Date Posted: 11/8/2012 5:27:55 AM
Posted By: sashoo Membership Level: Silver Total Points: 382
Culture is the combination of traditions, taboos, values and attitudes of the society in which an individual lives. A number of distinctive subcultures in the UK provide a rich tapestry of lifestyles and the creation of new markets. The Asia population, for example, has provided restaurants and stores supplying food from that part of the world. This influence is now seen in supermarkets, where Asian foods are readily available, and multinationals such as Campbell’s Foods market ‘Tastes of the World’ products (such as its premium-priced Indian chicken korma soup).Subcultures can also span national boundaries. For example, the existence of a youth subculture across Europe has allowed brands such as Levi’s jeans, Coca-Cola, Pepsi and MTV to be marketed with only modest adaptation to local tastes.Attitudes towards food among some sections of society in Europe are also changing. Pressures toward healthy eating have prompted moves towards food with less fat, sugar and salt, and health labeling. For example, the Nestle-branded cereal range targeted at children has been reformulated with 10 per cent less sugar, and other brands with healthy eating credentials, like Weetabix, are advertising their attributes.Market segments have appeared based on the concept of ethical consumption, leading to demand for fair trade and organic products, and avoidance of companies and brands that are associated with dubious labor practices. The growth in healthy eating and ethical consumption has prompted the acquisition of a 30 per cent stake in Pret A Manger by McDonald’s, Green and Black’s chocolate by Cadbury, and Ben & Jerry’s by Unilever.Another key trend across Europe is the growth in cash rich—time poor consumers. This has led to the popularity of convenience foods.Successful non-European marketing depends on knowing the cultural differences that exist between European consumers. The German preference for locally brewed beer has proved a major barrier to entry for foreign brewers, such as Guinness, which have attempted to penetrate that market. The slower than expected take-off of the Euro Disney complex near Paris was partly attributed to French consumers’ reluctance to accede to the US concept of spending a lot of money on a one-day trip to a single site. Once there, the French person, being an individualist, ‘hates being taken by the hand and led around’.Cultural differences also have implications for business-to-business marketing. Within Europe, cultural variations affect the way business should be conducted. Humor in business life is acceptable in the UK, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands and Spain but less commonplace in France and Germany. These facts of business life need to be recognized when interacting with European business customers.
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