Lost in localisation? International advertising in the age of AI: discursive challenges and digital solutions

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the role of emotional appeals in international advertising campaigns in Cameroon. Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: Research on the role of emotional appeals in international advertising campaigns in Cameroon indicates that emotions play a significant role in influencing consumer behavior and brand perception. Emotional appeals, such as humor, nostalgia, and empathy, have been found to effectively capture consumers' attention and evoke positive attitudes toward advertised products or services. However, cultural nuances and socio-economic factors must be considered when crafting emotional appeals for international advertising in Cameroon. While certain emotions may resonate universally, others may vary in effectiveness depending on cultural values and preferences. Therefore, successful international advertising campaigns in Cameroon require a careful balance of emotional appeals that align with local cultural norms and resonate with the target audience's emotions, ultimately leading to increased brand engagement and purchase intent. Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: Cultural dimensions' theory, elaboration likelihood model and cross-cultural consumer behavior framework may be use to anchor future studies on assessing the role of emotional appeals in international advertising campaigns in Cameroon. Marketers should prioritize crafting emotionally resonant narratives that are tailored to specific cultural nuances while maintaining a cohesive brand message. Policymakers should advocate for policies that promote cultural sensitivity and inclusivity in international advertising practices.

Purpose Despite growing calls for practical insights on the multi-stakeholder approach in marketing and its communications, there is no empirical evidence of such kind in international advertising. This study aims to examine whether and how multinational enterprises (MNEs) have redesigned international advertising to reflect multi-stakeholder principles in language and content over time. Design/methodology/approach We adopt a mixed methodological approach based on literature review, the Delphi method and content analysis of 258 international advertising campaigns from 86 Global Reptrak® most reputed MNEs in 2016, 2019 and 2022. Furthermore, we use the Apriori algorithm, which analyzes advertising campaigns’ keyword complementarity and substitution trends. Findings From 2016 to 2022, MNEs are gradually shifting from focusing solely on product-centered content and language to integrating broader values, such as responsibility, sustainability, humanity and ethics, which address the interests of diverse stakeholder groups in their international advertising campaigns. Research limitations/implications Our study offers a homogeneous picture of digital international advertisements spread mainly in Southern Europe, Turkey, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and India, with no relevant differences detected in the contents and language. Future studies could replicate our analysis by including advertisements spread in other emerging countries, which we did not cover for methodological reasons. Practical implications Our study guides marketers on integrating multiple stakeholder values into their advertisements. Originality/value Our research provides a novel contribution to the evolution of traditional marketing communications towards a multi-stakeholder approach by identifying three main evolutionary paths for international advertising: unimodal, bimodal and multimodal communication in 2016, 2019 and 2022, respectively.

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to study creative strategy and execution as opposed to all elements of marketing and advertising standardization. It explores the standardization model (e.g. global, glocal, local, and single case strategy) by examining the international advertising strategies that multinational corporations (MNCs) from North America, Europe, and Asia used in their advertising campaigns targeting two culturally different markets: the United States and China.Design/methodology/approachA content analysis of 210 print advertisements compares the extent of standardization in creative strategy and execution across product country of origin (Japan, Korea, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States). Western versus non‐Western cultural cues are also coded and examined.FindingsOverall, MNCs are more likely to adopt the glocal strategy than any other strategies in their international campaigns. Specifically, EU‐based MNCs tend to pursue the global strategy, whereas the North America‐based MNCs seem to favor the glocal strategy and Asia‐based MNCs tend to use local strategy. Western and non‐Western cultural values are found to manifest in the American and Chinese ads similarly, indicating a trend of increasing similarity in international advertising in face of global consumer culture.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of this content analysis provide a fuller picture in understanding the long‐standing issues of standardization in international advertising because of an approach to analyze creative strategy separately from execution. However, content analysis is inherently limited in inferring causality between observed patterns and mechanisms/variables that account for the patterns. Also, the time frame for sample selection, which is set as a year prior to the 2008 global financial crisis, is another limitation of the study.Practical implicationsThere is an ongoing trend of using “one‐creative, multiple‐execution” strategy in international advertising. MNCs may distinguish advertising creative strategy from execution when developing their international advertising campaigns.Originality/valueFirst, this study addresses the issue with a clear conceptual definition of standardization and differentiates the strategic and tactic standardization. Second, this is the first attempt to explore the standardization model using a sample of 51 multinational brands from North America, Europe, and Asia. The authors find that MNCs are practicing some standardization advertising strategy, but to varying degrees. Third, this study identifies and empirically tests two external factors – culture and convergence of external markets – that influence standardization.

International advertising campaigns in fast-moving consumer goods companies originating from a SMOPEC country

PurposeDoes a highly standardized international advertising campaign enhance destination image? Drawing evidence from Turkey's Home Global Image Campaign, the authors investigate this fundamental question. This would help the authors to understand whether there are significant differences in cognitive and affective image among tourist groups in Europe in a destination where there is a highly standardized international advertising campaign.Design/methodology/approachData collected from British, German, French and Italian tourists through the official Twitter account of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism (TMCT) were used to carry out the quantitative analysis. Analysis of variance test was performed to assess the differences in nationalities. The Scheffe test was also applied as a post hoc comparison.FindingsCognitive image attributes such as “good value for money,” “good climate,” “interesting and friendly people,” “beautiful scenery and natural attractions,” “interesting cultural attractions,” “appealing local food (cuisine)” and “hygiene and cleanliness” are found to be less favorable in the perceptions of French tourists than those of British, German and Italian tourists. British, German and Italian tourists perceive Turkey as a more pleasant destination than French tourists. Overall, the findings suggest that a highly standardized international advertising campaign fails to boost the destination image for all nationalities.Practical implicationsThe TMCT officials should use the adaptation strategy in international advertising campaigns since the findings denote that the “one-size-fits all” approach is problematic. The TMCT should support and promote environmental sustainability efforts and green hotel practices to attract more tourists and use them in different communication channels.Originality/valueAssessment of affective and cognitive destination images (differences) is still an unresolved issue in the destination management and marketing literature. It seems that there is no empirical study investigating the cognitive and affective image attributes of a destination based on standardization versus adaptation approaches. This paper makes a contribution to the current literature by demonstrating that using the same image campaign in different markets is a practice that fails to achieve the intended goals.

The Handbook of Research on International Advertising presents the latest thinking, experiences and results in a wide variety of areas in international advertising. It incorporates those visions and insights into areas that have seldom been touched in prior international advertising research, such as research in digital media, retrospective research, cultural psychology, and innovative methodologies. Forming a major reference tool, the Handbook provides comprehensive coverage of the area, including entries on: theoretical advances in international advertising research, culture and its impact on advertising effectiveness, online media strategy in global advertising, methodological issues in international advertising, effectiveness of specific creative techniques, global advertising agencies, international perspectives of corporate reputation, transnational trust, global consumer cultural positioning, and performance of integrated marketing communications, among others. Researchers, students and practitioners in the fields of marketing, advertising, communication, and media management will find this important and stimulating resource invaluable.

Limited opportunities for language practice, especially productive skills, have constantly been a concern voiced by language learners. Recent technological advancements have addressed this need through mobile applications. One such application is <i>Tandem: Language Exchange</i>, bringing together language learners with similar goals worldwide to practice their language of interest. To this end, this review evaluated the app in focus: An introduction, utilizing the technology for language teaching and challenges in using the technology for language teaching, and a conclusion. Following this framework, the evaluation revealed that the app provided customized learning preferences and fostered productive skills practice, multimodal feedback, and intercultural awareness. However, the misuse of the app, the participants’ linguistic expertise, the potential emergence of cultural issues, and data security raised concerns over its use. Ultimately, the review recommended the app as an educational opportunity and an entertaining digital learning environment.

Introduction: Biology education is essential in enhancing students' cultural awareness by integrating local wisdom. However, does the reality align with these expectations? Therefore, this bibliometric analysis is conducted as an initial step to address the following questions: 1) Mapping the trends in cultural awareness studies within biology education. 2) Identifying research gaps in cultural awareness studies within biology education. 3) Proposing alternative solutions to bridge these gaps.Methods: This study employs a bibliometric approach. Data were obtained from the Scopus database using the following keywords: TITLE-ABS-KEY ("cultural sensitivity" OR "cultural awareness" OR "cultural competence" OR "intercultural understanding" OR "cultural intelligence" OR "cultural appreciation" OR "cross-cultural knowledge" OR "intercultural awareness" OR "global awareness" OR "diversity awareness") AND TITLE-ABS-KEY (biology) AND TITLE-ABS-KEY (education OR learning). Data analysis was conducted using VOSviewer and Microsoft Excel.Results: A total of 32 scientific publications were recorded from 2003 to March 2025, with an average of two publications per year. The most frequently occurring keyword is evolution, appearing seven times, while the strongest linked keyword is cultural competence, with a total link strength of 192. Conclusions: The trends in cultural awareness studies within biology education remains very low and stagnant. There is a notable gap in ethnobiology education, which should play a crucial role in promoting students' cultural awareness but is rarely studied. The proposed solution is to expand the ethnobiology education approach beyond an intradisciplinary ecological perspective to include an interdisciplinary social approach, thereby enhancing students' cultural awareness.

Identity and face are each an imagining of the self, or of another, within a public sphere involving multiple actors. Because they have come into language and discourse research from different directions, researchers frame them in such a way that they can seem only tangentially related. This article examines what binds and distinguishes them, by approaching a set of conversational data – all from Scotland, yet crossing perceived cultural and linguistic boundaries – from the point of view of both the face work and the identity work undertaken by the participants. Identity and face are often taken as representing durative and punctual ways of looking at the same phenomena. Yet explanations of punctual actions and events always have recourse to durative characteristics of those who perform them; and evidence for those durative characteristics is drawn from the punctual actions and events interpreted as embodying and indexing them. This complexity is multiplied by that of the different scales on which face and identity are observed and indexed.

Despite comprehensive discussion in the literature on standardization versus localization of international advertising, the term standardization itself still needs clarification; especially the question which elements of advertisements must be identical so that an international advertising campaign is perceived as standardized needs further research. Since consumers are the target group of advertising, it is essential to conduct such research from their perspective. This research provides the required perspective using multivariate analysis methods, choosing students as an important example for a consumer segment. Empirical surveys conducted in three European countries, using examples of print advertisements, suggest that visual aspects exert the most significant influence on the perceived similarity of advertising.

Transcreation, now burgeoning in cross-cultural communications like international advertising and marketing campaigns, is a frequently-adopted approach to literary translation and has been practised across the continents from Britain to the USA and from India to Brazil, producing such masters as Edward FitzGerald, Ezra Pound, Tagore, P. Lal and Haroldo de Campos, whose numerous transcreations are worth classifying so that training modules can be better designed for student translators and practitioners. For these people, the time is ripe to take a transcreational turn as they face huge challenges from AI-driven machine translation. After ploughing through many instances, this research classifies transcreation into two types: one with a source text and the other without. The former is sometimes called transwriting since it involves writing in addition to translation. The latter is found to be almost the same as writing or copywriting. The only difference is that the departure point of transcreation without a source text is translation while that of writing or copywriting is not. The skopos theory is used to explain the way transcreation is practised in both literary and nonliterary fields. The implications of this classification for translation teaching and translator training are also illustrated.

This paper proposes an original approach to the debate concerning international advertising. It is based on a content analysis of 218 television commercials, in which the main elements in the development of an advertising strategy have been used to compare preselected ‘creative’ television commercials from France, Germany, Great Britain and the United States to television commercials that were broadcast across frontiers. The food and beverage sector has been chosen as a field of application because of its economic importance in Europe, as well as the very strong cultural influence of this sector. Not only has the content analysis enabled the identification of some guidelines for the execution of international advertising strategies, but it has also resulted in some conclusions for creative advertising. Finally, it has lead to the suggestion that international advertising is more orientated towards brand-building, whereas ‘creative’ advertising is more concerned with image-building.

This study examines the nature and history of the cultural, political and linguistic boundary that runs along the western side of the Iranian region, through the Zagros mountains. A long-term evaluation of that boundary, from antiquity through the modern era, shows how the boundary between the Zagrosian and Assyro-Babylonian worlds, and between later states, such as Safavid and Qajar Iran, and the Ottoman empire, has undergone change, such that sites and towns commonly thought of as being in one cultural sphere were, at times, in another. The significance of boundary zones, as opposed to clear-cut boundary lines, is examined.

Past research suggests that the cultural value orientation, individualism-collectivism, should be considered when developing international advertising campaigns. The present study examines how (in)consistencies in collectivist values (e.g., familial norms and roles) may affect attitudes and behaviors toward advertised products within a collectivist culture, Mexico. The findings suggest advertisements that depict consistencies in local cultural norms and roles are viewed more favorably and purchase intention is higher than for advertisements that depict inconsistencies. The data provide no support for the moderating role of individual-level differences in value orientation (i.e., allocentric versus idiocentric tendencies) on persuasion measures. Interestingly, product category advertised appears to be the best moderator of the relative strength of role and norm effects on ad attitudes and purchase intention. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Recent years have witnessed an increasing interest in the consequences of culture for global marketing and advertising. Indeed, culture determines how people communicate, what people communicate and in which way national cultures affect customers’ behaviours and perceptions. Many studies underline the necessity of adapting advertising strategies to the consumers’ culture. Understanding the consequences of cultural differences is, therefore, crucial for marketing and advertising decision-makers when companies have to develop international advertising campaigns. Therefore, the main purpose of our research is to investigate the approach of a multinational company towards cultural differences in international advertising. With this objective in mind, we analyse through a qualitative content analysis the commercials of a well-known soft drink company in five countries in order to understand cultural differences and how they are reflected in the advertising campaigns according to the Hofstede’s model. Our findings show that Hofstede’s cultural dimensions are considered to be supportive and useful guidelines for the development of suitable commercials for culturally different target groups.