Consumer Perceptions of Advertising Standardization: A Cross-Country Study of Different Advertising Categories
Backhaus K, van Doorn J
Abstract
Despite comprehensive discussion about standardization versus adaptation of
international advertising, questions regarding how to quantify the degree of advertising
standardization remain. Existing approaches take an advertiser’s or marketer’s perspective.
However, this one-sided perspective is insufficient for global media, which increasingly
confront consumers with advertising from outside their home country. Advertising
standardization can prevent image confusion when target groups view different
advertisements for the same product. We present a methodology to measure the degree of
advertising standardization that incorporates consumers’ perspective. Results indicate that
consumers’ perceptions of standardization differ among advertising categories, whereas
country-specific differences are minor.