American companies adapting advertising strategies for European markets

¶ … American Companies Advertising in Western Europe

European advertisers have a lot to learn from Americans. Many of initial concepts of advertising up to the present day have originated in America. But Europeans are not Americans, and they have different social and cultural needs, expectations and triggers than Americans. As an amalgam of 27 EU countries plus several affiliated lands, Europe is larger, more complex, and more demanding than the monolithic U.S. market.

The articles reviewed in the following pages will cover two themes: Europeans using U.S.-developed advertising techniques but applying their spin for European audiences, and American companies developing their own approach to advertise to Europeans, in some cases making significant changes to their entire approach in order to establish a rapport with their audiences.

Counter-attacking the Kremlin (Economist, 2007)

We take our advertising freedoms in America for granted. In Russia, the non-governmental media outlets have been shut down one after another. There is only one major private media outlet left as of the time of this Economist article: New Times. The brave editors of this newspaper have persisted despite Kremlin-directed assassinations of journalists, persecution of media editors, and revocation of the licenses of those who are not willing to toe the Kremlin's political line.

The point of the Economist article is that Europeans have, for the most part, attempted to assuage the Kremlin by turning in the other direction as anti-democratic press suppression is taking place at their doorstep. Appeasement isn't working, says the Economist.

The authors say that there are no Russian companies willing to stand up to the government and advertise in the New Times. Their suggestion, in this editorial, is to have the "Polish sausage makers, Estonian sprat-canners and Georgian wine makers" place their advertisements in the New Times in order to strengthen the cause of democracy.

Who is better placed to put in this advertising than American companies? Given the power of American brands, such as Ford, Coca-Cola or Marlboro, these companies can both afford to place ads in the New Times, and derive a benefit from their coverage. While the Kremlin may rant and rave, they have little opportunity to retaliate against such global brands.

We take advertising as a given, but it can also be a force for peace and democracy.

Direct-to-consumer advertising debated in the United States and European Union (Guthrie, 2007)

Direct-to-consumer advertising for drug products, whether over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription, is common in the United States. This article from the Canadian Medical Journal discusses the major issues that American drug companies are facing in attempting to introduce direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription pharmaceuticals in Europe.

This is a very attractive market for pharmaceutical manufacturers. The Kaiser Family Foundation, quoted in this article, claims that each dollar spent on advertising returns $4 in sales to the drug company. Since margins are generally over 80%, this means significant profits are available for such advertising.

The problem in Europe is that prescription drug selling is still the exclusive preserve of the local pharmacy, which has a strong political lobby in Europe. European activists are raising the concern that DTC advertising will injure the relationship between the consumer and his/her pharmacist and doctor.

European pharmaceutical dispensing customs and laws are significantly different than in the U.S. In Germany, for example, one cannot buy vitamins (above a certain small dosage) or aspirin anywhere but a pharmacy. Most drugs we consider OTC are still limited to the pharmacy in many European countries.

In considering whether to push for DTC advertising in Europe, American pharmaceutical companies will have to tread carefully, and be mindful of the special political clout carried by pharmacies and physicians.

Culture' and the limits of innovation in marketing: Ernest Dichter, motivation studies and psychoanalytic consumer research in Great Britain, 1950s -- 1970s (Schwarzkopf, 2007)

This study from the University of London talks about the attempt of American companies and advertising agencies to bring the results of psychoanalysis to Great Britain in the 1950's to the 1970's, and the difficulties encountered. America pioneered in consumer motivational research, which was popularized by Vance Packard in "The Hidden Persuaders" in the 1950's. In Packard's model, American advertisers were able to find the subconscious motivators for everyday choices: what toothpaste to use, what floor wax, or which laundry detergent. The overall goal was to create an emotional connection between the advertiser and the user, and thus strengthen the brand.

One of the leading proponents of psychological analysis was Ernest Dichter, who was a thought-leader and market researcher who had great success in the United States. His story of trying to penetrate the UK market in the 1950's is covered by the author. Although incumbent UK market researchers had economic reasons for wanting to resist Dichter's entry to the UK market, the primary resistance was cultural.

UK intellectuals resisted the idea of psychoanalyzing, categorizing and selling to psychological demographics. There was the hint of "Big Brother," and a bit of anti-American feeling in the resistance, which was led primarily by the intelligentsia.

This new article is a cautionary tale that the British, despite their cultural and linguistic similarities, object to the kinds of categorization used in the United States.

Analysis and Recommendations

Advertising in the United States has a different meaning than it does for Europeans. As we have seen in the above articles, some of the basic assumptions which we don't even question in America are open to criticism in Europe. Similarly, advertising freedoms in the U.S. can be viewed as threatening in Europe:

Russian approaches to media mean that advertisers are shut out of all but government-approved media.

Assumptions about OTC and direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising are very different in Europe than in the U.S.

Americans pioneering efforts in using psychology to target advertising in America met with considerable resistance in Europe; Europeans regard themselves as more than "markets," but as Menschen -- people.

American companies should not make the assumption that Europeans are behind America in media. Europe leads America in cell phone technology. The way that Europeans use their cell phones -- with, for example, a lot more SMS text messaging -- dictates a different advertising approach than in the United States.

This paper takes into account only a few articles over the past few months. If one looks to the deeper cultural concerns today in Europe, one sees a cultural insecurity as the European Union attempts to develop unifying concepts on what it is to be a European. This debate does not take place in the same way in the United States. We accept that we're Americans. The difference is important to understand for all American companies seeking customers in Europe.