INTERNATIONAL BRANDING

AND POSITIONING

Prepared for:
Abu Yousuf Md Abdullah, PhD
Course Instructor: International Marketing
Professor
Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka

Prepared by:
Ayman Rahman
ZR-29
BBA 21st

Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka, Dhaka

30 March, 2016

INTRODUCTION
Nowadays a belief that a new era has begun seems to be dominating international societies the time of
globalizing political problems and above all economical ones is just beginning. There are obviously
countless characteristics, such as cultural ones, that influence a particular nations radiation around the
globe. However; observing the phenomenon taking place virtually in every aspect of life, one may see the
overwhelming globalization process. And here, strategies regarding international branding and
positioning come into play.
As cultural globalization accelerates in various domains of life including consumption, local culture is not
free from interactions with other cultures. Consumption patterns evolve as consumers are open to new
cultures due to the development of diffusion technologies such as the Internet. We witness global
consumer segments around the world whose values and practices are converging across territorial
boundaries while less influenced by their national cultures (Keillor, DAmico, and Horton 2001). Given the
growth of global consumer segments, marketers are faced with a choice of brand positioning strategies
regarding whether to position their brands to be associated with global culture, referred to as global
cultural positioning, or to position them to be associated with local culture, referred to as local cultural
positioning.

CULTURAL POSITIONING IN THE GLOBAL SCENARIO

Alden, Steenkamp, and Batra (1999) distinguished the global consumer cultural positioning strategy from
the local consumer cultural positioning strategy. They showed that a significant portion (over 20%) of
advertisements in a variety of countries, employed the global consumer cultural positioning strategy while
a greater portion of advertisements employed the local consumer cultural positioning strategy. Their
study suggests that certain cues of advertisements may be effective tools to build a global image of the
brand. However, the key to this marketing strategy is to identify consumers who are more responsive to
a global image being associated with the brand.
The process of cultural hybridization results in increased complexity in ideas and modes of thought and in
their externalization into practices in a society, and this cultural complexity leads to a multicultural identity
or hybrid identity, combining local culture and elements of the global culture (Arnett 2002; Hermans and
Kempen 1998). As a psychological consequence of cultural globalization, the self is subject to multiple
cultural identities, which are manifested in different ways across social contexts. In that sense, the
responsiveness to the values and practices rooted in the global culture depends on the interaction
between the self and cultural cues in a specific context.
For instance, Wang et al. (2000) found that, in the context of advertising appeals using the connectednessseparateness dimension, a connected appeal resulted in more favorable brand attitudes among Chinese
consumers and a separateness appeal resulted in more favorable brand attitudes among U.S. consumers.
However, the cultural-level persuasion effect was mediated by individual differences in self-concepts in
terms of connectedness-separateness.

INTERNATIONAL BRANDING
The recent surge in the globalization of markets in various industries has brought global brands to the
attention of consumers worldwide. Just as information connects consumers across geographical borders
in seconds, globalization is a common stream among many industries, which leads consumers to consume
locally but their purchasing decisions involve more global opportunities.
The intensity of competition across industries has tremendously increased in recent years. In this context,
most organizations have become more strategic and focused on simultaneously developing brand
strategies to obtain better positioning in their markets, increase their revenues, and explore potential
opportunities abroad. Regardless of their size or location, for most organizations the notion of brand has
gained a tremendous financial value over the last ten years, along with the internationalization process of
these brands. Companies are now competing for consumers worldwide and the playing field is not always
fair, as more prominent brands often easily build barriers to entry.
In addition, there are some inherent obstacles such as norms, legal constraints, hyper-competitive
environments or differences in consumption habits that may further hinder the brand internationalization
process.

PRODUCT STANDARDIZATION AND GLOBAL PRODUCT

During the past couple of years, integration processes and co-dependency as well as correlations in world
economy have become more and more significant. Also the development of worldwide access to the
Internet contributed to accelerate the globalization process. Due to the overwhelming globalization
process in the world economy, a new type of product has appeared on the market, the global products.
These are available in the same form almost all over the world.
One of the main strategic decisions that a firm internationalizing its products must make is the degree to
which it is going to standardize its products to particular markets. There are three basic strategies that
can be noticed on the international market,
1. Standardization Strategy
2. Adaptation Strategy
3. Diversification Strategy
Standardization is the entering of new markets (going global) with the virtually unchanged products. It
allows the company to decrease the unit production cost as well as distribution and marketing costs.
Moreover, standardization facilitates keeping the image of the company and\or product consistent.
Adaptation strategy involves customizing the product to requirements of new markets. Products are
adapted mainly due to the cultural differences and various technical standards. Adaptation is a form
midway through standardization and diversification. The diversification strategy includes offering distinct
products on different national markets. The main disadvantage of this strategy is the high cost of
implementation.

POSITIONING THE GLOBAL PRODUCT

Product positioning is crucial when it comes to operating in an international market. The term is
associated with marketing as well as strategic management. To position a product means to create its
concept and its image in order to establish a specific connotation in the minds of customers. A firm wants
to create such an image that will convince its target consumer to buy its products. Therefore, positioning
is not about changing the product itself; it is about creating the image that seems to fulfil the needs of the
client. Some elements of the product are changed so that the client will perceive it in a certain way.
Products are positioned to:
(1) Gain a dominant position on the market
(2) Extend brand Image
(3) Limit the existence of competitors on the market.
Global product characteristics are worldwide recognition and unmatched quality. The quality results in
unmatched functional value (such as durability, dependency and safety) as well as in securing clients
psycho-social needs (manifesting certain life-style, social status and ethnical belonging).

CONCLUSION
As the idea of global village comes to life, life-styles and the way of thinking of people all over the world
becomes similar. But their cultural differences make it vital for the brands to position themselves
accordingly. On the other hand, parallel needs of the customers all around the globe is the main reason
for international standardization of products and services. Product standardization and the unification of
consumer behavior trends has brought about the creation of a new group of products global products.
International branding and positioning along with standardization of products to ensure efficiency go
hand in hand. As there is an increasing demand for global products, producers can standardize their
offering. These goods are bought mainly by young people with cosmopolitan views. The globalization
processes, taking place in the world economy, has a great impact on market unification, consumer needs
unification and finally the unification of production. The global product is definitely one of the effects of
the globalization process as well the spread of a similar lifestyle demand resulting in similar requirements
of clients all over the world.

REFERENCES
Alden, Dana L., Jan-Benedict E. M. Steenkamp, and Rajeev Batra (1999), "Brand Positioning Through
Advertising in Asia, North America, and Europe: The Role of Global Consumer Culture," Journal of
Marketing, 63(January), 75-87.
Arnett, Jeffrey Jensen (2002), "The Psychology of Globalization," American Psychologist, 57(10), 774-783.
Punj, Girish and Junyean Mood (2002), "Positioning Options for Achieving Brand Association: A
Psychological Categorization Framework," Journal of Business Research, 55, 275-283.
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