The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, November 03, 1980, Image 16

Texas A&M Newspaper Collection

The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, November 03, 1980, Image 16

Newspaper Page TextPage 4B THE BATTALION MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1980 Blunder collection lesson to businessmen Cultural differences, language barriers can cause problems in international marketing United Press International COLUMBUS, Ohio — Figuring students learn best by studying the mistakes of others, David Ricks, chairman of the Ohio State University International Business Program, has built what he calls a “rather novel collection.” For 10 years Ricks has been ferreting out blunders made by big businesses — mistakes the companies would rather forget but which show students “why it’s important to pay attention to concepts that don’t seem important.” — Pepsodent’s promise of white teeth bought no new customers in part of Southeast Asia — where people of status chew betelnuts, and black, discol ored teeth are a symbol of prestige. A blunder, as defined by Ricks, “is a mistake that could have been avoided, but because of carelessness it’s not. It usually results in some type of loss. ” But most frequently, he added, errors occur when a business overlooks some cultural difference in the foreign market. That’s most likely to happen, he said, when the foreign customers are most alike, not the farthest Some samples from the nearly 200 documented blunders Ricks has uncovered: — A baby food company tried unsuccessfully to peddle its product in a mostly illiterate African nation with a label showing a cuddly infant. It turned out Africans thought the jars contained ground-up babies. — Chevrolet was puzzled when its Nova model, popular in this country, would not sell in Latin Amer ican markets. Firm officials finally figured out that in Spanish, Nova means “does not go.” — An airline advertised the “rendezvous lounges” on its 707 flights in Brazil and lost customers. Ren dezvous in Portugese is a place to have sex. For that reason he counts MacDonald’s advertis ing of “Big Macs” in Canada as embarrassing, but not a blunder. In French-Canadian slang big macs are big busts, but the giant hamburgers still are selling wonder- fully. Similarly, an American company that manufac tures female sanitary napkins noticed an increase in sales in South American areas. They soon discovered farmers were buying the napkins in quantity, and using them as dust masks. Chevrolet was puzzled when its Nova model, popular in this coun try, would not sell in La tin American markets. Firm officials finally figured out that too. The trouble was the Campbell Soup cans looked so small next to the English cans selling for the same price. In England, soup is sold with the water already added. Also culturally ignorant was the aircraft company that used ads in India picturing Pakistanis. Amer icans may not be able to tell the difference, Ricks said, but Indians can. the grave.” A car wash turned into i another of Ricks’ blunders. car enet Vol. 74 No 10 Pages Or the firm that tried selling refrigerators to the mostly Moslem Middle East with an ad picturing their appliance chock full of food — including a giant ham on the middle shelf. in Spanish, Nova means “does not go. ” While most of the blunders Ricks has found are marketing and advertising mistakes — the most noticeable and hardest to hide — blunders have also occurred in management, personnel and finance. “There are a big variety and they occur in every area of business. If there’s a way to make a blunder, a business has done it,” said Ricks. removed from Americans. Britain has been the downfall of many an established American firm. General Foods, for example, found that England had no room for Jell-O. The firm found out too late that British shoppers look for gelatin in cakes or wafers, not powdered form. Campbell Soups languished on English shelves. Colors are culturally significant, too, noted Ricks, who has collected the blunders made by firms that forgot when labeling their products that green is the color of disease in Africa and white the color of death in Japan. Hiring translators can be tricky as well. French men working on advertising for French Canada and American-trained language students working on campaigns intended for overseas have blundered often. publican president “Body by Fisher” became “Corpse by Fisher” in a Belgian ad. Pepsi’s familiar “Come Alive with Pepsi” became in a German translation “Come alive out of While some blunders are amusing „ more serious and costly, said Ricks wh every company involved in a blunder aski! fication and for information on corrective "Some companies deny it happened''tb sor said. “Some will say that it happened bub ering all the decisions we make it’s not too ki only make a few mistakes. And quite a few! guys who made the mistake are no longerwitU “I can’t confirm this, but it’s not a good(li the guys who make that bad decision.” *- Like the decision ofa U.S. pineappleco^ShJw buy land in Mexico near a river. Company-X were going to use the river to transport itstfie Democ pies. After building a plant, the firm foundilled at the river was dry — except at harvest time »|Ia few poir flooded. W r both n Or the decision of a fast food chain tolocattiK ^ WOlJ German hamburger stand on a street thil showed was heavily traveled. The hamburgers* scl1 ' i/ti Finally company officials checked out the I Jf L LM next door. It was a bordello. r Mexican town booming again United Press International LAZARO CARDENAS, Mexico — Lazaro Cardenas, the sleepy fishing village that boomed and then went bust with an over-ambitious in dustrial development program, is about to boom again. Some 20,000 workers already are pouring into the Pacific port to help build and operate a $2.5 billion addi tion to the existing steel mill. The influx will almost double the town’s current population of 21,000 — and perhaps bring back many of the problems that once gave it a reputation as a lawless “frontier” town. Back in 1971 Lazaro Cardenas’ 3,000 fishermen and dirt-poor far mers lacked paved roads, telephones and electricity. Then President Luis Echeverria introduced a plan to turn the port into the largest steelmaking complex in Latin America. Almost overnight, the village exploded to 70,000 peo ple, most of them construction work ers. Prostitutes and petty criminals followed them. The boom came to a whimpering halt in 1976, when an economic slump forced the Mexican govern ment to postpone indefinitely the multi-million dollar industrial de velopment project. Dald Reag re than C away wi I, two Tex unicatior iversity ] am Strong itudents t of the p Id that thi Some 45,000 people evacuated Lazaro Cardenas, and local author ities began shutting down the worst bars and all but five of the houses of prostitution. But even now, 25 of every 100 technicians and administrators quit SICARTSA every year, most of them complaining of the town’s cultural isolation, overwhelmingly hot and humid weather and prices that aver age 20 percent higher than in Mexico City. Last month the government of President Jose Lopez Portillo announced it would resurrect the second and third stages of the ambi tious Lazaro Cardenas project. Within two weeks most buses were arriving full and leaving empty. FOR PRESIDENT By R1 ion the v [e cannot we deall id votes a is because ify with I e two pro iollege stu and after consistec kh man v jy?” to ssue in tin [tributed ionnaires |d, which a poor i pie length [) might 1 Cook sa »e ABC N ioned ah me ques kirs dealt ions so it people,’ • Are you satisfied with Carter's double-digit inflation due to an unbalanced budget? • Do you think that increased military spending coupled with decreased taxes as proposed by Reagan will help the situation? • Do you think that Carter's wishy-washy foreign policy or Reagan s Cold War Strategy will increase America's secur ity? • How well informed can Reagan be believing that pollu tion is caused by trees and that this country's pollution problem is "substantially controlled"? JOHN ANDERSON ★ has over 20 years Congressional experience in Washington. ★ is a respected leader in Washington. ★ has Foreign Service experience. ★ demonstrates the courage to make tough deci sions JOHN ANDERSON believes in womens’ rights balanced budget rational military spending civil rights 8 environmental preservation energy conservation TRY OUR 35 mm PROCESSING TODAY! We treat your 35 mm pictures with special care because we know how special they are . Bring your 35 mm film to us for the kind of finishing you want for your 35 mm photography. YOU’LL NEVER SPEND SO LITTLE FOR SO MUCH. INTRODUCING THE FUJICA AX-1 SLR WITH AUTOMATIC EXPOSURE. YOU HAVE A CHOICE! SVaXS MATTE FINISH or “THE BIG SHOT” 4X6 GLOSSY PRINTS Try Both today! -■“———COUPON———.- r I I Cl 35-12 J Cl 35-24 I Cl 35-36 99 EXPOSE YOURSELF TO OUR FILM DEVELOPING COLORPRINT FILM DEVELOPED. 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Texas A&M Newspaper Collection

Texas A&M Newspaper Collection

The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, November 03, 1980, Image 16

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