1. Consumer habits across national divides

http://www.mariekedemooij.com/articles/demooij_2001_admap.pdf

http://www.mariekedemooij.com/books/mdemooij_dis_summary.htm

2. Standardisation/adaptation debate

http://marketingphilosopher101.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/standardization-versus-adaptation-in.html#!/2012/08/standardization-versus-adaptation-in.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFhwOxTVqIY

3. International celebrities

 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/business/worldbusiness/11iht-adco.3122502.html?_r=2&

http://www.womansday.com/life/entertainment/10-overseas-celebrity-endorsements-99780

4. Regulation or self-regulation

http://www.iccwbo.org/advocacy-codes-and-rules/areas-of-work/marketing-and-advertising/.

http://www.iccwbo.org/Advocacy-Codes-and-Rules/Areas-of-work/Marketing-and-Advertising/Self-regulation/.

http://www.iccwbo.org/advocacy-codes-and-rules/areas-of-work/marketing-and-advertising/marketing-and-advertising-to-children/.

http://www.iccwbo.org/advocacy-codes-and-rules/areas-of-work/marketing-and-advertising/digital-marketing-communication/.

http://www.iccwbo.org/advocacy-codes-and-rules/areas-of-work/marketing-and-advertising/.

http://www.iccwbo.org/Advocacy-Codes-and-Rules/Areas-of-work/Marketing-and-Advertising/Self-regulation/.

http://www.iccwbo.org/advocacy-codes-and-rules/areas-of-work/marketing-and-advertising/marketing-and-advertising-to-children/.

http://www.iccwbo.org/advocacy-codes-and-rules/areas-of-work/marketing-and-advertising/digital-marketing-communication/. 

Case 18 - Faux Pas

The first three articles have been provided open access. Some links require journal subscription access which may be available through your university.

Al-Areefi, M.A., Hassali, M.A. and Ibrahim, M.I.B.M. (2013), A qualitative study exploring medical representatives’ views on current drug promotion techniques in Yemen, Journal of Medical Marketing, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 143–149.http://mmj.sagepub.com/content/12/3/143

The authors are concerned about the use of free medical samples, bonuses and commissions paid when promoting pharmaceutical products using representatives who are a key part of marketing strategy for the big pharmaceutical companies around the world. This study is set in Yemen and as such represents an in-depth look at drug promotion in a particular market context. The findings suggest that, as in many other contexts, medical representatives in Yemen are concerned about patients and unethical practices and the need to have professional ethics, law enactment and policies for drug promotion.

Alozie, E.C. (2010), Advertising and culture: semiotic analysis and dominant symbols found in Nigerian mass media advertising, Journal of Creative Communications, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 1–22.http://crc.sagepub.com/content/5/1/1

This article looks at culture and cultural values through the use of semiotic analysis of Nigerian advertisements. The author found that the common symbols found were of human bodies and products and not Nigerian ethnic or national symbols, while African and Western symbols were found to be used. The study also found a lack of the use of Nigerian languages, including Pidgin English that is widely used in Nigerian society and other African countries.

Hornikx, J., van Meurs, F. and de Boer, A. (2010), English or a local language: the appreciation of easy and difficult English slogans in the Netherlands, Journal of Business Communication, Vol. 47, No. 2, pp. 169–188.http://job.sagepub.com/content/47/2/169

This Dutch study looks at the use of English versus local language in advertising. The authors used car advertising with easy and more difficult to understand slogans in an empirical study on preference. Easy to understand English slogans were found in the study to be preferred to harder to understand English slogans but also that when slogans were easy to understand in both English and Dutch, English was preferred. When slogans were difficult to understand in both languages, English was appreciated as much as Dutch. The authors make comments on the practical implications for issues such as standardisation and adaptation, the study results supporting the former rather than the latter.

Hou, Z., Zhu, Y. and Bromley, M. (2013), Understanding public relations in China: multiple logics and identities, Journal of Business and Technical Communication, Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 308–328. http://jbt.sagepub.com/content/27/3/308 

The authors provide a contribution to critical public relations (PR) in terms of the social construction of PR by various actors in Chinese cultural contexts. The authors found multiple competing logics among PR industry practitioners within these contexts that serve as a repertoire from which stakeholders can draw ‘institutional logics’ and ‘legitimise’ their PR practice interpretations.

Jackson, S. (2013), Reflections on communications and sport: on advertising and promotion culture, Communication & Sport, Vol. 1, No. 1–2, pp. 100–112.

http://com.sagepub.com/content/1/1-2/100

The author describes this piece as an essay on communication and advertising relationships that exist. The article offers an insight into sport, globalisation and corporate nationalism in relation to promotional culture. The author points toward issues such as the increased consolidation of global media, the media’s capacity to communicate messages across a wide spectrum of contemporary social life and the rapid changes in the technological landscape that are affecting media and promotional culture within the notion of the commodification and commercialisation of ‘everything’.