If you are a good planner, chances are that you don't like uncertainty. As a matter of fact, you plan in order to avoid uncertainty. When you ask someone a question, you would probably appreciate a straight and precise answer than an ambiguous one. At work, you would want your responsibilities and duties to be clearly stated by your manager; if not, chances are you'll get frustrated with her/him. If you can relate yourself to the person that was just described, it's safe to say that you score high on the uncertainty avoidance scale.
The level of uncertainty avoidance in different cultures is one of the determining factors how communities respond to different advertisements. Here, I want to share with you the subtle differences that I noticed in advertising in countries such as Japan, France and Germany which rank high on uncertainty avoidance (HUA) compare to countries with relatively lower scores (LUA), like U.S.. Although, throughout this article we need to keep in mind that advertising appeals are highly dependant on product category.
1. Fear sells in high uncertainty avoidance cultures: For example, in HUA cultures, they put more emphasize on safety appeal in commercials. According to Japan Pulse, in Japan, anti-virus products are popular because people fear getting sick. Surgical masks, sterile hand sanitizers and air purifiers (called virus-attacker) are advertised using fear appeals. In HUA cultures, rules, laws and regulations are more easily accepted and more strictly followed. People tend to rely on rules to manage the situation. Authority is the power that is accepted by others. Take a look at the following ad for Porsche 911. People tend to respond better to testimonial advertising in HUA as in HUA countries, experts' opinions are greatly valued and trusted. In the following ad, it looks as if German police officers are giving a testimony.
Subaro, a Japanese manufacturer, usually uses safety appeals to sell their cars. While safety is a crucial factor and is used by all car manufacturers, it is definitely more noticeable in HUA countries.
Ford, an American company, focuses on mileage and fuel economy when advertising their products.
2. Purity of products matters more (in food and drink category): It's been proven that in HUA cultures, the consumption of some products are relatively higher than in LUA cultures, such as bottled water and antibiotics. Some European countries such as Italy and France (HUA) have always been knows for their fresh and natural food. Some argue that this is because in high uncertainty cultures, the relationship drawn between health and the purity of the consumed food in much greater that in let's say U.S., where health is more related to fitness and working out rather that the organic-ness of the food consumed. Therefore, in HUA cultures, food ads are more focused on purity and quality of the products. (Global Marketing and Advertising By Marieke de Mooij)
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| Real, natural & pure. |
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| Bottled water ads in Spain, France & Germany. The use of natural setting reinforces the purity of the products. (Marieke de Mooji) |
3. The products/services are described more precisely: I read an awesome article in Adweek on the topic of cross-cultural advertising. Shankar Harrison, Vice president of strategy at 360i gave the following example to illustrate how a successful ad campaign communicates with both cultures.
Airbnb, a website that facilitates renting out accommodation from local hosts in 190+ countries, targets HUA and LUA societies in two different ads in their "Belong Anywhere" campaign. The following ad is all about introducing possibilities and the freedom it offers.
While in the following ad, they give a clear description on what Airbnb has to offer. They also touch on the safety concerns of travellers.
Overall, no rules are strictly followed in the advertising world. Cultures are merging and we're moving towards a global culture. However, boundaries still very much exist and this requires advertisers to use tactics that facilitates communication with their target markets.
Let's finish up with this awesome ad.
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| By DDB New York for Subaro |
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