“For Asians, face is very

cHAPTER 10 • BRANd ANd PROducT dEcISIONS IN GLOBAL MARKETING
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Exhibit 10-6 The growth of the middle class in Vietnam, Mexico, and other emerging markets represents an opportunity for Kohler. The company’s modern bath and shower suites appeal to aspirational consumers.
Source: Kohler Co.
FIGURE 10-2 Maslow’s Hierarchy The Asian Equivalent
Status
Admiration
Social
Affiliation
Safety
Physical
Physiological
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322 PART 4 • THE GLOBAL MARKETING MIX
10-4
“Country of Origin as a Brand Element
One of the facts of life in global marketing is that perceptions of and attitudes toward particular countries often extend to products and brands known to originate in those countries. Such perceptions contribute to the country-of-origin effect; they become part of a brand’s image and contribute to brand equity. This is particularly true for automobiles, electronics, fashion, beer, recorded music, and certain food products.
Perceptions and attitudes about a product’s origins can be either positive or negative. On the positive side, as one marketing expert pointed out in the mid-1990s, German is synonymous with quality engineering, Italian is synonymous with style, and French is synonymous with chic.”
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Why is this still true today, especially in emerging markets As Diego Della Valle, CEO of Italian luxury goods marketer Tod’s, explains:
“Made in Italy will retain its luster because it is still the maximum guarantee of high quality for products such as ours. Like the French for perfume, the Swiss for watches. The Chinese do not want to buy Made in China.”
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The manufacturing reputation of a particular country can changeover time. Studies conducted during the sands indicated that the Made in the USA image had lost ground to the Made in Japan image. Today, however, US. brands are finding renewed acceptance globally. Examples include the Jeep Cherokee, clothing from Lands End and American Apparel, and Budweiser beer, all of which are being successfully marketed with strong USA themes. Even so, companies must be able to backup their "Made in the USA" claims. For example, Shinola, a manufacturer based in Detroit, used the slogan "Where America is made" and "Made in Detroit" in its watch advertising. As it turns out, however, the watches are assembled in the United States from imported components. The United States Federal Trade Commission ruled that the company would have to amend its slogan to read "Builtin Detroit using Swiss and imported parts."
Finland is home to Nokia, the onetime leader in cellphones that now focuses on telecommunications equipment. Nokia rose in stature from a local company to a global one in little more than a decade. However, as brand strategy expert Simon Anholt points out, other Finnish companies need to move quickly to capitalize on Nokia’s success if Finland is to become a valuable nation-brand. For example, Raisio Oy’s Benecol brand margarine has been shown to lower cholesterol levels. If large numbers of health-conscious consumers around the world embrace so-called nutraceutical products, Raisio and Benecol may become well-known brands and further raise Finland’s profile on the global scene. Anholt also notes that Slovenia and other countries are launch brands in the sense that they lack centuries of tradition and foreign interaction upon which to build their reputations (see Exhibit 10-7):

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