Hey, where’d all the women go

A lack of cultural awareness has resulted in some companies to completely embarrass themselves around the world. Here are some examples:

• Pepsodent Toothpaste reaching out to Southeast Asia, not knowing some of the natives chew certain foods to purposely blacken their teeth
• A sunglass company advertising animals wearing sunglasses in Thailand, not knowing the people view animals as lower than humans and would never wear the sunglasses worn by animals
• Chevy Nova not selling well among Hispanics because it translates to “no go”
• Visit Kwentessential for more examples of cultural mishaps

These are just a few examples of some cultural fiascos, additions to an ever-growing list. Newer markets are being sought out as we become more globalized. It is important to remain culturally sensitive and aware of different ways of life as companies and their public relations departments seek new audiences.

No company wants to embarrass themselves on a global scale. It is important to remain culturally sensitive. It is also important to always stick to company values. Ikea demonstrated what harm straying from company values can do.

Ikea Saudi Arabia’s catalogue is a recent example of cultural sensitivity backfiring. Trying to stick to the fundamental values of the country, Ikea Saudi Arabia removed all women from its catalogue, drawing criticism from its parent company.

Ikea, the Swedish furniture company, spoke out against Ikea Saudi Arabia, a franchisee of the company. A statement was released saying the catalogue “clashed” with Ikea’s values, as they do not support any form of discrimination.

This situation is a bit different from the Pepsodent example above. This is an example of cultural sensitivity going against the values of a company. With values so different than the rest of the world’s values, of course there are going to be major differences and troubles associated with marketing and public relations. It is the up to the company on how they will handle these differences and how well they will stick to their own values

This could have all been avoided if Ikea’s values were more consistent throughout the entire company, including franchises. Ikea Saudi Arabia still bears the company name, therefore damaging the company as a whole. If this wasn’t the case then why would Ikea be commenting or apologizing?

Journalism, marketing and public relations professionals cannot harp enough on the importance of value-driven goals. Communication goals should always parallel the values seen in organizational goals. Ikea obviously did not communicate its values well when the Saudi Arabian catalogue was released to rest of the world.

Sources:

Molin, Anna. "IKEA Regrets Cutting Women From Saudi Ad." N.p., n.d. Web.

"RESULTS OF POOR CROSS CULTURAL AWARENESS." Kwintessnetial. N.p., n.d. Web.