Fantasy Advertising
Research has shown that the French have a tendency to have their products surrounded by dreams and humor (both high context and diffuse) while the Germans and Americans have a strong tendency to show the specifics of the products by informative advertising. For example, in order to show the power of one its top cars (R9), Renault showed it driven through the country at great speed but without a driver. This highly imaginative advertisement had great appeal in France, but failed in some countries where viewers wondered how the car could be driven without a driver and associated it with danger and craziness.
Developing Strategies and Implementing Them
Americans are often stunned by elaborately argued and planned French strategies. The inspiration is positively Napoleonic, the details rich, and the coordination elegant. When risk is involved, planning and calculating tend to escalate until the conceptions are perfect. Yet the problem for any culture that starts with diffuse conceptualization is that the specific actions may be too late and not as well performed. We tend to be victims of our "logical" priorities, and French managers are no exception. Fast to deduce, they are slower to think inductively from specific results back to their formidable plans.
High-Context Advertising in France
French marketing is often highly context-dependent and holistic. Turn the television on, and you may not know what is being advertised even if you understand the words. As in most high-context cultures, advertising in France often involves a context that is meant to trigger associations among French viewers. Many French advertising campaigns are elaborate and attempt to create whole environments. For example, a complete Provençal village square was created in Harrods to sell French products; L'Oréal had portraits commissioned of "Les Dames de Beauté," beautiful ladies, mostly queens and royal mistresses, who inhabited chateaux on the Loire. The supposed complexion of each beauty was matched to an appropriate line of cosmetics.
Appealing to the General Public
The history of western marketing theory has witnessed a development in which consumers have been dissected in ever smaller segments. A category like "young people" is meaningless in modern western marketing and even "female adolescents between 13 and 15" seems too broad to handle. Marketing is well on its way to personal marketing, in which each individual is a separate market segment. In China, however, where diffuseness and communitarianism converge, a good quality product is one that can be enjoyed by a large number-preferably all consumers. This is especially evident in advertisements for food and beverages. A very common set phrase in food advertisements is that the product is enjoyed by "men and women, old and young alike." TV commercials will substantiate that message by showing a typical extended family, consisting of three generations, all indulging in the food or drink that is being promoted.
Business and Pleasure
"Business before pleasure" is a proverb that collides with Chinese diffuse values. Business can never be successful without a certain amount of pleasure. Business seminars are a good example of this. Seminars are a convenient way to introduce products in China, where traveling can be cumbersome and time consuming. However, Chinese expect a seminar to be a combination of business and a holiday. Seminars are usually held at resort-type places, and the organizers pay special attention to the quality of the meals. The social interaction during breakfast, lunch, and dinner is at least as important as that during the formal seminar sessions and the last day is usually kept open for social activities like sightseeing. For that reason, if a product is to be introduced in a seminar that would normally take two days, this should be extended to three days in China.
Another diffuse aspect of Chinese seminars is that after dinner, business and casual chatting are often intermingled. A good tip for companies that think of organizing seminars in China is to reserve a conference room for the evening as well.
Advertising to Diffuse Customers
This preference for intuition over reasoning can also be observed in the Japanese style of marketing. Their approach to the customer is diffuse. The Japanese take a holistic view of the customer as a person; they don't just see the consumer in the role of customer. Westerners are often amazed by how diffuse Japanese advertising messages are compared to the simple and clear information in western, specific advertising messages, as we've noted. Moreover many Japanese companies have company philosophies that are phrased in lyrical terms and reflect their diffuse orientation. Some examples are "Kyosei-working for the common good" (Canon); "For harmony and strength" (a bank); "The cycle of goodness" (YKK); "Spread joy through music" (Yamaha music). When they invest abroad, these companies find it difficult to explain their philosophies to non-Japanese, specific-oriented staff.
Singapore Networks
Diffuse societies are often network societies, but Singapore is the ultimate network society. The networking culture gave Singapore a competitive advantage in Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). As an island nation with no natural resources, Singapore is dependent on trade. Singapore realized in the 1980s that new EDI technologies should be used to modernize the network. The implementation of the TradeNet concept was started in 1989. This is an electronic trade documentation system that has helped to cut the processing time on cargo shipments from one day to less than thirty minutes. It coordinates the flow of documentation. The Seaport Authority, the Airport Authority, the Trade Development Board, shipping agents, air cargo agents, customs, freight forwarders, and traders are all in one network. All parties involved can check documents, book facilities, and gain access to arrival and departure information.
Singapore adopts new technology at an incredibly fast rate because of its strong networking orientation. Other examples of such networks in Singapore are MediNet, LawNet (lawyers can access information and file documents with the court and different registries), and Asia Manufacturing Online (a display of the products of over 15,000 local and regional manufacturing companies).
The Ultimate Service Concept
The most important thing in Singapore is to show that you care about the customer and want to develop a personal relationship. Advertisements in newspapers very often display photos of salespeople or real estate agents and state that they are "at your service with care." Restaurants advertise that they offer simple cuisine but luxurious and courteous service.
Singapore Airlines is the quintessential example of Singaporean ideas about diffuse customer relations. Singapore Airlines began as Malayan Airways Limited in 1937 when Singapore was still part of the Malayan Federation. It became Singapore Airlines in 1972 after the Singapore and Malaysian governments could not agree on the combined airline service. Singapore Airlines seems to have combined the personal service inherited from its Malaysian heritage and good financial planning from its Chinese Singaporean background. It was one of the first two airlines to offer free drinks, choice of meals, personal videos, and in-flight telephone service. It is seen as the benchmark in customer service with regard to cabin comfort and food.
Korean Extras
The diffuse cultural orientation of Koreans makes their expectation of service different from that of most western countries. Koreans believe that a supplier should not profit from service. Even after the sale is completed, the needs of the customer should still be met. Trying to profit from service may damage a company's relationship with its customers. In Korea, the customer always expects to get something extra, in the form of discounts, free gifts, or free help in the event of problems. A supplier who charges for every service rendered is not appreciated. If fees for specific services are not explicitly mentioned in the contract, a Korean customer could well expect to get them for free.