Cultural differences and advertising

General information

The aim of this research is to contrast two countries, in this case, Canada and India, through Hofstede indexes, with the purpose of knowing differences between both countries when it comes to advertise a brand that has a global presence. In order to achieve this goal, the following points have been established:

• The information around Hofstede indexes will be collected from Hofstede Insights.

• The chosen brand was Apple

• The advertising for both countries were social media video ads selected from

• YouTube.

• In order to organize the information inferred, a chart was designed, otherwise, the aim of the project would be lost.

• At the end of the analysis, a conclusion was made with the purpose of create knowledge around this research.

First, information from Hofstede Insight was collected and the results for both countries are the following:

Chart created by Hostede Insights

Power Distance: the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.

Canada

With a score of 39 on this dimension, Canadian culture is marked by interdependence among its inhabitants and there is value placed on egalitarianism. This is also reflected by the lack of overt status and/or class distinctions in society. Hierarchy in Canadian organizations is established for convenience, superiors are always accessible and managers rely on individual employees and teams for their expertise. With respect to communication, Canadians value a straightforward exchange of information.

India

India scores high on this dimension, 77, indicating an appreciation for hierarchy and a top-down structure in society and organizations. Immediate superiors accessible but one layer above less so, paternalistic leader, management directs, gives reason / meaning to ones work life and rewards in exchange for loyalty from employees. Real Power is centralized even though it may not appear to be and managers count on the obedience of their team members. Employees expect to be directed clearly as to their functions and what is expected of them. Control is familiar, even a psychological security, and attitude towards managers are formal even if one is on first name basis. Communication is top down and directive in its style and often feedback which is negative is never offered up the ladder.

Individualism: the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members.

Canada

Canada scores 80 on this dimension (its highest dimension score) and can be characterized as an Individualist culture. this translates into a loosely-knit society in which the expectation is that people look after themselves and their immediate families.

India

India, with a rather intermediate score of 48, is a society with both collectivistic and Individualist traits. The collectivist side means that there is a high preference for belonging to a larger social framework in which individuals are expected to act in accordance to the greater good of one’s defined in-group(s). The employer/employee relationship is one of expectations based on expectations – Loyalty by the employee and almost familial protection by the Employer. Hiring and promotion decisions are often made based on relationships which are the key to everything in a Collectivist society. The Individualist aspect of Indian society is seen as a result of its dominant religion/philosophy – Hinduism. The Hindus believe in a cycle of death and rebirth, with the manner of each rebirth being dependent upon how the individual lived the preceding life.

Masculinity: The fundamental issue here is what motivates people, wanting to be the best (Masculine) or liking what you do (Feminine).

Canada

Canada scores 52 on this dimension and can be characterized as a moderately “Masculine” society. While Canadians strive to attain high standards of performance in both work and play (sports), the overall cultural tone is more subdued with respect to achievement, success and winning, when compared to the US. Similarly, Canadians also tend to have a work-life balance and are likely to take time to enjoy personal pursuits, family gatherings and life in general. This is not to say that Canadians are not hard workers.

India

India scores 56 on this dimension and is thus considered a Masculine society. India is actually very Masculine in terms of visual display of success and power. However, India is also a spiritual country with millions of deities and various religious philosophies. This often reigns in people from indulging in Masculine displays to the extent that they might be naturally inclined to. In more Masculine countries the focus is on success and achievements, validated by material gains. Work is the center of one’s life and visible symbols of success in the workplace are very important.

Uncertainty Avoidance: The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these

Canada

The Canadian score on this dimension is 48 and Canadian culture is more “uncertainty accepting.” This is indicative of the easy acceptance of new ideas, innovative products and a willingness to try something new or different, whether it pertains to technology, Canadians are also tolerant of ideas or opinions from anyone and allow the freedom of expression. At the same time, Canadian culture is not rules-oriented and Canadians tend to be less emotionally expressive than cultures scoring higher on this dimension.

India

India scores 40 on this dimension and thus has a medium low preference for avoiding uncertainty. In India, there is acceptance of imperfection; nothing has to be perfect nor has to go exactly as planned. India is traditionally a patient country where tolerance for the unexpected is high ; even business practices, or consumer products welcomed as a break from monotony. Rules are often in place just to be circumvented and one relies on innovative methods to “bypass the system”. A word used often is “adjust” and means a wide range of things, from turning a blind eye to rules being flouted to finding a unique and inventive solution to a seemingly insurmountable problem. It is this attitude that is both the cause of misery as well as the most empowering aspect of the country. There is a saying that “nothing is impossible” in India, so long as one knows how to “adjust”.

Long Term Orientation: describes how every society has to maintain some links with its own past while dealing with the challenges of the present and future

Canada

Canada scores 36 in this dimension, marking it as a normative society. People in such societies have a strong concern with establishing the absolute Truth; they are normative in their thinking. They exhibit great respect for traditions, a relatively small propensity to save for the future, and a focus on achieving quick results.

India

With an intermediate score of 51 in this dimension, a dominant preference in Indian culture cannot be determined. In India the concept of “karma” dominates religious and philosophical thought. Time is not linear, and thus is not as important as to western societies which typically score low on this dimension. Countries like India have a great tolerance for religious views from all over the world. Hinduism is often considered a philosophy more than even a religion; In India there is an acceptance that there are many truths and often depends on the seeker. Societies that have a high score on pragmatism typically forgive a lack of punctuality, a changing game-plan based on changing reality and a general comfort with discovering the fated path as one goes along rather than playing to an exact plan.

Indulgence: the extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses, based on the way they were raised.

Canada

The high score of 68 in this dimension means that Canadian cultures are classified as Indulgent. People in societies classified by a high score in Indulgence generally exhibit a willingness to realise their impulses and desires with regard to enjoying life and having fun. They possess a positive attitude and have a tendency toward optimism. In addition, they place a higher degree of importance in leisure time, act as they please and spend money as they wish.

India

India receives a low score of 26 in this dimension, meaning that it is a culture of Restraint. Societies with a low score in this dimension have a tendency to cynicism and pessimism. Also, in contrast to Indulgent societies, Restrained societies do not put much emphasis on leisure time and control the gratification of their desires. People with this orientation have the perception that their actions are Restrained by social norms and feel that indulging themselves is somewhat wrong.

So, based on this comparative, both countries are similar when it comes to “Masculinity” and “Uncertainty Avoidance”. It is worth mentioning that even if results are pretty similar, the whys should be considered in relation to a correct analysis since the hard data are not merely conclusive information. Thus, it is more likely to found these two characteristics in advertising.

Apple’s advertising in Canada and India.

On one hand, Apple’s advertising agency is TBWA. Since TBWA is a global agency, there are some ads that are replicated within certain geographic areas like: United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, etc. This decision has to do with terms and policies between the advertiser (Apple) and the creative agency. Therefore, every advertising piece that TBWA designed, it is broadcasted in the countries mentioned previously.

On the other hand, when it comes to the Indian market, according to The Verge (2018) “Apple shipped 2.6 million iPhones in India in 2016, a growth of over 50 percent compared to the year before. That number rose to 3.2 million in 2017, but by the end of last year, there were signs that the growth was slowing down. According to Counterpoint, Apple’s share of the Indian smartphone market has dropped to just 1 percent as of Q2 (April to June) 2018”. It is worth mentioning that Samsung is a brand that has more market share for a long time ago. This is why, marketing and advertising endeavours should be well-targeted and local customer-oriented, not only thinking about their preferences but their lifestyle.

For research purposes, the chosen advertising campaigns are the ones related to iPhone 6, both aiming to emphasize the usage of iPhones camera. Note that the link for these videos is attached to the sources section.

Research methodology

In order to determine through a quantitative and qualitative model, the differences between the ads and the relation among Hofstede dimensions, it was taken as a reference Pablo Gamiz’ thesis (2015) commissioned for the University of Valladolid, where he gives a score from 1 to 5, where 1 represents a low approach to the score on the Hofstede index and 5 represents a high approach to the score on the Hofstede dimension. Thus, the higher the score, the higher the relation between the knowledge proposed by Hofstede insights and the information expressed in the advertising pieces. In order to organize in a more efficient fashion the information, tables were created.

Application of the research instrument.

In the following tables, it was evaluated the relation between Hofstede dimensions scores and the information presented by the ads:

Analysis of Canada’s Advertising

Link to the ad: http://bit.ly/2mhbQux

Power Distance

0

It does not appear in the ad.

Individualism

2

There are a few scenes where iPhone users appear alone.

Masculinity

5

Since the score is almost 50, there are aspects like family, friends and some people trying to attain high standards of performance in play (sport)

Uncertainty Avoidance

3

Even if there are no situations in the video that emphasizes Canada’s position on this index, the importance here is that the people on the ad is feeling relaxed and excited about this new product. So, this index is, but it is not in the ad.

Long term orientation

0

It does not appear in the ad.

Indulgence

5

There are a lot of scenes where people appear enjoying their leisure time, they express a positive attitude and a willingness to realize their desires (travelling, helicopter trips, partying, etc).

Analysis of Indias’s Advertising: http://bit.ly/2kJgKA1

Power Distance

4

The scene where the old man is putting on the turban to the groom, this represents hierarchy in terms of family and religion. However, there are not many elements to give a 5 score.

Individualism

5

There are both sides of the individualism dimension; it is collective because the majority of the time, the bride and the groom are surrounded by people. Also, it is an individual because they represent perfectly their religion.

Masculinity

3

Since it is a masculine culture, there is just one aspect that is emphasizing and it is the wedding. But there are not many elements that support this dimension.

Uncertainty Avoidance

3

The only element that supports this index is the one related to the uncertainty of how the bride is looking. But there are not many elements that support this dimension

Long term orientation

0

It does not appear in the ad.

Indulgence

0

It does not appear in the ad.

Results and Conclusions

In general, both advertising campaigns scored 15 points, which means that Hofstede indexes are represented in 50%. As I inferred, “Masculinity” and “Uncertainty Avoidance” are the indexes that share a similar score, so the hypothesis was that these two indexes shall be the ones Apple leveraged in order to achieve their communication goals. The fact now is that both dimensions appeared in the ad. Canada and India got the same score for “Uncertainty Avoidances”, but in terms of “Masculinity” Canada’s advertising piece was more effective in this way, whereas India mentioned it, but it was not covered very well. So, in other words, Hofstede insights, in this case, are related somehow (not as strong as planned) with the ads selected.

For “Power Distance” and “Indulgence” are mutually exclusive variables. For example: Canada got a lower score than India on Hofstede Insight and this dimension does not appear in the Canadian ad. The same situation happen with “Indulgence” variable, India got the lowest score and this variable does not appear in the ad. In other words, there is a strong correlation somehow between these variables. Because the highest score on Hofstede index matches with the highest score in the advertising evaluation.

Now, in a more particular perspective, I would say that in both campaigns appears a local sign. The appearance of a context in order to enhance the message, plus considering cultural variables mentioned by Hofstede, make these two campaigns excellent pieces of advertising. However, India’s ad considered local aspects like religion, traditional flowers, traditional costumes, whereas Canada’s ad had an occidental appeal, even if there were people from different countries appearing in the video. Also, something that make India’s ad better than Canada’s ad was the lack of voice-off element, the tone, style and atmosphere were well planned and executed.

I would say that it was harder to recognize elements related to India’s advertising, since there is not enough knowledge regarding Indian culture, whereas, Canada’s advertising it was easier since (even if you are not North American) must elements presented in the ad interact with us in a daily basis.

In a nutshell, India’s ad is not only good in terms of Hofstede indexes, but also because in 2016, when iPhone 6 was launched, there was a growth over 50% compared to the previous year, due to this advertising and other aspects considered in the analysis presented by The Verge (2018). However, Apple right now its losing market share not because they are doing wrong in advertising, but the Indian market is a price-sensitive market, so even there are purchase intentions and the end of the day are minimum purchase intentions that converts into a purchase. For the Canadian market, this brand is doing great. Since the observation I made when I was studying abroad, Canadians are more committed to the Apple ecosystem because all their technology (laptop, wearables, smartphone, etc) is from Apple.

Resources:

Apple [Mozza Creations]. (May 30th, 2016) “iPhone 6 - The Camera (Advertisement)” [Online Video] Taken from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iolCC5eorVM

Apple [Riders Brothers]. (august 16, 2015) “Iphone 6 India Ad” [Online video] Taken from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJOrFCJQUW8

Dormehl, L. (2019). Today in Apple's history: Apple’s ‘Get a Mac’ campaign comes to an end. September 13, 2019, from Cult of Mac Web site: https://www.cultofmac.com/548865/apple-get-a-mac-ad-campaign-ends/

Dua, K. (2018). Why the iPhone can’t compete in India. September 13, 2019, from The Verge Web site: https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/25/17611438/iphone-in-india- obstacles-to-success

Gámiz, P. (2015). DIFERENCIAS CULTURALES EN MARKETING INTERNACIONAL: UNA APROXIMACIÓN A PARTIR DEL CASO DE LA PUBLICIDAD DE MCDONALD ́S. Spain: Universidad de Valladolid.

Hofstede, G.. (2019). Country Comparison. September 13, 2019, from Hofstede Insights Web site: https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/canada,india/