Author: Nana Riz
A good example of misinterpretation of Intercultural Communication is the case of “China in Box” in Brazil. After a big national success, this company decided to expand and go abroad, first to Argentina and afterwards to Mexico. The result was a flop. They used the same strategy that they had used in Brazil without doing any research first. Brazilians like spicy food in contrast to the Argentineans, therefore the product itself needed an adaptation to agree with the Argentinean palate.
In comparison, Mc Donald’s is an extremely creative and internationally well-positioned company that does effective cross-cultural research. It is a classic model of a company that thinks well globally and knows how to act in a regional field. A good example of how they do this is through the special weeks they promote in each McDonald’s across the globe. They offer a week with typical food of the region, which on the one hand pays homage to the country and their culture and on the other hand helps adapt McDonald’s own menus to the traditional ingredients of each country.
Mc Donald’s, recently, had a special traditional week in Brazil. Since they observed that most Brazilians eat everything with an extra spicy sauce, they decided to do a “Tabasco Week”. Customers could decide between Hamburgers, French Fries or Wraps with Tabasco sauce.
In addition to that, since Brazilians traditionally drink a lot of juice, Mc Donald’s added the possibility for customers to substitute smoothies in the different menus, instead of sodas.
What do you think about Mc Donald’s Marketing Strategy?