For example, in 2014, Delta Air Lines, a major US passenger airline carrier (see Figure 7.3), made a big stereotype blunder with its social media marketing. The company sent out a congratulatory tweet to the US team for its win over the Ghanaian team in the World Cup in which it used a photo of a giraffe to represent Ghana.³⁹ Unfortunately, Delta marketers failed to realize that there is not one wild giraffe in Ghana; this is a frequent stereotype about the entire continent of Africa. In fact, there are over 50 countries in Africa, but only around 20 have naturally wild giraffes.⁴⁰ The Twitter market caught on to this error quickly and proceeded to tease Delta for its stereotype mistake.

Figure 7.3 Marketing based on stereotypes can lead to big mistakes, such as when a social media post by Delta Air Lines incorrectly assumed that Ghana was home to wild giraffes, resulting in the market openly teasing the company on Twitter for its blunder. (credit: “Phuket 2018” by un.cloned/flickr, CC BY 2.0)

Law and Politics

Laws and politics have a large impact on a country’s economy and, in turn, how products will (or even can) be marketed. Political and legal decisions made within a country’s system surrounding tariffs, labor laws, the environment, and even an expectation of bribery can impact a business’s decisions. Even politics between two countries can have a big impact on decisions made by marketers.

In 2019, President Donald Trump increased the tariffs on Chinese goods to 25 percent. Several companies subsequently opted to pull their production facilities out of China. For example, Apple and Dell moved some of their production to Vietnam and other parts of Asia to avoid these tariffs.⁴¹

Education

Education impacts a consumer’s product and service choices. Generally speaking, the more educated an individual is, the more discretion they use when purchasing products.⁴² In other words, that person will spend more time researching various products before deciding which to purchase. Levels of education also effect an individual’s choices in magazines, television shows, and other entertainment.⁴³ Therefore, platforms, messages, and even specific words marketers choose for the promotion mix will depend on the level of education that the target market holds. Is the market tech savvy? If not, using technical words and messages may confuse a consumer who doesn’t understand the message.

Technology

The availability of technology within an international market will have several impacts on marketing efforts. First, the ability for consumers to access and use technology will directly impact the goods and services that are being marketed. Second, the company’s access to technology to produce goods and services within the country will also be impacted.

For example, Uganda has the second-youngest population in the world.⁴⁴ It is also ranks among the poorest countries in the world.⁴⁵ Because of this, someone may make the mistake of thinking that Uganda would not be a market to enter with technology, but this is far from true. While many citizens of Uganda live without electricity or running water, the country’s population of 45.74 million is estimated to own around 16 million cell phones, but only around 1 million homes have electric lights.⁴⁶ Due to the young population seeking to be more connected with others, the people of Uganda prioritize and are heavily reliant on their cell phones (see Figure 7.4).

But if there is limited electricity, how do Ugandans charge their cell phones? It has certainly been a challenge for many who have to share solar power with neighbors or travel to a nearby village that has electricity. However, the use of portable charging solutions has become more widespread. One company, Charge Ko Technologies, has turned this into an opportunity and created various portable charging solutions, including solar backpacks and energy generation through bicycle usage.⁴⁷ While some impoverished Ugandan consumers may not be able to afford these products, the company is hopeful that the wealthier will purchase enough to help bring the price down over time.

Figure 7.4 Cell phone use is widespread in Uganda because people prioritize connecting with other people, resulting in portable charging stations because electricity is a limited resource. (credit: Sarah Shepler, photographer)

Conducting a Cross-Cultural Analysis

When the Walt Disney Company decided to open Disneyland Hong Kong in 2005, the company struggled to gain momentum with its Chinese target market. Among other blunders, such as its high admission price, the company assumed that its Chinese market would love the Disney brand as much as Americans do. The company failed to realize that, unlike Americans, the Chinese did not grow up with the Disney brands and characters. Imagine walking into a fantasy theme park with characters you had never heard of or seen before. Unlike Americans, the Chinese do not view Disney characters as cultural icons. The fantasy aspect of the brand and park was another issue Disney faced. Its closest competitor, Ocean Park, provided visitors with real animals, educational material, and thrilling rides. The Asian market, which values education, found Disney’s high ticket prices with little educational value to be wasteful when the park initially opened.⁴⁸

Values

Cultural values are often unspoken. They include the aesthetics, socialization, and religious aspects woven throughout a culture. Consider the Disney example. Marketers stumbled with truly understanding the Chinese consumer culture when opening Disney Hong Kong by assuming that Chinese values were similar to those of Americans.

Customs and Cultural Symbols

Like other cultural values, customs are often unspoken. Customs consist of mannerisms or behaviors that are considered characteristics within a social system.⁴⁹ For example, in Spain, the afternoon siesta is a cultural custom. The siesta is an afternoon nap taken after the midday meal. Businesses will close for extended lunch breaks to allow employees to take their afternoon siesta.⁵⁰ If you are considering opening a business in Barcelona, you should expect to do the same!

Cultural symbols are physical representations of a culture’s language, values, and traditions. They include items such as flags, gestures, holiday decorations, and many others. For example, in China, the national animal is the giant panda, and it has significant cultural importance as a symbol.⁵¹ Similarly, the maple leaf is symbolic of Canada⁵² (see Figure 7.5).

Figure 7.5 Cultural symbols, like the Canadian maple leaf, are physical representations of a culture’s language(s), values, and traditions. (credit: “Vancouver B.C. – Canadian Flag ‘Maple Leaf’” by David Paul Ohmer/flickr, CC BY 2.0)

Language, Idioms, and Nuances

It may seem obvious, but even language differences play a large role in the marketer’s job as products and services are rolled out in international markets. Brands and product names may have one meaning in the home country and a completely different meaning in another language. For example, Nestlé had problems when rolling out its Gerber baby food in France because “Gerber” translates to “puke” in French. For obvious reasons, this didn’t appeal to French parents choosing food for their infants.⁵³

Nuances are words, phrases, or beliefs that vary slightly from one culture to another and can cause miscommunication in translation. For example, UK citizens use the word “jelly” to describe what people in the United States would call “Jell-O,” and they use the word “biscuit” for “cookie.”⁵⁴

Idioms are phrases used in a culture that mean something completely different. For example, if you hear someone say “break a leg” in the United States, it would mean “good luck.” However, using this idiom in another culture may leave the other person quite confused or even offended, thinking it was meant literally to go break their leg.⁵⁵ In Spanish-speaking cultures, the popular idiom “a lot of noise and no walnuts (mucho ruido y pocas nueces)” means “all talk and no action,” but it would have no meaning in the United States.⁵⁶

However, even idioms can become problematic within and across languages and cultures. In 2022, Lizzo, a world-renowned pop star, issued an apology and a rerelease of a song because she had used a culturally insensitive word that she was unaware of at the time of recording.⁵⁷