Advertising strategies and glocal cultures. A case study: Absolut Vodka in the Chinese market

III 
 
 
Introduction 
 
Today the news about the annual high GDP growth of the Chinese economy does not 
surprise anyone. At the same time, many Western companies have decided to invest their 
money in that Country, opening new factories or importing goods. This trend has aroused 
my interest in China, expected to be one of the most powerful economies in the next few 
years (Visetti, 2012). 
In particular, China has been facing a slow but in-depth transformation of its institutions 
since 1978, when the Party leader Deng Xiaoping decided to open the Chinese market to 
foreign investments (Genzberger, 1994). Other important steps on the way to create a 
democratic environment in the Country were the economic reform that transformed the 
Chinese economy in the so-called “socialist-market economy” in 1992, the entrance in the 
World Trade Organization in 2001 and the Constitutional revision in 2004. With the 
Xiaoping “Open door” policy in 1978, China started the process of managing its means of 
production according to free market principles (Genzberger, 1994). This process was 
enriched by the admission of China in the World Trade Organization in 2001 that pushed 
the “Middle Kingdom” to lower the high trade barriers (The Economist, 2011) and in 2004, 
by the new Constitution that recognized for the first time private businesses and allowed 
them to enter public companies’ capital, within specific limits (Schulz, 2007; CIA World 
Factbook, 2012; Zhang S., 2014). 
However, many problems are still unsolved in the Chinese Country: the most 
problematic situations are represented by the low press freedom (Fishman, 2005; Visetti, 
2012), the persecution of political oppositions (Visetti, 2012) and the judicial system that is 
still heavily influenced by politics and does not provide an independent service (Schulz, 
2007).    
In this context, today, the Communist Party has started a public propaganda in order to 
promote the traditional values of the Chinese culture, after the Mao Zedong’s Cultural 
Revolution ban in the 1970s (Visetti, 2012). The government believes that Confucian 
values are useful to educate the next-generation leaders to temperance, loyalty and respect 
for elders (Visetti, 2012).
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However, I have combined the curiosity for this powerful Country and its fascinating 
culture with the interest in advertising strategies: I have always wondered whether a 
commercial or advertising campaign used in a Country, would be so much effective in 
another one. Indeed, since globalization has made possible for companies to trade in 
foreign markets as easily as it is in the domestic ones, intercultural communication 
between cultures has become a really current topic (Mourdoukoutas, 2011).  
In order to make this kind of communication effective, Neuliep (2003) has introduced a 
model, where he explains how the communication process is influenced by different 
contexts: the results of this model show that people from different cultures communicate 
by different codes and symbols to express the same meanings (Neuliep, 2003). For 
example, the fuzzy domestic pet that is called cat in English has been named in different 
ways around the world: chat in French, neiko in Japanese, koska in Russian and so on 
(Neuliep, 2003). Moreover, the same symbol in one Country might mean something else in 
another one and being associated with a totally different topic: for example, in Western 
societies it is common to see people relaxing and crossing their legs, in a way that the 
underneath surface of their shoes is shown; however, in Arabic Countries, showing the 
shoe sole is considered very impolite (Neuliep, 2003). Also, in Western Countries, the 
colour white is a symbol of purity and it is usually associated with happy situations like 
weddings, whereas in Asia white is the colour of mourning (Valdani & Bertoli, 2003).   
For these reasons, it is very important to choose the right message when a company 
wants to advertise its products in different cultures: the debate on what the best 
intercultural advertising strategies are, has employed many scholars and has been very 
prolific (Hussain & Khan, 2013). Three different positions have been expressed on the 
topic during the time: some scholars, especially in the 1960s, claimed the importance of 
standardization in any marketing mix aspect (Elinder, 1961; Bartels, 1968; Levitt, 1983 as 
quoted in De Mooij, 2010); however, others, like Douglas and Wind (1987) (as quoted in 
Hussain & Khan, 2013), Valdani and Bertoli (2003), Cleveland L. (2007) (as quoted in 
Hussain & Khan, 2013) and De Mooij (2010), stated the superiority of adaptation 
strategies, as a mean to better penetrate foreign markets. Finally, the last approach 
theorizes that the best strategy would be to balance the two previous points of view, 
combining them according to the different Countries’ characteristics (Kotler and 
Armstrong, 2008 as cited in Hussein and Khan, 2013; Hussein and Khan, 2013).
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These are the main reasons why I decided to start my research and write this thesis. 
The purpose of this dissertation is to study how the Chinese culture affects the way 
Western companies communicate in China and whether and how a company adapts its 
advertising strategies, once it becomes aware of local cultures. In particular, the situation 
of the Chinese spirits market will be analyzed as well as the way the local culture 
influences the advertising adaptation in this sector.  
The research methodology for this work is based on the analysis of different kinds of 
sources: international academic literature like scientific and review articles, journal 
articles, conference presentations, web-sites and textbooks about Chinese culture, 
intercultural communication, advertising strategies and integrated marketing 
communications programs, with a focus on the case study of The Absolut Company in the 
Chinese market. For the case study, a telephone interview that I had with Mr. Dimitri 
Jansen, Trade Marketing Director for the Asia-Pacific market at The Absolut Company, is 
reported. The interview with Mr. Jansen, thanks to his experience in the sector, has given 
me the opportunity to gain further detailed data and in-depth knowledge on the topic, and 
to better investigate on the advertising strategies of the Swedish-French company in the 
Chinese market (Jansen, personal communication, 2015, see appendix).  
Generally speaking, there exist many studies of intercultural communication and 
international marketing that focus on advertising strategies and many authors have already 
analysed The Absolut Company advertising campaigns. However, this thesis is one of the 
few that makes a comparison of the integrated marketing communications program of the 
French-Swedish company between the Swedish and the Chinese markets.   
This thesis is structured in three sections: in the first chapter the Chinese culture is 
presented through the study of its fundamental values, the second chapter is focused on the 
process of intercultural communication and on the creation of an integrated marketing 
communications campaign, whereas the last chapter deals with the case study, where The 
Absolut Company advertising strategies in China are compared with the ones employed in 
Sweden, in order to understand how much the firm adapts its communication.   
In detail, in the first chapter the concept of culture is explored (par.1.1.1), followed by 
the introduction of the famous Hofstede’s model that explains how one culture can be 
divided in different dimensions and compared with others (Hofstede et al., 2010) (par. 
1.1.2). Then, the Chinese culture is examined through its traditional values (i.e. guanxi,
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renqing, keqi, wenzhong, yao mianzi and zhi chi) (par. 1.2), its philosophical and religious 
background (par. 1.3) made by Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism and the ancient 
strategist Sun Tzu’s thinking (par. 1.5), based on war tactics that have deeply influenced 
Chinese people behaviour (Garrik, 2012). Finally, the political background of modern 
China is analysed: a Communist Country, led by the Communist Party which has been in 
power without any free election since 1949 (Visetti, 2012) and it will be shown how this 
situation has influenced people's behaviour and values (par. 1.4).   
Chapter two shows how the intercultural communications works (par. 2.1) and, to better 
understand this subject, the Neuliep model is examined (par. 2.2): it deals with the way 
communication between cultures is structured, theorising many “environments” that 
influence the sender’s and receiver’s messages (Neuliep, 2003). In addition, the “Index of 
cultural distance” (Valdani and Bertoli, 2003) that measures the cultural gap between 
buyers and suppliers in different Countries is introduced (par.2.3); afterwards, the 
standardization vs adaptation debate in advertising is investigated (par. 2.4).  
Then, some interesting studies on the integrated marketing communications (IMC) 
program will be introduced. Particularly, the research of Belch and Belch (2009) has been 
taken into consideration, with a focus on the media mix step of the IMC program, where 
characteristics and circulation of broadcast media, the Internet and support media are 
examined (par. 2.5.2). 
Finally, in the third chapter a case study will be presented on the most famous Swedish 
spirits company, The Absolut Company (now part of the Pernod Ricard Group): after 
introducing the company (par. 3.1), the Chinese vodka market will be examined in detail 
(par. 3.2), from the business environment to the media context. 
Next, the communication approach employed by The Absolut Company in China will be 
described: after adopting a local approach, the firm has decided to choose a global strategy, 
maintaining, however, some communication aspects related to the local taste, like the 
development of marketing events (Jansen, personal communication, 2015) (par. 3.3). The 
following paragraphs explain how the French-Swedish company applies this “glocal” 
strategy in its integrated marketing communications plan (par. 3.4).  
Then targeting and positioning of the Absolut V odka brand and an analysis of the main 
strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities (SWOT analysis) of the market will be 
introduced, in order to evaluate all the possible sources of profits and losses. In addition, a
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focus on the media mix process and on the packaging strategy is introduced, to understand 
how much the spirits company adapts its communication plan in the Country: broadcast 
media, the Internet, support media and product packaging are taken into consideration. In 
order to better realize the level of adaptation, a comparison between advertising in China 
and Sweden (home country of The Absolut Company) is made. 
Moreover, an interview given by the Trade marketing manager at The Absolut Company 
has helped to verify and examine in depth the information gained through scientific 
articles, journal articles, web-sites and text books.  
The results show a complex situation in China, where The Absolut Company has a 
small market share, because its most important product, vodka, is rather new for Chinese 
people who are not used to it yet (Shen, personal communication, 2005, as cited in 
Holmström & Spjuth, 2005). This seems to force The Absolut Company to adapt part of its 
communication strategy, even if the company has a global approach that aims to promote a 
global brand image worldwide (Jansen, personal communication, January 5, 2015). 
This dissertation will attempt to provide the answers that may explain this apparent 
contradiction.
1 
 
 
Chapter 1 
THE CHINESE CULTURE 
 
In this chapter the Chinese culture will be explored because, in order to communicate 
efficiently in each market, one should know at least its cultural background. 
First, a general definition of what culture is and what its dimensions are will be given, 
following the famous model created by Geert Hofstede (par. 1.1); then how Chinese 
culture behaves according to this model will be shown. 
Secondly, all the aspects of the Chinese culture and what influences them will be 
introduced. Therefore, in paragraph 1.2 the traditional Chinese values will be introduced, 
like the concept of “face” and the guanxi factor, which is fundamental for making business 
in that Country.  
Then, the most followed philosophies in China will be presented: Confucianism, 
Buddhism and Taoism (par.1.3); they have been shaping the minds and habits of Chinese 
for thousands years.  
After that, it will be investigated how living inside a Communist system affects the way 
people think and act (par.1.4).  
Finally, in paragraph 1.5 the last important aspect of the Chinese culture will be 
analysed: the Sun Tzu stratagems, a series of tricks which people use in their everyday life. 
These stratagems are well-know and people think and act according to them, providing an 
important explanation on how Chinese imagine life. These stratagems are contained in the 
ancient book “The art of war” that in origin was used for military strategies.  
 
1.1 What is culture? 
1.1.1 Definition 
The word “culture” comes from the Latin word “cultura”, the substantive form of the 
verb “colere”, which means cultivating the garden (Niccolini, 2011, p. 3). Indeed, at the 
beginning of the Roman history, this word described the growth of a plant. It was only with 
the Latin philosopher Cicero that the term took on a new meaning referring also to the 
individual growth of the human soul, i.e. cultura animi (Niccolini, 2011).
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More recently, the first author who has given a definition of culture is Edward Tylor 
(1871), considered by Tony Fang (1999a, p. 22) as the “father” of cultural anthropology: 
“Culture or Civilization […] is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, 
morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of 
society”. 
Since this definition many others have followed, but it can be said that the authors 
generally agree that on the one hand culture is influenced by the society where someone 
lives (Tylor, 1871; Ferraro 1990; Schulz, 2007) and on the other hand it influences the 
behaviour of people (Lee 1995; Hall 1976, 1981; Adler 1991; Brislin, 1993; Triandis, 
1994). 
Moreover, Adler (1991) and Triandis (1994), as cited in Fang (1999a), define different 
models to explain how culture influences behaviour. 
Adler (1991) argues that there’s a circular way that links culture to values, attitudes and 
behaviour and all of them are able to modify the culture itself. Furthermore, culture 
influences what is desirable or what is thought to be right, the so-called value. The whole 
system of values disposes how a person usually acts or reacts in a certain way towards 
something; it means that values define someone’s attitude. Eventually, behaviour is any 
kind of human action and the continuous changing patterns of behaviour influence the 
culture of the society (Adler, 1991 as cited in Fang, 1999a). 
According to Triandis (1994), culture does not have the power to influence the whole 
system of human values, but it can only give a general idea of what is wrong or good; the 
final decision on how to behave depends on people's personal experience and belief. 
Finally, it is obvious that culture is something that evolves over time. Peter Senge, as 
cited in Niccolini (2011, p.6 ), asserts: “No culture is steady, because it grows thanks to 
how we live with each other day by day”; nevertheless the fundamental national culture 
values do not change easily (Hofstede, 2011). 
 
1.1.2 Culture dimensions: the Hofstede’s model 
In 1980, Hofstede was an engineer in the famous computer company IBM and 
accidentally became interested in national cultural differences; for this reason he made a 
survey between his colleagues to analyze those differences. The survey was submitted to 
people that worked in the sales and service offices, the only offices located in all IBM