A Case Study of International Trade

【Abstract】The Corporate LOréal Paris was founded in 1909 and has succeeded in the overseas market. This article aims at analyzing the international business communication of LOréal Paris from the perspective of its advertising and finding the strategies for successful international business communication.

【Key Words】LOréal Paris； international business communication； advertising； international business communication

【中圖分類號】F740-4 【文獻標識碼】A 【文章編號】2095-3089（2016）19-0004-02

Introduction of the Corporate

In 1909， Eugène Paul Louis Schueller， a young French chemist of German descent， developed a hair dye formula called Auréale. Schueller formulated and manufactured his own products， which he then sold to Parisian hairdressers. On 31 July 1919， Schueller registered his company. The company was called Société Fran？觭aise de Teintures Inoffensives pour Cheveux （Safe Hair Dye Company of France）. LOréal got its start in the hair？鄄color business， but the company soon branched out into other cleansing and beauty products.

LOréals advertising. In the mid 2000s， the slogan of its advertisement was ‘Because youre worth it. In late 2009， the slogan was changed to ‘Because were worth it. The shift to ‘we was made to create stronger consumer involvement and provide more consumer satisfaction with LOréal products.

The Corporates International Business Communication

·Localization and Standardization

The comparison between East and West has been the focus of intercultural scholars. East and West is not just a geographical concept. It also represents the differences in cultural backgrounds and political systems. China and Europe are two typical representatives of Eastern and Western culture respectively. Even under the trend of globalization， the cultural gaps are still there， and the gaps cant be removed or eliminated at one step. Therefore， when the European brands are trying to enter into the Chinas market， these European brands need to make some adjustments.

The first two definitions we need to make clear are standardization and localization.

The core of localization is cultures localization. Cultures localization mainly reflects on the values， cultural traditions， religious beliefs， brand names， and advertising languages.

Standardization refers to that the same products are sold in the same way in different countries. But consumers in different countries have huge differences in socio？鄄cultural， legal and political factors. These differences restrict standardization. Standardization only applies in countries with the same or similar backgrounds.

Here we mainly focus on localization advertising and standardization advertising.

·LOréals Localization Advertising

In this part， we are going to have an analysis on the Corporates International Business communication from the perspective of its advertising. Especially its advertisements for Mens professional skin care products.

When LOréal Paris are trying to launch professional skin care products for men in China， the company finds that copying the original advertising strategy simply will lead to unexpected problems. Then， they make adjustments in their advertising strategies. The advertisements help the products to enter into the Chinas market successfully.

LOréal mens advertising strategy in the West is ‘to please women， while its advertising strategy in Chinas market is ‘mens self？鄄esteem and affirmation of life. The western version of TV advertising scene is encounters between men and women. The male tries to attract the attention of the female. The Chinese version of TV advertising scene is that the modern men in the fast pace of life still keep performing perfectly all the time. This may reflect the gender difference in Chinese and Western culture. In Chinese culture， males should focus on business instead of whispering love with females. In Western culture， the relationship between men and women tends to be more equal.

The Implication of LOréals Successful International Communication

Standardized advertising can help international brands to establish a unified and continuous image in the world to avoid image confusion， and the same advertising strategies in different markets can also reduce costs and avoid repetitive work. Although standardized advertising can results in cost reductions and raise the level of competition， consumers in different countries have huge differences. The differences are in socio？鄄culture， legal and political factors. And these factors restrict the brand standardization. Standardized advertising can only be applied in countries and districts with the same or similar cultural backgrounds. The opposite of standardized advertising is localized advertising or adaption advertising. Domestic researches generally support the localized advertising strategy.

In China， choosing the traditional festivals， major events， geographical and cultural characteristics as the creative point or creative elements is a wise choice. What is worth our notice is that advertising information should not offend the local customs and laws and regulations. And the targeted countries sensitive historical events should also be treated with caution when a corporate tries to advertise for their products abroad.

Reference：

[1]Levitt， T. The Globalization of Markets[J]. Harvard Business Review， 1983（3）.

[2]臧麗娜.論跨文化背景下國際廣告的本土化傳播——以國際廣告在中國市場傳播為研究對象[J].當代傳播，2009（6）.

作者簡介：

張小雅（1990-），女，山西省靈丘縣人，山西財經大學研究生在讀，外國語言學及應用語言學專業。