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Global advertising: insights from multiple markets
Edited by Professor Shintaro Okazaki and Professor Barbara Mueller
Introduction
Given the rapid growth of global markets and an optimistic outlook for their future, researchers and practitioners have a keen interest in understanding the process of building strong brands in foreign market environments. An important issue in global branding is how to advertise a brand to establish equity that will lead to sustainable competitive advantages ([47] Sandler and Shani, 1992; [59] Yoo et al. , 2000). In an era of rapid globalization, an important question - and one that is little studied - is whether market segments that cut across national boundaries can be targeted with global advertising campaigns. The focus of the study presented here is on whether cross-national market segments exist in the fashion industry and, if so, whether these segments can be effectively reached via the use of a global advertising campaign.
Sales of global fashion brands are expanding rapidly in growing Asian markets such as China, Japan, and South Korea because young consumers in those countries are brand- and fashion-conscious ([8] Bryck, 2003; [40] Morton, 2002). A consumer preference for brands with a global image, even when quality and value are not objectively superior, has been proposed as a reason for companies to consider global brands ([51] Shocker et al. , 1994; [54] Taylor and Raymond, 2000). Therefore, a company needs to identify the response of consumers worldwide to its global advertising for a specific consumer segment. Although several researchers have suggested the need to cross-culturally analyze reactions to different types of advertisements ([13] dePelsmacker and Geuens, 1998; [58] Yoo and Donthu, 2002), few studies have been undertaken to assess differences in consumer attitudes toward global advertisements based on segments that cut across nations.
Evidence increasingly suggests that firms using a global strategy have an advantage in building brand equity ([4] Best global brands, 2006). Although many studies have focused on product standardization, advertising standardization, and global marketing strategy (GMS), relatively few have examined whether cross-national segments can be effectively targeted by marketers ([53] Taylor, 2005). The fashion industry for women is particularly relevant in terms of examining the feasibility of cross-national segmentation. Research indicates that females tend to be more fashion-conscious, be more knowledgeable...