ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on four emails, representative of several dozen that a MySave supermarket brand manager received after the televised report on the company's plans for targeting Turkish customers. It begins by describing the social context in which the incident occurred. Many of the offended partners' interpretations and socio-cultural projections are either factually wrong or, at least, misguided. In cultural contexts, indigenous consumers sometimes see themselves as symbolically married to their longstanding commercial partners and expect these brands to be faithful to them in return. The hierarchy between the old and the new relationship partners may be influenced by racial or sociocultural ideologies, but could also depend on the length of a relationship. The chapter highlights some of the important dynamics that marketers should consider when flirting with new customer segments. Marketers should consider creating new products or promotions that acknowledge and respect the existing relationship while still courting the new target.
