Question

marketing mistakes by companies who do not do their homework when creating marketing campaigns without consideration to different cultures, memes, and beliefs of those in the U.S. and around the world.

Share your findings. What company made the mistake? What was the outcome? Do you believe this mistake cause the company harm or loss of finances? Why/Why not? What would you suggest to marketers who are considering on creating marketing promotions on a global level?

Answer 1

Marketing is an activity of companies/corporations for creating, communicating, exchanging offerings that in turn create value for customers. And as a human being we behaviourially respond to our buying habit which are any way related to our cultural and belief.  

So a company/corporation has to look into the regional cultural aspect and value-belief system before communicating to its target audience otherwise it may prove to be an inert or sometime financially fatal exercise.

Marketing activity must have an appealing effect on its target audience not a repelling one. And in case if companies do mistake while communicating properly may have to face double whammy in form of waste of marketing expenditure, endeavor and in form of Revenue loss.  

For example, Consumer related companies, mostly in Fast Moving Consumer Goods FMCG, wherein companies we find Advertisement expenditure forms a large part of total expenditure and these companies creates a perception about there products into the mind of consumer and to retain them they continue to invest in Advertisement on continuing basis.

Coca Cola : When Coca Cola entered Chinese market they named their product that when pronounced sounds like "Coca Cola" but the characters used to form meant "Bite the Wax Tadpole" . When Company realized their mistake then later company changed it to character which means " Happiness in Mouth" .

This adv. caused a state of confusion about the product and carried a wrong meaning in the mind of consumer and loss of reputation of such a big corporation which is in anyway a loss to the whole exercise of marketing.

Therefore to understand a market is to understand the people's culture and belief system and a thorough analysis of Demography and its behavior in depth. And the marketing exercise should be in sync with local socio-cultural so that it may appeal to the target audience.