Information
AI Chat

This is a Premium Document. Some documents on Studocu are Premium. Upgrade to Premium to unlock it.

History and Geography of Country

Essay option focusing on history and geography of a country and how th...

Module

Global Marketing Management (MARK1195)

6 Documents

Students shared 6 documents in this course

University

University of Greenwich

Academic year: 2016/2017

Uploaded by:

Liz Roberts

University of Greenwich

0followers

0Uploads

5upvotes

Comments

Please sign in or register to post comments.

Preview text

How important is it for companies to understand the his-

tory and geography of a country in which they are mar-

keting?

For some, this topic or question may seem as though it has a simple answer; It is very import- ant that a marketer should understand the history and geography of a country that they are marketing in. However, this essay will be discussing why. This essay will focus on Russia, and will look at the history, geography and culture of the country. As well as this, there will be a focus of what factors an international marketer needs to be aware of when marketing in Russia. The essay will use published literature; articles, journals and reports – to critically discuss the question: how important is it for companies to understand the history and geography of a country in which they are marketing?

To open this essay, there must first be a brief overview of the geography, then history of the Russia, specifically the Soviet Union, and the fall of it and how that has affected the country to be what it is today. This will be followed by a discussion of the culture of the country, par- ticularly looking at the business culture, and why that is an element that is important for com- panies to be aware of when marketing, and also the difficulties they may face.

Following this, the essay will look at what marketing was like in the Soviet Union, and then compare to marketing in Russia today, and how it has changed and developed in time. Finally, the essay will look in to understanding foreign markets, why it is important, and present a recent example of a company not understanding the country they are marketing in.

Geography of Russia

It is important that marketers understand the geography of a country, both human and phys- ical. For example, they need to be able to understand how they can supply needs, for ex- ample, transport, also the store of products and also the economy of the country. There may be geographical limitations, such as a country being an island, or one that may be prone to natural disasters. Despite ranking number 9 in the top 10 worlds most populated countries, with a population of 143 million (Kanar Wordpanel, 2013). It may seem that compared to other countries, China, India and the USA, it would be easier to work in. However, when it comes to Russia, it is a well-known fact that it is the biggest country in the world. This does provide many geograph- ical limitations. To give an idea of its immense size, it stretches for about 4,500km from North to South. (If you include the Artic Islands) and for 9,000km west to east. It also covers 11 time zones (Blinnikov, 2011). Due to the sheer size of the country, accessibility is another problem. On the northern part of the Eurasian landmass most of the rivers flow from south to north. There are no cheap transcontinental water transportation routes from Europe to Asia, costly land transport is practically the only option. Most of Russia's territory is not only cold, but also remote from the world markets and from the main population centers in Russia itself. (Markevich and Mikhailova, 2012) A physical geographic element such as this, can be difficult for a marketer. For example, in the Soviet Union, in the isolated Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, there were no paved streets

Another thing that marketers must consider is the business culture of Russia, McCarthy and Puffer (2002) label three Russian Cultural traditions:

(1) circumventing laws and directives; (2) low trust; and (3) personal networks.

These three areas tie in with the business culture of the country; a lot of deals and trades are done unofficially, or someone in an authoritative position can be bribed or even paid off in order to get a “good deal” this has always been the way of the Russians. The low trust is an area that international marketers may struggle with, as it also ties in to the personal networks. Without the personal networks, they have the low trust. For new international marketers, this is an issue if they are trying to get a deal and also estab- lish a new relationship, as the Russian cultural traditions listed by McCarthy and Puffer, sug- gest that it would be difficult for them. However, once established with a personal relationship, they would value this and achieving their goals would be a lot easier, and they could develop on the relationship and build a cul- ture of trust.

Marketing in the Soviet Union

The questions are raised – aside from the obvious moment in history; the dissolution of the USSR, what was Marketing in the Soviet Union like? What has changed between then and now? And, how have international marketers adapted their work with these changing factors? There is a journal article that was published that gives us some answers; “Philip Kotler's in- fluence in the Soviet Union and Russia” which gives an idea as to what marketing in the So- viet Union was like, before it was the Russia that the world sees today. Fox, Skorobogatykh and Saginova talk about how in 1980, Philip Kolter’s book; Marketing Management, was the first western marketing textbook to be translated into Russian and published in the Soviet Union. (2008, p) this suggests that the Soviet Union had their own methods of marketing at that time, and unlike today, were not a westernized country. A journal article written by Ja- cobs tells us that in fact, Kolter’s book was the first marketing book published at all at that period. And that said book was the first step to improving awareness of western-style market-

ing (2001, p). They then go on to mention that it was remarkable that any book on mar-

keting, let alone a marketing book by a Western author, could have been published in the So- viet Union at the time when the Soviet Communist Party categorically rejected capitalist eco- nomic principles and practices, and officially rejected the word “marketing” as well as mar- keting as an activity (2008, p). This is a very interesting insight to marketing in the So- viet Union at the time, and is very different to the marketing we see in Russia today. As well as the academic restrictions to marketing in the USSR. There were also other limita- tions at the time, for example; advertising in the printed media and on television as well as ra- dio commercials has now been legal since 1995 (Wagner, 2005) meaning that before this date, marketers were especially limited in their work. As well as this, there were virtually no imported goods, making international marketing a non-existent trade.

Marketing in Russia today

Marketing in Russia has come on leaps and bounds since the time of the USSR. In compari- son to times of marketing in the Soviet Union, there is a huge difference, for example, nowa- days, you can hardly find a big or small company, that doesn’t promote itself in Internet. Ad- vantages of Internet-marketing are not only in ability to cover the target audience. It suggests flexible management of advertising communications (Gushchina et al, 2015) Which in 20 years of development has progressed tremendously.

In a 2001 journal article, there is evidence of what marketing is like in Russia today;

Since the time of Peter the Great, there has been a debate in Russia between those who have wanted to follow the ‘western’ path, and those who have believed that Rus- sia has such unique conditions that the country should follow a particularly ‘Russian’ path. The attempt by some to adapt or change western-style marketing principles to suit current Russian conditions is probably misdirected, as it misunderstands the na- ture of western-style marketing. In Russia, apparently as a result of the legacy of the Communist system and the inexperience of managers in using western-style market- ing, the tendency is to overlook the importance of the marketing mix and focus pri- marily on product or perhaps product and price. The Russian concept of marketing thus tends to result in a product orientation, or perhaps in a selling orientation, but certainly not in a market orientation. (Jacobs, 2001)

From this quote, the Author explains what marketing is like, post – Soviet Union. As Jacobs said, the fact that there is a split between the country, with some wanting to embrace western culture, and others sorely against it. This could be linked to the generation divide we see earlier, with the older generations stuck in their ways (of the USSR), and younger generations embracing the growing westernized culture. He talks about how there are a lack of managers with the experience of the western world ways, this is due to the fall of the Soviet Union being so recent, there has been very little time for generations to understand this area. This means that when international marketers do try to work in Russia, their focus on the marketing mix, is misunderstood by Russia’s tendency to focus on the product and price. International marketers will have to adapt campaigns to this, or perhaps emphasise the areas of product and price. A willingness to exercise flexibility and to make adaptations to the marketing mix can constitute a key determinant of success or failure in the Russian market ( Johansson, 1997; Paliwoda and Thomas, 1999)

Based on the huge changes already seen in the Russian market, we know the conditions are complex and capable of rapid change, leading to risks as well as opportunities for new market entrants. (Fallon and Jones, 2004) If we look at how UK businesses may try and enter the Russian market, Fallon and Jones (2004, p176) suggest three main decisions must be taken in order to provide a platform for ef- fective marketing in Russia. 1. They must decide whether to enter or increase their involvement in the Russian mar- ket or go elsewhere instead 2. What market entry mode to adopt if they do decide on Russian market involvement 3. What marketing programme or mix should be followed in Russia (with what degree of standardisation and adaptation) (Doole and Lowe, 2001; Hollensen, 2000a; Wall and Rees, 2001)

campaign on a TV show aired at a certain time, would be difficult. The show can be sched- uled to be shown at 5pm in Moscow, however, with the same TV shows on the same chan- nels being shown all over the country, the product will have already been shown 2 hours earlier in, Perm. With today’s access to internet, this also means that the show could already be on the internet, with everyone having access to it well before it is showed on Television. However, this may not be the case for something being shown on live TV, as a show would be broadcasted immediately, which eliminates the issue of the internet. However, provides the new issue of the time zones. Half the country may be asleep at the time something import- ant is being shown. This is something that marketers may face as an issue all over the world certainly in the USA, however, with Russia being the largest country in the world, with so many time zones, it is the only country that has the problem on such a large scale.

Conclusion

To conclude; for a marketer to understand the country they are marketing in, it is absolutely vital that they have an understanding of the history and geography of the country. As well as this, a knowledge of the culture, particularly, the business culture. It is important they are aware of this, as without this, their efforts in implementing a marketing campaign are invalid. They may have the perfect campaign, but if they do not have the knowledge of the country, it is irrelevant.

Russia presents many geographical and historical restrictions to marketers. The main two is- sues being the size of the country. With so many time zones and the length of time it takes to travel from one side to another, it presents a variety of issues, several that were talked about in this essay. Historically, the biggest thing to happen to Russia, is the fall of the Soviet Union. It is such a huge influence on the country, especially as it was only 21 years ago. The repercussions of this huge moment in history are still affecting Russia today, particularly in the vast differences in the marketing industry. The differences in 10 years are colossal. From a country that was basically shut off from the rest of the world, with a very little amount of imported goods, to grow to be a huge develop- ing country, with a huge western influence, with companies all over the world working within it. There are still areas that need to be worked on; like a knowledge of the marketing mix. But over time, they should develop positively, as old, Soviet, influences become obsolete.

Without a knowledge of these elements, we could see something go very wrong – like the coca cola ad in Germany. Which is a prime example of a company lacking in knowledge, and in result, offended a whole country. International marketers should be constantly weary of the limits the history and geography of a country may have. It should be something they regularly keep updated with, as without this knowledge they cannot be successful.

Bibliography

Advantour. (2016). Religion in Uzbekistan. [online] Available at: advan- tour.com/uzbekistan/religion [Accessed 12 Dec. 2016].

Aslund, A. (2002), Building Capitalism: The Transformation of the Former Soviet Bloc, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Blinnikov, M. (2011). A Geography of Russia and Its Neighbors. 1st ed. [ebook] New York: The Guilford Press, p. Available at: books.google.co/books?id=Qcood- EOmnMUC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q& f=false [Accessed 12 Dec. 2016].

Clinton O. Longenecker, (2001),"Why managers fail in Post-Soviet Russia: causes and lessons", European Business Review, Vol. 13 Iss 2 pp. 101 – 109

Daniel J. O’Neil, (2000) "The Fall of the Soviet Empire", International Journal of Social Eco- nomics, Vol. 27 Iss: 2, pp – 168

Doole, I. and Lowe, R. (2001), International Marketing Strategy – Analysis, Development and Implementation, 3rd ed., Thomson Learning, London

Encyclopedia Britannica. (2016). Union of Soviet Socialist Republics | historical state, Eura- sia. [online] Available at: britannica/place/Soviet-Union [Accessed 12 Dec. 2016].

Grahame Fallon Alan Jones, (2004),"Marketing in Russia by UK businesses: lessons from a survey of trade missioners to Moscow", Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Develop- ment, Vol. 11 Iss 2 pp. 174 – 185

Gushchina, E., Sizeneva, L., Orlova, N. and Petrovna, L. (2015). Problems and Prospects of Internet Marketing in Russia. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences.

Hollensen, S. (2000a), “International marketing planning”, in Tayeb, M. (Ed.), International Business, Financial Times, Prentice Hall, London

Fox News. (2015). Coca-Cola pulls Fanta ad over Nazi controversy. [online] Available at: foxnews/leisure/2015/03/04/coca-cola-pulls-fanta-ad-over-nazi-contro- versy/ [Accessed 12 Dec. 2016].

Fox, K., Skorobogatykh, I. and Saginova, O. (2008). Philip Kotler's influence in the Soviet Union and Russia. European Business Review, 20(2), pp-176.

Jacobs, E. (2001). The Influence of Western Concepts on Russian Marketing Theory. British Journal of Management, 12(2), pp-157.

Johansson, J. (1997), Global Marketing: Foreign Entry, Local Marketing and Global Man- agement, Irwin, Chicago, IL.

Kunar Wordpanel, (2013). A Global Ranking of the Most Chosen Consumer Brands. p.

Levitt, T. (1983). Globalization of markets. The Marketing Imagination, pp 1-20.

Lewis, R. (2006). When cultures collide. 1st ed. London: Brealey, p.

Was this document helpful?

Premium

This is a Premium Document. Some documents on Studocu are Premium. Upgrade to Premium to unlock it.