Advertising in Asia: Localize or Regionalize?

Abstract

The transfer of international advertising strategies to the Asian market is becoming popu‐lardue to rising living standards and the growing similarity of consumer tastes in the region. The main objectives of this article are to investigate whether the multinationals standardize their advertising strategy in the Asian market, to what extent they stan‐dardize, and whether they are moving towards a regional advertising approach. The samples chosen for this study are the four Chinese markets: Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and the People's Republic of China, which are all adopting a similar account of advertising standardization and neither a fully standardized nor differentiated strategy is common. The international advertising strategy is only partially standardized on those strategic decisions (such as determination of target segment, positioning, advertising objective and main theme) but not on tactical ones (such as execution style and media buying). Most multinationals are using an adaptation strategy in these markets. How‐ever, a significant relationship is found between the party who makes the decisions and the standardization of advertising decisions. Strategic decisions are more likely to be determined jointly by the headquarters and the subsidiary, while the tactical ones are more likely to be determined by the subsidiary alone. There is also an increasing trend for the advertising executives of multinational firms and their advertising agencies to adopt a regional approach in the Asian market.