The usual lexicon, a quick review, a wonderful video on language problems in Latin America (sing along: its fun). A note about your visits to an ethnic business, and readings for Tuesday. Don't forget you have a UN social marketing case (introduction and Kenya) for Tuesday. I'll ask you guys to identify a couple key points from that reading, and we'll discuss something about Global Integrated Communications, too. Watch that video: pick one one or more terms that vary across Latin America. I'll be asking about that~
Your fieldnotes from visits to local stores
I'd like one (or, okay, two if you like: but no more) paragraphs. Please EMAIL these to me. I prefer if these little "field note" reports are in the body of the email but if you've already sent an attachment that's okay. Instructions were in prior day's blog.
Some Lexicon
CRM: customer relations management
Content: what you put IN your social media; no content, no visitors, no relationship.
Verticals: audiences and products (the basketball vertical, in sportswear, for Totto)
Precision: how wide are your "error bars" (for example, punctuality)
Specific vs. Diffuse communication style: do you "get right down to business" (specific) or do you chat about the weather, your family, and the latest football game first?
You can view a little article on culture and business strategy drawn from an interview with Indy, here:
http://robfields.com/2013/06/19/povs-on-cultural-leadership-indy-neogy/
Quick Review: you papers, Monica, and Indy
• Your Africa papers: some of you came up with some novel ideas, and some controversial ideas that are worth exploring, including:
- Including parents as the target for your marketing efforts
- Understanding that Africa is NOT a country: there is amazing diversity in values and daily life, there.
- Consider how you market to men versus women: how will they be different? Find out!
- It was suggested that women are crucial in marketing safer-sex messages because "women may be in control and can demand that her partner use a condom." In fact, is this true? We know that a big problem in some situations has been this very idea: there is a stigma for women's condom use in some cultures. "Why are you requesting this? Where have you been? Should I be worried?" may be the very public response, shaming the woman and working against condom use. While this is not always the scenario, it can be in some places. The key: find out, first!
Monica Bursztyn and Social Media
Moni works as a contractor with Totto (www.totto.com), a major player in backpacks, luggage, and sportswear in Latin America, Spain, and Portugal. She talked about the importance of having content, and that there are 20 regional offices in different national settings, each one has a social media manager trained to manage and maintain the relationship marketing that happens on facebook, twitter, and other social networking platforms. She talked about the value and importance of having a customer database to allow the company to move to genuine relationships with their consumers. This gets started by using things like promotional contests for concert tickets to get people engaged, obtain their contact information, and begin sharing product ideas with them.
ONe big current channel is to open an online store, They are piloting in Spain, where awareness of this channel is higher than in Latin America then they'll blow it out to a bigger more important part of their offering in Latin America.
One issue: language differences in different countries. Originally they started using English names in their international marketing. In Colombia, this is not a bad idea: people like the "halo" associated with English. In other places, no so much. And words for "backpack" and "cap" differ in different countries. She told us there are around 10 words for backpack, and they are not shared across borders very much. A "cachucha" is a gorra in Mexico, but it is a woman's "intimate parts," she said, in some other countries (I believe she said Chile and Argentina).
Here's an example, in Spanish, (now with subtitles) of what she is talking about. Watch it all. These two guys have had a jillion hits with this video, and its worth the watch.
Indy Neogy and Cross-Cultural Communication in Business
Indy is a brand consultant. He talked about intercultural communication in three dimensions:
Your brand communication: making it fit local realities and understandings.
Team communication: working across cultures in dynamic, international teams.
Interpersonal communication: one on one, what trips people up.
On brand communication, he mentioned laundry products and how the emotional benefits or brand positioning are communicated. For American women, its about persona satisfaction, doing a good job. For Latin American markets, its more often about maintaining a happy, functioning family. One focus is individual; one is group; reflecting local (or regional) cultural norms.
Two big take-aways from Indy (and really, you all need to READ that book!)
• When stress levels go UP, people revert to their most comfortable home culture.
This can cause conflict as people assign blame: "this person was so late [their sense of "error bars" about what "on time" means was different). When stress happens, cultural problems tend to be viewed as insult, as not caring, as a lack of commitment. It is not about that.
Indy suggests making those differences explicit and setting up a set of guidelines and expectations—making your own min-culture if you want to think of this that way. It won't eliminate the problems, but helps team members recognize them for what they are.
• Pay attention to power relations. If you are selling a big offer to a culturally different client, you should not expect them to bend to your cultural norms. Instead, you have to figure out what their norms are, and accommodate as best you can.
Review of Pricing: the L/C
I want everyone to know what a L/C is and how it is used.
You can have the best marketing and communication strategy in the world, but if you can't get paid for your product, its game over.
Here's a PowerPoint (and its on the left, too) in .pdf format: just three pages. It is based on pages 318 to 321 in Keegan. This is important stuff!
MIssed a Quiz? Do Loreal or another Africa Social Marketing CaseFollow the syllabus to find a case to read and use the guidelines in the syllabus to send me an email about the case. Loreal or one of the other countries listed in the Africa and HIV/Social Marketing best practices .pdf document may be used.
Reading for Next Week
In Keegan, review by Thursday: Integrated Marketing Communications
Be sure to note figure 13-3. How you collect information on the effectiveness of all your communication strategies is critical: that's what Monica's presentation lays the groundwork for—discovering what works with your consumers or customers. Just read to page 371 (you don't have to read beyond "using data to drive business value."
See you Thursday! Questions? Drop me a line.
Gracias!
Ken
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