Cultural Considerations in Multilingual Marketing

When it comes to business, a good marketing strategy is critical to growth and success. By reaching a larger demographic through the use of advertisements, commercials, or billboards, businesses are able to build their clientele and their brand exponentially. Internet is the most efficient and effective method through which companies are able to show off their products, as a large percentage of people around the world has access to it and information is shared globally at an alarming rate through it. This global exchange also permeates through language barriers and cultural barriers, resulting in multiple ads being translated into different languages. That is why it is imperative to take into account the different cultures and backgrounds that these potential customers have. By taking culture into consideration in a multilingual marketing strategy, businesses are able to both increase their accessibility to the general public, while still keeping current cosmopolitan consumers.

Targeted marketing strategies that incorporate culture are more successful than ones that ignores it. By connecting the audience to a specific product or media by using parts of their normal life, such as traditions, landscapes, or history, they are more likely to relate and desire said product than if the object has no significance to them. This point stems from ethnocentrism, or the idea that a product that is produced in one’s country is far superior to other products made by a different culture. However, while a person is more likely to buy products made in their own country, cosmopolitan consumers are able to overlook cultural differences if the product is presented in a confident enough manner or if the product is of high enough quality to break through the global market.

Global mass-media has played an essential part in this ability to overcome nationalistic economic barriers by transmitting exposure of different brands and their values to other countries, leading to a higher creation and sharing rate of these symbols. Specifically, a study done by Cleveland and Laroche has shown that this high rate of global mass-media exposure has increased willingness to try foreign brands, food, and even watch shows that incorporate foreign languages. Yet, while these consumers are willing to indulge themselves in foreign media, there is still resistance that exists to branching out, which stems from the concept that a person’s culture and dictates the way in which they consume various objects and media. This means that, no matter how exposed one becomes, they will always prefer consuming products that are culturally relevant to them, whether that be a brand from their country, their language, or other relevant factors to their life.

In conclusion, a person’s culture dictates the way they consume products. However, due to the increase of global mass-media, these consumers are willing to branch out to an extent due to the amount of exposure they have received. By utilizing these two pieces of information, a company can create a marketing strategy that targets a specific consumer group while getting their brand out to a larger target group. In business, more customers means more opportunities to increase success. Therefore, it stands to reason that incorporating culture into a multilinguistic marketing strategy increases the success in the endeavors of a company.