Bite-size Case Study

Localising a universal brand: Coca Cola, Nivea and McDonald's

Published on November 28, 2019 Originally recorded 2014   5 min
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At the core of an association network in the mind of the consumer is the brand name and signals. I'll use Coca-Cola and Nivea as examples. By the way, in continental Europe, Nivea is pronounced as Nivea. The visual images are more or less the same worldwide. For Coca-Cola it's the shape of the bottle and the color combination of red and white. For Nivea it is the color combination blue and white. Then look at product attributes, which may vary. Although, Coca-Cola is mostly consistent with respect to its product attribute, it does vary the degree of sweetness according to different tastes. The main product attributes of most Nivea products are cream and nourishing ingredients. Examples of products under the Coca-Cola brand are regular Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light, and Coca-Cola Zero. Under the Nivea brand a range of different products can be found such as creams, body milks, deodorants for women and for men. For non-white skins they offer Nivea whitening cream. Nivea adapts to physical and cultural differences. Users may be different across cultures too. In the developed world all layers of populations may use Coca-Cola but in developing economies it may be for the happy few. And Nivea offers products for all generations in different cultures. Now, let's look at places, occasions, moments, and moods for using the brands which vary by product category but also by culture. Coca-Cola may be associated with happy occasions and good moods but often is used in public domain situations. Nivea is the typical product to use in the home or in the bathroom, specifically, and houses and bathrooms vary strongly by culture. Let's look now at the benefits and the values. Coca-Cola has historically been positioned as being always available everywhere when you are thirsty. The benefit is thirst-quenching and the availability everywhere. This is a universal benefit. However, the values consumers connect with the brand are different across cultures. Outside the country of origin it can be viewed as modern or international, both conveying prestige to the user. With respect to Nivea, Beiersdorf, the company owning the brand has always attached purity and softness to the brand as a benefit and value. As the brand is very old and ingrained in people's culture, across cultures people may attach a variety of values to the Nivea brand.
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Localising a universal brand: Coca Cola, Nivea and McDonald's

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