Marketing_Management_14th_Edition-min

TAPPING INTO GLOBAL MARKETS | CHAPTER 21 615
Marketers must look at country-of-origin perceptions from both a domestic and a foreign
perspective. In the domestic market, these perceptions may stir consumers’ patriotic notions or
remind them of their past. As international trade grows, consumers may view certain brands as
symbolically important in their own cultural heritage and identity.
Patriotic appeals underlie marketing strategies all over the world, but they can lack uniqueness
and even be overused, especially in economic or political crises. Many small businesses tap into
community pride to emphasize their local roots. To be successful, these need to be clearly local and
offer appealing product and service offerings. 86
Sometimes consumers don’t know where brands come from. In surveys, they routinely guess
that Heineken is German and Nokia is Japanese (they are Dutch and Finnish, respectively). Few
consumers know Häagen-Dazs and Estée Lauder originated in the United States.
With outsourcing and foreign manufacturing, it’s hard to know what the country of origin really
is anyway. Only 65 percent of the content of a Ford Mustang comes from the United States or
Canada, whereas the Toyota Sienna is assembled in Indiana with 90 percent local components.
Foreign automakers are pouring money into North America, investing in plants, suppliers, and
dealerships as well as design, testing, and research centers. But what makes a product more
“American”—having a higher percentage of North American components or creating more jobs in
North America? The two measures may not lead to the same conclusion. 87
Many brands have gone to great lengths to weave themselves into the cultural fabric of their foreign
markets. One Coca-Cola executive tells of a young child visiting the United States from Japan
who commented to her parents on seeing a Coca-Cola vending machine—“Look, they have Coca-
Cola too!” As far as she was concerned, Coca-Cola was a Japanese brand.
Even when the United States has not been that popular, its brands typically have been. One
recent study found that 70 percent of consumers in developing countries, ranging from
Argentina to the United Arab Emirates, felt local products weren’t as good as international
brands. 88 In Saudi Arabia, Kraft packaged cheese, Lay’s potato chips, and McDonald’s restaurants
were all viewed as top brands in their categories. As one marketer said of the study,
“Regardless of all the problems we have as a country, we are still looked to as the consumer
capital of the world.” 89
Companies can target niches to establish a footing in new markets. China’s leading maker of
refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners, Haier, is building a beachhead among U.S.
college students who loyally buy its mini-fridges at Walmart and elsewhere. Haier’s long-term
plans are to introduce innovative products in other areas, such as flat-screen TV sets and winecooling
cabinets. 90
China’s Haier has ambitious plans
to sell its many different appliances
in the United States and other
markets.