[Visual Marketing across Cultures in the Western and Eastern Countries]

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

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Contents

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION3

Background of the study3

Purpose of the Study4

Significance of the Study4

Rationale of the study5

Research Questions6

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW7

Culture & Advertising7

Cross-cultural advertising and societal values8

Children in cross-cultural advertising9

Visual components of cross-cultural advertising10

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY12

Market Research Approach12

Qualitative Approach12

Sampling Technique13

Selecting and Establishing Research Design14

Gathering Information15

Data Analysis and Interpretation16

Quick Overview16

Editing and Cleaning17

Detailed Analysis17

Ethical Research Issues18

The Right to be informed (Informed Consent)18

The Right to Privacy and Confidentiality18

Deception and Harm19

Action Plan19

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS & DISCUSSION21

Cognition21

Across21

Cultures22

Cognitive Maps24

Materialism25

Individualism and collectivism28

Other cognitive maps31

Cognitive Styles32

Cognitive Skills34

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION38

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

When marketing in a multicultural society, it helps to understand the common ground that racial and ethnic groups share without losing sight of their differences. Understanding what people have in common is as vital to advertisers as understanding their differences. A person's national origin and ethnic self-identification are important, but they may not bind that person to a group as much as the attitudes and lifestyles that arise from those backgrounds. Social values, methods of communication, and common interests can cross cultural boundaries. When they do, advertisers can reach intercultural markets.

According to Abraham Maslow, humans have always had an existential need for aesthetics. The "quest of beauty" begins when the basic needs are assured and never ends: as Baudelaire evoked in beauty. This quest of beauty is eternal (Mehta and Belk 1991, pp. 398-411). The consumer society and the explosion of product offerings have had the effect of leveraging the power of visual marketing to suit customer requirements. To sell well, a product or service must be enhanced. At the point of sale, the choice of visual packaging, colors are paramount: the shapes and colors in the consumer unconsciously trigger emotional reactions and the influence on his perception of the product or point of sale. Visual marketing promotes significantly the purchasing. In a car dealership for example, each item is carefully studied to meet the customer's desire for aesthetics.Apple has built its business strategy around the visual marketing, which created an added value for both computers to MP3 players. The vibrant colors of these products and their modern forms, has everything to seduce the consumer. Looking for aesthetics, the customer chooses a product that which he more easily finds beautiful than others. Recent developments in the visual marketing were done with new technologies: with flat screens, scroll through the modern visual images of attractive points of sale. Real estate agencies equipped themselves with the latest generations of flat panel displays to show their customers various images of product features (Oysermann, Coon and Kemmelmeier 2002, ...