1. Expanding the topic

Read the following speech given by Julia Ross, the president of the Global Advertisers ’ Association. She recently spoke at a meeting of advertisers who want to start global campaigns. Part of her speech was published in Adworld magazine. Consider the following questions and discuss them with the class before you read.

1. Can you think of any countries in which the government might not allow businesses to advertise?

2. Are there any food products in your home country that might not sell well in other parts of the world? Where? Why?

3. Do you know anyone who has lived in a country where it is difficult for people to buy the products they want?

Good morning. It’s good to be here with you at this meeting. My goal is to give you some information about changing world markets. Let’s start by looking at the U.S.A. - which we could say is the “United States of Advertising.” Can you think of a country with more advertising than the U.S.? For example, you’re watching a movie on TV. You’re waiting for the good guy to get the bad guy, and BAM! There’s a commercial. A few minutes later the good guy’s in trouble, and BOOM! Another commercial. Message after message. It’s not like that in other countries, folks. In places like France and Spain, you’ll watch at least a half hour of the program, then you’ll get some commercials. All in a row.

But I’m not here today to talk about Europe. Let’s talk about China, where for years any kind of commercial advertising was illegal. Government advertising, yes - that was all over the place. But business advertising? No way! Then Sony came along and changed things. The Japanese companies were the first to start advertising in China. They’ve led the way for others to come into the country. We can learn something from them, too. Don’t come in overnight and start advertising. Take your time. Plan your campaign carefully. Remember, there are millions of people in China who don’t know what a Big Mac is. So, don’t rush over there and try to sell them one. Take your time. Think ahead five or ten years. It pays to be patient in China.

Now in Russia, you have to think about your product and whether or not there’s a market for it. Take fast food, for example. In Russia, that’s a very strange idea. In their restaurants, you sit down and the waiter brings you soup, salad, meat, potatoes - one thing at a time. The Russians think of food as something you take your time with, something you enjoy.

It’s funny what happened with pizza in Russia. First they had to convince people to try it, and explain that it was similar to Russian vatrushka. Then Pizzaria restaurant opened up in Moscow. The Russians may have liked it all right, but Pizzaria didn’t go over too well with foreign visitors. That’s because the pizza didn’t always have enough tomato sauce and cheese! Another problem was that if you wanted to take the pizza home with you, the chef wouldn’t hear of it! He didn’t want it to get cold. See? When you’re dealing with international markets, you’re dealing with other customs, other cultures.

But things are changing every day. New markets are opening up all the time. You have to look at the big picture before you start planning a campaign. Think about your product. Will people be able to buy it? Think about your marketing plan. Will people understand it? Remember that for years in China and Russia, people had a hard time buying things. The best advertisement of all was a long line in front of a store. That’s how people knew which store was the place to go. So think about how things are changing. And thank you for being here today.