Project 2

Project 2

Description:

Working internationally and/or inter-culturally challenges the advertising, public relations, or marketing executive to think outside his or her own cultural box. Some of the challenges include:

• finding research about consumers, competitors and the marketplace outside of North America and Western Europe,
• understanding local cultures and customs,
• understanding the importance of ethnicity, and
• building an integrated core of professional communicators that work with a common purpose, even if they come from different backgrounds—or are on different continents.

COMM 428C requirements include the completion of a final product, broken into two projects. Project 1 consisted of choosing a pair of countries and gathering information about those countries, which will be used in Project 2.

Project 2 is a continuation of Project 1, and consists of these 3 parts. Select one of the countries from Project 1. Then, you will prepare the following parts.

• Current advertising analysis
• Host country analysis
• Creative brief

The information from Project 1 will be used to create a market entry strategy and a creative brief.

Outline:

For the first part of your project, you need to choose a product or service that you would like to see travel beyond its current borders. Perhaps you think that Iceland needs a Cold Stone Creamery experience, or that Argentina would be a better place if P.F. Chang’s frozen entrees were on the menu. The choice is yours. Be sure to note the product and the country where you plan to “launch” it in the discussion board for the Project under General Housekeeping and Questions.

Part 1: Current advertising analysis

1. Situation of your company
   1. Present markets and goals
   2. What are the company’s current advantages in the marketplace?
   3. What does the company hope to achieve in the foreign market?
   4. What are the significant economic, political, legal, regulatory, demographic, technological, socio-cultural, and/or competitive trends currently affecting your company or industry? How will these affect your ability to develop foreign markets?
2. Product analysis
   1. What consumer needs does your product satisfy? How, if at all, are these needs related to culture?
   2. How do current consumers compare to those in the market you will be entering?
3. Communications analysis
   1. Analyze the product’s current marketing campaign, both in traditional and non-traditional media. For this you can use database sources, industry trade sources (such as Advertising Ageor Media Week) and any corporate sources you can find.
   2. How does the marketing reflect home-country values? Which values do you see most closely associated with the current campaign?

Part 2: Host Country Analysis

1. Introduction (general information about the country)
2. General economic environment
   1. Current trends and statistics (GNP, per capita income, income distribution)
   2. Do you consider the environment positive or negative from a consumer standpoint?
   3. What is the country’s international economic position?
3. Political environment
   1. What is the current government? Is it stable? Is it vulnerable?
   2. What is the government attitude toward private business?
   3. What political forces are active in the country (strikes, regional antagonisms, terrorist groups, etc.)? How might this affect doing business there?
4. Regulatory environment
   1. Does the government have policies that favor local firms?
   2. What requirements or limits exist for the use of different media by advertisers?
   3. Does the government impose restrictions on advertising content?
   4. Do certain products (tobacco, alcohol) have rules for advertising?
   5. Does the government restrict the use of foreign advertising materials?
   6. What effects do regulations have on the use of different forms of sales promotion and IMC materials?
5. Socio-cultural environment
   1. Language(s)
   2. Religion(s)
   3. Social stratification
   4. Who are the main opinion leaders?
   5. Educational system
   6. Does the culture have any unique art or aesthetic preferences (national icons, artistry, traditions)?
   7. What are the most important sub-cultures (youth, ethnic minorities, etc.)?
   8. Hofstede’s variables: How does the country compare with the home market in terms of IDV, MAS, PD, and UAI? How do you think this may impact advertising?
6. Advertising agency environment
   1. What is the nature and intensity of competition in the country?
   2. Does advertising have a long history in the country? Is it acceptable?
   3. Describe the best-known ad agencies. Is there a national advertising association?
7. Media availability
   1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the major media in the country (TV, radio, newspaper, magazine, online)
   2. Are any media unavailable to advertisers?
   3. Does the country have any unique advertising opportunities?
   4. Media costs
8. Market and audience information
   1. Are media audited? Are statistics available?
   2. What is the level of market research in the country? Can you find sources for research?
   3. Is the government a source of information for markets and audiences?
9. Best market entry strategy, based on what you know about the country.

Part 3: Creative Brief

1. What is the situation (problem/opportunity that is the basis for your campaign)?
2. Why are we advertising? (What are the communication objectives that we hope to accomplish with this advertising? What should the target know, feel, or do after exposure to this campaign?)
3. Whom are we talking to (primary and secondary target audience)?
4. What do we know about the target that could help us? (Demographics? Psychographics? Relationship we want to develop with the product? What is the relationship between our target and our competition?)
5. What is the larger cultural framework for this communication? (What’s the “common sense” understanding of the world that we can employ to make our point?)
6. Who and what are we competing against?
7. What are the communication problems we are trying to solve?
8. The creative execution
   1. Creative strategy (What is the position we want the brand to occupy in the consumer’s mind?)
   2. Brand image (What personality will we give the brand to underscore our positioning?)
   3. Promise (What are the features and/or benefits we want to convey?)
   4. Tone and manner (What is the visual or verbal “voice” we will use to underscore our brand’s image?)
   5. Tagline/logo

*NB—Thumbnails are optional for this assignment, but if they help you convey your idea, they may be included

Resources:

There are many resources available to you, which are located throughout the course and are accessible by clicking the Library Resources link in the left menu.

• Ads of the World
• Advertising Research Guide
• COMM428C Library Course Guide
• Statistics and Data Research Guide
• International Trade Research Guide
• Marketing Research Guide
• Public Relations Research Guide