Perspective Chapter: Culture in Marketing Communication

Abstract

Culture plays a major role in the marketing activities of the business organization and consumers are the product of their culture. Global brand can exist but the consumers consume locally, that means consumer culture influences the product strategies, pricing strategies and promotional strategies of the organization. In this chapter, we will look how consumer culture affects the marketing communication strategies of the business company. Therefore, the objective of this chapter is to summarize and present the effect of culture on marketing communication. Culture manifests itself in the day-to-day activities of the people as symbols, heroes, rituals and values. Hence, this chapter theoretically explains the effect of symbols, heroes, rituals and values on marketing communication strategies of the organization. The chapter further explains the concept of culture in national marketing communication mix, and culture in international marketing communication mix. Also, this chapter will explain the suitability of cultural adaptation in marketing communication strategies.

1. Introduction

International business literature agrees that the consumers are a product of their culture. That means their cultural values, norms and customs shape the way they behave. Consumers respond to marketing advertisements that are compatible with their cultural values and norms. Furthermore, the international marketing literature shows that the consumers respond when the business company tailors their cultural symbols in the advertisements. An empirical investigation on the effects of marketing communication strategies used in America and China shows a significant relationship between the used advertisement values and cultural values [1]. Cultural values generally affect the type of advertisement values that the organization uses and the success of international business depends on the understanding of the cultural differences.

Matching the advertisement strategies to cultural norms goes to the concept of adaptation of international marketing strategies with the local culture and these concepts (Standardization & Adaptation) are included in the highly debated concepts of international business. Philip Kotler, a Professor of International Marketing, argues that the success of the marketing strategies depends on how the strategies match with the local culture of the targeted markets.

The cultural values, norms and symbols of the societies impact advertisement strategies that the organization uses and the values of the societies are key for the development and success of marketing communication strategies. Hofstede defines culture as a “collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from those of another” [2]. The author argues that the cultural values and norms of the society manifest as symbols, heroes, rituals and values. Theoretically, this chapter will be based on the Hofstede argument of manifestations of culture as symbols, heroes, rituals and values.

Marieke de Mooij, an independent researcher of international marketing and culture, argues that culture impacts the marketing activities of the business company and adapting the marketing strategies with the cultural values, norms and customs of the society increases the success of the business. Also, the current international marketing literature agrees on the effect of symbols, heroes, rituals and values on the marketing communication strategies. Therefore, the effect of cultural symbols, heroes, rituals and values in marketing communication strategies will be focused on in this chapter. Specifically, by basing the Hofstede cultural manifestation argument, this chapter will analyze the effects of culture (symbols, heroes, rituals and values) on marketing communication strategies. An analysis of the Secondary data from the previously published papers, academic writings and different books was used to prepare and write this chapter.

Structurally, this chapter will contain seven sub-sections, the first part of this chapter will focus on the cultural symbols and their effect on marketing communication strategies. The second part of the chapter explains the effect of heroes on marketing communication strategies. The third part of this chapter explains the rituals and their effect in the marketing communication mix. The fourth part focuses on the effect of cultural values on marketing communication strategies. The fifth and sixth sub-sections of the chapter will explain the culture and its effect on national and international marketing communication mix. The last sixth sub-section of the chapter explains the suitability of cultural adaptation in marketing communication strategies. Finally, the discussions and conclusion of the chapter will follow.

2. Symbols and marketing communication

People use symbols for communication purposes among themselves and information is identified in different symbols. Symbols connect between the people and their outside world and the outside world is understood through symbols. Symbols create meaning, identity, interest and image among the people. Human beings use symbols to create idea of themselves and understand others. The culture as a whole, including language, norms and religion, is created by humans with symbols and generally, human beings are creatures of symbols. Symbolic behavior is the most influential characteristic of humans, the whole culture is based on these symbols. The life progress of the people is based on products created by symbolic thought and symbolic behavior. Human beings are encircled by a world of symbols, symbolic relationships between the people, social levels, law, morals, religion, science and much more. Human behavior is influenced and managed by those symbols [3].

The current research undertakings on cognition and consumer behavior mostly focus on the impact of language on the cognition of consumers in advertising context. Also, the studies of cognitive psychology use an application of psycholinguistics theories to consumer information processing. The language of advertisements increases the attention of the consumers. Using figurative language in marketing communications affects positively the attitude toward the product in different contexts. Some studies witness that the use of figurative language in marketing communications has a unique norm. Marketing communications that contain language symbols and figures increase the positive attitude of consumers. Research in marketing communications approves the influential effect of symbolic language. The symbolic language awakes the positive effect and attitudes of consumers [4, 5, 6, 7, 8].

Ads that contain symbols are more influential than those which do not contain symbols. The implicit metaphor symbols and figures are more effective in hedonic product advertising and the explicit ones are more influential in utilitarian product communication. Metaphors are more influential on consumers who are with high need for cognition. The marketers have to match the symbols and the products. The symbols and metaphors enhance the attitude and purchase intention of the consumers [8].

When the consumers are presented with symbolic messages in the form of images and other visual signals, they will develop multiple positive messages toward that specific brand. The usage of symbols, images and other visual messages in advertisements gives the consumer clearer information than the other forms of communication and the consumer gets a positive attitude toward the product or brand, this type of advertisement has influential advantages. Therefore, if marketers need to create multiple positive attitudes, they have to rely more on metaphorical communications, especially in picture forms [7].

The metaphor messages can be used to alter the belief of the consumers from a specific condition to the required direction in the exposure time, if the message is carrying the ability to alter the condition. Therefore, marketing strategists are advised to use unexpected symbols inside their messages [7].

The linguistical symbols have a positive effect on the consumer attitude. The consumer’s feeling toward the relations of their culture with the advertisement creates a connection between the brand and the consumer’s attitude. Positive attitudes and feelings are induced if the marketing communications contain the consumer’s local language and symbols [4].

The significance of national identity affects the consumer’s feelings and attitudes. A positive link between the product and the home nation creates a positive attitude toward that product in the consumer’s mind. Consumers have perceptions and attitudes that are in line with their nation and symbols, these types of consumers show their consistency by purchasing and wearing their symbols. Also, they show positive feelings toward the advertisements and brands that are matched with their symbols; consumers will also develop a negative attitude toward a specific product, if they feel that it is opposite to their national symbols. The attitude and feelings of national identity create promoting some products and boycotting some others due to the consistency of that products to those symbols. Marketing managers need to know the national symbols that can affect consumer attitudes and buying behavior, understand how consumers may react to these national symbols and understand how their messages are interpreted [9].

3. Heroes and marketing communications

Heroes of a culture provide a relationship with the past and configure in the present. Heroes drive the people, events and places to development. Heroes are essential for the development and construction of both collective memory and collective consciousness. To understand the collective memory and its relation to the perception, one must understand the historical narratives. Heroes create linkages to human behaviors and contribute to morale images [10].

Cultural heroes are an important part of peoples’ lives and the person’s self-characteristics can be expected by the distinctive interaction between themselves and their heroes. When the personal views are matched with the opinion of heroes, self-image is made more easier than when the personal view does not match the heroes’ view. Heroes impact people’s life by merging into their self-concepts. The self-concept of the people changes due to learning new information and experiences like understanding new heroic images. The cultural heroes became one’s possible future selves by impacting the personality and cognitive behavior of the self. Heroes impact people’s lives like the partner and other close people can influence the behavior of the persons [11].

Heroes of a specific community play a big role in the consumption behavior of that community. Celebrities transfer messages about the product or brands to the consumers, cultural-mixed information moves to the celebrity and then it moves from the celebrity to the consumers. The people’s personalities, traits and perceptions are derived from the models, images and symbols transferred by the media and the person’s close social interactions [12, 13, 14]. Marketers need to consider influential groups when they want to promote their products through social media to create effective viral marketing [15].

Advertisement techniques that are included in a known person from a specific ethnic group will increase the positive attitude of that community toward the product. Advertisements that include heroic messages evoke the ethnic identities of the consumers who belong to that heroic message. There is a significant relationship between the ethnicity and heroism signals in the advertisements. Ethnic groups are highly sensitive and they develop positive attitudes toward the brand when the advertising person is from them [16].

Marketing managers spend a lot of time and money to advertise their products through heroes and celebrities and transfer their messages to the consumers to influence the attention of the consumers by using the profiles of the celebrities. Those types of advertisements have a positive impact on the consumers’ attitude toward the brand products. Female consumers show more attention to the products that are advertised through celebrities than males, also the consumers easily recall the brands that are advertised via celebrities and heroes. Advertisements that are used through the heroes and celebrities become more successful than those which are not used. It catches the attention of consumers and it increases the positive attitude of consumers toward that product [15].

Heroism gives courage and positive spirits. When persons receive a heroic message, they consider the outcome and intention of that message instead of the risk associated with that message [17].

Reference groups play an important role in how the consumer behaves, what the consumer buys, when he/she buys and how he/she uses the products. Family and the groups that the person lives with impact their decision-making process through their cultural backgrounds. Countries that have highly collective attributes strongly affect the choice and decision-making of the individuals when it is compared to the countries that are more individualistic in nature [4, 18].

Consumers purchase branded products to build their status, and by doing so, a connection between them and the brand is created. Brands that have a characteristic or message that matches the status of a specific reference group increase the relationship between the brand and those who belong to that reference group, while the brands that have no such a distinct did not have this type of association. Reference groups are sources of brand meaning and there is a significant relationship between more symbolic brands and reference groups. The existence of a strong relationship between the brand and reference group leads to applicable brand meanings for consumers. Consumer prefers this type of brand to create and maintain a psychological relationship with their reference groups [19].

4. Rituals and marketing communication

Religion is a multidimensional belief and it influences consumer behavior and consumer psychology through its dimensions, such as beliefs, rituals, values and community. It creates a difference on how consumers behave. Rituals are the daily activities that religious persons do, such as prayers and other repetitive actions. Community means the relationship and interaction between religious people and their networks. Belief is the shared faith and principles. Values are thoughts, feelings and actions of a religious group and their ideas like forgiveness, self-control and not harming others. The religious dimensions are different among the different religions, therefore to understand the context of this dimensions are influencing consumer behavior marketers need to understand the values beliefs and community structure of that specific religion [20, 21].

Specifically, religion affects consumer-brand relationships, consumptions, consumer preference and consumer social interactions. In other words, religion may increase or decrease the relationship between the brand and the consumer. Generally, religion, culture and personality share a similar and close relation, as religion affects the consumer’s culture and personality. Religion impacts the personality of individuals because it advances personal beliefs and rituals that affect the way of thinking, feeling and behaving. The rituals of a religion affect the behavioral decisions of the individuals like accepting the committed crimes or not accepting environmentally friendly behaviors [21, 22, 23, 24].

Religion has a significant effect on the way people think, feel and behave. Systems like religious beliefs are constant and extremely difficult to change, they play a role in human behavior even if the person stops himself to identify as a religious. The religious nones (those who stop identifying themselves as religious) are in a condition that their consuming and buying behavior is affected by both worlds, the religious and non-religious worlds. Also, religious dones have a willingness and need to purchase religious products than those who are religious nones. Also, they are eager to purchase secular products than religious consumers [20]. Religion and rituals affect the purchasing and consumption behaviors of consumers. Also, religion and rituals affect the marketing communication of the marketers; therefore, it is important to consider the religiosity and ritual issues of the targeted consumers.

The religious systems affect their consuming behavior of the religious products and the non-religious systems affect their consumption behavior of the secular products. Those who stop identifying themselves as religious are still attracted to religious rituals and practice to interact with the religious groups. The most powerful impact of a religion is its behavioral and social impacts. When the religious dones leave the beliefs of the religion, they continue to practice rituals to socialize themselves inside the religious communities, then the power of the religion continues to exist in their life [20].

5. Values and marketing communication

Consumer ethnocentrism shows the perception, attitude and behavior of consumers toward a domestic vs. foreign product [25]. Self-personality and attitude are the basis for consumer behavior models, branding and other marketing strategies [26]. Heterogeneity of consumer behavior increases because of cultural differences; when consumption increases across countries, value difference manifestations will become very strong. This increases the importance of understanding the values of international culture and their effect on consumer behavior [27].

A significant number of researches were focused on the role of values in the thinking and information processing of consumers. The feelings of the consumers toward a specific product indicate the success of the advertisement [4]. Advertisement ads that include values, norms and symbols of a local culture are more effective than those that are not included [28].

The balance between advertisement ads and cultural values creates favorable consumer attitudes. Therefore, balancing the cultural values and advertisement ads is important for the marketing strategists, especially when the products are marketed in the individualist and collectivist countries [1].

The relationship between the advertisement adds and culture was more successful in the publicly used products instead of the products that are bought and expended privately [4]. Consumers mature in a specific culture and became adapted to that culture’s norms, values, beliefs and feeling processes. Consumers also respond to advertisements that are matched with their cultural value by rewarding the advertisers that understand their culture [29, 30].

Some consumer groups behave with their cultural values while others do not follow the cultural values. Chinese consumers in America are consistent with their cultural values. Cultural values are important when we are looking at how the individuals are behaving. Some consumer groups may follow some cultural traits and values but do not follow others [31].

Cultural values such as collectivism and long-term orientation have a moderating role in the relationship between the behavioral intention to buy and consumer behavior. The communication strategies that are matched with the cultural values may lead to the success of the business organization and ease the way that the organization can get a varied consumer. This shows the effect of cultural values on marketing communication strategies [32].

6. Culture in the national marketing communication mix

Culture is one of the most important elements necessary to define a society as a nation and it can be defined as the personality of a society [33]. Culture plays a pivotal role in shaping individuals’ inclinations toward color preferences, tastes and their overall attitudes concerning various product categories. However, its most profound influence may be observed in the way information is assimilated, stored, recalled and subsequently utilized for decision-making. Consequently, the cultural environment is prevalent in society and profoundly it impacts the marketing communication strategies employed by a business striving to enhance the promotion and sale of its products or services [34]. At this point, understanding culture at the national level is one of the indispensable steps for marketing communication. In marketing communication, it is important for both national and international brands to correctly define the national cultural characteristics of the consumers in their target markets to determine the marketing communication channels to be used and to create the communication content to be included in the determined marketing communication channels. The national culture encompasses the shared a distinctive set of norms, behaviors, beliefs, customs and values of its population, exemplified by specific features including language, religion, ethnic and racial identity, as well as cultural history and traditions held by members of a national group. This can be observed in sovereign nations like the United States, France or Japan.

Czinkota et al. state that culture, basically, consists of eight components: religion, values and attitudes, esthetics, education, social institutions, material elements, manners and customs and language [35]. Brands that will carry out marketing communication at the national level should know these eight components that make up the culture of the society. These eight components constitute the target market of every business organization. The reason is that the culture that an individual learns because of his/her interaction with the society in which he/she lives is an important factor that directly affects his/her consumption habits as well as shaping his/her sociological and psychological structure [36]. In other words, culture affects not only the marriage rituals of individuals but also their purchasing behavior during the marriage process.

Cultural values are directly related to marketing strategies. For example, in a society whose cultural value is related to a comfortable life, the value of their consumption is shaped by the quality of the goods and services they consume. This leads to the creation of campaigns that focus on the quality of life offered by the service in marketing communication activities. In another example, in societies where sustainability is a cultural value, brands emphasize the concept of sustainability in their communication campaigns and emphasize the features of products at this point. To successfully design marketing communication campaigns at the level of national culture, cultural values need to be accurately defined. In addition, cultural values need to be monitored at regular intervals due to the possibility of change [37]. The main methods that can be used to identify and monitor cultural values are field researches, such as ethnographic research, cultural value inventories, traditional research methods such as surveys and focus groups, as well as technological research such as artificial intelligence and neuro research, and content analysis of traditional or digital media content of community literature.

Brands can build a strong bond with consumers through marketing communication campaigns that take cultural values into account. For example, the language, symbols and visuals used to promote a product or service should match the cultural references of the market in which the brand operates. Moreover, customized campaigns can increase brand loyalty by enabling consumers to better express themselves in a cultural context. A marketing communication campaign designed by a national brand using culture has the potential to strengthen brand identity and build a sustainable bond with consumers. In this context, understanding and valorizing culture can help businesses gain a sustainable competitive advantage and position themselves more effectively in the national market. The fact that national brands know their own cultures better than global brands provides a significant competitive advantage. In the design of marketing communication, knowing the cultural meanings of not only verbal but also non-verbal communication elements is considered a factor that increases the success of communication campaigns.

7. Culture in the international marketing communication mix

Culture is one of the most important factors in the global market as it is in the national market. The importance of culture starts when businesses start their journey from local to global and see more than one country as their target market. While cultural differences are close in some societies, in others, the difference can be very large. For example, while Turkish and Italian cultures are close to each other because they are Mediterranean countries, the cultural difference between French and Greek is highly varied. Within the scope of international marketing, world cultural differences are not limited to the geographical borders of countries [38]. Identifying the cultures of Balkan countries with country borders or the coexistence of British and French cultures in Canada are examples of the need to evaluate culture in a social sense rather than geographical borders.

In the international market, the international marketing communication of the organization is influenced by the culture of the host countries. Companies that are operating in international markets prefer ethnocentric, polycentric, regiocentric and geocentric management styles, also called the EPRG model. This model is also applied to marketing [39, 40]. According to this model, businesses create their marketing mix elements and activities according to the cultural differences of the countries. Within the scope of marketing communication, in ethnocentric orientation, marketing communication tools are decided by the center of the company, while in polycentric orientation, communication strategies are locally focused depending on local market conditions and competition conditions. In the regiocentric orientation, communication strategies are created with a regional focus such as the Balkans, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. In geocentric orientation, integrated global communication campaigns are designed by considering the whole world as a market.

Within international marketing strategies, businesses can design their communication campaigns with a focus on local culture as well as global culture. The fact that businesses design communication campaigns by being aware of cultural differences is defined as an adaptation strategy and is the adaptation of communication elements for the target market [41]. For example, Pepsi featured world-famous football stars such as Messi, Pogba, Salah and Sterling in an ad campaign in 2020, while Coca-Cola launched a Christmas-themed ad in the UK and a Ramadan-themed ad campaign in Turkey. The song suggests that localized advertising should pay attention to clear positioning, integration with cultural elements and recognition of new consumption trends [42].

To increase the effectiveness of advertising, the culture of each target market should be analyzed correctly. For example, the fact that the content of the advertisement should be entertaining influences the effectiveness of the advertisement in Japan, while it is not effective in the United States [43]. In this case, an American automobile brand targeting both markets should design an advertising campaign by focusing on fun in its communication campaigns in Japan. It is important to use each cultural component carefully, from the colors used in communication campaigns and the language or tone of voice [44]. Misuse of communication strategies can not only lead to the failure of an organization’s communication campaign but can also have a significant negative impact on brand image.

In international marketing communication, businesses need to pay attention to three basic paradoxes that they often encounter: the equity paradox, the dependence and freedom paradox and the success paradox. In addition to these paradoxes, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions should also be considered when designing marketing communication campaigns [45]. The degree of power of distance and uncertainty avoidance, individualist vs. collectivist, femininity or masculinity, short-term or long-term orientation and indulgence or restraint of the target market is a factor that directly affects the verbal or non-verbal content used in communication. For example, whether the target market is individualist or collectivist is an important factor that will affect the “I” or “We” language to be used in the advertising campaign.

8. Cultural adaptation in marketing communication

The standardization adaptation debate became a focus point of the global marketing literature. These concepts are very important in the current marketing literature. Though the world’s market is becoming more homogeneous, standardization of all marketing elements globally is not logical. International marketing literature shows a difference in consumer culture in various markets which affect specifically the marketing of consumer goods. Organizations can standardize some of their strategies while they are adapting others as a contingency perspective. The global business can also standardize where the standardization is possible and develop an adaptation approach in the conditions where the adaptation is key. To match the cultural differences of the countries, the company has to use the concept of glocalization. That means the organization has to think globally and act locally [46].

International marketing academicians and practitioners are still doubtful about whether to standardize advertising strategies globally or adapt. Advertisements are much more complex than focusing on the similarities of the international consumers. Culture, government restrictions and the development level of the targeted country are the main challenges that hinder the standardizing of the marketing communication mix globally [47]. The communication strategy that the organization uses depends on the situation of the target market and the situation itself is shaped by different issues including the local culture [48]. Adaptations of marketing communications strategies and considering each market as separate and distinct are crucial for the success of the business organization [49].

The global marketing communication strategy has to be harmonized with the situation of the specific country. The current international marketing literature calls for a contingency perspective of international marketing strategies [50]. That means standardizing some aspects of the marketing strategies while some aspects are adapted. The contingency perspective also shows the importance of cultural difference in the international markets.

International advertisement needs to distinguish whether it will be standardized uniformly in all countries or adapted according to the targeted market. Different factors including cultural norms and societal values hinder the implementation of uniform marketing communication in different countries. Cultural differences and unique characteristics of the countries have to be considered when the organization is deciding the type of advertisement that it will adapt. Adaptation of advertising strategies with the local culture leads to the success of marketing communication strategies. Also, the organization can select a strategy between standardizing completely and adapting the whole marketing communication strategies [51]. Adaptation of different marketing mix elements like product, price, promotion and distribution is useful for global businesses. The third most important aspect that is adapted in the international markets is the promotional strategies. Adaptation of promotional strategies follows distribution and price adaptation. Cultural difference is the most important factor that influences the promotion strategies of the organization [52].

According to the international marketing literature, culture is the main factor that influences the marketing activities of the business organization. Therefore, adaptation marketing strategies specifically promotional strategies with the local culture of the consumer are crucial. The well-known social science researcher Hofstede argues that culture manifests in the forms of symbols, heroes, rituals and values. These four aspects of the manifestations of culture directly affect the promotional strategies of the organization. Adaptation of the communication strategies to these aspects is key for the success of global advertisements.

9. Discussions

This chapter is intended to investigate the effect of culture in marketing communication; based on the Hofstede cultural manifestation argument, this chapter presents the effect of culture on marketing communication. Hofstede argues that culture manifests itself in the day-to-day activities of the people as symbols, heroes, rituals and values [2]. Symbols are used as a communication figure among the peoples and societies. That means symbols connect the peoples and human behavior is influenced by these symbols. Using figurative and symbolic language in the marketing communication strategies positively affects the perception of the consumers toward the marketing communication strategy and it increases the success of the advertisement strategy. Matching the advertisement strategy with symbols of the people increases the success of the business organization’s communication strategies. Heroes also play a significant role in marketing communication strategies. Business organizations have to consider the historical perspective of the target market when they are developing their communication strategies. Considering heroes like celebrities when the organization is developing a marketing communication strategy is crucial for their success. That means the organization needs to consider the influential groups in their promotional strategies.

Rituals and religiosity also influence consumer behavior, therefore, marketers have to consider the rituals of the targeted group when they are developing a promotional strategy. Furthermore, symbols and values of the local culture are highly effective and lead to the success of the communication strategies. Culture also plays a significant role in the success of both national and international marketing communication strategies. Adaptation of the marketing communication strategies to the local culture also has a big role in the success of the business organization and leads to gaining a competitive advantage over the competition.

10. Conclusions

The purpose of this chapter was to explain the importance and effect of culture in the marketing communication mix. Culture is a complex term and it influences the overall marketing activities of the business organization. That means culture influences the product strategies, pricing strategies and promotion strategies of the organization. Culture manifests in the day-to-day activities of the people in the forms of symbols, heroes, rituals and values. Culture (symbols, heroes, rituals and values) affects the communication strategy of the business organizations. Symbols are the cultural image of the society and the positive attitude of the consumer forms when the advertisement strategies match with the symbols of the community. That means the consumers will react more to the advertisement messages that match their cultural and national symbols. Viral marketing plays an important role in today’s global marketing activities and heroes play a major role in the communication strategies of the organization. In addition, rituals of the community play a big role in the marketing activities of the business company. Although rituals usually have an impact on religious consumers, the findings indicate that these rituals sometimes influence the purchasing behavior of non-religious consumers. Because non-religious consumers purchase religiously to socialize themselves in their religious communities. The cultural values of the society also play a big role in the marketing communication strategy of the organization both nationally and globally. Consumers react more to the advertising strategies that match their cultural values. Standardization and adaptation are highly debated concepts in the marketing literature. Though the international markets are increasingly becoming homogeneous, standardizing the overall activities of the organization is not logical. Hence, organizations have to act according to the specific conditions of the target market. There are unlimited studies in the marketing literature that show the importance of adaptation in marketing communication strategies. Understanding the local culture of the consumers plays a significant role in the success of the business organization.

Acknowledgments

The authors are acknowledging anyone who supported the writing and completion of this chapter.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.