Advertising and Corporate Strategy

As far as advertising by transnational companies is concerned, Jean-Marie Dru (1996) recommends that they should 'think local, act global'. Advertisements have to appeal to consumers of a local culture. To achieve this, advertisements reflect the everyday life of local inhabitants, as well as the values, attitudes, and beliefs of their culture. However, as a matter of corporate strategy, to view advertising solely in terms of local cultural identities is to err. That is why reference is made to Dru because his message is that 'we must constantly move from the local to the global, and back to the local again'.

Global corporations should encourage their branches to generate high-quality local campaigns. The product and services of global corporations are the same worldwide. The features of the products and services being advertised are then the same for the entire global corporation. The branches, however, construct campaigns to suit the local culture. This is best understood by examining Dru's descriptions of advertising in the United States, France, Japan, Britain, Spain, Germany, China and India