As a marketing consultant, you will need to understand the potential for cultural differences when communications are generated and transmitted that could have a significant impact upon your client. For example, an understanding of cultural color and symbolism could be extremely important when conducting business with other countries and cultures. In some instances, such color associations have been a part of a culture for hundreds of years, and failure to be aware of them could have a negative impact when communicating to these cultures. Consequently, you will need to work with your clients to develop a communication strategy that will enable them to frame communications that will address cultural differences in a variety of situations. This discussion is designed to help you understand and provide an opportunity to discuss the types of strategies that can be adopted and address the various audiences you will encounter.

Examples of Culturally Sensitive Corporate Communications:

1. Colors can have important meanings in some cultures that may not exist in others. By way of example, in many Western countries, white is associated with the following: brides and weddings, hospitals and doctors, peace and the white dove, and purity or cleanliness. However, in a number of Eastern countries, white is associated with death, mourning, funerals, and sadness. Review the Cultural Color: Cultural Meanings of Color and Color Symbolism for further information.
2. In some cultures, it is considered preferable for communication to be indirect to avoid the potential of “losing face,” while in others, people prefer very direct and to-the-point communication to avoid wasting valuable time.
3. In many Western cultures, women are considered equal in the workforce, while in others, women have a lower status than men when it comes to business, and the potential ramifications (both at home and overseas) would need to be considered if the communication were to come from a female executive.
4. Finally, what may be considered a simple and safe gesture in one culture may be considered rude and offensive in another.

Advertising for international companies involves being aware of cultural differences. In your initial post, use your selected company (Starbucks Coffee Inc.) to identify advertising that is used in more than one country for similar, or the same, product or service. Examine the components of the advertisement, and then explain how and why it is likely to have been changed to reflect the local conditions.

Next, imagine that you are working in the human resources department of your selected company at its home location in the United States. You have been tasked with sending out a communication to employees both in the United States and in at least one other country. To communicate effectively, you decide that different versions of the same type of communication are needed, containing the same essential information or message. Provide an explanation for why the differences are needed, and illustrate the differences by drafting appropriate communications for each audience.

https://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology…

https://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-informa…

Answer preview

Part one

Starbucks is a company that understands the relevance of cultural advertising as a way of enhancing the value of their customers from different cultural backgrounds. Using appropriate communication strategies in advertising is essential since the last thing a company wants is using an offensive advertising approach. For instance, the emphasis on using colors that have significant cultural meaning should be well analyzed when creating an advertisement so that it can have a profound impact on the customers.

Starbucks being an international company emphasizes culturally sensitive advertising of its products and services (starbucks.com, n.d.)…

 

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