The Negative Effects of Forcing Western Culture on Other Countries When Marketing Products
A "shrinking world" does not just mean that you can reach the other side of the globe in 24 hours using air travel; it also means that people in far-off places have access to the same products that we have in the U.S. and, if they do not have those products, they can view them in U.S. television shows, movies or commercials. The citizens of a developing country can attach importance to a product just as a typical U.S. teenager can. Companies that actively market products in other countries should be knowledgeable of cultural sensitivities and norms.
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Historical Cases
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Consider the resources available, such as clean water, when marketing products for consumption, such as baby formula. According to Joseph Sclafani, President of Change Management Associates International in Washington, D.C., product marketing is never culturally neutral. "To the extent that marketing messages reflect a characteristically Western focus on individual gratification, upper class lifestyles, and material consumption, they can have negative impacts in a non-Western setting," says Sclafani. "Local products may be abandoned for more expensive imports that are promoted as status-enhancing, or as somehow more modern." Sclafani points to the marketing of infant formula as a desirable substitute for mother's milk in developing countries where the unavailability of clean water for the formula mix contributes to higher levels of infant sickness and even death.
The "Product" of Fast Food
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The proliferation of fast-food restaurants in developing countries is a marketing success, but not necessarily a cultural one. The introduction and promotion of Western fast-food chains may capture a large segment of the convenience food market from a country's traditional street food vendors -- vendors who may be their family's sole source of income. In addition, it may also fuel a worrying increase in obesity in the urban population. Each instance of a Western fast-food brand appearing along a culturally rich street is considered by some to be a flagrant display of Western influence -- and money -- crowding our local eateries, vendors and cultures.
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Religious Norms and Customs
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Respect each country's religious values and norms when marketing products that could upset their religious leaders. If you, as a product marketer, merely view another country as an untapped market without researching religious traditions and values or seeking advice from influential religious leaders, you could be in for disastrous consequences. Personal or health products in particular may be viewed with skepticism by religious leaders wary of having western values forced on the population. In some countries, social marketers who have marketed condoms to prevent HIV infection encountered riots and even death threats against both them and indigenous staff. Volatile situations that arise may not exist in isolation -- they could have far-reaching and even diplomatic repercussions.
Customs and Meanings
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Work with indigenous professionals for the best product marketing experience and chance for success. Even if your product is not controversial, do not engage in marketing in a country without an insider's perspective on cultural customs and norms. Packaging shapes and types, certain colors, logos and translated brand names or taglines can potentially offend customs and values. Your intention may be to bring the benefits of a quality, Western-made product to another country, but that intention can be seen as paternalistic and overbearing. Neglecting the necessary research before marketing Western products can make it difficult for other companies to follow you, and thus deny important products to a population that may need them.
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References
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