Global Marketing Management, 6th Edition

HAPTER OVERVIEW

1. GLOBAL BRANDING STRATEGIES
2. MANAGEMENT OF MULTINATIONAL PRODUCT LINES
3. PRODUCT PIRACY
4. COUNTRY-OF-ORIGIN (COO) EFFECTS
5. GLOBAL MARKETING OF SERVICES

The detergent division of the German company Henkel has long been committed to a strategy of strong local brands. In Europe Henkel varies its laundry detergent strategy to address regional variations in laundry practices. Southern Europeans traditionally washed their clothes with lower temperatures than their northern counterparts. They prefer less powerful detergents, often used in combination with bleach. People in the north favor powerful detergents and mostly dislike bleach in their laundry. Packaging preferences also differ. People in Northern Europe like compact products, while Southern consumers favor large boxes. To cope with all these variations, Henkel customizes its brand portfolio, positioning, and the product formulations. Henkel's flagship brand is Persil. However, Henkel did not own the Persil brand name in France¹; it offered a similar product under the brand name Le Chat (“The Cat”). The positioning was also tweaked in different countries. For instance, Persil's whiteness positioning in Germany was replicated for Le Chat in France. In the Netherlands, Persil was positioned as an eco-friendly product. In ...