Reflection Paper NIVEA - 20!12!11 - Final Version2

Universidad Autonoma de Madrid Master en Direccion de Marketing International Marketing Prof. Dr.
Shintaro Okazaki
CROSS-CULTURAL CONTENT ANALYSIS OF NIVEA SUN TV- COMMERCIALS
Presented by: Diogo Areias (diogoareiass@gmail.com) Marion Scherzinger (marionscherzinger@gmail.com) Marius Weitz (marius.weitz@gmx.net)
20.12.2011
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz
Abstract
This report analyses seven TV-spots of Nivea Sun products from Brazil, Germany, Singapore and Spain to elaborate some indicators of the standardization of Niveas global advertising. Referring to Hofstede, there are five cultural dimensions described (power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation) and expectations based on his scores formulated. With a qualitative content analysis approach, the adverts were studied and results were drawn. These show, in particular, dimensionrelated problems, which were recommended to make use of in further studies. Overall there have been indicators of Niveas communication to be standardized or only slightly adapted in culturally similar countries and mostly or totally adapted in culturally distinct countries.
Reflection paper International Marketing
Content
Contents
1 2
2.1
2.1.1 2.1.2 2.1.3
Introduction ................................................................... 1 Background ................................................................... 2

The brand Nivea ......................................................................... 2
General Information ................................................................................. 2 Organizational Structure ......................................................................... 3 Adaptation of communication ................................................................ 4
2.2 2.3
2.3.1 2.3.2 2.3.3 2.3.4
Culture ........................................................................................ 5 Cultural Dimensions .................................................................. 6

Hofstedes Dimensions ........................................................................... 6 GLOBE Dimensions ................................................................................. 7 Aggregate Personality Traits .................................................................. 8 Applying the Cultural Dimensions ....................................................... 10
3
3.1 3.2
3.2.1 3.2.2 3.2.3 3.2.4
Expectations ...............................................................11
General Expectations .............................................................. 11 Country-specific expectations................................................ 12
Brazil ....................................................................................................... 12 Germany ................................................................................................. 12 Singapore ............................................................................................... 13 Spain ....................................................................................................... 13
4
4.1 4.2 4.3
Method .........................................................................13
Qualitative Content Analysis .................................................. 13 Research Questions ................................................................ 15 Object of Study ........................................................................ 15
Content
4.4
Categories ................................................................................ 15
5 6 7
Results & Discussion .................................................18 Acknowledgments ......................................................24 References ..................................................................24
Appendix .................................................................................28
Content
1 Introduction
Due to the steadily increasing process of globalization, economies grow together and markets become more international and more complex. This development provides new opportunities, but also challenges and transnational activities are a necessity for many companies in order to remain competitive and to operate profitably. When operating in foreign markets, companies are faced with the question whether to standardize marketing elements or to adapt them according to the requirements of the local market. The understanding of culture-specific conditions and the divergent behavior of consumers are a critical factor for success. As a measurement of the understanding of cultures, global marketing and advertising research mostly applied the concept of the cultural dimensions developed by Hofstede (Okazaki & Mueller, 2007). In this paper, the authors were especially interested in analyzing in detail advertising elements of a determined company in order to figure out the global communication strategy. The elected brand is Nivea, a globally operating company in the sector of skin care. The product category on which represents the focus of this research is sun care. As factors such as climatic conditions or even skin color preferences vary among cultures (e.g. Shankar & Subish, 2007), the product category sun care seems to be an interesting object of study when it comes to cross-cultural advertising research. The question which was being evaluated, is: Does Nivea Sun use a standardized, global communication strategy or do they adapt their
communication locally; and if they do the latter, which communication elements are universally present and which are unique to the respective country? To investigate this topic, television commercials of Nivea Sun, which were broadcasted in the recent past in Germany, Spain, Brazil and Singapore were analyzed. Germany is the home country of Nivea, which is why it was elected and Spain was chosen in order to provide an intraeuropean comparison. Furthermore a South American country in Brazil and an Asian country in Singapore was included in the analysis, as intercontinental results may give additional insights about the global communication strategy of Nivea Sun.
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Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz Qualitative analysis of content was the methodology of choice. The derived categories were directly linked to Hofstedes cultural dimensions in order to compare the results of the content analysis with those of Hofstedes cultural scores of the respective countries. The paper starts with background information about the brand Nivea, the construct culture and specifical methods to measure cultural values. Then the expectations of the study will be presented before going into detail regarding the methodology of the study. Finally, the obtained results will be presented and the conclusions are discussed. The ambition of the paper is to draw conclusions about the communication strategy of the a specific brand in order to obtain insights about how a globally operating company, such as Nivea, coordinates their marketing actions in geographically and psychologically distant countries. 2 Background
The next point will give information and data about Nivea as a brand and about the construct culture, in particular the possibilities to measure culture. Key literature shall be taken into account when discussing the cultural dimensions. 2.1 The Brand Nivea
In the following chapter, the brand Nivea shall be introduced briefly and some points such as organizational structure shall be accentuated, which will be important for this work. 2.1.1 General Information Beiersdorf is the company which stands behind the brand Nivea. Beiersdorf is a listed joint stock corporation focused on consumer goods in the skin care sector (Beiersdorf corporate website). The annual turnover amounts to 6,2 billion (Beiersdorf, 2010) and the total number of employees worldwide is approx. 19.000 (both figures refer to 2010). The company has the headquarters in Hamburg, Germany and is operating on a global scale, with 150 affiliates worldwide. The following brands belong to Beiersdorf: Nivea Eucerin La Prairie 8x4 Page 2
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz SLEK Hansaplast Labello SBT
Nivea is by far the biggest brand of the ones mentioned and has a wide range of products: deodorants, body lotions, hand crmes, shower gels, products for hair care, sun care and decorative cosmetics.
2.1.2 Organizational Structure The brand Nivea is coordinated following the regio-centric approach. The following approximation shall reflect the organizational structure in a graphic way in order to provide an easier understanding:
Table 1: Organizational Structure of Nivea
The headquarters or the General Business Unit (GBU) of the company is based in Hamburg. This is where the global strategic decisions are made. On the next hierarchical level there are regional headquarters, where strategic decisions for the countries which belong to the region are being made 1 . For instance, in Singapore the specific strategy for all the countries in the region Asia Pacific is being developed (Australia, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Japan, India, Korea,
1
The following information is from internal sources of Nivea. However, there are issues in terms of
confidentiality as this information is kept on a basic level and does not reveal any kind of delicate data.
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Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand). Milan, for example, is the regional headquarters for South Western Europe and coordinates the countries Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece.
2.1.3 Adaptation of Communication

The organizational structure of Nivea is also an important factor when it comes to the adaptation of the communication in order to fulfill the needs of the local customers. In general, the strategy in terms of communication is being made in the headquarters in Hamburg. They provide master versions for television, internet and also print media in English which is then sent to the regional headquarters. In many cases, the regional headquarters sends the master to the several countries which have no other adaptation power than to translate the message from English into their local language. In some other cases the region or the countries may include some modifications in order to target the local needs of the customers in a more precise way. Furthermore, in some cases, the regional headquarter may even produce own TV spots or print advertisements. The described power to adapt the communication media depends on the level of the tier the region or country is classified in. Nivea has a certain classification of groups of countries which have more or less power to realize local adaptations in terms of communication, so-called tiers.
Table 2: Niveas system of adaptation power
If a country is classified in the first tier, it has the maximum power of adaptation, while being in the last group; the country has to stick to the guideline provided Reflection paper International Marketing Page 4
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz by the headquarters. The classification is based on several internal criteria such as sales volume, sales potential and also cultural values and differences. Apart from the corporate image which Nivea is trying to generate all over the world with the use of the same brand name and brand logo, the company is aware of the existing cultural differences and the need to realize local adaptation when it comes to communication. Unfortunately we are neither able to provide the exact criteria which Nivea is using in order to classify the tiers, nor to give an overview of the tiers and the countries which belong to the respective groups as it is confidential and to be kept internal to Nivea.
2.2 Culture
Culture is a term which seems to be omnipresent nowadays. It is used in many different areas such as biology, art, economy, religion, science and many more. At the same time almost every single person is probably able to give a statement about what culture is, but few people can clearly define the term. In their classic study about the concept and definition of the term culture, Kroeber and Kluckhohn identify an enormous quantity and variety of meanings (Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952). They try to classify the various definitions of culture and build six categories (descriptive, historical, normative, psychological, structural and genetic definitions), which refer to different and not comparable aspects. Triandis identified three aspects in this mass of definitions, which are regarded by almost all researchers as common components (Triandis, 2007): culture derives from the interaction between humans and the environment culture is mediated over generations culture consists of common elements Such elements include the ones mentioned as follows: values, rules, norms, ethical codes, beliefs, assumptions, rituals, celebrations, symbols, stories, myths, artifacts etc. (Brown, 1995). Later in this work, these elements will play an important role when figuring out possible similarities or differences of the TV spots from several countries.
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2.3 Cultural Dimensions

In the previous chapter, the concept of culture was briefly introduced. The authors researching in the field of culture suggest that there are significant differences among countries or regions, but the difficult point is: How can you categorize culture into common dimensions and how can you measure these dimensions. In the following chapter, these issues shall be discussed, presenting several concepts of measuring culture.
2.3.1 Hofstedes Dimensions

According to the Dutch cultural psychologist and social scientist Geert Hofstede mental programs of members of the same nations tend to contain a common component (Hofstede 2001). The goal of his research was the identification of dimensions for the analysis of those components or rather to figure out differences and similarities between nations. In 1980 in his study "Culture's Consequences" Hofstede presented the results of his research in international business and from IBM. He had obtained the data through a written survey. The participating employees of IBM stated in detail how they behave in certain situations, how they rate their own work style and what they expect from a leader. Hofstede's study was therefore focused on the collection of work-related values. After two survey rounds (1967 and 1972) Hofstede had collected more than 116,000 questionnaires (each with more than 100 questions) from the IBM offices in 72 countries available for analysis. Hofstede is considered the first cross-cultural researcher who managed such a large-scale empirical study. Based on these data Hofstede developed four basic dimensions to compare national cultures. The dimensions are called "power distance", "uncertainty avoidance", "individualism / collectivism" and "masculinity / femininity." After further studies Hofstede added a fifth dimension, "short-term / long-term orientation. The descriptions of these dimensions shall be explained briefly in the following table: 2
2
A more detailed description with specific indicators for each dimension can be seen in the delivered
excel file.
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2.3.2 GLOBE Dimensions

The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research Program (GLOBE), was initiated in 1991 with the aim to prove the generalizability of Charismatic Leadership in twenty different cultures (House & Shamir, 1995). This intent evolved and finally developed a worldwide research program, which involves 170 researches in management and social science from 62 countries. In order to differentiate societies and organizations, nine cultural dimensions were developed, which are presented in the following table:
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Table 3: GLOBE Dimensions (Grove, 2005)
Analog to Hofstedes study, the several countries were classified according to the data and furthermore, were grouped to ten different regional clusters of culture (see appendix). Later on, for every single cluster, a cultural profile was created. It is worth mentioning that, both Hofstedes Model and the GLOBE concept are regarded as highly valuable research studies in international business and management (Shi & Wang, 2011). Nevertheless, there are significant differences in research design, collection of data and countries, analyzed dimensions and conclusions which are a current topic of intercultural research.
2.3.3 Aggregate Personality Traits

In natural language there exist hundreds of trait adjectives. One of the most important tasks for psychologists was to find a way to structure them and to form a comprehensive, stable system. Finally, the path led to the Five-FactorModel which was developed via the lexical approach, gathered from the different languages in which about 18,000 words were found that describe the characteristics of personality (McCrae & Costa, 1990). Ultimately, via factor analysis, five stable and consistent, overall dimensions are identified, the "Big Reflection paper International Marketing Page 8
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz Five" personality traits. Each dimension is expressed in six categories (facet scales) and will be presented in the following table:
Table 4: Five-Factor-Model (McCrae & Costa, 1998)
These personality traits can be used as a cultural measurement by adding up individual values of personality traits of the members of each culture in order to obtain an average score. In the analyses which have been conducted so far, data has been collected from numerous cultures and has been compared (see appendix for cultural scores of aggregate personality profiles). The following general empirical knowledge could be gained by these analyses (McCrae & Terraciano, 2005): culture-level values of the traits are generalizable across age and gender of time; the factor structure of the traits on the cultural level comes very close to the one on the individual level; geographically and historically related cultures have similar personality profiles; aggregated values indicate convergence and discriminant validity with other culture-level measuring instruments. This evidence suggests that the determination of aggregate personality profiles represents a suitable method for describing cultures. However, this approach is still a relatively new one and extensive research has to be realized in order to
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Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz have a more profound knowledge of the generalizability of aggregate personality profiles.
2.3.4 Applying the Cultural Dimensions

There exist many other classifications of cultural dimensions which are not going to be discussed in detail, but which are worth mentioning, such as Halls concept of high context vs. low context cultures (Hall, 1976), Leung & Bonds Social Axoms (Leung & Bond, 2004) or Schwartz Cultural dimensions of values (Schwartz, 1994). In the following chapters of this paper however, the focal point with respect to cultural measurements will be Hofstedes concept of cultural dimensions. It is important to consider some critical issues when applying Hofstedes model. Many researchers criticized that the samples were not representative (McSweeney, 2002). In the original study, information was used from a worldwide survey of IBM employees. Therefore it is not assured that the four-, later five-factor system actually measures national cultures, but rather differences in corporate culture between the countries. Furthermore, Hofstede's approach ignores differences within a nation (Blom & Meier, 2002). The model treats a nation as a homogeneous state of individuals who all share the same value structure. One has to consider as well, that the original data might be out-of-date, as the data was mainly collected in between 1968 and 1972 (Okazaki & Mueller, 2007). Cultural values may have changed as culture is a dynamic construct. Nevertheless, many replications of Hofstedes study have shown that the data is still valid (deMooij & Hofstede, 2010). Despite the critical considerations, of all concepts of measuring culture Hofstedes model has been applied most to global marketing and is still considered as an accurate framework used to explain differences in branding or communication strategies. However, one has to take into account that some manifestations of each dimensions are more work-related, whereas others can be applied to consumer behavior and advertising (deMooij & Hofstede, 2010). Gudykunst and Ting-Toomey (1988) figured out the three cultural dimensions of Hofstede which explain a variance in communication styles the best. Those are power distance, individualism/collectivism and uncertainty avoidance.
Nevertheless, researchers have linked also masculinity/femininity and/or longReflection paper International Marketing Page 10
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz term orientation to marketing research (e.g. Okazaki, 2004). Therefore, a priori, no dimension is excluded in the course of the research for this paper.
3 Expectations
In the upcoming chapter, it is tried to generate expectations of the outcome of the cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Suns TV spots, which were linked directly to Hofstedes cultural dimensions.
3.1 General Expectations

First of all, it has to be mentioned that the outcome will highly depend on the affiliation to a certain tier, according to the organizational structure of Nivea. Therefore, the level of standardization or localization seen in the spot is expected to depend on two factors, Niveas internal classification of the countries in terms of tiers and the cultural differences expressed in Hofstedes culture scores. As there is no explicit information about the tiers made available by Nivea, the expectations are limited to Hofstedes scores (table 5) and a possible affiliation to certain tiers will be discussed a posteriori.
Table 5: Hofstedes Cultural Value Scores for the four elected countries (http://geert-hofstede.com/nationalculture.html)
Considering the cultural value scores shown in the table above, it has to be stated that the scores are varying significantly among the four chosen countries. Therefore the general expectation is that the visual and lingual elements used in the spots will vary significantly among the four countries. Especially Singapore has scores that vary in a considerate way from those of the other three Reflection paper International Marketing Page 11
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz countries, so the values suggest that Niveas TV commercials in Singapore do include more elements unique to the local culture which are not represented in the TV spots of the other countries. Also one could assume that the spots from Spain and Brazil show the highest level of similarity, according to their respective scores in Hofstedes study.
3.2 Country-specific expectations

In the next step, the expectations of the four chosen countries will be pointed out one by one.
3.2.1 Brazil
Brazil has a relatively high score for Power Distance. One could expect to see portrayals of social status in the spots. Individualism is relatively low in Brazil, so the we-consciousness is accentuated in the spots and the communication is to be understood in the context and less directly. Uncertainty Avoidance is scored with 76. A reflection of this in the spot could be a high level of informational content provided.
3.2.2 Germany
Power distance is scored very low. The thriving to belong to a higher class should not be an issue in the spot. In the contrary, the people in the spot are average or middle class people. A rather direct communication style is applied. Hofstedes score for Individualism is relatively high, which suggests a focus on the I in the visual and lingual elements. Masculinity scores high. Therefore one could expect to see a certain level of competitiveness or even a larger role differentiation between the genders. Long-term orientation is lower than the average for Germany so there might be a preference to achieve quick results to be shown in the television commercials.
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3.2.3 Singapore
Singapore scores high in power distance. People with a certain social reputation or belonging to the upper-class might be used in the spot. Individualism is very low in Singapore, so the we is highlighted in the spots. A strong context-based communication style is used. Singapore scores 8 in uncertainty avoidance, thus very low. The amount of rules in the country is extremely high. However, this can be explained rather by the high power distance than by the necessity of the people for regulations. Maybe a lower amount of information is needed in the spots.
3.2.4 Spain
In general, Spain scores relatively close to the average in power distance, individualism and masculinity, so it is hard to foresee any specific implications with respect to the spots for these dimensions. Uncertainty avoidance is very high, with a score of 86. One could expect to see a high level of information given about the product, in order to create a lower perception of risks. The long-term orientation score is very low for Spain, so achieving quick results might be accentuated in the communication or a feeling of living in the moment might be created.
4 Method
This section talks about the method used to analyze the television spots, the advertisements which were chosen as objects of the study, the research process and at last the results.
4.1 Qualitative Content Analysis

The chosen method of this study was the qualitative content analysis as it is an adequate tool for measuring the degree of standardization of advertising (de Mooij & Hofstede, 2010) and with respect to cross-cultural advertising research is the method which is used the most (Okazaki & Mueller, 2007). And also Bernard Berelson defined Content Analysis as "a research technique for the objective, systematic, and quantitative description of manifest content of
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Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz communications" (Berelson, 1971). This method is a research tool focused on the actual content and internal features of media. A quantitative approach was not possible as of the limited resources available. Furthermore, the goal of this research was to obtain insights about the advertising strategy of Nivea Sun and not to compose a generalizable report. This study followed the qualitative content analysis procedure recommended by Philipp Mayring, professor for pedagogical psychology, who published his first paper about this method in 1983 (Mayring, 2000a). Mayring defines two approaches to elaborate categories: the inductive and the deductive way. As this study includes Hofstede's cultural dimensions, the deductive technique was chosen.
Table 6: Step Model of deductive category application (Mayring, 2000b)
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4.2 Research Questions

The goal of this study was to identify differences between the spots of four countries with the help of Hofstedes cultural dimensions in order to get an idea of the standardization of Nivea Suns global commercial strategy. Therefore, four different levels were defined by the researchers to analyze the main characteristics of the TV-ads: the focus, the lingual aspect, the visual part and the metalingual elements.
Table 7: Levels of the TV spot analysis
4.3 Object of Study

As object of the research there were 7 TV-Spots of Nivea Sun products analyzed, which were aired in Brazil, Germany, Singapore and Spain. The Spots have been made accessible by contacts from Beiersdorf. The selection was made based on the linguistic knowledge of the researchers and on the availability of the objects. As preparation for the analysis, the video material was transcribed in the original language, the text was translated to English, the visual part was described and the metalingual impression added (as can be seen in the appendix). Except for the first part with the original language, all researchers participated in the description to reduce the personal influence.
4.4 Categories
For the second step of the deductive approach, the cultural dimensions of Hofstede and the four levels of the spots were united. With this mixture the study combines the basic knowledge of the cultural differences with the levels of Reflection paper International Marketing Page 15
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz video material. Thus, the five Dimensions of Hofstede stand for the main categories and the differentiations (high or low, long-term or short-term, etc.) for the subcategories.
PowerDistance C1 HighPower Distance
CodingRule First:Nominal countingofindicators, thentransferringto "++"=high, "+"=positive, C2 LowPower LowAcceptanceofunequal Peopleshownlook "0"=neutral, Distance powerdistribution. likeequals,nostatus ""=negative, symbolsareworn. ""=low. Individualism Definition Example CodingRule C3 Individualism People'sselfimageisdefined Thetextusesthe"I"a First:Nominal intermsof"I". lot. countingofindicators, C4 Collectivism People'sselfimageisdefined Textandimagesfocus thentransferringto "++"=individualistic, intermsof"We". ongroups,rather "+"=positive, thantheindividual. "0"=neutral, ""=negative, ""=collectivist. Masculinity Definition Example CodingRule C5 Masculinity Preferenceinsocietyfor Thefocusinthespot First:Nominal achievement,heroism, liesonbeingthebest countingofindicators, assertivenessandmaterial insomething. thentransferringto rewardforsuccess.Societyat "++"=masculine, largeismorecompetitive. "+"=positive, "0"=neutral, C6 Femininity Preferenceinsocietyfor Relationshipsand ""=negative, qualityoflifeandinterpersonal socialcontact ""=feminine. relationships.Societyisless emphasizedinthe competitive. images. Uncertainty Definition Example CodingRule Avoidance C7 High Highdegreetowhichthe Thereisaformalway First:Nominal Uncertainty membersofasocietyfeel ofspeakingused countingofindicators, Avoidance uncomfortablewith duringthespot. thentransferringto uncertaintyandambiguity. "++"=high,
Definition HighAcceptanceofunequal powerdistribution.
Example Therearedifferent classesshownwitha wayofdressing, accessories.
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C8 Low Uncertainty Avoidance LongTerm Orientation C9 LongTerm Orientation Lowdegreetowhichthe membersofasocietyfeel uncomfortablewith uncertaintyandambiguity. Definition Fosteringofvirtuesoriented towardsfuturerewards,in particularperseveranceand thrift. Spontaneityand "+"=positive, informalitydominate "0"=neutral, thespot. ""=negative, ""=low. Example CodingRule
C10 ShortTerm Orientation
Thespotfocusesona First:Nominal longtermusetosave countingofindicators, money. thentransferringto "++"=longterm, "+"=positive, Focusonthemomentarystatus Theemphasisofthe "0"=neutral, andgain,preferenceforquick spotisplacedonan ""=negative, results. immediateeffect. ""=shortterm.
Table 8: Categories of analysis.
The subcategories were individually analyzed in the spots on all levels with the help of indicators, describing them more specifically. 3 As for the coding, the numbers of indicators being fullfilled were counted to get an impression on how intense the subcategories were presented in the spots. Afterwards the researchers discussed the nominal results and formed according to them the 5-degree classification for each country: A big number of indicators and a strong relevance were assigned a ++ or , according on the subcategory. No or only very few adequate tracers would get a 0 as a neutral score. The lingual elements of the spots were mainly analyzed be the persons native or well-educated in the corresponding language. For example: Gisele Bndchen talks in the second Brazilian spot only a few words but she highlights, that she only trusts Nivea with the protection of her skin. This text tells the costumer that as well he or she can and should trust in Nivea Sun products, which is a sign of collectivism. The rest of the spots were first analysed by one researcher and then completed by the other two, to decrease the influence of individual preferences. Furthermore the indicators were reviewed and slightly adapted after the first two spot studies in order to improve the results. Especially the following categories
See Analysis Worksheet on attached CD.
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Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz have shown themselves hard to analyze, even after some detailing: Long-term orientation and Power Distance. Furthermore the researchers realized differences in interpretation of some spotelements, based on the personal knowledge, experience and connected thinking. In such cases, the researchers discussed their opinions and elaborated a fitting allocation of the elements. 4
5 Results & Discussion

5.1 Country-Specific Results
Brazil The expectation regarding the dimension power distance could not be confirmed. There was no indicator of high power distance, rather the opposing. In contrary to our expectations we could not find a clear tendency of individualism or collectivism either. Individualistic signs for example in form of personalized headlines (e.g. My skin is super important) pointed to some kind of I-consciousness. On the other hand the image of Gisele Bndchen applying sun screen on the skin of the girl creates a mother-daughter, more collectivist association. Also Gisele Bndchen, being an international superstar, acting like a person doing every-day stuff at the beach creates a feeling close to the customer; a feeling as if she was one of us and therefore indicates some kind of metalingual collectivism. Very informal speech with the shop attendant, joking around (even with some sexual connotations), very little precise information about the product and her, jumping and dancing at the beach, which suggests an active, sporty attitude towards health, point to a low uncertainty avoidance, in contrary to what was anticipated. Masculinity was very low as well, highlighted were rather behaviors showing the joy of being at the beach, having fun in life. Even the shop attendant was just
The whole analysis of the spots can be retraced by looking at the Analysis Worksheets on the attached
CD (Because of the big size of the documents they were not attached in the printed appendix)
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Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz flirting with Gisele Bndchen and enjoying the situation instead of working in an ambitous way.
Germany & Spain These two countries were allocated together in this part, because of very similar spots, in which one can find only a few differences. The main difference is just the language. The power distance was evaluated as rather low, as the persons appearing in the spots seem to be from the middle class and no signs of accentuating a certain social status are to be recognized. This is in line with the expectation drawn for Germany. In terms of individualism, there was a strong I-focus in the spots, mainly focused on individual persons applying the product. Furthermore a lot of detailled, precise information was given which indicates a low-context culture. However, in the Spanish commercial, different images as, for instance, a young men playing the guitar in a group of apparently friends, can be interpreted as more collectivistic. As in the Brazilian spots, there were no signs of Masculinity to be seen, but rather joy, happiness and associations with vacations and an easy life. Regarding long-term orientation concerns, the researchers were not able to find any clear indicators. In terms of uncertainty avoidance, the visual environment of the spots is supposedly far from any serious concerns and more playful. On the other hand, a lot of technical and precise information about the product is given. A further difference in between Spain and Germany is, that in the latter, the lingual elements were more formal and structured than in the Spanish ad.
Singapore In the Singaporean advertisment, no unequivocal statements about power distance can be made. In the spot, one woman cares for her friend and is concerned about her. The two women wear similar clothes and have a strong connection which creates a
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Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz we-consciusness in the spot, thus a collectivist note. This tendency was already assumed in chapter 3.2.3.. Furthermore, a high uncertainty avoidance behavior is established. The women are aware of the risk of the UV-rays and seek to protect themselves. Both visually, with one women protecting her face with her hand from the sunlight, and verbally, this tendency is confirmed in the commercial. The scene in the spot takes place in a work-related environment and the verbal expressions such as for perfectly skin or the fear of ruining the whitening effort illustrate an ambitious, goal oriented attitude, which is predominant in masculine cultures. According to Hofstede, Singapore had an average score in this dimension, though.
In the following table, the results of the content analysis are presented in a simplified manner, in order to facilitate a simple comparison of the drawn indications with the respective country scores of Hofstedes model.
Table 9: Comparison of the research results with Hofstedes cultural dimension scores.
The researchers found out that the spots from Germany and Spain showed an almost identical pattern in terms of the indicators of the cultural dimensions, as it is a standardized spot. In terms of the categories, there are also similar results for the spots from Brazil, although there was a different concept applied with the Reflection paper International Marketing Page 20
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz use of a celebrity endorsement by Gisele Bndchen. One of the two Brazilian spots starring the supermodel is very visual, the other one is based more on verbal elements and jointly they somehow create a similarity to Germany and Spain. Conversely, the advertisment from Singapore makes use of a totally different concept with a city environment and a different advertisement with a whitening product as the focal point. It has a stronger collectivist nucleus than the other countries.
5.2 Dimensions
When comparing the scores for power distance, one can recognize that, with the exception of Germany, the indicators of the spots do not coincide with the scores from Hofstede. It seems reasonable to suggest that the product category of sun screen is not as suitable for this dimension as luxury goods such as jewelry could be. In the latter case, it would be interesting to investigate, if the luxury goods are worn showing them off or more in a casual way, so that an impression is created as if the person was less powerful than he or she actually is. In the case of Nivea, this focus is not provided. Individualism was reflected in the most intense way in the German spot which is in line with Hofstedes score. An interesting observation was that the Spanish spot was almost identical to the German one, but involved some images which led to a slightly more collectivist connotation than in the German version. The Brazilian spots are unfolding both individualistic and collectivist tendencies while the Singaporean exposure was definitely more collectivist, which puts this dimension generally in line with Hofstedes scores for individualism. Except for Singapore, the advertisments revealed strong indications for femininity, which is not conveyed in the country scores. The assumption is evoked that this might be another dimension which is strongly related to the product category. In the case of Nivea Sun, the scenery in the advertisments from Germany, Brazil and Spain are mainly the sunny beach which implies happiness, joy, the accentuation of the value of life and a realtionship oriented society. Probably in other product categories, such as products for domestic
Page 21
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz work, in which the intensity of the role differentiation could be an object of study, are more adequate for the analysis with ths category. With respect to the category uncertainty avoidance, it has to be stated that there were no unambiguous accordances with the scores of Hofstedes study. Especially the stark contrast in case ot the Singaporean ad was significant as the persons in the spot showed a strong disposition to seek security while the Hofstede score 8 was one of the lowest of all investigated countries. Substantial product innovations might be an object which is closer related to this cultural dimension and could reveal more reliable scores. Finally, the dimension long-term orientation does not appear in the table of the comparison above. The simple reason is that in none of the countries significant results could be obtained as the indicators were very hard to measure. A posteriori, the dimension was excluded from the results & discussion section. Summing up the conclusions of the content analysis regarding Hofstedes cultural dimensions, it can be stated that the dimension
individualism/collectivism revealed very insightful and unambiguous results. Other product categories or foci were proposed for the research of Hofstedes dimensions power distance, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance. In case of Nivea, the authors recommend to enrich the study focus of
individualism/collectivism by adding further categories which are not directly related to the dimensions of Hofstede. The latter are more organization- or work-related rather than made to investigate consumer behavior. Furthermore, it has to be affirmed that the small sample size of advertisements and the strictly qualitative approach of the study, in addition to the fact that the advertisement messages are always strongly product- and also campaignrelated, represented one if the main difficulties for this research project. However, the ambition was never to generate a generalizable classification for Nivea, rather than to gain insights of Niveas strategy in terms of standardization and the elements used in different cultures.
Page 22
5.3 Niveas strategy

As we already stated, the spots from Germany and from Spain were, apart from some minor differences, standardized. The concept of the commercials was the same, the language obviously the biggest difference. One could assume that Germany, the headquarters, may have a big weight in the developing process of the spots and that Nivea Spain has very limited power to adapt or even produce their own country-specific television commercials. Nevertheless, in the spot, the mentioned modification in order to accentuate the more collectivist attitude in the visual part and the less formal lingual expressions, were the only points of difference. It seems safe to say that Nivea Spain is classified in a lower tier, probably less because of sales potential as Spain is the fifth biggest European market for Nivea and more because of perceived sufficient cultural similarities to not localize advertising and apply a mainly standardized communication strategy. Finally, this issue will stay an assumption as the information is kept internal to Nivea. In contrary, Brazil, which is Niveas South American Headquarters is supposed to be in the top tier of Nivea as the TV spots star Gisele Bndchen, a Brazilian top model, and are differing in terms of the visual concept. Apart from that, Brazil is Niveas biggest market in South America and therefore the effectiveness of the communication is especially important. It is permitted to suppose that the appeal of a female supermodel or especially Gisele Bndchen is a positive factor for the success of the advertisements in Brazil and therefore a locally adapted communication strategy with celebrity endorsement is applied. Singapore is Niveas Asian headquarter and is coordinating the regional countries. It is possible that Singapore therefore is not in the top tier as it is a relatively small economy with a GDP of approx. 222 million US$ 5 and is more or less adapting the advertising strategy for Asia in general rather than exclusively for their own market. A point of difference, which draws the attention, is the distinction in the product focus. While in the western countries, the support of tanning is one major benefit of the sun screen. In Singapore, the exact contrary
Department
of
Statistics
of
Singapore
(figures
from
2010):
http://www.singstat.gov.sg/stats/themes/economy/hist/gdp2.html
Page 23
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz is occurring. A sun screen with whitening effect is the desired product of the customers. Therefore, in Singapore and in other Asian countries as well, Nivea has no other choice than to adapt marketing strategy to the local requirements. The last point which shall be mentioned is that in all analyzed spots, regardless the country, the brand name is the same and the logo of Nivea is shown in the advertisements, which creates a pillar for a corporate brand image and a corporate identity, despite the cultural differences and adaptations. In any case, a more extensive research of Nivea spots from more countries in different regions seems to be very fruitful in order to determine the global marketing strategy of the brand Nivea.
6 Acknowledgments
We are heartily thankful to Prof. Dr. Shintaro Okazaki, whose encouragement, guidance and support from the initial to the final level enabled us to develop an understanding of the subject. Furthermore, we would like to thank Nivea Spain, Nivea Brazil and the Global Business Unit of Nivea in Germany for providing the television commercials of Nivea Sun.
7 References
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Blom
H,
Meier
(2002)
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Brown A (1995) Organizational Culture. London: Pitman Publishing.
Page 24
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz De Mooij M, Hofstede G (2010) The Hofstede model: applications to global branding and advertising strategy and research. Advertising. Vol. 29, Number 1. Pp. 85-110. International Journal of
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http://www.grovewell.com/pub-GLOBE-dimensions.html [Access: December 2, 2011].
Hall ET (1976) Beyond Culture, New York: Anchor Press.
Hofstede G (2001) Cultures Consequences - Comparing values behaviors institutions and organizations across nations. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks. pp. 38422.
House RJ, Shamir B (1995) Fhrungstheorien Charismatische Fhrung. In: Kieser, A. et al.: Handwrterbuch der Fhrung, 10th ed. Stuttgart.
Kroeber AL, Kluckhohn C (1952) Culture - A critical review of concepts and definitions, Cambridge.
Leung K, Bond MH (2004) Social axioms: A model for social beliefs in multicultural perspective. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. pp. 119 197.
Mayring P (2000a) Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse. Grundlagen und Techniken. 7th edition. Weinheim: Deutscher Studien Verlag.
Mayring P (2000b) Qualitative Content Analysis. Forum: Qualitative Social Research. 2. p. 5. Available: http://www.qualitative-research.net/fqs-texte/200/2-00mayring-d.htm [Access: December 7, 2011].
McCrae RR, Costa PT (1990) Personality in Adulthood, New York, 1990.
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McCrae RR, Costa PT, Del Pilar GH, Rolland J, Parker WD (1998) CrossCultural Assessment of the Five-Factor Model: The Revised NEO Personality Inventory. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. 1. pp. 171-188.
McCrae RR, Terraciano A (2005) Personality Profiles of Cultures: Aggregate Personality Traits. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 3. pp. 407425.
McSweeney B (2002) Hofstede's Model of National Cultural Differences and Their Consequences: A Triumph of Faith A Failure of Analysis. Human Relations. 1. pp. 89-118.
Okazaki S (2004) Do multinationals standardize or localize? The cross-cultural dimensionality of product-based Web sites. Internet Research. 1. pp. 81-84.
Okazaki S, Mueller B (2007) Cross-Cultural Advertising: where we have been and where we need to go. International Marketing Review. 5. pp. 499-518.
Schwartz SH (1994) Beyond individualism/collectivism: New cultural dimensions of values. In: Individualism and collectivism: Theory, method, and applications. Editors: Kim U, Triandis HC, Kagitcibasi C, Choi SC, Yoon G. Thousand Oaks. Sage. pp. 85119.
Shankar PR, Subish P (2007) Cultural differences in the desire of a population to seek out the sun. Journal of Pakistan Association of Dermatologists. 17. pp. 100-104.
Shi X, Wang J (2011) Interpreting Hofstede Model and GLOBE Model: Which Way to Go for Cross-Cultural Research? International Journal of Business and Management. 5. pp. 93-99.
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Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz Triandis HC (2007) Culture and Psychology A History of the Study of Their Relationship. in: Handbook of Cultural Psychology. editors: Kitayama S, Cohen D. New York. pp. 59-76.
Websites
Annual Report Beiersdorf (2010). Annual Report 2010, Consolidated Income Statement Beiersdorf. Available: http://www.annualreport2010.beiersdorf.com/en/financialstatements/consolidated-income-statement.html. Accessed November 13, 2011.
Beiersdorf Corporate Website. Available: http://www.beiersdorf.com/ Accessed November 05, 2011.
Department of Statistics of Singapore (2010). Available : http://www.singstat.gov.sg/stats/themes/economy/hist/gdp2.html Accessed December 13, 2011.
GLOBE Website. Available: http://business.nmsu.edu/programs-centers/globe/ Accessed November 6, 2011.
Hofstede Website. Natural Cultural Dimensions. Available: http://geert-hofstede.com/national-culture.html Accessed November 6, 2011.
Nivea Website. Available : http://www.nivea-international.com/pages/int-country-selection Accessed October 27, 2011.
Page 27
Appendix
Table 10: GLOBE Clusters of Cultures and numbers of societies in them (Grove, 2005)
Table 11: Aggregate Personality Traits; Scores of 51 cultures (McCrae & Terraciano, 2005)
Page 28
Spot Descriptions and Translations

Germany: Spot 1 Nivea Sun Protect and Bronze Lingual - German Translation English Entdecken Sie eine Discover a new One can see a woman at neue Form von form Sonnenschutz. of sun thebeachinabikini,first Happiness, summer beauty, alone then walking to a feeling, Sun man, people in and near motion, vividness. protection. Visual Metalingual
Nivea Sun Protect Nivea & Bronze schtzt Protect & Bronze the water in the protects reliably background. Nivea Sun zuverlssig gegen against sun burn Homepage and Nivea Sonnenbrand und Carefree, lightness. and stimulates Logo in the picture. Man stimuliert die the skin-own lifts the woman and Hauteigene melanin swings her around one Melaninproduktion. production. time. Then vision of the Fr intensivere, For a more skyandtheproductflying Product
focus: light,
lngeranhaltende
intensive
Brune. Ganz ohne longer Selbstbruner. tan.
and until it lands in the hand Flying, lasting of the woman at the shining. Totally beach. She smiles and beginstoapplythelotion with her hand on the Protection,
without self-tan.
Neu, Nivea Sun New, Nivea Sun back of her shoulder. smoothness, beauty. Protect&Bronze. Protect Bronze. & (The viewer just sees the side of her head, the shoulder und her hand. short front shot of the woman, than again the Music lyrics: its all right now, its all right! shoulder and a sparkling round line, during which the skin gets a darker color, and this text Page 29 Summer feeling: (fast) tan , beach, sea.
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz appearing: "Intensivere, Well informed. lnger anhaltende
Brune*" and further down in small text: "*3wchige Studie,
Vergleich mit NIVEA SUN Lotion ohne den Melaninstimulierenden Wirkstoff". disappears The and text the Freedom, acceptance, equality, love, luck.
protect and bronze logo of the product appears. Change to the woman now in a white dress sittingbesidestotheman in a white shirt at a sofa construction with white linens. Other people standing and sitting in the background. Zoom in to Innovation. faces of the couple, both laughing and enjoying themselves. Zoom out to the whole beach terrace with other young people inthepicture.Inthefront the product Nivea Sun Protect and Bronze
Lotion is shown and besidesitthewordNeu
Page 30
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz inwhiteletters.
Germany: Spot 2 Nivea Sun Light Feeling Lingual German Translation English was Blond woman in a bikini, feeling, Visual Metalingual
So leicht war der Summer Sommer nie!
noch never this light! sittingatabeach,applying Summer
The new Light sun lotion on her arms. contentedness. Sun TheNivealogocomesinto Die neue Light Feeling from the picture from the Feeling Sun Lotion Nivea Sun. Lotion von Nivea bottomandgoesuptothe Doesnt stick, Sun. Klebt nicht, top.Fromthebackaman doesnt grease. fettetnicht.Zieht in shorts approaches. Immediately sofortein. Change to the man laying absorbed. Lightness, on the beach, the woman Light Feeling Sun Happyness, Love. Light Feeling Sun withherheadonhisbelly. Lotion, because Lotion, denn He drops some sand on Beauty is vitality. Schnheit ist her belly, caressing. Then Lebensfreude. Nivea Nivea the womans belly is Light shownwiththesandonit 100% away. He looks up to her, new she smiles at him. On the feeling: terrace, bikinis, easy group
Light Feeling also as and the man blowing it
Feeling auch als spray. Spray. 100% invisible,
unsichtbar, neu from the number lowrightthehomepageof Summer von der Nummer 1. 1. Music: with me, Fly nivea.de/suniswritten. Change to a terrace of a life, acceptance. highbuilding,someyoung people sit on stools in
Feel the breeze,
Page 31
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz bikinis and shorts. In the backasignwith"sun"can be seen. Change to a womans body in a white bikini. In the left hand a Nivea Sun Light Feeling SunLotion.Therighthand applies the lotion on the left shoulder, seen from theback.Thewords"klebt nicht fettet nicht zieht sofort ein" are shown. Scene moves slowly up to the womans smiling face. Change to the product standing on a table Satisfaction.
besides a beach bag with the word "Neu". Change Beauty. to a beach scene: a brunette woman in a bikini with a man in a white shirt, touching her at her hips. Behind them the sea. On top of the picturetheNivealogoand the slogan "Schnheit ist Lebensfreude". The
woman and man are smiling, flirting, get
nearer. Change to a man onthebeach,applyingthe
Page 32
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz lotion with a spray on his shoulder, again seen from the back. a In the person Freedom, acceptance, luck love,
background
walks at the beach. The Nivealogoisshownonthe top right of the picture. Themanspraysthelotion on his arm and then his belly,nowshownfromthe front without the top or bottom of the body. Change to a woman Best Choice. applying the lotion on her shoulder seen from
beneath with the words "100% unsichtbar".
Change to her hand moving over her belly. In the background the sea. Change to a female hand holding the spray and spraying once. The Nivea logo still there and the word "Neu". Additionally thereisacertificate"Nr.1 Nivea: Grsste
Sonnenpflegemarke Deutschlands"shown.
Page 33
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz Spain: Spot 1 Nivea Sun Protect and Bronze
Lingual Espaol Este broncearte
Translation English
Visual
Metalingual
verano With ms Protect
Nivea In the first image theres a and young woman walking Happiness, summer
rpido, est en ti, Bronze
this close to the beach. She is feeling, relaxation,
con Nivea Protect summer you can wearing a bikini. In the beauty. and Bronze. La get tanned much background one can see primera locin faster. This is the the beach and some palm
que adems de first lotion, which trees. The Nivea logo is protegerte del sol besides protecting located in the upper right estimula produccin natural la you from the sun, corner. also de the stimulates Happiness, joy, beach
natural The next image shows a ambient. of man at the beach looking
melanina de tu production piel,
sin melanin of your straight at the woman. skin, without self- Then tan. appears, flying
autobronceador.
through the air, the Nivea Product focus. Sun Protect and Bronze
Nuevo and broncate
Protect
Bronze, New Protect and Lotion. In this image one ms Bronze, tan (you, can see a palm tree in the The word
rpido y sintete imperative) faster background. diez con Nivea and Sun. feel
(you, Nuevo is in the upper right corner and the
imperative) amazing Nivea Sun.
with www.nivea.es is in the lower left corner.
Ahora con nuevo Now in a new diseo. design! Then the package falls Happiness, down and the woman situation. playful
catches it with her hands.
Page 34
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz The woman is smiling and has the beach as Softness ans skin
background.
care, tenderness. She begins to apply the lotion smoothly with her hand on the back of her shoulder. (The viewer just sees the side of her head, the shoulder und her hand. short front shot of the woman, putting on cream, than again the shoulder and a sparkling round line with the text appearing: Estimula la melanina appears at the same time with some sparkling stars. Then underneath it there appears another text Sin autobronceador. that appears After Product effect focus, skin tanned smoothness, care, healthy skin, natural
tanned skin, beauty, quality.
Protect Product effect, skin &Bronze as a logo just care, healthy tanned over the shoulder. The beach is skin, smoothness, the natural tanned skin.
background.
Then one sees the woman running straight to the man, and when she is close to him, heliftsherupand
Page 35
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz swings her around one time. With it in the image there is the text
bronceado ms rpido in white letters. Then the
image changes and shows the man holding her at the beach from a bigger Quality, product distance, with 2 women diversity, branding and one man in the
background. In first plan we see the Nivea Sun Protect&Bronze package
and the text FPS 20,30
The
last
image
is
composed by 5 different products of Nivea Sun. On the upper right corner there is the Nivea Logo and on the lower left corner there is the text N1 mundial en cuidado solar The packages rotate one by one to their new design.
Page 36
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz Spain: Spot 2 Nivea Sun Light Feeling Lingual Espaol Translation English the sun First one can see a woman at the beach Summer feeling, Visual Metalingual
Disfruta del sol Enjoy
con la primera with the first non- seated
lecha solar ligera sticky sun lotion wearing a blue shirt with holiday. de Nivea Sun no by Nivea Sun. pegajosa. the Nivea sun lotion by her side. The image focus
Leche solar Light Nivea Sun Light switches to the product. Feeling de Nivea Feeling lotion, Then the image shows a
Sun no pegajosa quickly absorbed boy playing guitar and two de rpida and non-sticky young women wearing a Joy and Fun. by Nivea bikini, sitting on the beach next to him. There are two boys walking in the
absorcin y solo only de Nivea Sun. Sun.
Porque belleza es Because beauty is background. disfrutar! joy! In the next image shows a blond woman putting the Nivea cream on her left Softness and skin arm and a man approaches care, beauty. her from the back, taking off the sunglasses and looking at her skin. Then the camera focuses on the womans she applies belly the
while lotion.
The
subsequent
image freedom,
shows the man laying on Lightness, the beach, the woman careless. withherheadonhisbelly.
Page 37
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz He drops some sand on her belly, caressing. Then the womans belly is Summer feeling shownwiththesandonit and the man blowing it away. In the same image appears the word no
pegajosa written in white.
After
this,
the
image
shows the woman smiling.
Change to a roof terrace of a high building, some youngpeoplesitonstools in beach wear such as bikinis and board shorts. In thebackasignwith"sun" can be seen. Then the image shows a womans body in a white bikini. In the left hand a Nivea Sun Light Feeling Sun Lotion. Therighthandappliesthe lotionontheleftshoulder, seen from the back. One also can in see the Summer breeze
www.nivea.es
right down corner. The beach in the background. Affection Then the image shows a tenderness, and love,
Page 38
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz man approaching the lightness.
young woman, They smile at each other in a lovable atmosphere. The words love,
rpida absorcin appears Happiness, on the image in white atmosphere, letters. tenderness, affection. The next image displays the product and a beach towel on a wood table. The background there is a light blue curtain moving with the wind. Party
caress,
ambient,
summer ambient The last image displays the man and the woman close together from the front. She looks at him and the man kisses her shoulder and both smile. The upper right corner there is the Nivea logo and two sentences: belleza es disfrutar and belleza es Nivea Happiness, atmosphere, tenderness, caress, love Softness and skin care, tenderness, Happiness and Joy
Page 39
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz Brazil: Spot 1 Nivea Sun Protect and Bronze con Factor Azul Lingual Portugus Translation English Hi, do In the first image Gisele (Brazilian Sensuality, a shop, colors Nivea reference, Visual Metalingual
Gisele: Oi por Gisele:
favor voc tem you have Nivea Bndchen Nivea Sun com Sun factor azul? Empregado: No. with blue model) enters
factor please?
wearing a blue bikini and a beauty
Shop Attendant: white mini skirt (Nivea No. Would you colors).
A senhora quer like help to put ajuda para pasar? some on? The next image one can see the entire store, and the Mention to the place Gisele: Gisele: Como? Empregado: me? A Empregado: Excuse shop attendant organising where you can buy the Nivea products the product.
shelves. It also shows
senhora no pode Miss, you cant Gisele approaching to the sair nesse sol sem be out in this sun Nivea shelves and trying Nivea Sun, isso without a loucura. Nivea to find the product she wants.
Sun, thats crazy!
Gisele: obrigado,
No Gisele: No, thank Then the shop attendant Beauty Nivea you, you dont looks at her, in hypnotized
Sun no precisa have to put on way. de passar antes, Nivea Sun before, The man stands up and If you dont find the ele hora. protege na it protects you starts a conversation with product what should the Gisele. In the image is you do (asking the to see both shop attendant).
right away.
Shop Attendant: possible Empregado:
But I can help talking, but the image is more focused on the
Mas eu ajudo a you rubbing it in. senhora espalhar. a
woman instead of the man, Association Nivea to Gisele: No need, who is only possible to see the womans Beauty Nivea Sun is easy from the back.
Gisele:
No to apply and you Gisele is holding a Nivea
Page 40
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz preciso, o Nivea get an even tan. Sun e fcil de espalhar brnzea igual. Empregado: e Shop Attendant: por You wont be Then the image changes focuses the shop Sun package with two hands.
able to reach your and
A back and thats a attendant talking with the Association Nivea to woman. the models Beauty
senhora no vai problem. alcanar as costas e isso um Gisele: wheres manager?
The image changes again Uhm, and shows the woman the holding the package.
problema.
Gisele: Ai, cade Shop Attendant: Then o senhor gerente?
one
sees
Gisele
Oh dear, no, his looking around with a arms are too surprised face expression.
Empregado: Vixi, ele tem curto!
short! (Humour) The next image shows Giseles Voice: around, surprised face
bracinho (humor)
Spread inside a drop with the Nivea word Nivea written on.
Sun is the only The womans face starts to Giving to Nivea a Voz: Espalhe por one with blue disappear from inside the Natural image drop, and is changed for the Nivea Sun logo and the Show to consumers text The only with blue how the Nivea Sun factor. package looks.
ai, s Nivea Sun factor! tem o factor azul!
Next to the drop we can Beachfeeling (palms) see the Nivea All Sun the
package.
background is composed by palm leaves.
Page 41
Brazil: Spot 2 Gisele Bndchen Lingual Portugus Translation English there it The advert starts with a extension beach Visual Metalingual
Musica: La se vai Music: mais assim, um
dia goes another day large
nessa like this, in that image. Then appears a Natural Beauty Praia que no tem endless beach. young woman (Gisele mais fim. Bundchen) walking on the Relaxing Ambient beach with many palm Gisele: My skin is trees as a background. The Gisele: pele Minha super important, girl is carrying a beach
super thats why when bag. por its time to enjoy Freshness
importante,
isso na hora de the sun I only Then the image switch and curtir o sol eu s trust confio proteco Nivea Sun. in Nivea shows Gisele Bundchen walking close to the water. Nivea The next image shows association Voice: The most Gisele spreading the beach colors
na Suns protection. de
Voz: O protetor sold sun protector towel out on the sand. Freshness solar mais in the world. Gisele is wearing a blue vendido mundo. no and white bikini. The
background is composed
Page 42
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz by the sea. Product Focus Then the image switches again, and one can see Gisele Bundchen holding Using Nivea Sun bottle. Its product. a lot of the
possible to see a little portion of product coming out from the bottle and falling in Giseles hand Smoothness, Enjoying Then the following image Experience shows Gisele applying the cream in her right Relax, the
shoulder. Gisele during the product application is with her eyes closed. Then the image switches, and shows Gisele applying the product in her thigh. Then the image switches again, and shows only the Giseles hands applying Sex appeal the lotion in her shin. Body Focus
The
following
image
displays Gisele Bundchen Wildness in a sexy posing position. The image switches again and one can see the
Giseles face screaming wildly. The next image shows a
Page 43
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz child running out of the water. Then we see Gisele Sexy Appeal applying the cream on the childs face.
The next image shows Gisele dancing in a sexy way close to the water. Body focus, appeal Then Gisele is sunbathing seated in the sand. She has the Nivea Sun bottle by her side. Its only possible to see the entire body and a bit of her legs. The following image still Sex appeal shows Gisele sunbathing seated in the sand. Motherhood, The next image shows Affection Gisele laid in a sex Sex
position and making with the hands a circle in the Freedom wet sand.
Then one can see Gisele playing with the child. Freedom
The Gisele is holding the Nivea Sun Bottle and Beauty
looking to the horizon.
Page 44
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz Then the next image
shows Gisele walking in the beach with her arms Freedom wide open.
Then the image shows the Sex Appeal child running out of the water.
Then
Gisele
appears Childhood, Happiness
running in the beach.
Then the cam focuses exclusively the Giseles bottom coming out of the Relax, Freedom water.
Then Gisele is playing with the water. Beauty, Childerhood, Happiness The next image focuses again the Giseles body. She is looking to the horizon again. Happiness
The
following
image
shows Gisele laid down in the sand. Then Gisele is again playing with the water.
The next image shows Gisele showing the Nivea
Page 45
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz Sun bottle. She is smiling Beauty and Freedom in the background.
Then the image show her showing the Nivea Sun bottle and making a sexy face Quality, Reliability
The last image displays Gisele jumping in the
beach as background. The image focus is the Nivea Sun bottle and the
sentence The most sold sun protector in the
world.
Singapore: Nivea Sun Whitening English Visual Metalingual
W1: Hey, do you know The first image shows two young Colors blue and white that just one day in the women (W1 and W2) looking at refer to Niveas product sun can ruin all your the mirror in a stylish blue and color whitening efforts? white gym locker room. Clean and organized
W2: Uhuh
Then the camera switches to the mirror perspective and focuses on Beauty, Happy, Light
W1: You need a really the two young Asian women. W2 Skin strong sun protection to is applying a lotion on her face make whitening work, and W1 is looking at her friend. even under de sun. The two are having a
conversation. Meanwhile W2 is W2: Uhuh applying the cream on the face. Skin Care
Page 46
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz W1: Do you care at all? Then the image switches and shows a small portion of lotion in W2: Sure I do. a finger and the Nivea Sun tube. Saving, Product focus
Voice-over commentary): Nivea Sun
(off
stage The subsequent image displays a New: strong sun light coming from the
Whitening window and the young woman
Sun Block with active W1 trying to protect her face and cell UV protection and eyes. active lightning. For perfectly fair skin. After this, the image switches the focus to the Nivea Sun tube which is hold by a womans hand. Then the camera focuses on Product Focus the Nivea Sun logo, the product name Face Sun Block Whitening Cream and the protect factor 30. Danger, Fear
The following image shows W2 Relax, applying the Nivea Sun cream in Confidence a relaxing way. The background is composed by a strong sun light.
Protection,
The
next
images
show
W2 Confidence,
applying the lotion and W1 Relax, looking at her. The woman who Happiness is applying the lotion seems to be confident, relaxed and happy. W1 seems rather to be surprised and a bit suspicious.
Then one can see the womens
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Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz hands, one is passing the Nivea Sun tube to the other. The image shows perfectly the Nivea logo, the product name Face Sun Product recommendation Block Whitening Cream and the protect factor 30, information which is written in the tube. Then the girl who took the tube, starts smiling.
The subsequent image focuses the Nivea Sun tube and the word Product Focus NEW. The background is
composed by a strong sun light and blue sky.
Then appear two beach umbrellas (one blue and one white) above the Nivea Sun tube. Each
umbrella has some information about the product. The white one has written Active Lightening and the blue one Active Cell UV Protection. City Context The following image shows the two young women and a young man. The man looks surprised at the girls. In the background there are two modern city buildings. The image is really blue and We-Feeling, Belonging bright. together
Page 48
Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz The last image displays the two Health, girls smiling. One can see a Freshness, Joy breeze coming over too. The background is composed by a modern building. Beauty,
The advert finishes with the Nivea Sun logo with the sky as background.
Page 49

Reflection Paper NIVEA - 20!12!11 - Final Version2

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Universidad Autonoma de Madrid Master en Direccion de Marketing International Marketing Prof. Dr.

CROSS-CULTURAL CONTENT ANALYSIS OF NIVEA SUN TV- COMMERCIALS

Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz

Reflection paper International Marketing

Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz

Introduction ................................................................... 1 Background ................................................................... 2

Culture ........................................................................................ 5 Cultural Dimensions .................................................................. 6

Reflection paper International Marketing

Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz

Results & Discussion .................................................18 Acknowledgments ......................................................24 References ..................................................................24

Reflection paper International Marketing

Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz

Reflection paper International Marketing

Reflection paper International Marketing

Table 1: Organizational Structure of Nivea

Reflection paper International Marketing

2.1.3 Adaptation of Communication

Table 2: Niveas system of adaptation power

Reflection paper International Marketing

Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz

2.3 Cultural Dimensions

2.3.1 Hofstedes Dimensions

Reflection paper International Marketing

Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz

2.3.2 GLOBE Dimensions

Reflection paper International Marketing

Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz

Table 3: GLOBE Dimensions (Grove, 2005)

2.3.3 Aggregate Personality Traits

Table 4: Five-Factor-Model (McCrae & Costa, 1998)

Reflection paper International Marketing

2.3.4 Applying the Cultural Dimensions

3.1 General Expectations

3.2 Country-specific expectations

Reflection paper International Marketing

Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz

4.1 Qualitative Content Analysis

Reflection paper International Marketing

Table 6: Step Model of deductive category application (Mayring, 2000b)

Reflection paper International Marketing

Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz

4.2 Research Questions

Table 7: Levels of the TV spot analysis

4.3 Object of Study

PowerDistance C1 HighPower Distance

Definition HighAcceptanceofunequal powerdistribution.

Example Therearedifferent classesshownwitha wayofdressing, accessories.

Reflection paper International Marketing

Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz

C10 ShortTerm Orientation

Table 8: Categories of analysis.

See Analysis Worksheet on attached CD.

Reflection paper International Marketing

5 Results & Discussion

Reflection paper International Marketing

Reflection paper International Marketing

Reflection paper International Marketing

Reflection paper International Marketing

Cross-cultural content analysis of Nivea Sun TV-Spots D. Areias, M. Scherzinger, M. Weitz

5.3 Niveas strategy

Reflection paper International Marketing

Kommunikation. Internationales Personalmanagement. Diversity-Anstze im Unternehmen. Berlin: NWB Verlag. p.57.

Brune" and further down in small text: "3wchige Studie,