14-1. Interview people you know who collect some kind of object. How do they organize and
describe their collections? Do you see any evidence of sacred versus profane distinctions?
The very nature of collecting should result in people applying some element of sacredness
(45 minutes, Chapter Objective 7, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
14-2. Ask friends to describe an incident where they received a gift they thought was
inappropriate. Why did they feel this way, and how did this event influence the
relationship between them and the gift-giver?
According to the text, research has shown that gift giving is more exchange-oriented
(instrumental) in the early stages of a relationship, but becomes more altruistic as the
relationship develops. In addition, third parties can exert strong influences on gift giving
(30 minutes, Chapter Objective 6, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
14-3. How might the rise of peer-to-peer music sharing influence the structure of the music
CPS? One guess is that this method erodes the dominance of the big labels because
listeners are more likely to access music from lesser-known groups. Survey your friends
to determine whether this in fact is happening. Do they listen to a wider variety of artist,
or simply download more from the big-time groups?
14-4. Read several romance or action novels to see if you can identify a cultural formula at
work. Do you see parallels among the roles different characters play (e.g., the hero, the
evildoer, the temptress, etc.)?
Romance novels are an extreme case of a cultural formula. Computer programs even
allow users to “write” their own romances by systematically varying certain set elements
(360 minutes, Chapter Objective 3, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
14-5. U.S. television inspires knockoffs around the world. But to be fair, many U.S. viewers
don’t realize that U.S. reality show hits such as Big Brother and American Idol started out
as European concepts that U.S. producers imported. In fact, the U.K. version of Big
Brother briefly went off the air after a fight broke out and housemates threatened to kill
each other. In contrast, a Malaysian show that borrows the American Idol format is called
Imam Muda (Young Leader). Contestants debate religious topics and recite passages from
the Koran. The winner doesn’t get a recording contract. Instead, he receives a job as an
imam, or religious leader; a scholarship to study in Saudi Arabia; and an
all-expenses-paid pilgrimage to Mecca, Islam’s holiest city. See if you can identify
foreign versions of reality shows. How have the creators of these programs adapted them
to appeal to local customs?
This will be an interesting question for class discussion on variations in values.
(12.5 hours, Chapter Objectives 2 and 4, AACSB: Reflective Thinking
CASE STUDY TEACHING NOTES
Chapter 14 Case Study: Marketing the Ikea Fantasy around the World
Summary of Case
Companies who market internationally often have to work hard to find an effective and
profitable balance between standardizing their marketing strategies while still reflecting an
understanding of the unique characteristics and consumer behavior present in those markets.
Suggested Answers for Discussion Questions
CS 14-1. Discuss how IKEA’s approach has helped you to better understand the debate that
exists between standardization compared with adaptation for international markets.
IKEA has convinced consumers that adaptation is not very difficult and all prodcuts do
(10 minutes, Chapter Objective 2, AACSB: Reflective Thinking, Course Learning Outcome 16)
CS 14-2. Compare and contrast two countries according to the Hofstede cultural model
using the online tool at http://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html. How might this tool
help a company like IKEA do a better job of marketing in each country?
Students answers will vary depending on the countries that were chosen.
(10 minutes, Chapter Objective 2, AACSB: Dynamics of the Global Economy)
CS 14-3. The text talks about the difference between low and high culture. Is IKEA trying
to position its brand to be one or the other? Would this be different depending on the country
location?
IKEA is branding their products as high culture, and for IKEA location has no effect on
(10 minutes, Chapter Objective 2, AACSB: Dynamics of the Global Economy)
Additional Support Material
STUDENT PROJECTS
Individual Projects
1. Invite someone from the funeral industry to come to talk to the class on marketing
practices in the industry. Ask students to collect literature from various funeral homes to
study before the guest speaker’s visit. Have students formulate questions before the class.
This exercise will increase student familiarity with rituals and ritual artifacts. The
(40 minutes, Chapter Objective 6, AACSB: Reflective Thinking,)
2. Invite someone from the wedding industry to come to talk to the class on marketing
practices in the industry. Ask students to collect literature from various wedding-related
businesses to study before the guest speaker. Have students formulate questions before
the class.
Similar to #1, this will increase student familiarity with rituals and ritual artifacts. You
(40 minutes, Chapter Objective 6, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
3. Ask students to identify what they perceive to be a sacred place on campus. How is this
place honored? Marketed? How is information about this place passed on to future
students? How does the university or college use this sacred place to market the
university or college? Is this proper?
This exercise is more appropriate on campuses that have longstanding traditions.
(20 minutes, Chapter Objective 7, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
4. Have students interview two people from two different foreign cultures. Have the
students ask what major differences they see between the cultural values in their country
and those in the American culture. Ask the students to explain these to the class.
American core values are likely to include: freedom, youthfulness, achievement,
(10 minutes, Chapter Objective 9, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
5. Ask students to describe rituals they follow when visiting a shopping mall, movie theater,
or restaurant. How could marketers capitalize on these rituals?
Rituals might include stopping at the food court, throwing change in the fountain to make
(10 minutes, Chapter Objective 6, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
6. Have students comment on the practice of drinking while attending college. What are
their opinions and perceptions of the role of drinking in the college experience? Is it
ritualistic? If so, how do marketers capitalize on this ritual? If a college really wanted to
discourage drinking, what would be the best way to do this culturally?
Some students may think of binge drinking as a rite of passage and part of the collegiate
process. It would be difficult for a college to change this cultural norm in many cases
since it is reinforced by other students’ behavior and in the media (TV, movies,
(20 minutes, Chapter Objective 6, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
7. Each student should identify and describe a possession that most people would consider
ordinary, but to them is sacred. Have them describe how this sacredness developed.
Student should select a possession that is set apart and special in some way. Look for
students to explain how the possession became objectified and use the discussion to
(10 minutes, Chapter Objective 7, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
8. Visit an upscale-fashion department store or boutique. Interview the manager about
fashion. How does the manager decide on which fashion merchandise to purchase? What
does he or she do with fashion merchandise once it has run its course? How does he or
she know when a fashion is becoming unfashionable? Relate your results to the class.
Many buyers will be centralized, so students may have more luck with these questions at
(30 minutes, Chapter Objective 6, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
9. Go to a contemporary magazine and find illustrations of high and low culture. Indicate
what type of consumers might be attracted to these different messages.
High culture is elite, and low culture is popular culture. Students may relate the
consumers who are attracted to each type of culture to the earlier discussion of social
(20 minutes, Chapter Objective 3, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
Group Projects
1. Have student groups research and report on how student cultures are being affected by
the spread of social networking phenomenon. Is social networking sacred or profane
consumption? What are its positive and negative effects?
Students are likely to argue that social networking is profane since it has been adopted by
the masses and is not special. They are likely to have differences of opinions about the
positive and negative effects, but should recognize the ability to constantly update others
(30 minutes, Chapter Objective 2, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
2. Have student groups identify an American custom, more, and convention. Then, have
them design a new product or service (or multiple if necessary) that would take advantage
of the existence of these crescive norms.
Look for students to label the custom, more and convention. Customs are norms that
control basic behaviors, mores are customs that involve taboos/forbidden behavior and
(10 minutes, Chapter Objectives 2 and 9, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
3. Have student groups identify what they feel is the most sacred symbol on campus and
establish the reasons for this. Then, have the class come together and compare their
results.
Sacred symbols often become sacred because of an event or an individual that rubbed off
(20 minutes, Chapter Objective 4, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
4. Ask groups to compare a list of rituals that will probably be performed (or that were
performed) at their wedding ceremony and reception. What are the marketing
implications of these rituals? (It is interesting to point out the different rituals based on a
religious, ethnic, or racial subculture and rituals that seem to be solely American.) An
added question might be: How are wedding plans affected when people from different
subcultures get married?
This project is an extension of Individual Project #2. Students should do outside research
(40 minutes, Chapter Objective 6, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
5. Ask each group to design a new holiday to be implemented in the nation. This holiday
should have a theme, a date for celebration, and a unique idea that could be marketed.
Have the class vote on the best idea.
You can bring up George’s holiday on Seinfeld, Festivus, to help get students thinking
(20 minutes, Chapter Objective 6, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
6. Select a product category of interest. Develop a formal strategy to reality engineer the
product. Include specific tactics relating to different components of the marketing mix.
Reality engineering occurs as elements of popular culture are appropriated by marketers
and converted to vehicles for promotional strategies. Product placement is a popular
(40 minutes, Chapter Objective 4, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
eLAB
Individual Assignments
1. Go to www.menscience.com. Everyone has grooming rituals. Examine this website and
the implications that it has for male grooming. Describe how the design of the website
seeks to enhance male grooming rituals that would then require the use of products that
they sell.
The website sells products for shaving, which most men do, but also encourages men to
(10 minutes, Chapter Objective 6, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
2. Go to www.elvis.com. After exploring this website, comment on the myth and legend of
Elvis Presley. What marketing techniques are used? How has “the King” been able to
retain a loyal following after all these years? Using data found on the website, construct a
brief strategy for introducing the Presley music to today’s teen generation. Do not treat
this as an impossible task. How would “the King” do it if he were alive today?
Remember, teens from the ’50s made him a superstar.
Students may rely on some of the information from Chapter 13, in addition to the
(10 minutes, Chapter Objective 2, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
3. Visit www.cocacola.com and access their websites in various countries. Are the country-specific
websites different? What are the main points of difference? What are the commonalities?
Students will be able to observe that the communications and the products (including
packaging and flavors, in some cases) vary by country. Communications may reflect
(20 minutes, Chapter Objective 9, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
4. Go to www.dkny.com and www.esteelauder.com. What is new in fashion, style, and cosmetics?
Either of these sites might give you some clue. After visiting the websites, list what you perceive
to be the top five trends in female fashion for this year. Remember, fashion may be more than
just clothing. Report your opinions to the class.
The content on both of these websites is changed on a regular basis, so you may want to
(20 minutes, Chapter Objective 6, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
5. Go to www.swissexpert.com and www.fashionknockoffs.com. Why do you think that the
knockoff industry has become so big? Discuss this in terms of the fashion concepts discussed in
the chapter. Also, include a discussion of the economics of buying such brands (how much does
the real thing cost?).
In addition to relating the response to the content about fashion concepts, students
(15 minutes, Chapter Objective 3, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
6. Go to www.brandchannel.com/brandcameo_films.asp. Select five different films that have a
high number of brands placed in them. Then, look up reviews for each film as well as how the
film did at the box office and in home video. What impact do you think each of the placements
had for the brand?
Student responses may depend on whether the placement was congruent with the plot. If
not, student perceptions of what the placement did for the brand are likely to be negative.
(30 minutes, Chapter Objective 4, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
Group Assignments
1. Go to www.marvel.com and www.dccomics.com. After visiting these two websites,
have your group discuss and comment on the use of heroes and antiheroes in these two
organizations’ products and websites. What magical qualities have been bestowed on the
characters you have found? How are these characters used to deliver messages? How
have marketers used these characters for merchandising purposes? Why do these
characters remain popular? Which is your group’s favorite? Why?
When you discuss the heroes and antiheroes, see if the students can relate the comic book
characters’ personalities to any brand personalities. Which marketers try to create
(30 minutes, Chapter Objective 7, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
2. Go to www.snopes.com. As a group, spend some time on this website. Then, choose an
urban myth that you find most interesting (regardless of whether it is true or not). Apply
the four interrelated functions of myths to the one that you chose. How can the concepts
of binary opposition, mediating figure, or monomyth be applied to the myth that you
chose? In your opinion, has the Internet made urban myths and legends more
commonplace? Why?
The four functions of myths are: metaphysical (they help explain the origins of existence),
cosmological (all components are part of a single picture), sociological (they establish a
social code to maintain order), and psychological (they establish models for personal
(20 minutes, Chapter Objective 2, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)
3. Visit www.fashion-era.com. Take some time as a group and browse the fashion trends
from different periods. Find trends that are in fashion at one time period, then out of
fashion, and then back in fashion at some other period. What governs these trends?
Discuss this and draw some conclusions based on the concepts in the chapter.
The website is organized by era, and it is not the most user friendly website so you may
(20 minutes, Chapter Objective 3, AACSB: Reflective Thinking)