The exchanges globalization brings opportunities to companies, but also challenges. The standardization of certain aspects of the everyday life as for example the cinema or the restoration, does not exfoliate the differences between the cultures. People like their culture, and their roots. The local consumers want to mark their difference. They want to continue to choose according to their culture and their history. Some companies adapt their promotion strategy for meeting the needs of a specific population.
For this study we will see the example of Kit-Kat, for judging if this multinational adapts itself to the culture of each country. In order to answer this question we will see in a first part an analysis of three advertisements of different countries, then a video case in Japan. And finally a comparison between these two types of strategy. I- Analyze of the commercials according to the country In order to see if Kit-Kat adapts according to the various countries in which it markets, we will see the decoding of three advertisements taking place in India, England and in the United States.
Two characteristics are very quickly noticeable in these three advertisements. First of all the actors playing inside are people who come from the country where advertisements are spread. Furthermore, the language or the accents are also adapted to each country. a- The Indian commercial The first commercial takes place in India. The scene takes place in a park, two men relax when one of them sees squirrels dancing. The squirrels begin dancing and singing as in the famous Bollywood movies which are one of the prides of the Indian culture.
The choreography results from the Indian dance, the music is also completely typical of the Indian culture, and the theme (love) is also traditional in this king of movies. In this advertisement, the main dominants are the nature with the animals, and the calm. Which remind us the Indian culture. b- The English commercial For the advertising in England, the scene is in a supermarket. We can see a cashier repeating the same gestures, and who really seems to unlike his work. Moreover, it is said in the ad “Working like a machine?? Have a break have a Kit-Kat “.
This advertising shows the stress and annoys which can be feeling at work. This advert shows Kit-Kat as the necessary break for the workers. It also reflects how current consumers want to choice how they spend their breaks. This advert uses humor maybe for showing that people work too much and behave as machines. c- The American commercial Finally, the promotion in United States. It begins under the shape of an American rap video clip. All the stereotypes are gathered, black singer, sport car, chain around the neck, girl… It is the typical image of the American rap clip that is spreads on MTV.
But in reality we are in a cleaner imagination who certainly dreams to become a star. We can see in this advertisement that the man wishes another life, which could be interpreted as the wish of the American dream. II- The Japanese case a- A tactic based on the national culture In this bief viedo case on Nestle in Japan it is possible to see the importance of Kit Kat in this country. Indeed, there is a real craze for the brand. This enthusiasm can be partially explain with the link between the name of the famous chocolate bar and the expression ” kitto katsu ” which means ” surely win “.
Nestle has launched an advertising campaign leaning on the Japanese tradition which is to send wishes cards to wish good luck to the students in exam period. Nestle has developed the possibility of buying the Kit-Kat cards for this occasion in the post offices. Kit Kat associated its product with a Japanese tradition to create a relevant and unique message. In Japan, people send wishes to the students for they succeed in their examinations entrance to colleges. Kit Kat created a customizable postcard which we can send by post as a normal letter and which is available in 20 000 post offices in all the country.
This operation joins a series of campaigns on the examinations occasion which already exists since 2003. Nestle has succeeded to make enter in the habits the fact to offer a multitude of Kit Kat to wish “good luck”. Nestle has very well encircled the Japanese culture and rites. Indeed, the Japanese culture is based on solidarity. Lucky charm has a crucial importance as well as to offer presents which constitutes an important rite. b- And on the regionalism Furthermore, Kit Kat bet on the regionalism, by adapting its products to the various Japanese areas.
So Kit Kat answers the growing demand of local products, without forgetting that, these limited editions, about which the Japanese are crazy, are also the opportunity to sell memories to the tourists of the visited region. Each flavor is only sold in the region for which it has been created, a distribution strategy that has turned limited edition Kit Kat packages into coveted memories for domestic travelers. This is very judicious in a country like Japan. In fact, Japanese love travel and bring back memories from their trip. III- Kit Kat strategies Use the culture of a country can be source of comparative advantage.
The national identity and the image of a country are important characteristics which are crucial for the company strategy to do not deny. Cultural assumptions regarding external adaptation are particularly relevant in term of strategy. In the present case we can observe two different strategies in terms of adaptation. Kit Kat did not choose the standardization of its communication which consists to use a single strategy for all the targeted national markets, without the other difference than the translation. However the adaption between India, England, US, and Japan is not the same. – The strategy for India, England and United-States For the case of those countries, the brand chose to realize small adaptations. In fact, when we watch the three advertisements we can notice that even if they are different according to the country, colors are the same, the product, the packaging, as well as the slogan. They are also all based on the humor. The conveyed message is also the same; to have the perfect break. This strategic choice can be explained by the universality of certain needs and certain products as well as by the strong internationalization of behavior and certain values.
This strategy allows creating a uniform image of the company in the word. In fact, the advertisings are base on a standard concept. However this small adaption can contain risks as differences of motivations in the consumption of the same product but also to make cultural errors in one of the targeted countries. b- The Japanese strategy With the Japan video we observe that in this country Kit Kat reinvented the concept and also adapted the products. And in spite of an incredibly aggressive retail market the brand has succeeded to be in first position in this country.
Kit Kat has wanted to use the Japanese tradition with cards proposed by the brand. Furthermore, Kit Kat goes farther by taking into account the cultural differences between regions. For the Japanese case, Kit Kat chose to adapt totally its strategy to the local culture. So the company increases its chances to better meet the expectations of the local consumers. Furthermore, as we can see in the video the local image is excellent which can be explain by the fact Kit Kat takes into account the specific needs of the local market. There is however in this strategy an inconvenience.
In that case, the specialization is very high and can thus be very expensive because it does not create economies of scale. Conclusion: To conclude, Nestle chose to adapt its advertising campaigns in each countries in which the company is presents. However we notice a difference in the culture consideration in the promotion. Indeed, contrary to the other countries seen in this report, the adaptation of the brand in Japan is total. It perfectly uses the culture and the customs of this country and even adapted its products according to the region.
The success is total. The use of those two strategies may be explain by the fact that the culture is now witnessing two opposing , yet simultaneously occurring and reinforcing movements: the homogenization and heterogenization of culture. However, even if certain lifestyles are closer between India England and the United States, the cultural differences are also important. So, we can wonder according to success in Japan, why Kit Kat does not spread the strategy of the total adaptation to the other countries.
