Ethnocentrism - Indian Context Added
Ethnocentrism - Indian Context Added
Ethnocentrism - Indian Context Added
An Example:
Market in discussion: Beverage industry [Beer]
Brand in discussion: Budweiser(Anheuser-Busch) Budweiser (Anheuser- Busch) is a great example of a brand that has used ethnocentrism to its advantage. From the very beginning, Budweiser projected itself as an American brand in order to relate itself to the American way of life. The great American hero for the great American hero print ad in the late 1960 was one such attempt [http://www.flickr.com/photos/brookston/4817122640/]. Moreover, in its commercials, Budweiser has showcased the basic American beliefs of individualism, freedom and patriotism. By understanding the linkages between these beliefs and the desire of the people to promote
Rishav Kanodia, 1211290 Page 1
[CONSUMER ETHNOCENTRISM] January 28, 2013 local products (studies on ethnocentrism show that American people think that it is important to support domestic products because it helps the economy and the people around them), the company positioned itself as The Great American Lager. Budweiser, over the years, has used several clever commercials to attach itself with the American way of living. The latest in the series of the commercials is the Wassup commercial [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDTZCgsZGeA]. This links baseball to the Bud so as to say that the game is incomplete without the Budweiser beer. Budweiser also tried to connect to the American people by paying homage to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the country [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3eQmzw6n3k]. In another marketing campaign, Budweiser used the red, white and blue of the American flag on the beer cans on the 4th of July to mark the independence day of USA. [http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff212/brewedforthought/Other/American-Beermed.jpg] [http://www.tasty-takes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Budweiser-Patriotic-Can.jpg] What was Budweisers strategy in other countries? To try to reduce the American quotient of the brand and associate itself with the foreign country. Two examples have been given below : To become big in England and Europe, Budweiser again took to sports to gain a favourable opinion. What it did was associate itself with football, a game people in England live and die for. Association with FA cup (one of the most prestigious football cups in England) to patronize the English fans and association with FIFA in which they did not focus on the American aspect(because English people have been found to be ethnocentric in nature) was some of the ways they tried and succeeded to a great extent. In one of the campaigns, Budweiser came up with a way to connect with the Canadian people using sports as a means.[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0qZYqdsYAg]. Ice Hockey being so big in Canada was a nice way to connect with the Canadian people. Some of the other print ads of this company through which the company tried to link itself to the home country can be seen at: [http://brookstonbeerbulletin.com/tag/budweiser/page/8/]
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