Global Marketing and Advertising: Understanding Cultural Paradoxes

This book review is on a 'titre personnel" basis.I enjoyed the international advertising course which Marieke gave at Universidad de Navarra in 1997. As a teacher she is very capable of communicating the importance and urgency of this diverse and complex subject: managing marketing communications and brands within the outer/ and inner spheres of market cultures. Marieke applies the 5 dimensional model of G.Hofstede to illustrate and diferentiate a clear and full colour image of cultures and values. Being dutch myself, I recognise both the theory of Hofstede, but also the paradoxes Marieke has found. Intrigueing phenomena such as Japanese business success and collectivism, such as status and success in feminine cultures etc etc are often raising eyebrows, and not seldomly at highbrow corporate levels. Cultural understanding, I have learnt, is possible only after understanding one's own culture, and a commitment to learn about the other culture, not matching it with your own. Marieke does this very well, she places anecdotes and case-studies is an objective setting, viewing it with an uncoloured microscope. She has added theory, academic research and good practice to make this book complete.This book, for me, is one of the few great books on international (intercultural) marketing communications (and brand management).

From the author: With this book I have tried to develop a knowledge base of cultural differences and similarities that can be used for developing global marketing and advertising strategies and meaningful local adaptations. The structure for understanding the consequences of culture for marketing and advertising is based on Geert Hofstede's model for comparing national cultures. I have applied it to consumer values and motivations and found that it can explain culture's influence on marketing and advertising. To make the book useful for both students and practitioners, it includes a mix of basic theory and the practical applications with many examples.Excerpts from a review by David A. Victor in The Journal of Business Communication of July 1998:`Marieke de Mooij has added a worthwhile contribution to the on-going discourse in cross-cultural business communication in Global marketing and Advertising: Understanding Cultural Paradoxes. The title might dissuade those in fields outside marketing from reading further, which would be unfortunate. Any of us with an interest in cross-cultural business ought to find something worthwhile in de Mooij's book. De Mooij focuses on the various paradoxes of cross-cultural marketing. She amply illustrates how "certain opposing values of one culture also exist in other cultures, but in reverse" (p. 2). De Mooij calls these "Value paradoxes" and it is here that she makes her greatest contributions. [....] Throughout her discussion of Value Paradoxes, she breaks new ground. [.....] De Mooij has laid out an extremely well-balanced approach to understanding the competing needs of marketing globally while accommodating local advertising preferences.'