Continuation
McDonald’s’s Adverts in Russia
In this section, we shall discuss the results from McDonald’s’s adverts that we have already summarized in the previous section similar to what we have done for Coca-Cola Company. First, let us briefly review the results of the sentence structure used by McDonald’s’s in its advertisements; just like with Coca-Cola we can see that McDonald’s’s has throughout maintained the use of English words in all of its advertisement strategies in Russia. As we get to analyze the marketing strategy that McDonald’s’s uses in Russia we are going to see a striking similarity between the marketing approaches used by both these two Companies as far as advertisements of their products are concerned. And this is not by coincidence given that both these companies have global brands; more importantly, the fact that McDonald’s is one of the largest distributors globally of Coca-Cola implies that their similarities are more than just one. But because McDonald’s’s line of products are slightly more and inform of foodstuffs we shall see how it has customized its adverts to address this uniqueness.
Compared to Coca-Cola, McDonald’s has used significantly more words in general in the advertisement of its products in Russia; consequently, the number of English words used is also significantly high. In 2010, the number of words used in McDonald’s adverts is seen to have significantly increased to more than 65, with English words being 47. If we look back at the data of the sample adverts for the three previous years that McDonald’s has been advertising in Russia we realize that the Russian words used in the advert have been decreasing over the years while the English words have been increasing.
One of the possible reasons that could explain this decrease in the use of Russian words in McDonald’s adverts can be explained by the historical entry of McDonald’s in the Russian market in the early 90s which means that it has been in the market for more than two decades now.
Because McDonald’s entry into the Russian market was relatively late in the early 1990s just about the time that Coca-Cola was also entering the Russian market, it’s possible that the Company had to initially rely largely on the use of Russian language in its advertisement to capture the market. As years went by it probably become necessary to lessen the use of local language and adopt the use of English to position their brand as global brands. Luckily, because the use of English words in advertisements by McDonald’s occurs in the context of a video clip that does not necessarily require the viewer to understand the language, these adverts have become very successful in marketing McDonald’s products despite the element of the foreign language.
Indeed, one of the research studies that has researched the subject of advertising in Russia concluded that “the most successful use of imperatives in Russian advertising is to explain the way the product is used through concrete action” such as through demonstrations as well as nudging the consumer to try the product (Morozova). In this study cited by Irina which details the findings of the effects of English words in Russian advertisements, Morozova states that the best-designed adverts in Russia are the ones that do not have all words in abstracts form, but rather adopts a mixture of both abstract and concrete words (Irina). To achieve this mixture it is suggested to have 80% of the Russian concrete words making up the advert and the rest being English words (Irina).
A critical analysis of the structure of both McDonald’s and Coca-Cola Companies shows that this is actually the case and this ratio is being closely attained in these Companies advertisements.
Another reason that could explain why McDonald’s, as well as Coca-Cola, has continued to use their taglines in English is explained by this research study to be because of the impossibility in accurately translating these taglines to their equivalent meanings in Russia (Irina). This is a common challenge for all major global brands that tend to market in countries where English is not the first language. As such many global brands that have established themselves in English-speaking countries find it extremely hard to accurately translate their globally renowned taglines to Russian equivalents and “life tastes good”, globally used by Coca-Cola is given as one of the examples. A final reason why McDonald’s and Coca-Cola continue to use English words in their adverts in Russia is because of the limitations of the Russian language; Dimshits asserts that “Russian language does not easily accept new meanings” (Dimshits). These are therefore the range of reasons, factors, market strategies, and concepts that explains the structure of adverts that Coca-Cola and McDonald’s use in Russia.
While McDonald’s have taken significant steps to position their products differently by relying on the use of English words more than was previously the case as we have seen, we can also see that the Company has at the same time adopted marketing strategies that promote “iconicity and national identity” (Morris). Both McDonald’s and Coca-cola Company also rely on adverts that have folkloric themes of Russian traditions which they have widely used in their advertisement strategies in Russia.
This use of “iconicity and national identity” is what Morris describes as one of the major ways that international firms have adopted to position their products in such a manner that appeals to their target market and also as a strategy of competing with the local products that have been traditionally marketed using this particular approach of iconicity (Morris).
In this study, the author explores the role that the incorporation of iconicity in Russian advertisements serves in promoting the success of the products advertised which are outlined as two. Foremost and most important, the use of iconicity in products advertised in Russia promotes national identity because the customers can relate to the theme of the advert and consequently becomes more predisposed to associating with the products. This is because when adverts are positioned this way they portray “Russianness and sense of tradition connected to these products” that is especially best achieved when the characters of the adverts are based on history (Morris). In the case of McDonald’s, for instance, this achievement is attained in the way that the Company has positioned its food products in the Russian market. Indeed, as was ascertained during the data collection section of this paper during the research study, we can see that one of the McDonald’s commercials posted on YouTube applies this concept perfectly to its maximum utilization.
In this advert which we can see McDonald’s applying iconicity, the storyline revolves around a central historical Russian character referred to as Boyar who is described as a “Russian aristocrat used centuries ago” (cited in data collection notes). As the commercial is played out another component of iconicity is introduced by the use of a traditional Russian song known as “Vdrugkak v skazkeskripnuladver” which is part of the fairy tale that is being depicted in the storyline of the advert (cited in data collection notes). Very similar to how McDonald’s has adopted the use of iconicity in the above examples, we can see the same approach being used by Coca-Cola on its adverts streamed on Yu Tube. In this case, the fairy tale storyline is called the “Coca-Cola fire bird – Zharptista” which revolves around two characters which are the firebird and the golden apple (cited in data collection notes). Thus we can see from the above examples how Coca-Cola and McDonald’s have relied on this strategy of iconicity to “Russionize” their products, incidentally for both Companies use of fairy tales in their adverts is only used on commercials that are run on Yu Tube only.
The second factor that Morris identifies as the reason that is achieved by the use of iconicity is achievement through what he refers to as a “compensatory selling proposition”; regardless of whether the product in question is locally made or imported (Morris). The impact that this compensatory proposition has is crucial, especially where foreign products are being marketed such as the ones being sold by McDonald’s and Coca-Cola. This is because they tactfully appeal to the target market by magnifying product traits that local consumers would be keen to desire despite such products being perceived as foreign. And this too we can see in the way that both Companies have positioned their brands. This is especially so the case for McDonald’s which has strived to ensure that its variety of food products are customized to reflect Russia favorite dishes such as Mac Mafin, hashbrown, chicken mimic among others which we can see are being emphasized in the sampled adverts that were recorded during this research study than the rest.
For Coca-Cola, because it is a refreshment drink it is even more appropriately positioned and inclined to be successful in achieving a “compensatory selling proposition” given that it has less variety of products on which to compete with. In any case, the way that these products are positioned is done in such a manner as to offer gratification to the consumer which is a universal desire and therefore a basic need that is not dependent on race or nationality. This universal nature of human beings is what McDonald’s and Coca-Cola hopes to cater to and is a factor that is at the center of their marketing strategies.
In the following section let us undertake a review of more theories that explains the advertisement approaches that McDonald’s has resorted to using in Russia and which would especially explain the interesting trend in sentence structure that we have already analyzed in the previous section of this paper. The trend in McDonald’s adverts indicates that the number of English word usage has over the years been increasing. I propose several hypotheses to explain this phenomenon in which we see more English words being used in commercial adverts over the last few years. One explanation would be found in the events of the last few decades that have combined to make the English language more popular which consequently means that the use of the Russian language in Eastern Europe has decreased by the same proportion. A study by Ustinova identifies three factors that have combined to make the Russian language less popular; these she cites as “the fall of the Berlin wall, the advent of perestroika, and the rapid disintegration of the Soviet system” (Ustinova).
This is because in the aftermath of these events most countries in Europe opted to adopt the English language among the national languages in a bid to achieve cultural integration. Secondly, in the wake of efforts to create the European country block in the early 20th century, many countries were inclined to adopt policies that enhanced and strengthened this integration in preparation for a united European Union (EU). As such, one of the major areas that were being promoted in this region was the use of a common language which was notably English. Thirdly, over the last few decades, globalization has rapidly taken place at a faster rate than was previously the case when these Companies first entered the Russian market.
This has led to multinational companies investing and doing business in almost any other country worldwide and Russia has not been an exception. Because of the economic stimulus put in place to revive the economy and as a result of the reforms that resulted in the aftermath of the fall of the “iron curtain”, Russia became even more accommodative to international Companies willing to do business in the country (Ustinova). A recent study indicates that “in 2002 there were 7,000 foreign firms in Russia, and the European Business Club, based in Moscow, consisted of 420 companies” (Ustinova); this is a lot of foreign companies doing business in a single country by any standards. Another study by Shama and Sementsov does indeed confirm this assertion through its findings which noted the existence of numerous “legal transformation that made doing business in Russia more inviting and relatively less risky” (cited in Shama).
The result was an increased level of English language usage within the country which consequently meant that more people were exposed to the language than was previously the case meaning that they eventually learned to embrace it. Indeed, and not surprisingly the same study indicates that English in Russia is the most spoken and most widely spread “foreign language” (Ustinva) in the country. This and other similar events are what have made Ustinova conclude as factors that have made English make “significant inroads in Russia” (Ustinova). As more multinational Companies flocked to Russia to do business, the more English as a language became expansive and the more people learned of it which consequently inclined Companies such as McDonald’s to rely more on English in the content structure of their commercial adverts.
These situations perfectly depict the set of political and marketing environment that embraced McDonald’s during its entry to the Russian market in the early 90s and it is on this background that its marketing strategies were developed. Therefore, it is now easy to see why McDonald’s commercial adverts had to increasingly rely on the use of English words as it actively transformed its adverts from being largely on the Russian language towards a trend where more English words were incorporated with each passing year. This is also the case in the way that Coca-Cola was also transforming its adverts content during the same time as far as the usage of English words was concerned; even though in this case of Coca-Cola the trend in the increase was not so much pronounced.
Indeed, between the years 2007 and 2010 during which this research study is focused, the number of English-American words that were being used in the adverts gradually increased with the year 2010 representing the most drastic increase in English words usage for McDonald’s products in Russia. More specifically during this period as we have already seen in our results section the number of English words used in McDonald’s commercials increased from 7 to as much as 47 words by 2010. Interestingly, and very much consistent with our theory, the number of Russian words being used in the same adverts were proportionally decreasing with each increase in English words used. Thus, we can see that in the same period the number of Russian words decreased from a high of 42 words to a low of 16 words. Besides the fact there was a general increase in the number of English words used by both McDonald’s and Coca-Cola Company over this period there is another reason that could explain this gradual increase in the number of English words in these same commercial adverts.
This is because over the same period the overall number of sentences that were being used by McDonald’s was also increasing, in this case from 4 to 12 sentences by 2010. This increasing trend implies that, as the number of sentences used increases we would naturally also expect that the number of English words to increase by the same proportion. If we were to do a ratio analysis of this change in sentence structure we can see that the increase in the number of sentences occurred by a factor of 3 (12/4). Thus, by the same analysis, we would expect the change in the number of English words to have occurred by the same factor, but we realize that this is not the case since( 47/7) will represent an increase by a factor of approximately 6.7. If the increase in the number of English words used in these adverts were entire as a result of the increase in the number of sentences then this ratio should be the same at 3. But they are not and we can therefore accurately determine that the increase in the number of English words used by McDonald’s in their adverts cannot be entirely attributed to the increase in the number of sentences alone.
This therefore just confirms the various theories that we have so far explored in the preceding section as possible factors that have indeed influenced the trend in English word usage in McDonald’s adverts as well as throughout Russia in general. This possible range of factors that would explain this gradual increase in English word usage is what we shall be investigating in the following chapter. In the following section of this discussion, we are going to see the range of implications and theories that exist which pertain to the use of English-American words in the field of advertising which we shall explore in more detail from another different perspective.
Study of Advertisements: marketing Strategies
In the following chapter, we shall undertake a general study of advertising methods that are widely used in Russia by various Companies that are both local and international. We intend to understand the marketing environment that existed in Russia and thereby lay the groundwork for more discussion on the advertisement approaches used by various companies in Russia and how they have evolved over the years to their present level. It is against this backdrop that we shall be able to analyze from a different perspective the Coca Cola and McDonald’s advertisement techniques and explore how they have been influenced by the market environment that preexisted at the time and which now exists in Russia.
Thus, we would hope to see ways in which the pre-existing market environment in Russia influenced the way that Coca-Cola and McDonald’s chose to advertise their products. We would also analyze in more detail how the two Companies adopted the challenges of language and cultural barrier that they encountered in the country and the resulting brand positioning that were made to overcome those challenges. Therefore, in this section what this paper intends to do is undertake a more critical analysis of both Coca-Cola and McDonald’s adverts in Russia in the context of the wider prevailing market condition.
Advertisement in Russia: Background of Russia Market
Russia is by far one of the most populated countries in West Europe with an estimated population that is more than 150 million people and counting; for a manufacturer or Company interested in doing business in Russia these numbers would translate to the target market. This is more so the case when u consider that Russia, like many other countries in Europe, has stable economic growth which has been rising over the last few decades which would imply the ability to spend among the majority of this population. Indeed, a recent study done by Shama notes that there has been an upsurge in international firms that have opted to do business in Russia since “the Yeltsin’s economic shock therapy” was implemented in the country twenty years ago” (Shama). In 1994, just two years after the economic stimulus was effected in Russia it is estimated that international Companies made sales of products worth $5 billion; during this period the study notes that the business approach that most foreign firms adopted, most of which were from the US was very much unlike what exists at the moment (Shama).
At the time most Companies opted to just export their products to Russia and do sales without necessarily putting in a lot of investments such as marketing and establishments of branches in the country (Shama). As years went by, however, these firms gradually adopted different business approaches in the way that they did business in Russia; our interest, in this case, would be limited to how these Company’s advertisement strategies changed during the same period. Unlike the early 1990s marketing strategies that were used by many of the Companies to do business in Russia, a review of the current business environment that exists indicates that international firms have finally embraced all forms of business strategies that can be used when entering a new market. These “market-entry strategies” are listed by Shama as “export/import, licensing, joint venturing, franchising, consortium and wholly-owned subsidiary” (Shama).
Some of these strategies we realize are what both McDonald’s and Coca-Cola have opted to adopt in their business processes in Russia. In the case of McDonald’s which entered the Russian market in 1988, the marketing strategy that the Company opted to use was joint venturing which was perceived to be a risky initiative for a foreign Company at the time (Shama). At the same time, it is notable to mention that joint venturing strategy for a foreign Company indicated a willingness to commitment which is evident in the way that McDonald’s has continued to do business in Russia. During this time the Company was only based in Moscow supported by a single processing plant located in Sontsveno (Shama). Thus, McDonald’s needed to align its food products as well as its marketing strategies in a way that would fit with the existing cultural and marketing environment which were preexisting in Russia at the time.
Indeed, if we are to review the content of commercial adverts that McDonald’s was running in Russia during 2007 and 2006 we would see a trend where the number of Russian words used was initially high but which gradually decreased as we have seen previously in this paper. I want to hypothesize that the use of large content of Russian words in these adverts during the early years of McDonald’s entry in Russia was a deliberate process and a form of a market entry strategy. The nature of the marketing strategy that is chosen by a firm is important because it has significant implications in the marketing approaches that the Company is likely to adopt in the promotion of its products in the future. In the following section, we are going to take a more in-depth analysis of one such marketing strategy that has been used by both Coca-Cola and McDonald’s in their product advertisement in Russia, namely usage of a mixture of English words and Russian language in promotion of their products.
Impact of English Usage in Marketing Products
The trend in using English words to market products in countries where English is not the national language is a practice that has existed for many years now. Indeed, an overview of literature material on the subject indicates that this practice might have existed as early as the 19th century in such countries as German and Spain where English speaking countries were exporting their products for sale (Gerritsen, Nickerson, Hooft, Meurs, Nederstigt, Starren, and Crijns). A recent study by Gerritsen et al that sought to investigate the extent that English words have been used in advertisements of products and services in countries where English was not the first language details a historical pattern that shows a clear trend in the way that English words have increasingly been used in several of these countries.
At the end of countries where the English language was used in the advertisement of products and services which was Germany in this case, as much as 33% of all commercials that were aired on television contained some form of English language (Gerritsen et al). The study concludes that “English is the most frequently used language in advertising messages in non-English-speaking countries (besides the local language, of course)” (Gerritsen et al). In theorizing for possible reasons that make international firms to continue relying on English as the content of their commercial adverts in the marketing of their products in foreign speaking countries Gerritsen et al proposes several reasons that could also give insight into the reason of McDonals and Coca-Cola opting to advertise partly in English and Russian. Perhaps, one of the major reasons that is cited by this study as the reason for relying on English word usage and which we have previously mentioned in this study is because of the global nature of marketing campaigns that are usually run by major international Companies (Gerritsen et al).
So far we have seen why it is important for McDonald’s and Coca-Cola to maintain their internationally renowned taglines in the advertisement of their products for obvious reasons which we mentioned earlier. Thus, what this study hypothesis in this example is much or less the same reasons, but in this case, other aspects make it necessary to retain some of the English words in such advertisements campaigns that are run in non-English speaking countries. Three possible reasons have been cited by this study backed by evidence of vast literature review in the field of marketing. One is because international firms usually develop marketing strategies that are meant to target the global market, as such it will be impossible to customize and transform the same commercial advert completely to fit the local scenario without having to retain some forms of English words (Gerritsen et al). A typical example of this assertion can be seen by analyzing the adverts content of commercials run by both companies in Russia. In the case of Coca-Cola for instance a brief overview of its advert content indicates that most English words used are part of the Companies taglines which we have listed in the results section and other words such as Coca-Cola, holiday, victory, and so on. In the same way for McDonald’s, the most common English words that are retained in its commercial adverts are its taglines and names of some of its most popular foodstuffs.
Secondly, the reason that international Companies opt to customize a part of their commercials when advertising in non-English speaking countries is because of cost implications that would occur if it were to develop a completely different commercial advert for every country that it intends to do business. This is because most often commercial adverts often involve extensive background research that must be undertaken to understand the target market and thereby determine the most optimal approach of positioning the product or service. To cut on these cost implications, most international firms just opt to customize existing adverts in such a way that fits the intended market while retaining core aspects of the original advert that they know to have been successful elsewhere. In the same way, we can see that commercial adverts used by both Companies in Russia involve translation of the original adverts to their equivalent Russian words for the most part as is the case with adverts sampled in this study.
Thirdly, the use of English words on promoting certain products brings in a sense of sophistication because they are export products and thereby helps to create a brand image such as superior and quality characteristics compared to similar local products. Thus, this strategy is an effective marketing strategy that McDonald’s and Coca-Cola are aware of and which they hope to take advantage of by advertising in English; more importantly in a country such as Russia use of English helps to position the two Companies products in the minds of target consumers as “products of modernity” (Gerritsen et al). Some studies also argue that the use of English is a marketing strategy that is deliberately structured to be selective in terms of reaching the target consumer. This assertion is true given that Coca-Cola, for instance, has deliberately positioned its products to appeal mostly to the young people, this is what is referred to in other words as market segmentation.
Some of the ways that Coca-Cola has achieved this is through portraying energy, youth, and vitality through characters in the commercial adverts that markets their products. Coupled with the use of English words, holiday themes, an element of localization of products, and use of its world-renowned themes the result is a very effective commercial advert with a powerful impact on its intended target group, mostly young peoples in this case. Finally, the reason that necessitates English word usage in commercial adverts in non-English speaking countries has to do with the concept of globalization of products which we have so far discussed in the preceding chapters. In this case, this phenomenon is referred to as “global advertising” which Gerritsen et al explains is informed by research in marketing concept which indicates that it is possible to use a single marketing concept and similar language in the advertisement of most products globally.
This is possible because of two characteristics that are inherent in the most marketing environment and which are cited as “convergence of consumer behavior and the globalization of markets” (Gerritsen et al). Other theories have been posited by various research studies to explain the reason that necessitates the use of English and a mixture of another language when advertising and the reasons are as varied as the countries in which these adverts are run. But in this case, I have just opted to explore several of these reasons that are most relevant to our research study and which therefore provides the best explanations as to why both Coca-Cola and McDonald’s might have opted to rely on the same approach.
In conclusion, therefore, it would seem that the use of English words in the marketing of products in non-English speaking countries is largely a process that is intended to create a certain brand image among the target consumer through the association of certain known stereotypes with the particular intended product. Thus, Piller cited in Gerritsen et al sums this observation perfectly by stating “english is thus not used to associate a product with an ethno-cultural stereotype, but with a social stereotype i.e. modernity, progress, and globalization” (Piller).
Coca-Cola and McDonald’s Product Positioning
Because the major aim of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis of the commercial advertisement sentence structure and content of products advertised by both Coca-Cola and McDonald’s in Russia, it is paramount that we undertake this analysis in the wider context of advertising strategies from a general perspective.
To do this effectively let us review the advertisement strategies used by both these two companies in the marketing of their products in Russia and other successful Companies elsewhere. It is clear from the findings of this research study that both Coca-Cola and McDonald’s have largely relied on television and Yu Tube advertisements in their bid to market their products in Russia. This approach of relying on television in the advertisement is a deliberate process that is designed to capture the interest of the target market through the visual effects that are attained through the marketing of products on these Media. A study by Hitchings and Moynihan (1998) that researched the impact of advertisement through a television would demonstrate this fact rather more effectively.
This particular research study investigated the relationship that existed between customer feeding behaviors and the number of times that they were exposed to the television commercials that were under investigation. In a review of the results, this research study concluded that “television advertisements influence food choice” (Hitchings and Moynihan), and this was not all. This research study established that there existed a causal relationship between the type of food and frequency that it was advertised and its overall sales volume compared to other food products that were not being advertised. Among other things, the study also found that the number of times that a consumer was exposed to the particular commercial advert was correlated with the frequency of numbers that one was likely to consume the same type of foods that were advertised (Hitchings and Moynihan).
These are very interesting findings that have great implications for marketing strategies that Coca-Cola and McDonald’s rely on using in Russia; for McDonald’s the findings of this research study which have been known by marketing professionals for a long time only confirms what the Company must have been aware of this fact from the onset. It thus makes sense for McDonald’s to run most of its commercials on televisions and Youtube as a strategy of appealing usage of their products to their target consumer; this would especially be more effective since the Company’s range of products are foodstuffs.
The same marketing concept is used by the Coca-Cola Company in Russia since we can also see that it has relied largely on the use of television and Yu Tube in its advertisement strategies. Based on the findings of this research study we can assertively claim that television advertisements of food products such as the ones being advertised by McDonald’s and Coca-Cola do not only directly increase sales but also in a significant way influence the choice of food that consumers will opt for. Thus, we can see how visual commercial adverts such as through television and Yu tube have great implications in promoting sales and influencing sales.
But product positioning is not just limited to these strategies but also involves the use of imagery and music playing in the background which is very similar to what we have seen in the case of McDonald’s and Coca-Cola advertising in Russia. A research study by Martine makes a direct reference to the effect that imagery and soundtrack in commercial adverts have in the successful promotion of the product and notes that “in television commercials, images such as these are often reinforced through music soundtracks sung in English” (Martin). Also notable is that the use of particular background music tracks is a very effective way of creating an intended atmosphere in the mind of the consumer (Martin). This fact is especially very much evident in the way that Coca-Cola has successfully used background music to create an environment of partying, holidaying, and celebration when running their product adverts as we have seen in the content of commercials that were sampled by this study. A good example is a song that has been used very commonly globally by Coca-Cola in its advertisement titled “Wind me up put me down stop me up and watch me go” (cited from research findings). This song has now become synonymous with Coca-Cola drink.
In the same way, the use of imagery can be used to achieve similar effects albeit by the use of different approaches that can also involve a mixture of foreign and local images in producing what Martin refers to as “code-iconic” meaning (Martin). Code-iconic meanings are achieved when images from various cultures are integrated into a commercial advert in a way that is intended to suggest specific ideas to the target group; in the context of this study, this effect is achieved by both Coca-Cola and McDonald’s by using their renown global imagery together with the local imagery in Russia. For instance, we can see the way that both Companies use folkloric themes in promoting their products; this is because to have a folkloric theme there must be local imagery used to build the folklore stories that are being depicted in the advert.
Another important aspect that must be achieved through product positioning is structuring the advertisement in such a manner that would ensure it is “attention grabbing” in the few seconds that it is shown (Martin). In all these ways we have seen how both McDonald’s and Coca-Cola have strived to position their products to effectively capture the target markets that they have identified. Indeed, throughout this paper, the focus has been on how these two companies have structured their commercial adverts in a bid to achieve their sales target, compete effectively with other local Companies and capture a market segment through their marketing strategy which we have seen largely incorporates a lot of English –American words. Thus in more than one way we have analyzed the two Companies commercial adverts in Russia from every possible angle and in the context of the existing literature review to determine how they have been able to achieve marketing success in a foreign, non-English speaking country such as Russia when marketing what would be considered foreign products. In the following chapter of this study and the final one, we are now going to explore possible methods that both these Companies could apply that would improve their marketing initiatives in Russia. Our intention in this section is to suggest new approaches or modifications to the current commercial adverts that would improve the marketing strategy of these two Companies much better than is currently the case. Thus, in this section, we shall only endeavor to provide a recommendation on the few areas that both McDonald’s and Coca-Cola could restructure their current commercial adverts for maximum effects.
Recommendation and Conclusion
It is unclear based on the data that we collected if McDonald’s and Coca-Cola does indeed have a marketing plan because our research study focus was almost entirely on analyzing the content of sample commercial adverts that we have originally identified. Before we explore possible recommendations that we can suggest for McDonald’s and Coca-Cola in the marketing of their products in Russia I must say that there are not many recommendations that can be suggested in this case. As we have seen throughout this study on our discussion it is evident that both companies have gone to great lengths to ensure that the content of commercial adverts and overall structure has been carefully considered in detail to achieve the maximum effect among the target audience. Indeed, all the literature reviews that we have relied on in analyzing the marketing strategy and commercial adverts indicate that the nature and content of adverts that were sampled during this research are consistent with effective and proven marketing strategies that are used all over the world.
In fact, for the most part, similar research studies and even case studies indicate the same thing by confirming that the use of a mixture of English-American words for example has been known to be very effective in the marketing of products in non-English speaking countries. And not only this but as well as how the use of musical themes, folkloric tales, world-renown taglines, positioning, imagery, general themes, and choice of the target group has produced that special effect that has made these two Companies successful in doing business in a foreign market environment. But this is not surprising considering that these are global companies that are among the leaders in their industries that could afford to undertake costly marketing research and hire the most experienced marketing specialist to assist in branding their products and in designing overall marketing strategies.
This is why we realize that in almost every aspect of the commercial adverts content, structure and positioning are consistent with known and reliable marketing theories as we have seen in various literature sources that we have reviewed. My point is because of this my objective judgment is that there will be not many recommendations to make for this research study based on our analysis of the two Companies marketing strategies which we have seen to be very strong.
Nevertheless, the first recommendation that I wish to propose for both McDonald’s and Coca-Cola is the adoption of a systematic and effective marketing plan that can be followed in the promotion of their products.
A marketing plan refers to a guideline that defines the steps necessary to implement to promote the sale of a product or service and sometimes a brand name. It is a form of strategy that outlines a systematic approach to every component of a marketing process such as pricing, promotion, distribution, and after-sales services (Ferrel and Hartline). An effective marketing plan is one that can create and increase a high level of product, service, or brand name awareness within the market environment as well as contribute to overall product sales. Increased sales of a product or service translate to increased profit which is the main purpose of marketing activities that are aligned in line with the organizational goals. Thus, an effective marketing plan for McDonald’s and Coca-Cola should be focused on the four areas mentioned above in addition to commercial adverts content which has been the major focus of these Companies. This is because these other focus areas of pricing, distribution, promotion, and after-sales services will complement the impact that commercial adverts have on the target consumer.
Perhaps a rather appropriate recommendation that I could make for this research study would be a suggestion on where future related studies that intend to investigate similar objectives should be directed. Indeed, having researched the phenomenon of using English-American words in commercial adverts in non-English speaking countries also referred to as inner circle or greater expanding circle countries we can accurately conclude that this advertisement approach is very much effective.
I would suggest that future research studies be directed in two major areas as far as the study of English-American word usage in commercial adverts in non-English speaking countries is concerned. One, there is not enough literature review that has been dedicated to the study of linguistics aspects in the analysis of commercial adverts, especially in Russia. While several studies have been done on analysis of commercial adverts content in general there is a need for more research that is specifically directed to understanding particular aspects of this phenomenon. For this reason, I suggest that future research studies be directed towards understanding the extent and the impact that using a mixture of the local language and using English-American words in commercial adverts has in the promotion of specifics products with intention of generating empirical evidence to support such an assertion. Secondly, I suggest that future research studies be focused on investigating the phenomenon of linguistics analysis of commercial adverts from a wider context that will involve sampling of several Companies in greater depth rather than an overview of many commercial adverts as is currently the case among many studies that have researched this issue.
Conclusion
Throughout this research study, we have seen how McDonald’s and Coca-Cola have structured and positioned their commercial adverts in a manner that effectively markets their products in the foreign market environment of Russia. Indeed, by the end of our analysis of the various commercial adverts that we have reviewed in this research study, there is no doubt that this strategy has been effective. Nevertheless, it is notable to mention that there have been researching constraints that make this research study limited as far as a generalization of the final findings is concerned. It is the recommendation of this research study that more research is needed for conclusive findings in the study of linguistics aspects in commercial adverts sentence structure. This is because to obtain conclusive findings then more research and data collection are needed at a wider scale than has been covered by this research study. My conclusion as far as this study is concerned is that the findings that we have outlined in the results and discussion section have been accurate and point on.
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