Charles F Keown

Cross‐cultural Colour Comparisons: Global Marketers Beware!

The Luscher colour test is used to compare colour associations in China, South Korea, Japan and the United States. Respondents were asked which colour they associate with words such as expensive, happy, love and dependable. They were also asked to relate the colours to countries, such as Italy and France; institutions, such as restaurants and theatres; and product packages, such as a soft drink label and a box of headache remedy. The findings show that, while some colours seem to show cross‐cultural consistency, other colours, such as purple and grey, hold opposite meanings in different cultures.

Information Content of Advertising in the United States, Japan, South Korea, and the People's Republic of China

The results of this four country-four media study indicate that different countries/cultures have varying degrees of information cues in their advertising. Broadcast media (television and radio) have lower information content than do print media (magazine and newspaper) in all countries. Overall, the average number of cues per advertisement for all four countries was: 3.10 for magazine, 2.91 for newspaper, 2.14 for television, and 2.05 for radio. The study found that the information content (number of cues) and the type of cues varied by media within each country. This implies that international advertisers need to consider their strategies in developing advertising themes for various target audiences in different countries.

Combating Parallel Importing: Views of US Exporters to the Asia‐Pacific Region

Twenty‐nine per cent of US exporters to the Asia‐Pacific region reported that their exclusive/sole agents were experiencing problems with parallel imports. Nearly 41 per cent of the US exporters surveyed had experienced parallel distribution problems in the past. Exporters to the Asia‐Pacific region judged the relative merit of eleven strategies to combat parallel distribution. The strategy perceived to be most effective was to refuse orders from non‐appointed agents. Four strategies were perceived to be somewhat effective: namely, price reductions, special promotional allowances, recognition of warranties only on products sold by the appointed agent, and specially labelled products.

Advertising Practices in Northern Europe

Advertisers of the leading brands of consumer goods were surveyed in Great Britain, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and West Germany. The study found that Northern European advertisers generally follow worldwide patterns in their practices of budgeting, timing, creative approaches and measures of effectiveness. However, there were two major differences, namely: allocation of the budget by media, and agency compensation. Due to the absence of major commercial broadcast media, less money is spent on TV and radio advertising. This results in a more frequent use of the fee‐for‐service form of payment and less commissions from the media to compensate advertising agencies.

Transnational Advertising-to-Sales Ratios: Do They Follow the Rules?

Data obtained from 484 advertisers in 15 countries follow some of the propositions of Farris and Albion (1981) regarding advertising-to-sales (A/S) ratios. In agreement with the proposed rules, transnational A/S ratios were higher (a) for brands with smaller market shares and (b) for non-durable products (beers, cigarettes, petrol, detergents, pain relievers, shampoos, soft drinks, toothpastes) than durable products (cars, cameras, televisions, watches). The results were inconclusive regarding the relationship of A/S ratios with product price, frequency of purchase, and market size. There was no support for the proposition that larger numbers of brands are associated with higher A/S ratios.