从跨文化的角度分析跨国公司在中国的广告策略毕业论文.doc

重庆大学本科学生毕业论文

从跨文化的角度分析跨国公司在中国的
广告策略

学 生: xxx
学 号：xxx
指导教师：xxx
专 业：英语

重庆大学外国语学院
二〇一五年六月

Graduation Thesis of Chongqing University

Study on the Advertising Strategies of Multinational Corporations in China:
A Cross-cultural Perspective

Undergraduate: xxx
Supervisor: xxx
Major: English

School of Foreign Languages and Cultures
Chongqing University
June 2015
Graduation Thesis of Chongqing University Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements第一级标题的字体、字号参见模板，标题上下各空一行。

I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Li Hong, whose expertise, understanding, and patience, added considerably to my undergraduate experience. I appreciate her vast knowledge and skills in many areas and her assistance in writing this thesis. Without her prudent proofreading, expert comments and above all generous understanding, I would not have been able to accomplish this thesis. It has been a privilege and great joy to study under her supervision during the time of thesis writing.

My special gratitude also goes to Professor Yu Manjun, whose academic writing course has bestowed me with a foundation on academic writing and enlightened me with the right way of making research, and Professor Zhu Wanzhong, whose cross-cultural business course has expanded my horizon and given me great inspirations in writing this thesis.

I would also like to thank all of my other teachers, all of my classmates for their care and help during the past four years of study.

I must also give my acknowledgment to my family for the support they provided me through my university life, and without their love and encouragement, I would not have finished this thesis.

封面没有页码，从致谢到摘要有页码，页码为罗马数字。

II
Graduation Thesis of Chongqing University 摘要

摘要黑体，不加粗

越来越多的跨国公司在意识到中国市场的巨大潜力后把他们的目光转向这里。为了在激烈的竞争中处于优势地位，他们采取各种不同的营销策略。广告作为营销和宣传的重要手段有着不可或缺的作用。而克服文化差异被认为是跨国广告成功的基石。然而，怎样的广告才适用于有着不同文化背景的消费者呢？是标准化还是要地方化？近40年来这些问题都是国际市场及广告文献所争论的焦点。
本文以跨文化传播为理论依据，以内容分析和案例分析为研究方法，致力于研究跨国公司在中国的广告策略。文章首先阐述了跨国公司在中国的广告背景，其次从跨文化传播的角度谈跨国广告的传播效果，然后提供三种跨国公司在中国的广告策略，并以麦当劳在中国“全球策略，本土表现”的广告策略为例阐明何为行之有效的广告策略，最后为跨国公司中国广告策略提出建议，如认识并尊重中国本土的文化，迎合中国消费者的消费心里，在广告中融入中国元素、渲染中国传统文化特色等。
本文不仅是国际广告文献的必要补充，也为己经进入和即将进入中国市场的跨国公司更好地参与市场竞争提供参考依据。

关键词黑体，不加粗
：跨文化传播，跨国公司，广告，标准化，本土化
Graduation Thesis of Chongqing University Abstract

Abstract摘要是对论文全文的总结，英文摘要与中文摘要内容上一致。

An increasing number of multinational corporations turn their attention to Chinese market by recognizing its substantial potential for expansion and profit. In order to occupy an advantageous position in the fierce competition, they are adopting different marketing strategies. As an important means of marketing and promotion, advertising plays a very indispensable role and it is universally acknowledged that understanding cultural differences is often considered a prerequisite for successful international advertising. However, is it possible to persuade consumers in different markets with the same advertising message? Or should the message be customized to reflect the local culture? These questions have been the subject of extensive debate in the international marketing and advertising literature for nearly four decades.

This thesis employs cross-cultural communication theory as theoretical foundation and mainly focuses on the advertising strategies of multinational corporations in Chinese market. It adopts content analysis and case study as research methods. It first gives a brief introduction of the background of multinational corporations’ advertising in China; then it explains the communication effect of cross-cultural advertisement from the perspective of cross-cultural communication. After that, it presents three alternatives for multinational corporations’ advertising strategy in China and cites MacDonald as a typical case to demonstrate a successful advertising strategy in China, namely, think global, act local. At last, it provides some suggestions for multinationals’ advertising in China, such as recognize and respect the cultural differences in China, cater to the common psychology of the local customers, explore the unique customs and traditions of local markets and incorporate the images of local characters and settings into international advertising appeals.

The result of this thesis will be a supplement to the literature on international advertising and be able to provide some reference for the corporations that enter Chinese market, assisting them performing better in the competition.

Key words: cross-cultural communication, multinationals, advertisement, standardized, localized
- - 22 -
Graduation Thesis of Chongqing University Contents

Contents

Acknowledgements I
摘要 II
Abstract III
1 Introduction 1
2 Literature Review 3
2.1 Hofstede’s Five Dimensions of Culture 3
2.2 Porter and Samovar's Cross-cultural Communication 4
2.3 Access to Cross-cultural Advertising Effectiveness 5
3 Advertising Strategy Alternatives for Multinationals in China 8
3.1 Standardized Strategy 8
3.1.1 Definition 8
3.1.2 Advantages of Standardized Strategy 9
3.1.3 Disadvantages of Standardized Strategy 10
3.2 Localized Strategy 10
3.2.1 Definition 10
3.2.2 Necessities of Localized Strategy 11
3.2.3 Disadvantages of Localized Strategy 13
3.3 In-between Strategy — Global Brand with Local Execution 14
3.3.1 Definition 14
3.3.2 Seeking a Balance — Case Study of McDonald’s 15
4 Suggestions for Advertising of Multinationals in China 17
5 Conclusion 19
5.1 Major Findings of the Study 19
5.2 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research 20
References 21

Graduation Thesis of Chongqing University Introduction

1 Introduction

Ever since the end of the Second World War, great stride has been taken in world trade over the past 60 years. Thanks to the establishment of some international and regional economic organizations, such as WTO (in 1995), NAFTA (in 1994), EU (in 1992) and APEC (in 1989), economic boundaries between nations gradually faded away. As corporations in different countries realizing the substantial potential for expansion and profit the international markets provide, they are taking the initiative in participating in the international business and turning their attention to foreign markets with the aim to occupy a favorable place in the fierce competition. Especially those in developed countries, where slow population growth, saturated domestic markets, increasing foreign competition inhibit their further development, have already begun to look abroad for new markets and taste the high profit margins on foreign soil, such as BMW, Nestle, Nokia, McDonald’s, Nike, Toyota, Coca Cola, Gillette, Samsung, Colgate (Waller, 2002).间接引用只需写出引文作者的姓和引文写作的日期

China, the world’s fastest growing economy and the largest market, is witnessing increasing presence and involvement of multinational corporations. So far, 400 out of the world’s top 500 multinational companies have made investments in over 2000 projects in China. More than half of the 500 big in the U.S. have set up projects in China. It was reported that 19 of the 20 biggest manufacturers in the U.S., 19 of the 20 biggest manufacturers in Japan and 9 of the top 10 manufacturers in Germany have all set up investment programs in China (Lu, 2002)中文作者名同样只写姓的拼音
. What’s more, more than 510 thousand overseas-funded enterprises from nearly 200 countries or areas have settled in China, covering manufacturing, trade, agriculture and so on (He, 2007). It is rare that so many multinational corporations invest in the same markets at the same time. Along with the huge opportunity for development, the Chinese market also brings with them fierce competition and great threat. As players of the international economy, these multinational corporations have no choice but to energetically take the initiative to meet the international challenge and safeguard their sphere of influence.

As companies are more inclined to market and promote their products and services正文页码从“1”, 阿拉伯数字。
in a different market, they need to have a comprehensive and intensive understanding of the difficulty they will face in developing and implementing advertising. In fact, these companies face both an unfamiliar marketing environment with different economic development, different legal constraints, different public infrastructure and different political systems and customers with different sets of values, customs and consumption patterns, as well as dissimilar purchase motives and abilities. In order to occupy an advantageous position in the fierce competition, they are adopting different marketing strategies. As an important means of marketing and promotion, advertising plays a very indispensable role.

Advertisement, a bridge to connect customers with product, will goes beyond national and cultural boundaries. However, is it possible to persuade consumers in different markets with the same advertising message? Will they respond favorably? Or should the message be customized to reflect the local culture? These questions are among the most fundamental decisions when companies plan an advertising campaign in different cultures.

In the international advertising literature, the issue of standardization versus localization has ignited a long-running debate among the scholars and practitioners. While this debate still goes on and no ultimate agreement has been reached, many practitioners keep on failing to get their message across the target consumers, even offending them as a result of not taking care of the local customs, beliefs, values, economic reality, and legal regulations of a new market. The present-day situation of international advertising necessitates further cross-cultural research to demystify the dilemma, for the very reason that international advertising is advertising that reaches beyond national and cultural boundaries, that is, an attempt to persuade its potential consumers across cultures.

To comply with this demand, this paper employs cross-cultural communication theory as theoretical foundation and mainly examines cultural influence on advertising strategies of multinational corporations in China. It adopts content analysis and case study as research methods. The result of this paper will be a supplement to the literature on international advertising and be used as reference for Chinese companies in foreign market.
Graduation Thesis of Chongqing University Literature Review

2 Literature Review每一章都重新单独另起一页。页眉的左边统一为“Graduation Thesis of Chongqing University”。页眉的右边与章节题目相同。

The central aspect of international advertising strategy paradox has pointed out a need to understand culture and its consequential influence on advertising communication. Therefore, the following part will have a review of some major cross-cultural theories for the sake of further discussion.

2.1 Hofstede’s Five Dimensions of Culture建议最多分三级小标题，即2.1.1，不建议继续向下分级。二级和三级小标题的字体字号参见模板。

Just as Hofstede (2001) said “culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy; cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster” (p.23). For those who work in international business, it is sometimes amazing how different people in other cultures behave. We tend to have a human instinct that deep inside of all people are the same, but they are not in effect. Therefore, understanding cultural differences is often considered a prerequisite for successful international business.

According to Hofstede (2001), “each culture must deal with questions that can be resolved according to a series of dimensions, which results in a unique gestalt for each society, depending on the intensity of its tendency towards one or another and of each culture dimension spectrum” (p.34).直接引用需写出引文页码

The Five Dimensions are
w Individualism
w Uncertainty avoidance index
w Power distance index
w Masculinity
w Long-term orientation
Individualism focuses on the degree the society reinforces individual or collective achievement and interpersonal relationships.
Uncertainty Avoidance focuses on the level of tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity within the society.
Power Distance focuses on the degree of equality, or inequality, between people in the country’s society.
Masculinity focuses on the degree the society reinforces, or does not reinforce, the traditional masculine work role model of male achievement, control, and power.
Long Term Orientation focuses on the degree the society embraces, or does not embrace long-term devotion to traditional forward thinking values.

These five dimensions, taken together, can give important insights for someone wishing to enter a new culture for business, study, or other purposes. Though he made a great contribution to cross-cultural business field, his research still has some limitation. Hofstede’s Five Dimensions Theory has been criticized on the grounds of being too static (Holden, 2001), or being weak in terms of theoretical foundation (Dahl, 2004).

2.2 Porter and Samovar's Cross-cultural Communication
According to Porter and Samovar (2006), communication has nine ingredients: source, encoding, message, channel, receiver, decoding, receiver response, feedback and noise. Any communication takes places in a certain context and may be hindered by noises in the communication environment, causing communication misunderstanding or even failure. The idea could be illustrated by the following
figure:

Sender
Response
Feedback
Receiver
Decoding
Media
Encoding
Message
NOISE

Figure 2.1 Communication process and steps

Encoding refers to the process of sender putting the message into codes. Decoding refers to the process of the receiver interpreting the message from the sender. Response means the reactions of receiver to the message upon receipt. Feedback means the reactions of receiver that are sent back to the sender after the receiver’s interpretation of the message. Noise refers to the disturbances along the communication processes, which may result in unintended message being perceived by the receiver.

A complete process of communication can be broken into five steps:
(1) A Sender has an idea
(2) The sender encodes the idea in message
(3) The Message travels over channel
(4) A receiver decodes the message
(5) Feedback travels to the sender (Guffey, 2001)

Advertising in essence is also a process of communication. The sender here is the company who prepares and issues advertisements. The receiver is expected to be the target consumer group, although it is not always the cas