Monday 29 July 2013

Intercultural Knowledge in Marketing







How many articles have you seen enlistening "funny" marketing blunders not taking note of some local sensitivity or other? How COULD they possibly call the car Boobie, when everybody knows that in the local Thai dialect this has a double entendre...etc etc.

After all that tediousness here's a real corker, though:

Domino's Pizza, the British take away pizza franchise operation, opened in Germany and found.... that it wasn't popular. Not totally surprising, is it?


One profit warning later, the CEO maintains that stores had now got the hang of it and "understood the German consumer". Maybe they should have done a little more intercultural research before plunging into a market that - no doubt- they thought would be profitable purely on the size of its population. ("80 million Germans, Barry.. we goddagun for it!!")

FACT: In Germany, even a small village will have a local pizzeria. Well established, Italian family-run, producing top-quality pizzas of any size, description and flavour. And of course they will drive them round for free. In towns, there will be one of those every two blocks away from where you live. There is such a vast choice, such speedy reliable service, and most people will  oben very familar terms with their local pizza deliverer, having used their services for years.

Might it not have been an idea to look into this very obvious and well-known scenario before plunging in with the dubious promise of an English company offering such tantalising options as "Meateor" with a mouth watering description such as: "A slice (?) with pork meatballs, ground beef, sausage and bacon".

Appealing to the German consumer who the company claims it knows so well? Laugh out loud as they say in intercultural marketing.



FT article on the subject
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6f25159a-e3d0-11e2-b35b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2aQBIk0c1

Friday 12 July 2013

Germany's Biggest problem? Sexism.






Why should this be the case, and why am I saying this? Probably because I've lived here now for some time, and in many ways, I'm the target audience. And you know what? I'm sick of it. I'm not talking about cat-calling builders, and I'm not talking about the 80-year old ticket clipper who calls you "love". In fact I'm not talking about "political correctness" at all.

I'm talking about the hard-wired, instutionalised sexism that blights the country because it is so internalised - most people take it for granted, accept it and even women take it as normal. In fact very few Germans know what "sexism" (in German: Sexismus) means. Or rather, they think it means something else altogether: Too much sex on your brain. That in itself tells you a lot.

Two scenes from recent days.

1. A new boss is being led round the company, and introduced to members of the department. He says hello, and shakes everybody's hand. Everybody's, that is, apart from the one one female team member. Why would that be? Because he naturally assumes that the males will be colleagues, but the female will be just someone who doesn't count because she probably is there to make the tea or clean the room.
Incredible?  This is exactly how things are in Germany.

2. Somebody ( a woman) speaks up in a discussion. From the name badge people can see that she has a Ph.D. (a "Doktortitel" in German, which is a big deal in Germany and will always be used when addressing a person who has got one as - typically - Herr Doktor X.
Despite the name tag, the woman gets continuously called "Frau X" rather than "Frau Doktor X" - a total faux-pas had she been male, in fact totally unthinakble.
As the discussion gets more heated, one male even challenges Frau Doktor X as to whether her doctorate which he now admits he saw on the name tag "is real".
Oh yes, this is how things work in Germany.


As a woman, people (=not just men but other women too) will automatically and unquestiongly assume that you work in some lowly position. If it is clear that you don't, they will try and put you down in an incredibly sexist way - for example Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, is unanimously referred to as "Mutti". Bringing her down to a family level, disregarding the fact that she is one of the most influential people in the world. Only as "Mutti" can she be grasped, accepted, or more likely tolerated. (Very unlikely that Germans would have referred to the previous chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, as "Vati").

In a previous post http://interculturalmusings.blogspot.de/2012/06/german-men.html I tried to explain the particular mind-set of German men. Made up of insecurity, chippiness, and an enormous compulsion to boast (mainly about technical or sporting matters). It is quite clearly an infantile disposition, that a Freudian could easily disentangle and - given the always present twist of insecurity into aggression - classify as neurosis.

Figures are not available, but a huge number of German men mary Asian or Easterrn European women. Rightly or wrongly assuming, that they will be more submissive and "know what a man needs". As I mentioned above, tragically, most German women have internalised the male attitude, and will always defer to any man, however absurd, ugly, or lowly he might be. Men possess natural authority and status in Germany, and women don't. That is one of the most internalised facts in Germany. You'll notice it in shops where sales staff automatically address the male, in (still widely bandied-about) jokes about women drivers, women and technology, in the unquestioned assumption that it is women who do the cooking at home. A male who enjoys cooking or - God forbid - baking! -  is regarded with incredulity. "What about your wife?" will be the standard response.

All of this is not limited to a certain age bracket. Try and talk shop with, say a member of the German Pirate Party as a woman who  knows about internet stuff - you will be humiliated, laughed at, and given the feeling that you're talking above your level.

I telly you one thing. I am sick to death of Germany's sexism.

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As I know from experience how vile and aggressive German males' comments are when criticised, the comments here are closed. I would, however urge you to comment via twitter: @Margit11. German men, please bear in mind though, that any comment you will make, will get RT'd. If it is a sensible comment, you will be pleased about this, if it is vile and abusive, it will deter you. Sadly, in this country, it is necessary to take such drastic measures.

Sunday 7 July 2013

The Self-Perception of Europeans. A Study by the Goethe-Institut

This is a study by the Goethe-Institute. I find the results fascinating and am surprised that it is not better known, hence my keenness to promote it via Intercultural Musings. (Copyright by Goethe-Institute)


I guess one should not be too surprised that the British press studiously ignores findings like these. Anti-Europeanism is, alas, more widely spread that UKIP voter figures suggest. So please, bear in mind that what you read in British newspapers is more often than not an edited fraction of what's going on in the world. 

Being able to read (and of course speak) foreign languages would get one out of the dilemma of having to rely on the indigenous press, but sadly fewer and fewer British people have a second language to rely on.

So here is an example of a wider truth which is being ignored in Britain.(The format is not ideal, so please also go to the original page http://www.goethe.de/ins/be/prj/eli/erg/ges/enindex.htm


The self-perception of Europeans in comparison with the perception of other countries

What are the total results from the 22,235 people who took part in answering the questions? Is the invention of the printing press overall a more important discovery than penicillin? Also, is Paris a more attractive city than Copenhagen?
3,379 Germans, 2,006 Serbs, 1,906 Italians, 1,474 Hungarians and 1,710 French took part. There were also 294 participants from Egypt.
Browse through the results and compare the views of the 16,493 participants from the EU (74.2%) with those 4,249 from non-EU countries (19.1%). 6.7% did not their nationalities.
#1What does Europe personally mean to you?
  • free movement
  • variety
  • unity
  • democracy
#1What does Europe personally mean to you?
  • 1.culture
  • 2.union
  • 3.variety
  • 4.free movement
  • 5.freedom
  • 6.history
  • 7.Euro
  • 8.peace
  • 9.unity
  • 10.home
#1What does Europe personally mean to you?
  • 1.culture
  • 2.union
  • 3.history
  • 4.freedom
  • 5.free movement
  • 6.progress
  • 7.art
  • 8.order
  • 9.variety
  • 10.beauty
#2How strongly do you feel European?
  • not at all 3%
  • a bit 18%
  • quite a bit 37%
  • full-blooded European 43%
#2How strongly do you feel European?
  • not at all 8%
  • a bit 15%
  • quite a bit 37%
  • full-blooded European 47%
#2How strongly do you feel European?
  • not at all 7%
  • a bit 28%
  • quite a bit 36%
  • full-blooded European 28%
#3How do you see Europe's future?
very good good OK bad
#3How do you see Europe's future?
very good good OK bad
#3How do you see Europe's future?
very good good OK bad
#4What is the most significant European building? Eiffel Tower, Paris | Flickr, author: Terrazzo
  • 1.Eiffel Tower Paris, France
  • 2.Collosseum Rome, Italy
  • 3.Acropolis/Parthenon Athens, Greece
  • 4.European Parliament Brussels, Belgium/Strassbourg, France
  • 5.Brandenburg Gate Berlin, Germany
  • 6.St. Peter's Rome The Vatican
  • 7.Sagrada Familia Barcelona, Spain
  • 8.Berlin Wall Berlin, Germany
  • 9.Cologne Cathedral Cologne, Germany
  • 10.Reichstag Berlin, Germany
#4What is the most significant European building?
  • 1.Eiffel Tower Paris, France
  • 2.Collosseum Rome, Italy
  • 3.Acropolis/Parthenon Athens, Greece
  • 4.European Parliament Brussels, Belgium/Starssbourg, France
  • 5.Brandenburg Gate Berlin, Germany
  • 6.St. Peter's, Rome The Vatican
  • 7.Berlin Wall Berlin, Germany
  • 8.Sagrada Familia Barcelona, Spain
  • 9.Cologne Cathedral Cologne, Germany
  • 10.Reichstag Berlin, Germany
#4What is the most significant European building?
  • 1.Eiffel Tower Paris, France
  • 2.Collosseum Rome, Italy
  • 3.Acropolos/Parthenon Athens, Greece
  • 4.Sagrada Familia Barcelona, Spain
  • 5.Brandenburg Gate Berlin, Germany
  • 6.Louvre Paris, France
  • 7.Berlin Wall Berlin, Germany
  • 8.Cologne Cathedral Cologne, Germany
  • 9.European Parliament Brussels, Belgium/Strassbourg, France
  • 10.Leaning Tower of Pisa Pisa, Italy
#5Which European country, other than your own, would you like to live in for a while?
  • Germany 28%
  • Italy 10%
  • France 9%
  • Spain 8%
  • United Kingdom 7%
  • Switzerland 5%
  • Sweden 4%
  • Austria 4%
  • Netherlands 2%
  • Portugal 2%
#5Which European country, other than your own, would you like to live in for a while?
  • Germany 25%
  • Italy 10%
  • France 9%
  • Spain 8%
  • United Kingdom 7%
  • Switzerland 5%
  • Sweden 5%
  • Austria 4%
  • Portugal 3%
  • Netherlands 2%
#5Which European country, other than your own, would you like to live in for a while?
  • Germany 36%
  • Spain 10%
  • Italy 9%
  • France 7%
  • United Kingdom 6%
  • Switzerland 5%
  • Austria 4%
  • Netherlands 3%
  • Sweden 3%
  • Portugal 2%
#6Who is the greatest literary figure in European literature? Don Quijote, Biblioteca de la Facultad de Derecho y Ciencias del Trabajo Universidad de Sevilla
  • 1.Don Quijote
  • 2.William Shakespeare
  • 3.Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
  • 4.Faust
  • 5.Young Werther
  • 6.Hamlet
  • 7.Dante Alighieri
  • 8.Anna Karenina
  • 9.Sherlock Holmes
  • 10.The Little Pricnce
#6Who is the greatest literary figure in European literature?
  • 1.Don Quijote
  • 2.Faust
  • 3.Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
  • 4.William Shakespeare
  • 5.Young Werther
  • 6.Hamlet
  • 7.Dante Alighieri
  • 8.The Little Prince
  • 9.Odysseus
  • 10.Sherlock Holmes
#6Who is the greatest literary figure in European literature? William Shakespeare (Chandos Portrait)
  • 1.William Shakespeare
  • 2.Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
  • 3.Don Quijote
  • 4.Anna Karenina
  • 5.Hamlet
  • 6.Faust
  • 7.Josef K.
  • 8.Ivo Andrić
  • 9.Lew Nikolajewitsch Tolstoi
  • 10.Sherlock Holmes
#7Which country most embodies the future of Europe?
  • Germany 49%
  • Sweden 6%
  • France 4%
  • Switzerland 4%
  • Belgium 3%
  • Poland 3%
  • United Kingdom 3%
  • Norway 3%
  • Netherlands 3%
  • Greece 2%
#7Which country most embodies the future of Europe?
  • Germany 47%
  • Sweden 6%
  • France 4%
  • Belgium 4%
  • Poland 4%
  • Switzerland 3%
  • United Kingdom 3%
  • Netherlands 3%
  • Norway 3%
  • Denmark 3%
#7Which country most embodies the future of Europe?
  • Germany 58%
  • Switzerland 6%
  • Sweden 5%
  • France 4%
  • United Kingdom 3%
  • Norway 3%
  • Turkey 3%
  • Greece 2%
  • Serbia 2%
  • Netherlands 2%
#8What is the most significant European discovery? Platin Letterpress | Wikipedia, author: France3470
  • 1.printing press Germany
  • 2.steam engine United Kingdom
  • 3.car Germany
  • 4.anti-biotics(Penicillin Scotland / Germany
  • 5.telephone Germany
  • 6.electricity variuous European countries
  • 7.Euro Luxembourg / EU
  • 8.Democracy Greece
  • 9.America Italy / Spain
  • 10.light bulb Scotland
#8What is the most significant European discovery?
  • 1.printing press Germany
  • 2.steam engine United Kingdom
  • 3.car Germany
  • 4.antibiotics/Penicillin Scotland / Germany
  • 5.telephone Germany
  • 6.Euro Luxembourg / EU
  • 7.democracy Greece
  • 8.electricity various European countries
  • 9.European Union  
  • 10.radio various European countries
#8What is the most significant European discovery?
  • 1.printing press Germany
  • 2.electricity various European countries
  • 3.steam engine United Kingdom
  • 4.telephone Germany
  • 5.antibiotics/Pennicillin Scotland / Germany
  • 6.car Germany
  • 7.America Italy / Spain
  • 8.democracy Greece
  • 9.light bulb Scotland
  • 10.trains United Kingdom
#9What is Europe's most significant contribution to world culture?
  • 1.Democracy
  • 2.music / classical music
  • 3.printing press
  • 4.literature
  • 5.philosophy
  • 6.art
  • 7.Renaissance
  • 8.enlightenment
  • 9.architecture
  • 10.heritage
#9What is Europe's most significant contribution to world culture?
  • 1.democracy
  • 2.printing press
  • 3.music / classical music
  • 4.literature
  • 5.philosophy
  • 6.art
  • 7.enlightenment
  • 8.Renaissance
  • 9.declarationof human rights
  • 10.architecture
#9What is Europe's most significant contribution to world culture?
  • 1.literature
  • 2.Renaissance
  • 3.music / classical music
  • 4.art
  • 5.democracy
  • 6.heritage
  • 7.painting
  • 8.philosophy
  • 9.architecture
  • 10.printing press
#10Who is the most significant European artist (from any discipline)? Leonardo da Vinci, purported self-portrait, c. 1512, Wikipedia
  • 1.Leonardo da Vinci Italy
  • 2.Pablo Picasso Spain
  • 3.Michelangelo Buonarroti Italy
  • 4.Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Austria
  • 5.Vincent van Gogh Netherlands
  • 6.Salvador Dalí Spain
  • 7.Ludwig van Beethoven Germany
  • 8.Johann Sebastian Bach Germany
  • 9.William Shakespeare United Kingdom
  • 10.Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Germany
#10Who is the most significant European artist (from any discipline)?
  • 1.Leonardo da Vinci Italy
  • 2.Pablo Picasso Spain
  • 3.Michelangelo Buonarroti Italy
  • 4.Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Austria
  • 5.Vincent van Gogh Netherlands
  • 6.Johann Sebastian Bach Germany
  • 7.Salvador Dalí Spain
  • 8.Ludwig van Beethoven Germany
  • 9.William Shakespeare United Kingdom
  • 10.Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Germany
#10Who is the most significant European artist (from any discipline)?
  • 1.Leonardo da Vinci Italy
  • 2.Pablo Picasso Spain
  • 3.Michelangelo Buonarroti Italy
  • 4.Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Austria
  • 5.Vincent van Gogh Netherlands
  • 6.Salvador Dalí Spain
  • 7.Ludwig van Beethoven Germany
  • 8.William Shakespeare United Kingdom
  • 9.Rembrandt van Rijn Netherlands
  • 10.Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Germany
#11Who is the most important politician in Europe (living or from the past)? Angela Merkel (2008) | Wikipedia, Image by א (Aleph)
  • 1.Angela Merkel Germany
  • 2.Winston Churchill United Kingdom
  • 3.Willy Brandt Germany
  • 4.Konrad Adenauer Germany
  • 5.Charles de Gaulle France
  • 6.Robert Schuman Luxembourg
  • 7.Margaret Thatcher United Kingdom
  • 8.Napoleon Bonaparte France
  • 9.Adolf Hitler Germany
  • 10.Helmut Kohl Germany
#11Who is the most important politician in Europe (living or from the past)?
  • 1.Angela Merkel Germany
  • 2.Winston Churchill United Kingdom
  • 3.Willy Brandt Germany
  • 4.Konrad Adenauer Germany
  • 5.Robert Schuman France / Germany / Luxembourg
  • 6.Charles de Gaulle France
  • 7.Margaret Thatcher United Kingdom
  • 8.Napoleon Bonaparte France
  • 9.Helmut Kohl Germany
  • 10.Michail Gorbatschow Russia
#11Who is the most important politician in Europe (living or from the past)?
  • 1.Angela Merkel Germany
  • 2.Winston Churchill United Kingdom
  • 3.Josip Broz Tito Yugoslavia
  • 4.Adolf Hitler Germany
  • 5.Margaret Thatcher United Kingdom
  • 6.Wladimir Putin Russia
  • 7.Charles de Gaulle France
  • 8.Napoleon Bonaparte France
  • 9.Otto von Bismarck Germany
  • 10.Zoran Đinđić Serbia
#12Who is the greatest European sportsperson? Novak Đoković Hopman Cup 2011 | Wikipedia, author: Spekoek
  • 1.Novak Đoković tennis player, Serbia
  • 2.Michael Schumacher racing driver, Germany
  • 3.Roger Federer tennis player, Switzerland
  • 4.Rafael Nadal tennis player, Spain
  • 5.Cristiano Ronaldo football player, Potugal
  • 6.David Beckham football player, United Kingdom
  • 7.Steffi Graf tennis player, Germany
  • 8.Zinédine Zidane football player, France
  • 9.Pietro Mennea athlete, Italy
  • 10.Franz Beckenbauer football player, Germany
#12Who is the greatest European sportsperson? Michael Schumacher | Flickr, author: ph-stop
  • 1.Michael Schumacher race driver, Germany
  • 2.Roger Federer tennis player, Switzerland
  • 3.Rafael Nadal tennis player, Spain
  • 4.Pietro Mennea athlete, Italy
  • 5.Cristiano Ronaldo football player, Portugal
  • 6.Steffi Graf tennis player, Germany
  • 7.David Beckham football player, United Kingdom
  • 8.Zinédine Zidane football player, France
  • 9.Sebastian Vettel race driver, Germany
  • 10.Franz Beckenbauer football player, Germany
#12Who is the greatest European sportsperson?
  • 1.Novak Đoković tennis player, Serbia
  • 2.Roger Federer tennis player, Switzerland
  • 3.Michael Schumacher race driver, Germany
  • 4.Cristiano Ronaldo football player, Portugal
  • 5.Zinédine Zidane football player, France
  • 6.David Beckham football player, United Kingdom
  • 7.Rafael Nadal tennis player, Spain
  • 8.Franz Beckenbauer football player, Germany
  • 9.Lionel Messi football player, Argentina
  • 10.Sergej Bubka pole vault, Ukraine
#13Which country has the best European cuisine?
  • 1.Italy
  • 2.France
  • 3.Spain
  • 4.Greece
  • 5.Serbia
  • 6.Hungary
  • 7.Turkey
  • 8.Germany
  • 9.Poland
  • 10.Belgium
#13Which country has the best European cuisine?
  • 1.Italy
  • 2.France
  • 3.Spain
  • 4.Greece
  • 5.Hungary
  • 6.Germany
  • 7.Poland
  • 8.Turkey
  • 9.Belgium
  • 10.Portugal
#13Which country has the best European cuisine?
  • 1.Italy
  • 2.Serbia
  • 3.France
  • 4.Turkey
  • 5.Greece
  • 6.Germany
  • 7.Spain
  • 8.Hungary
  • 9.Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • 10.Switzerland
#14In which European languages, apart from English, should a European be able to say more than "Please" and "Thank you"?
  • 1.German
  • 2.French
  • 3.Spanish
  • 4.Italian
  • 5.Polish
  • 6.Greek
  • 7.Portugese
  • 8.Rumanian
  • 9.Swedish
  • 10.Dutch
#14In which European languages, apart from English, should a European be able to say more than "Please" and "Thank you"?
  • 1.German
  • 2.French
  • 3.Spanish
  • 4.Italian
  • 5.Polish
  • 6.Greek
  • 7.Portugese
  • 8.Turkish
  • 9.Swedish
  • 10.Dutch
#14In which European languages, apart from English, should a European be able to say more than "Please" and "Thank you"?
  • 1.German
  • 2.French
  • 3.Spanish
  • 4.Italian
  • 5.Serbian
  • 6.Greek
  • 7.Turkish
  • 8.Portugese
  • 9.Swedish
  • 10.Dutch
#15What is the best European film? Life is Beautiful
  • 1.Life is Beautiful Roberto Benigni
  • 2.The Lives of Others Florian Henckel
  • 3.Amelie Jean-Pierre Jeunet
  • 4.Good Bye, Lenin! Wolfgang Becker
  • 5.The Intouchables Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano
  • 6.Amour Michael Haneke
  • 7.L'auberge espagnole Cédric Klapisch
  • 8.Wings of Desire Wim Wenders
  • 9.The Pianist Roman Polański
  • 10.Dolce Vita Federico Fellini
#15What is the best European film? Life is Beautiful
  • 1.Life is Beautiful Roberto Benigni
  • 2.The Lives of Others Florian Henckel
  • 3.Amelie Jean-Pierre Jeunet
  • 4.Good Bye, Lenin! Wolfgang Becker
  • 5.The Intouchables Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano
  • 6.L'auberge espagnole Cédric Klapisch
  • 7.Wings of Desire Wim Wenders
  • 8.Amour Michael Haneke
  • 9.The Pianist Roman Polański
  • 10.Dolce Vita Federico Fellini
#15What is the best European film? Life is Beautiful
  • 1.Life is Beautiful Roberto Benigni
  • 2.Amour Michael Haneke
  • 3.Amelie Jean-Pierre Jeunet
  • 4.The Lives of Others Florian Henckel
  • 5.The Intouchables Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano
  • 6.The Pianist Roman Polański
  • 7.Wings of Desire Wim Wenders
  • 8.Good Bye Lenin! Wolfgang Becker
  • 9.Amarcord Federico Fellini
  • 10.Underground Emir Kusturica
#16Which is the most attractive city in Europe?
#16Which is the most attractive city in Europe?
  • 1.Berlin
  • 2.Paris
  • 3.Rome
  • 4.London
  • 5.Barcelona
  • 6.Vienna
  • 7.Prague
  • 8.Venice
  • 9.Munich
  • 10.Amsterdam
#16Which is the most attractive city in Europe?
  • 1.Paris
  • 2.Berlin
  • 3.Barcelona
  • 4.Rome
  • 5.London
  • 6.Vienna
  • 7.Prague
  • 8.Munich
  • 9.Amsterdam
  • 10.Madrid
© 2013 Goethe-Institut