ABSTRACT
Based on prior reviews of the international advertising literature, there is widespread agreement that stronger conceptual frameworks can and should be developed (e.g., Miracle, 1984; Moriarty & Duncan, 1991; Taylor, 2005). In the context of Figure 1.1, this chapter addresses developing a stronger theoretical understanding of how marketers plan and execute advertising when they operate in multiple markets. Several aspects of Figure 1.1 are representative of important environmental variations that marketers must take into account in developing advertising, including social, cultural, political, economic, and legal differences. Thus, the development of comprehensive theories in the international advertising area must take into account these environmental factors. As is also depicted in Figure 1.1, consideration of the receiver of the message is essential to good advertising. In international markets, advertisers must take into account the degree to which the receiver is similar or different across markets and adjust messages and potentially channels as needed. Clearly, it has become more possible for advertisers to standardize broad strategies across at least some markets than was the case in the past. However, understanding any needed adaptation is essential to effective international advertising. Too often in the past, individual cultural variables have been applied to attempt to explain cross-national differences in the effectiveness of various advertising executions, when the explanations for any similarities are likely more complex than a single dimension, or even a few, can explain. Many studies have used descriptive research techniques as well, resulting in only limited advances in theory about how international advertising works. At the same time, there have been relatively few attempts to test general communications and/or consumer behavior theories such as the theory of reasoned action or the elaboration likelihood model cross-nationally.
