture. Each country should be treated individually.
In the article “Not so fast”, the owners of the store Crazy George treated the European countries as one homogeneous group. They learned that the thoughts of the individuals living in France differed from those in the United Kingdom. The store is directed towards individuals who are in the lower income bracket, and need some help owning hoe items. The United Kingdom loved the idea of being able to rent furniture until they had paid enough to own the items.
In France, however, it is a different story. The French do not like the idea of being reminded that they do not have much money. The store Crazy George was not successful in France for that reason. Having to come in once a week so that one can pay for the weekly amount that is due on their rented furniture is a put down in the French culture. There are barriers that exist between the European countries that make it difficult to market to them. There is also a risk in treating the countries differently.
By treating each country differently, the product that is being marketed changes. There are some products that can be used in every European country and if the countries are treated differently than some individuals may not be very appreciative. It might be an insult to the people if they think that they are seen as different than the other countries. It is extremely difficult to market products globaly. I would advize American companies who want to go global to research the places where they want to establiush a market. The income levels, and exchange rate are important pieces of information to know before going global.
The culture of the countries must be understood. They way the natives buy products should be investigated. Much effort should be put into the investigation of a country before setting up a market in a foreign country. The Nabisco company obviously did their research and the Crazy George store apparently did not spend the time needed in learning about the French.
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