How Global Brands Compete - Summary

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Global branding in the 1980s was influenced by a famous 1983 Harvard Business Review article, "The Globalization of Markets." The article argued that companies should leverage the "economics of simplicity" and sell standardized products around the globe. The benefits were lower costs and consistent customer communications. This approach didn’t last long, because consumers of most companies had trouble relating to the generic products and communications that resulted from companies least common denominator thinking. Executives therefore rushed to fashion hybrid strategies, companies would centralize production, research and technology, but localize marketing, distribution and PR to accommodate cultural and geographic differences. In this article, it is mentioned that most people choose one global brand over another because of differences in the brands' global qualities. Rather than ignore the global characteristics of their brands, firms must learn to manage those characteristics. That's critical, because future growth for most companies will likely come from foreign markets. Going global is highly attractive, as it is mentioned in the article, it not only represents a perception of excellence but it comes with a challenging set of obligations that many do not anticipate or plan for. The risks of taking a brand global must be carefully weighed or the damage to the brand can be irrevocable. The authors have tried to find the perceptions of consumers regarding the global brands, the global consumer segments and have suggested the new opportunities and responsibilities in global arena regarding global brands. Consumers all over the world associate global brands with three characteristics and evaluate them on these dimensions while making purchase decisions. The first one is the quality signal, Consumers’ associate brands with quality and the producer/brand holder

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