WHEN “FOREIGN” IS A GOOD THING
Sometimes companies gain an advantage by being viewed as foreign. In the U.S., for example, people value watches that are Swiss, cars that are German and Japanese, wines that are French (and Australian), and clothing that is Italian.
Christiane Bernier notes that America has become more interested in other cultures, but still has a relatively naïve understanding of other cultures. Companies that market to Americans take full advantage of this fact. For example, “French vanilla” means nothing in France. Fortune cookies are an American invention and are virtually nonexistent in Asia.
The key question to ask when entering a new market is, “Am I serving a uniquely local need or am I selling a uniquely foreign ...
Get Beyond Borders: Web Globalization Strategies now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
