Jee Won Lee
Word Count – 1917 / PIN - E10664
Global Advertisements Going Glocal – Asia
Jee Won Lee
Ⅰ. Introduction Advertisements are everywhere. They are on bill boards, buses, subway stations, newspapers, and TVs. Through these media, consumers are readily exposed to new culture and foreign values. Advertisements have challenged consumers with various messages after arrivals of Transnational Corporations (TNCs) in the last several decades. Most TNCs were perceived to provide advanced technology and luxurious goods. Ever since, both TNCS and domestic companies have gone into rigorous advertisement competitions. True understanding of local culture was one major tool of advertising. With successful cases of companies using local advertisements, TNCs have begun to realize that understanding local taste may help them go local and global at the same time, deriving the term, “glocal.” In this respect, I argue that contemplating the engagement of cultural forms in economic progress is best by using advertisements catered to local taste. Rather than changing the products in accordance with different local tastes, using efficient marketing approach will not only be contemplating cultural forms, but also costeffective. I will carefully review the existing theories and claims using the cases in Asia, particularly by Korea, Japan, and the West. Ⅱ. Advertisements Going Local Like Bartlett and Goshal‟s „evolving mentality‟ of a true globalization, a corporation is said to pass over international, multinational, global mentality and at last the transnational stage. Localizing is categorized in the global mentality. This stage is not yet perceived as a „true‟ globalization or transnational. However, I argue that when advertisements are trying to reach the world, there is no purely shared „one common value.‟ Becoming globalized by individuals means to digest new values from foreign countries in their own way. Even democracy has changed its form to fit individual countries. Global advertisements that helped set up new ideas and cultures are best described to evidence the active engagement of localities. 1
Jee Won Lee
Also, according to Kotabe and Helsen, advertising has gone through five major stages of development: domestic, export, international, multi-national, and global. For global advertisers, there are four business objectives that must be balanced when developing worldwide advertising: building a brand while speaking one voice, developing economies of scale in the creative process, maximizing local effectiveness of ads, and increasing the companyâ€&#x;s speed of implementation. Besides, one of the main three global advertising executions is to produce local executions (Kotabe & Helsen, 2004). While the objective of a company is to speak with one voice, the way of attracting local consumers around the globe is a different issue. To do this and increase sales, they may efficiently spread their voice using the tool of locally adapted advertisements. 1. Going Local from Korea There are cases around the world where foreign products have lost their market share due to less understanding of locals than do the domestic companies. In case of Korea, advertisements of foreign printers like Hewlett Packard or Epson had lost against Samsung Ink Jet Printers when Samsung set a “My Jetâ€? advertisement using Jun, Ji Hyun since 1999. Jun, Ji Hyun is a Korean icon who has the mystical Korean look(ShinBi) and furthermore a universal mystical oriental look that can represent the whole of Asia. She has an image of long straight black hair with not much protruding appearance. While it may have been a trend for the Asians to long for white skin and pale skin, big eyes, long nose and slim face of an occidental look, Jun, Ji Hyun was able to bring back the reminiscent Korean look. Through the advertisement, Samsung had an annual Ink Jet Printer market share of 39.3% and its highest peek for the first quarter of 2000 market share of 44.0 %. Not only did Samsung maximize its profit through the advertisement but brought the Korean mentality back in the mass media. After observing failures of foreign companies to compete with domestic companies who successfully attracted local consumers using the mystical oriental look, Olympus followed suit to use Jun, Ji Hyun in 2001 and hit number one sales until 2004. However, after their contract was expired in 2004, Olympus has not sought for more aggressive local advertisement. Olympus resulted in the fall of share market to rank number four.
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Global Initiatives Symposium in Taiwan 2009
Olympus had lost competition in engaging the customers with more Korean friendly images than did domestic companies like Samsung. Although foreign brands may look more high tech and luxurious in general perceptions, the luxurious brand image itself did not win over aggressive local advertisements. Samsung certainly benefited from the “Jun, Ji Hyun effect,” that is, the preference of Koreans over “Pureness(Chung Soon).” Similarly, AmorePacific, a Korean beauty product since the 1960s, had gone local in France with their advertisement for a perfume based on Lolita Lempicka. Lolita Lempicka now has a constant market share of ranking fourth place in the fragrance industry. Lolita was designed by a French designer, Lolita Lempicka, known for emphasizing modern feminine beauty and sexy downtown styles. First, the fragrance of the perfume was mainly researched by the AmorePacific R&D sector. Except the fragrance‟s invention by Korean researchers, they used dominantly French looking models that were easily approachable to French women. Because it is difficult to define a universal beauty look after all, AmorePacific looked for a model with brunette and tanned skin wearing a whole French look. They used French decision makers in the execution of advertisements on billboards, magazine, newspapers and TV commercials. Because of French women‟s liking over luxuries, advertisements presented extreme luxurious purple image for the perfume. AmorePacific‟s advertisement in France was a success in applying their understanding of local culture to their advertisements. Their shares had steadily increased and finally reached to the top five perfumes in 2003 selling €47 million. However, AmorePacific had to experience failure before the successful Lolita Lempicka. They used the language Soon Jeong(pureness) shortened to Soon and implemented the Soon Jeong or Shin Bi image in advertisements. AmorePacific used French women as their models for advertisements but with more of Korean culture and values imprinted(http://www.reportshop.co.kr). The Shin Bi or Soon Jeong ads presented to French women confused them. It was difficult to understand. The Asian look did not work. With the proven failure of launching exotic messages in other countries, having one voice with non-local adaptation of advertisement certainly did not work.
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Bliss or Misery? Contemplating the Engagement of Cultural Forms and Economic Progress
Jee Won Lee
2. Going Local from Japan Japan is also a country which takes after localization in order to become globalized. Iwabuchi refers the term „cultural odor‟ to the way in which cultural features of a country origin and images or ideas, often stereotypical, of its way of life are associated with a particular product in the consumption process. On the other hand, Non-Japaneseness is referred to Mukokuseki. It literally means lacking any nationality of any entity, but which is also used to refer to the erasure of racial or ethnic characteristics and contexts from a cultural product. Japan also took advertising that did not include Japaneseness. Even internationally acclaimed Japanese animation director of The Ghost in the Shell Oshii Mamoru suggests that Japanese animators and cartoonists unconsciously choose not to draw realistic Japanese characters when they wish to draw attractive characters. Best epitomized by Japan‟s Shiseido market strategy. Shiseido fully uses the Pureness image throughout Asia using Asian looking models while utilizing the sexy and modern look throughout Europe and the US. Shiseido used the Holly Wood figure Angelina Jolie as their main model throughout the US and European countries. The luxuriousness and boastfulness have appealed once more to the Europe and the US. This type of pattern of advertisement is similar to that of the AmorePacific advertisements. Both Shiseido and AmorePacific used different modeling for their advertisement in order to satisfy local consumer‟s taste. 3. Going Local from the West to Asia To further the case, many TNCs founded in the US or European Countries changed their advertisements into more rigorously adapting local culture. For instance, Chanel, Lancome and other beauty industries are using local adaptation method in advertisement. Hwang exposed many series of cases where local adaptation of advertisements occurred. Actress Lee, Mi-yeon was chosen as the face of Lancome Korea and represented the French cosmetics company with Ines Sastre and Elizabeth Jagger throughout 2005. Maybelline New York was the first to feature a Korean celebrity as a model, designating K-pop singer BoA in its advertisements and commercials. Swiss watchmaker Rado took a step further hiring Shinhwa, the previous
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Global Initiatives Symposium in Taiwan 2009
Korean high teen boy-band, as a model for Asia. In Shanghai, actress Choi, Ji-woo was invited to walk down the runway for Christian Dior`s press presentation to showcase 2005 spring/summer collection. It was Dior Asia Pacific`s first regional presentation and also featured other Asian actresses Cecilia Cheung, Vivian Hsu and Li Xiao-ran. What‟s more, Choi Ji-Woo-Chanel Sneakers was invented especially for Asia (Hwang). Likewise, using the dominant culture is also an efficient way. HanLyu(Korean Wave), a Korean term for “Koreanization,” is recently one mainstream in the regions of Asia in the last half decade. Korean dramas like Dae-Jang Keum, Winter Sonata, and Full House contributed to the growth of HanLyu. HanLyu was able to attract foreign tourists in Korea with 11.3% increase of a total number of 86,399 tourists. Also, Korean exports increased its sales throughout Asia as a whole. With the understanding of currently dominant HanLyu, TNCs and domestic companies throughout Asia have followed using Korean celebrities or images for advertising. Becoming glocalized not only refers to the meaning of advertisements adapting to domestic cultures but also quickly adapting to the change and influx of culture that is dominant in various regions. It was yet another extension of a culture and value like HanLyu imprinted in global advertisements in the influence of local consumers. Ⅲ. Strategic Advertising Advertising research skills is a key to determine the success of an advertisement in any country or region. The fine ability to identify which elements and moments of an advertisement that contributes to its success allows economies of scale to maximize. Market research measures, such as flow of attention, flow of emotion and branding moments provide insight into what is working in an advertisement in any country or region because the measures are based on the visual, not verbal, elements of the ad (Young). Notably was the case of Korea, Japan and the West. They realized pursuing only one voice throughout different cultures does not work. Varied Global advertisements in accordance with local tastes were tools to maximize companies‟ economies of scale and to truly intricate with local consumers. Simple use of local models or celebrities was proven efficient in case of Korea. This was not simply an exploitation of superficial advertisements but an extension of
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Bliss or Misery? Contemplating the Engagement of Cultural Forms and Economic Progress
Jee Won Lee
the culture of Korean Shin Bi and Soon Jeong reflected in advertisements. The Spread of HanLyu let global advertisements from TNCs use Koreanness in their convenience throughout Asia. Ⅳ. Conclusion Korea, Japan and the West are successful cases that becoming local is one way to process their economic gains. Despite theories of Bartlett and Goshal of „evolving mentalities‟ in how to become a true transnational or global entity, going glocal is distinctively evidenced by the fact that companies have blended their values into the locals. Local advertisements are a mixture of the voice of the company and the local culture. This is a new paradigm of global advertising to go local but does not literally mean “local.” It is the procedure of the global actors actively interacting with local consumerism patterns. The flexible blending of glocal advertising between one voice of the company and local consumerism can best be described to contemplate the engagement of cultural forms and economic progress.
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Global Initiatives Symposium in Taiwan 2009
References Bartlett, Christopher A., and Sumantra Ghoshal. 2000. Transnational Management. (Third Edition) Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill. Hwang, Y. M. (Jan. 10th, 2005). Foreign luxury brands beckon Korean entertainers. Korean Herald. Retrieved March 28th, 2009 From http://news.naver.com/news/read.php?mode=LSD&office_id=044&article_id=00 00048545&section_id=108&menu_id=108 5.21/2007 Iwabuchi, K. 2004. Chapter 4. How “Japanese” is Pokemon?, in Pikachu’s global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokemon. Tobin, Joseph (ed.). Durham: Duke University Press (pp. 53-79). Kotabe, M. & Helsen, K. 2004. Global marketing Management, 3rd Edition. Temple Univ. and Hong Kong Univ. of Science and Technology ©. Young, Charles E. 2005. The Advertising Research Handbook. Ideas in Flight. Seattle, WA.
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Bliss or Misery? Contemplating the Engagement of Cultural Forms and Economic Progress
Jee Won Lee
Global Initiatives Symposium in Taiwan 2009