This is ASI's 20th year of testing commercials in Japan and the first part of this paper is concerned with briefly reviewing the early findings of inter-cultural comparisons of advertising research data. In data discrimination or sensitivity, there were no problems but it became clear when comparing Japanese and Western normative data that implications of the measures were very different. In particular, the analyst had to go outside the testing system, in some cases, for diagnostics. The key differentiating element has been identified as that of a greater emphasis on non-verbal communication in Japanese advertising. As most Western research methods relied on verbal responses, the problem was that of data "insensitivity" in communication measures and in difficulties in diagnosing the reasons for the advertising's success or otherwise. The second part of this paper concerns recent studies in which the issue of measuring the effects of non-verbal elements is addressed. It demonstrates that it is possible to produce diagnostic data for advertising that relies on non-verbal communications.
During 1984 advertisers in Australia began to be concerned that the video-cassette recorder (VCR) was eroding the size of the audience for live television, and as a result, reducing the frequency by which users of a VCR were being exposed to advertisements. Industry-based survey data at this time showed no changes in the size of audiences, and indeed showed that households who owned a VCR watched just as much live television as non-owners. Nevertheless this seemed implausible given the startling growth of the medium. The challenge facing researchers was to measure changes in consumption patterns without recourse to baseline data recorded before the introduction of the VCR.
Unilever is a major user of market research worldwide. Much of this it carries out for itself but it also buys in research from outside agencies. Nearly all the work is locally-commissioned and locally-funded, and there are relatively few multi-country surveys as such. Nevertheless the growing importance of international strategies and brands means that market research approaches and techniques, and the ways in which these are used, need increasingly to be standardised - although there is continuing debate about how far and in what ways this is achievable or even fully desirable. The paper starts by outlining the Unilever structure within which market research operates. It then turns to a number of the issues of policy and practice which arise in attempting to achieve a coordinated approach to carrying out and using research internationally.
The television industry in the U.S. has always been tempered by a competitive marketplace, a commercially driven environment, which has been uniquely shaped by the size of the audience. Luring the past ten years, competition has heated up dramatically. The U.S. television viewers have always been in control, with the advent of new video alternatives this is more the case today. What does this U.S. viewer-controlled market presage for other nations, as they open their video markets to new competition? Beginning with a brief historical overview of U.S. video market dynamics, followed by a discussion or. the viewer, this paper attempts to shed light on the questions raised by the interaction between the viewer and a new television environment.
This paper will trace the development of cable television in the U.S. from its early development for better TV reception in rural or remote areas, to the use of communication satellites to deliver programming across the entire country. We wiI I examine the dynamic growth of pay-TV and advertiser- supported cable, the fragmentation of TV audiences, and a major agency's (Ted Bates) approach to using this new medium.
The Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE) is a public organisation whose institutional tasks concern the promotion of the image of Italy and the development of foreign trade. At the time of the study the trade exchange between Italy and Japan was at extremely low levels. For that reason, ICE decided to try to formulate an integrated marketing strategy for promoting Italian products in Japan. To achieve this end, it was decided to launch a major research project in Japan, and ICE engaged PRAGMA to plan and coordinate the research. Traditionally, ICE has been mainly involved in sectorial promotions in the business community. The research and marketing approach in this case was to observe the total picture among not only the business community, but coordinating and integrating the views of Japanese consumers and Japanese opinion leaders as well.
The paper traces the development of international marketing research over the years and shows that it has now become an established part of the activities of hundreds of research companies throughout the world. It is argued that an international dimension' pervades most market research these days, particularly under the influence of the major multinational marketing companies that represent the industry's main source of income.
We would like to divide up our paper into three sections. The first section will be devoted to specific technical questions which arise in the conducting of international surveys. In the second section, we would like to use an example to show that in international research we not only must concentrate on solutions to the technical problems of comparability, but we should also introduce new concepts, dimensions and perspectives, both in the interest of the individual project and also in the interest of progress in survey research in general. Finally, in the third section we would like to list a few basic principles for international research. It is open to debate whether these basic principles belong at the beginning or the end of such a pacer, and this depends on whether one prefers a deductive or an inductive way of thinking. We feel that putting the basic principles at the beginning makes them appear too much foregone conclusions, and that it is not until the end that their significance will be recognized.
I would like to take this opportunity to speak on some of our views concerning technology and culture, particularly corporate culture. I would also like to introduce an example of bringing a product to market based on this understanding.
Japanese brand names such as Yamaha, Cannon, Sony, Toyota and a great many more dominate entire product categories in the Rest. Only a few companies and products seem to have been able to reverse the process and to establish themselves as household names in Japan: IBM for Computers, McDonald for Fast Food, Coca Cola for Soft Drinks and NESCAFE for Coffee. Attempt is made to analyze the factors which had led, over a period of 70 years to the solid position that NESTLE holds in Japan today. It is not intended to chart out a "recipe" of how to succeed in this market in fact there is none. However, one main reason why we, together with other companies, have been able to succeed in Japan, was our capability to adapt to the peculiarities of this market, to integrate ourselves into the cultural and economic environment of Japan. How this integrative effort manifests itself in the various aspects of our activities will be the central them
In brief, the main objective of product strategies in a mature consumer market should be to achieve sales growth and a stable market share by creating new markets in one or both of two ways above: by launching new products that provide previously nonexistent consumer benefits to meet needs resulting from improvements in the consumers' living environment or lifestyles, and/or by breaking down the market into smaller segments in response to diversified consumer values.