Mr. Vyas gave us a quote that he felt described India well, “Politically one country, socio-culturally many countries in one”. He compared India to Europe, as far as the number of languages, people, and cultures found in one geographic area. He explained that even people from neighboring states such as Karnataka and Maharashtra are as different as trying to compare Karnataka to Italy when considering language, style of dress, cultural dances, etc. They say in India the language and culture changes ever 100 kilometers.
From a media planning perspective, Mr. Vyas explained that there are 5,600 daily newspapers, 15,000 weekly newspapers, and 20,000 magazines in 21 languages across the country that planners must negotiate through when planning their media buys. Along the same line, advertisements generally cannot be used even from state to state. Celebrities are frequently used to promote products in the country, as is done in the U.S. However, apparently movie stars and comedians from one state will not be easily recognized by those from another state. Mr. Vyas showed us two Santoor commercials that were identical, with the exception of the celebrity featured in the commercial, the language it was broadcast in, and the way the female protagonist was dressed. All of the actors, storyline, and product messaging remained the same.
Mr. Vyas then showed examples of the differences in product preferences across the country. In the south, the sandalwood fragrance is preferred in soap products, and Wipro’s Santoor soap is orange. In the north on the other hand, non-sandalwood fragrances are preferred, as are natural products, so the soap is instead colored white. Similarly, due to differences in climate across the country, consideration must be given to how the product is used regionally when creating advertisements. In the south, where the women are darker skinned, talcum powder is used as face powder for beautification to make their skin look lighter. In the northwest however, where the weather can be humid, talcum powder is used as a deodorant. Obviously an advertisement showing talcum being applied as a face power would be very confusing to women in the northwest.
To address all of these different demographics, Wipro typically conducts market research in at least 3-4 different regions in the country before launching any new products to ensure that it matches most of the country’s needs. This is definitely the key message of marketing to diverse cultures. You really need to do the extra research in the areas you plan on launching your product or service to understand the key differences between the populations. Wipro CPG for example makes new brand managers live in the region they will be supporting for at least two months to ensure that they understand the nuances of the culture before allowing them to manage a product line in the region.
The key learnings that Mr. Vyas described definitely apply in the U.S., and even more so for U.S. companies trying to launch in new countries. Taking for granted that a new cultural will easily accept and use your product just because it works at home can be a costly mistake. KFC made this mistake when launching in India without doing any market research beforehand. They failed to recognize that most of the population in India is vegetarian, and initially provided almost no vegetarian dishes on their menu. In addition, they didn’t realize that the country’s own home cooked tandoori chicken would be a major competitor in the region. Simple taste tests and consumer research could have prevented these fatal errors, and saved millions of dollars re-creating the menu and revamping their image.
- Eileen McSweeney
No comments:
Post a Comment