Short Paper
You are required to submit a short paper that examines the role of culture in persuasive marketing communications. In order to complete this paper you should identify two or more distinct cultural or subcultural groups of consumers, and analyze at least one marketing communication (print, video, billboard, internet, mobile, etc.) that is directed to each of these specific cultural audiences. You can choose to compare communications targeting consumers in different countries, different regions of a country, different time periods, different age groups, different ethnicities, etc.
Your analysis should discuss the cultural significance of specific elements of the communication in persuading the target audience. How is the culture of the target consumer either reflected in and/or influenced by the ads? In addition, you should attempt to identify important similarities and differences among the ads selected for analysis. You are encouraged to compare and contrast marketing communications for the same brand. If you choose to use communications from different brands, you should insure that the brands are comparable and pursue similar marketing strategies (the similarities and differences across ads should reflect primarily cultural or subcultural differences).
You should carefully choose ads that will offer an opportunity to explore the role ofculture in persuasive communications. For example, you might compare and contrast how the same brand is advertised in different countries, how the advertising of a brand in a specific culture has evolved over time, or how the advertising of a brand distinctly targets different age sub-cultures.
Successful marketing campaigns are able to tap into and reflect dominant cultural values, language, beliefs, and norms. That is, culture has a strong impact on the success or failure of individual products. In addition, a successful marketing campaign can actually influence and change the culture by propagating beliefs, values, and symbols from one cultural group to another.
Some marketing campaigns tap into cultural mythology in order to convey their messages. You should discuss the specific elements of the selected ads that reflect or influence values, beliefs, language, and norms.
You should also identify the target audience for the ads and whether you believe the ads successfully appeal to those consumers (i.e., Do the ads successfully encourage purchase of or loyalty to the product? How do they work? What are the risks and benefits of using the ads?).
You are strongly encouraged to apply concepts, theories, and terminology from the lectures and assigned readings. The paper should be no more than 4 double-spaced pages of text, and you must include a copy of your selected ads as an appendix in your paper. If you choose to analyze video ads, you must make the ads available with your paper (either on a CD or by providing valid URLs).
If you choose to analyze ads with foreign language content, you must provide an English translation. Please do not use any of the ads reproduced in your textbook in the chapters on "Cultural Influences on Consumer Behaviour" or "The Creation and Diffusion of Culture." Please note that clear, concise, and correct writing will be considered in the evaluation of this short paper.
That is, you may lose points for writing that impedes communication: poor organization, weak paragraph development, excessive wordiness, hard-to-follow sentence structure, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.