Consumer Perspectives on Standardization, Essay Example

In “Consumer Perspectives on Standardization in International Advertising: A Student Sample,” researchers Klaus Backhaus, Katrin Muhlfeld, and Jenny Van Doorn propose that certain elements or portions of international advertising should be standardized and that in order to accomplish this goal, the elements that should be standardized must be based on the perspective or viewpoint of the consumer, in this instance, international students, a huge economic group which on a global basis is one of the prime targets for advertising campaigns. This proposition stands well in today’s global advertising environment in which visuals and images play a major role in convincing a young person to purchase a particular product or service. As Backhaus, Muhlfeld, and Van Doorn point out, current research on print advertisements, such as found in magazines and newspapers, has shown that “visual aspects exert the most significant influence on the perceived similarity of advertising” (53). What this refers to is that certain visual cues and images in advertising are homogenous or recognizable in all cultures in relation to their message.

What Exactly is Standardization?

The most important area discussed by the authors of this article is of course standardization which as an advertising term by definition remains unclear. This also holds true concerning the small amount of research that has been done on what elements of an advertisement must be standardized from the perspective of the consumer; after all, it is “their purchasing behavior that should be influenced positively by the use of standardized advertising” (Backhaus, Muhlfeld, & Van Doorn 54). But what exactly is standardized advertising (or in this case global standardization) in relation to images and visual cues? According to Crystal Vogt, global standardization in the world of advertising is a “type of marketing strategy (that) conforms to work across different cultures and countries to promote a product” (“What is Global Standardization in Marketing?”). For instance, a company that markets or advertises soft drinks via global standardization may find it difficult to sell their products in a specific country, due to differences in perception related to the message of a particular advertisement. But for some international companies, this is not true. Vogt provides a good example with Coca-Cola which utilizes “relatively standard brands, formulations, packaging, positioning and distribution in its global markets” (“What is Global Standardization in Marketing?”), an approach that certainly has paid off, due to Coca-Cola being one of the most popular soft drinks on the planet.

Backhaus, Muhlfeld, and Van Doorn also relate that standardization in advertising consists of much more than simply choosing the right images and visual cues. Although 70% of the participants in a study conducted by the authors which involved students in three separate nations considered pictures as being the most important element in an advertisement, almost 11% considered the ad layout as of prime importance, while the same percentage saw the topic as being of special importance (58).

Is Global Standardization in Advertising a Good Idea?

For some products that are sold on a global basis, standardized advertising appears to work quite well, such as with Coca-Cola. However, a study conducted in 1975 some twenty-five years before the study made by Backhaus, Muhlfeld, and Van Doorn demonstrated that “substantial and consistent differences between Americans and other groups” was noticeable in relation to selling a product based on standardized advertising techniques (Green, Cunningham, & Isabella 25). Thus, in 1975, it was inadvisable for a company to use standardized global advertising. But nowadays, due to globalization, standardized advertising has become commonplace and is responsible for either making or breaking a company when it comes to profit and popularity.

Works Cited

Backhaus, Klaus, Muhlfeld, Katrin, and Jenny Van Doorn. “Consumer Perspective on Standardization in International Advertising: A Student Sample.”Journal of Advertising Research (October 2001): 53-61.

Green, Robert T., Cunningham, William H., and C.M. Isabella. “The Effectiveness of Standardized Global Advertising.” Journal of Advertising (4) 3, (1975): 25.

Vogt, Crystal. “What is Global Standardization in Marketing?” Houston Chronicle. 2013 Web. 13 December 2013.