International Marketing 101

Anne and Mark have learned a great deal during their time in Europe.  First, a kilogram is about 2.2 pounds.  Second, these people REALLY love soccer.  Third, cutting in line is not only not rude, you're a bit of a sucker if you DON'T do it.

But these are the easy things.  The really valuable knowledge is in understanding the differences between and among cultures.  This is a skill that marketers find particularly valuable.  For example, in the U.S. we have Donald Duck.  In Ramallah, they have Happy Duck.

Of course he's happy, he's been running around with no pants on for 50 years.

Easy Enough.  Another example: Selling Cheetos in the U.S.?  There nothing to it: high-fructose corn syrup mixed with a "cheese-like" product packaged into a foil bag with a cartoon cheetah on it.   Easy squeezy.  But what about selling Cheetos in Israel?  Could be a challenge, but might be worth a shot.  Mark noticed that the good people at Cheetos had made the effort, so he went ahead and sampled their product.

Something was different.  Mark did not notice when he bought the bag, but he darn sure figured it out when he bit in.

It's not easy, being (peanut) cheesy.

Obviously, the cheetah looks familiar.  The writing is a little different, but it's in Hebrew, so you expect that.  What do you not expect?  Peanut flavoring.  The little bar with white lettering on the left of Chester Cheetah's face has a picture of peanuts.  Have you ever bit into something expecting the beautiful taste explosion of a Cheeto and instead got a mouthful of crunchy peanut and orange flavoring? (that would refer to the flavor of the color orange, not the fruit of the same name)  Mark reports that it is not recommended.

So sometimes the entire product has to be altered in order to be successful when moving from one place to another.  You need to understand the culture to understand the different tastes.  Some people like fake-cheese in their Cheetos, others like fake peanuts.  Fair enough.  One of the other things you're going to need to understand is the language differences.  And this means more than just learning the words.  It's about culture.  For example, say you're riding around on your motorized two-wheeled vehicle.  One of your friends comes up to you and asks, "Hey, nice ride - what kind is that?"  In some places, you may want to reply with something like this is my "Harley," "Chopper," or "Hog."  The connotations associated with these words in some cultures invoke feelings of strength, independence, and general awesomeness.

In other places, you may reply by saying, "This is my.... DINK."

Is that your new DINK?  Yeah, I finally splurged and got the new 200 Classic.  Awesome.

Let's hope that "Dink" has some connotations in Israel that are very different from what they are in the U.S.

The food service industry is particularly competitive almost wherever you go.  Whether a restaurant is successful or not can depend on the small details: for example, not only on whether the food that is being served is popular with the customers, but also on how well the proprietor of the restaurant is able to convince potential customers that the food is worth them taking the risk of ordering it in the first place.  Often times restauranteurs will write short captions to accompany the offerings on their menu.  If these captions are enticing, a patron may order the dish.  On the other hand, if the captions are like these....

Two or three entries above "Pancakes" on the Turkish menu above.  Under what circumstances would a person order - for the purpose of eating, keep in mind - a dish called or translated as "Waste Bottle"?  Similarly, it is difficult to conjure the confidence to order a dish that the restaurant describes as "Should Be Crushed Under."  Not just defeated, it should actually be crushed?  Sounds hostile.  What's the backstory here?  Did that dish anger the other dishes on the menu and now they seek vengeance?

Other menus take a different tact.  For instance, consider this menu from Bulgaria.  Say what you will about the Bulgarians, but they do not mince words.  This menu does not focus so much on writing a flowery sales pitch, as much as on just telling you what you're getting.  Take it or leave it.

"Drinks That Make You Dizzy" - Finally, truth in advertising.

But it could have been worse.  At least these menus actually got opened.  There are some others that make it pretty clear from the start that they're selling something you do not want to be buying.

The beer here always tasted funny.

When the cover of a menu has a picture of a guy peeing, do you really think I am going to order food from you?  Just asking.

But Anne and Mark have noticed that it is inaccurate to paint with a broad brush, some people are getting it, some people are not.

Just above "Get A Free Gift!" is the admonition "Let's Shopping!"  Let's shopping, indeed.  What this place lacked in predicate use and sentence structure, it more than made up for in enthusiasm and exclamation points.  You go, Kiev duty free store!  Maybe marketing (and capitalism itself) can work in this part of the world.....

Not that anyone asked.

....maybe not.