宝洁公司跨国营销轶事

越来越多的中国公司开始国际化。这个过程当中，难免碰到很多跨文化沟通的问题。之前已经有很多西方公司在这方面给我们留下了宝贵经验，我们要做的就是努力学习他们的经验教训，避免重蹈覆辙。

《消费者行为学》第七版的第一章节提到了宝洁在日本销售尿布的故事，我google了一下背景，发现New York Times的一篇专栏文章里列举了较多宝洁的类似跨国营销轶事，特转贴于此，以备将来参考。原文链接是“Viewpoints; Don't Sell Thick Diapers in Tokyo”。

1. In the late 1970's, Procter & Gamble introduced Pampers diapers in Japan, the world's second-largest consumer market. Free samples were dropped at maternity wards, and were delivered to mothers who had simply tied cloth diapers to their apartment balconies.
At first, the efforts paid off; disposables grew to 10 percent from 2 percent of diaper changes. But at $50 a month, they were expensive. Perhaps more important, they were too bulky. Procter & Gamble had overlooked a critical cultural difference: Japanese mothers change their babies' diapers about 14 times a day -- more than twice as often as most Americans. So they wanted a thin diaper that was easy to store and use. A Japanese manufacturer caught on, and its thinner disposable -- the Moony -- soon snared 23 percent of the market.
"It was clear that we were out of the ballgame," recalled a Procter & Gamble executive.
2. Procter & Gamble proved a bit smarter in Eastern Europe. In Poland, the company discovered that detergent labels should be written in imperfect Polish to show that foreign companies were trying to fit in, but weren't quick enough to be fluent. In the Czech Republic and elsewhere, consumers want labels in English or German because they associate local dialects with poor quality.

注解：上述波兰的故事比较有趣。第一次听说一个公司要故意使用不地道的商品包装说明来吸引用户。有点不解。后来从另外一本书找到了如下参考信息：

Research can also aid in assessing the need for translation. In entering Eastern Europe, Procter & Gamble (P&G) translated its detergent labels into Polish and Czech to adapt its products to the local market. However, consumers reacted negatively, perceiving this as an effort to dupe customers by passing the company off as a local Polish firm. Research revealed that labels should be written in imperfect Polish to show the company was trying to fit in, but was not quite adept enough to be fluent (Business Week, 1993).

这才恍然大悟，看来波兰人民的民族主义挺强的，强到了有点掩耳盗铃的地步：）

3. In Asia, Procter & Gamble caught on to some cultural norms that were politically incorrect by American standards. Along with other diaper makers, the company learned to promote a white unisex diaper in Korea, China and elsewhere -- despite the American shift to pink for girls and blue for boys. Why? Every time women take a pink package, they admit they have a daughter.

注解：《消费者行为学》一书在描述宝洁在日本销售尿布的故事时，提及它在日本受挫后改进了产品特性和广告诉求，特别是针对男孩和女孩分别用蓝色和粉红色区分。但据上文和其他资料显示，这种用颜色区分男孩、女孩的方法主要在西方国家盛行，并没有发现任何资料显示日本也有同样文化特征，而上文则说在韩国、中国和其他地方都是使用白色，不区分男女。这样看来，可能是《消费者行为学》一书描写有误。

The sexism is intense in China, where there's only one child allowed per family. But to marketers' delight, the one-child limit has also created the "golden baby" syndrome, swaying parents to spend lots of money on the child.

4. In Japan, though, Procter & Gamble somehow managed to ignore cultural practices as basic as China's sexism. To prove its detergents' superiority over other brands, the company resorted to its standard side-by-side product demonstrations of whiter shirts and brighter socks. Bad move: These ads did not appeal to the Japanese, who prefer harmony and polite business dealings. The company also fumbled with its ads for all-temperature Cheer. The Japanese don't wash clothes at different temperatures. They do the laundry in tap water or leftover bath water.

Speaking of baths, some years ago a Camay television ad also put Procter & Gamble in hot water with the Japanese. Pitching the soap as making women more attractive to men, the ad showed a man walking into the bathroom while his wife bathed. Women took great offense; in Japan it is the height of bad manners for a husband to impose on his wife's privacy in the bathtub. Whoops.

注解：《消费者行为学》一书在第二章引用了上述佳美香皂的故事。原文是“宝洁公司为“佳美”牌香皂所做的广告中，男人当面赞赏女人的美貌。这一广告在很多国家获得成功。然而，在日本，该广告则不尽如人意，原因是日本男女之间的交往方式更加委婉”。

5. Procter & Gamble wasn't so dumb to miss a chance to capitalize on Peruvians' gullibility, though. In selling them a Pantene hair tonic, the company targeted balding men, saying the product would help hair roots. Sales tripled when the company advertised the tonic as a good Christmas present for Dad.

6. But in the hair-care market in Poland, Procter & Gamble did stumble. Things started auspiciously when the company mailed out many free samples of Vidal Sassoon shampoo. Some consumers cried, very happy to receive something free without waiting in line. A grateful postal worker even sent the company flowers. But then trouble arose over something a little thought might have avoided: The free samples led thieves to ransack hundreds of mailboxes, leaving Procter & Gamble with a huge repair bill.