Cross-Cultural Consumer Behavior and Marketing Communications

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Thesis Statement
Conclusion
References

Introduction

In the world of intense globalization enhanced by technology and the internet, multiculturalism in business and organizations is a common occurrence. Consumer behavior is most affected as people have to adjust to different cultures present within and outside the organization. Researchers always state that consumer behavior is never permanent as it changes over time because the consumers’ taste of products also changes.

Consumer behaviour is the study of the factors that influence people to purchase the product. It signifies the study of the complex buying activities that include purchasing, using, and discarding of the product. These activities are influenced by the emotional, psychological, and behavioral state of the person.

The consumer’s behavioral state is also affected by culture, which refers to nationality, language, customs, and beliefs of a nation. It influences consumers’ decision-making process. Ethnic groups have their own distinct behavior in purchasing goods. Business targeting ethnic markets must be familiar with cultural diversity.

The effects of culture can be seen not just in the study of consumer behaviour and strategy formulation but also in the results of implementing strategies. Advertising promotes products and reminds consumers of the product’s features through various media. Advertising aims at informing the public or bringing the features and characteristics of the product or service to public.

The conventional way of advertising is for publicity and this is still the trend. Consumers are reminded of the brand’s features because many products look similar. Generic and branded products have almost the same effect or impact on consumer’s taste.

Ehrenberg and Scriven (1997) argue that consumers have fixed the tendency to purchase. Advertising across cultures is different from simple advertising for a single market segment. There are different meanings that should be discussed when speaking of advertising across cultures. It includes the internal structure of the organization and the external environment.

This essay will focus on the concepts of consumer behaviour, consumer research and the effects of advertising on consumer decision-making process in Vietnam. It should be stated that Vietnam is a developing economy and the customers experience the same factors other consumers in the developed countries do, such as globalization, technology, and the internet.

However, Vietnam is an interesting topic of research in that after the war and the instituted reforms, consumer behaviour has responded positively to the marketing mix elements. The latter were said to be coming as a result of new technologies, albeit there were traditional underpinnings that combined with new outcomes.

Thesis Statement

Promotion and advertising through the different media influence brand perception and consumers’ decision-making process. Culture affects brand perception of the Vietnamese consumers.

Brief-fact about Vietnam

The people of Vietnam spell their country’s name in two words, Viet Nam. In this regard, ‘Viet’ originated from the Indonesian and Mongoloid races who speak Vietnamese, while Nam is translated as ‘South’ which points to China (McLeod & Dieu, 2001, p. 3).

Geography and quest for independence are original factors that formed Vietnam’s past into an evolving culture. However, there are other factors like economy and politics, including globalization forces that influenced this evolving culture. Most of the original Vietnamese live in the fertile lands of Mekong Delta, and exist through several conquests and colonization, including the French and Chinese conquests.

The US-Vietnam War started in the early sixties up to the middle of the seventies. An estimated five million people died as a result of the war and millions were injured. The chemical warfare with Agent Orange was used, which is the type of chemical containing dioxin and causing cancer and other forms of sickness.

Great damage was done on the ecology as millions of litres of chemical substances carried in bombs were poured on Vietnam’s land. After the war, Vietnam started to recover economically and psychologically but immense efforts had to be done to sustain agriculture.

Trade liberalization gave farmers freedom in developing the lands. Despite the odds, Vietnam has been able to attain a comparatively high growth of 5.5% annually (Nguyen, 2010).

Trade liberalization helped the economy with the entry of foreign companies which influenced the buying habits of a new consumer segment, the Vietnamese consumers, who experienced several conflicts, colonization, and the effects of globalization, the internet, and new technology (cell phones, mobile technology, etc.).

Vietnam is still recovering from the years of conflict but the scars of war cannot be seen in the present day country. We see the young ready for a new fight, the globalization has started in this country despite measures instituted by the communist government. Its leaders realize that the country cannot grow economically without allowing the entry of foreign investments.

Moreover, technology is another force to reckon with. The youth are most susceptible to the temptations posed by technology because they are the ones who are fond of new technological gadgets. All in all, Vietnam is heading for an uncertain future, but it should not be too worried about technology or globalization because the whole world is following this trend.

Advertising in Vietnam

Advertising in Vietnam is greatly affected by trade liberalization and the open-door policy imposed by the Vietnamese government, although there are some restrictions. Advertising has specifically focused on the effects of branding; the role of which has become an important marketing topic. In the past, branding was ignored and the unbranded practice was popular.

It was a practice of using the firm’s name as the brand name. Liberalization and allowing foreign firms into the market and the promotion of international brands have shifted the Vietnamese consumer behaviour and decision-making processes. There is a difference between the traditional to the new consumer behavior affected by the foreign culture (Nguyen & Nguyen, 2011).

Positive attitudes of consumers toward advertising programs convince consumers to recognize the features of the brand and to compare it with other brands. Marketers continuously build a relationship between their brands and consumers.

Fournier (as cited in Nguyen & Nguyen, 2011) provides a broad aspect of brand-consumer relationships, which cover many aspects of the subject. However, the research on this has focused on the advanced economies, rather than on the developing economies like Vietnam.

Business advertising is confined to a few busy cities in Vietnam, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, that dominate business in the country. However, there is one ad agency that is foreign owned. The 80-20 rule for advertising agencies applies to activities that should be focused on the two cities (International Business Publications, 2008, p. 139).

Vietnam’s Advertising Strategy

The youth and adults read the lifestyle section of magazines but they also browse the internet, looking for the latest trends or having a chat with friends and family members abroad over the social media, like Facebook or Twitter.

They may have forgotten the not so distant past, but the youth are just as excited as Westerners when it comes to browsing the internet and looking for a new iPhone, or waiting for the latest news about their favourite cell phone brands.

The Vietnamese people patronize every kind of mass media, such as print media (e.g. newspapers and magazines), the internet, radio and television. The internet is accessed by most youths. Social media has become popular, especially among the youth and students, with many coming from the middle class. Internet cafés are sprouting in public places (Vietnam.net, 2013, para. 1).

There is a growing middle class in Vietnam interested in magazine lifestyle sections. They browse for new brands and read news about leisure and entertainment. The middle class Vietnamese have vast interests in lifestyle media, but there is some government control.

Ashley Petus (2003; as cited in Earl, 2013, p. 85) indicates that print media has evolved from a government propaganda tool into a different kind of product but with the governmental supervision.

However, there is now more press freedom than before, although there is the unwritten code that media should not criticize the authorities. Women’s print media is different from popular media wherein Party’s values and women’s values converge (Earl, 2013).

The print media is growing with the increase in the literate Vietnamese who read newspapers and magazines. Advertisers place much importance on the print media, considering that the costs in newspaper advertising are believed the lowest among countries in Asia.

Most publications are concentrated in cities where the newspapers provide the latest news, including major interests such as sports and fitness, fashion, lifestyles, and others (International Business Publications, 2008).

The youth also use social media in their quest for reforms. Concerned groups and NGOs discuss gender equality using social media. The Asia Foundation has focused on gender equality and collaborated with several NGOs in discussing social issues utilizing Facebook and other social networks.

Social media provides rapid communication and in a very short time, the Vietnamese youth respond positively to calls posted by the concerned individuals, and discussion groups are formed (In Asia, 2013, para. 2). Moreover, bloggers use social media in pro-democracy activities. Activists who have been arrested post their complaints and pass on news reports about abuses (Brummit, 2013, para. 2).

The internet is a favourite tool to air people’s gripes against the governmental policies. Bloggers and aspiring web writers use the Web to expound on their complaints against authorities, albeit with some confidentiality. However, the big change is the influence of the media on consumer behaviour. The young are the most affected, or are easily influenced by technology.

The way consumers perceive advertising has provided a growing attention among practitioners and researchers for the Vietnam market. Once consumers exhibit positive responses for advertising programs, they notice the good qualities of the brand and compare it to other brands.

Good advertising programs also stimulate “consumers’ attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge about the brand” (MacKenzie & Lutz, 1989; Mehta, 2000; as cited in Nguyen & Nguyen, 2011, p. 47).

Vietnam Advertising versus the United States Advertising

Macro-economic reforms have provided Vietnam with a new face in the struggle brought about by globalization and technology. Reforms, however, have been focused on power structures with emphasis on continuity (Pettus, 2003; as cited in Earl, 20130).

Media attention on women is contained in women’s magazines. The young Vietnamese consumers are more concentrated on the internet browsing, blogging and other modern technologies like cell phones and mobiles.

The Vietnamese men and women, descendants of people during the war, have transformed into smartly-dressed office workers of the new millennium. The war may not have won its strategic purpose but the impact might be seen in business.

Vietnam has evolved into a market-oriented economy, from a centrally-directed one. Culture and tradition still play a significant role in the lives of the Vietnamese but the impact of globalization and Westernization are much pronounced in the Vietnamese youth who are more driven by technology.

The Vietnamese advertising industry is a growing sector, with television and internet media as predominant media types in ads and promotion. Advertising is an effective instrument for promoting a brand, particularly, in building “consumer’s trust in the brand” (Li & Miniard, 2006; as cited in Nguyen & Nguyen, 2011, p. 47).

The Vietnamese consumers do not buy products but purchase brands, although this can change with a limited budget. Americans, on the other hand, also put value on the brand.

International advertising companies conduct business by providing joint ventures with local companies according to the governmental regulations. Advertising and promotion conform to cultural factors. In the United States, one can compare companies and products as topics for advertising.

This is not so in the EU and some parts of Asia, especially in Vietnam, where comparisons are unacceptable. Advertisements cannot compare two types of products, or the firm can encounter legal actions. In visual advertising, advertisers should take into account local differences in actions for eye contact or relationships of people (Zhan, 1999, p. 80).

The Vietnam brand managers put more emphasis and invest a large amount of advertising budget in TV advertising, even if it is more expensive than website and email advertising. An obvious reason is that a great percentage of the Vietnamese consumers living in cities own televisions.

Consumers spend about three hours watching television programs when their minds and attention are focused on the programs and advertisements. Surveys find that there are more consumers who view television programs in Ho Chi Minh City than in Hanoi, but prime programs are more watched at night in Hanoi than in Ho Chi Minh. The Vietnamese consumers also watch cable TV programs from international TV networks.

International programs are monitored, and thus regulated, by the government (International Business Publications, 2008).

On the other hand, outdoor advertising also plays a significant role in the Vietnamese advertising. It consists of advertising on billboards and other outdoor ad tools as it is much cheaper. However, one could often see illegal placements in outdoor advertising, which the authorities sometimes fail to apprehend. It means that this sector is not properly regulated (International Business Publications, 2008).

Advertising in the United States is centuries old and uses all kinds of media: print, TV, web pages including websites and emails, outdoor, and much more. In this age of globalization and high technology, the US advertising has grown into a great industry.

Historically, retailing in the eighteenth century used tiny shops and business establishments, set by the early colonizers. The stores have grown into giant corporations and multinationals. Advertising companies help not just consumers but big businesses in exchange for big contract fees.

So, advertising in the United States is not just advertising as it is itself a big industry with self-regulation applied on advertising companies and the operations involved. This is to promote autonomy and provide control over the vast businesses registered as advertising agencies.

Other countries have their own self-regulation methods, for example, the United Kingdom and the European Union, the methods of which are more complex but effective. When one says regulation, the ropes are being handled by the industry itself and the industry members implement their own regulations. The main objective is to keep the government’s hands out of managing the industry (Medina & An, 2012).

The Vietnamese Consumer Behavior

The basic element for this paper is consumer behavior with a focus on the Vietnamese consumers. In addition, the topic covers the culture, its effects on consumer behavior and many other factors that impact the Vietnamese buyers.

The research and information gathering, its interpretation, the dynamics of the group making the decision and the contextual constraints under which decision-makers work are all influenced to a greater or lesser degree by the culture of those involved.

Notably, culture is defined as a way of life, a learned behavior that people receive from their forebears. Cultural norms change over time as the needs of society also amend. An individual’s culture influences his/her consumption patterns and affects the feelings or attachment to certain products.

The employees assigned abroad have to understand and feel how culture works in the country of their destination.

It means that if they are assigned in the sales department “the selling approach can be tailored accordingly… (and) in order to be able to offer value to the market, a salesperson must understand the value system of the foreign market and this means knowledge of the influence of cultural factors” (Jobber & Lancaster, 2003, p. 228).

The Vietnamese culture is distinct as the other cultures in the Asia Pacific region. The history of war and conflict influences the collective behaviour of the people, in particular, the Vietnamese collective experience impacts on their culture.

Culture influences consumers’ desire to purchase products. The cultural factors include religious beliefs, superstitions, family orientation, choice of food, language, fashion, community beliefs, and much more.

A question may arise from this background: has the collective experience of the Vietnamese with respect to war influenced the buying behaviour of consumers? The answer is “probably yes” but this has to be supported with empirical data. However, this is another interesting topic but beyond the scope of this paper.

The concept of consumer behavior involves the study of various theories and concepts of psychology, sociology and other related sciences. Kardes, Cronley, and Cline (2011) consider the study of consumer behavior and the related concepts of consumer needs and desires as relatively new.

During the early years after the World War II, firms intended to produce and sell goods that fulfilled the people’s needs and wants. There was a shift in focus from selling surplus inventory to satisfying customers. This started the idea of the marketing concept, that the firm should know and please customers (Kardes, Cronley, & Cline, 2011, p. 13).

Researchers doing studies on consumer behavior concentrate on “motivation, behavioural, and interpretivism” (Kardes et al., 2011, p. 14), approaches, which are associated with the social sciences. The researcher Ernest Dichter uses Freud’s psychoanalytic approach in the study of motivation research.

It goes back to the early years after the World War II when the Freudian follower Dichter (as cited in Kardes et al.) used psychoanalytic techniques in finding out the individual’s hidden inspirations. Applying this concept to consumer research, Dichter used what is called “in-depth interview” (IDI), which occurs several hours and investigates inside motivations (about purchases) of the individual.

At the height of his research, Dichter did many interviews involving approximately 200 types of products. After the interviews, he correlated the participants’ behavior with the Freudian concept of psychoanalysis and concluded that the consumers/participants were childish, lacked reasons or understanding, and had erotic yearning.

In one of his studies involving canned soup, Dichter found that women favoured canned soup because it looked like breast milk, and it had a warm and nutritious value. Dichter also learned that lighting a woman’s cigarette triggered the imagination about a sexual act (Kardes et al., 2011).

Large companies use knowledge of consumer behavior in determining the latest trend and making it as a basis to manufacture new products, services, and sales strategies. Consumer behavior is not just about a consumers’ way of buying products but it also includes intangible products like services or experiences of firms.

Knowledge of consumer behavior can also be used to educate people on matters pertaining to product regulations or other important aspects of the product (Hoyer & MacInnis, 2010).

Marketing research provides firms with valuable data and information about their target market and the business environment. Researchers also carry out a careful analysis of the firm’s plans, activities, and methods. Relationships that are of interest to consumer researchers are classified as “correlations and causal”, which is similar to the cause and effect situation.

A correlation occurs when statistics among the factors have significant relationship. Examples of variables are advertising and research which can be the subject of correlation research. There is positive correlation when two variables act at the same time.

There is negative correlation in a situation where two variables are in opposite direction. Advertising and sales are correlated positively since both increase simultaneously. On the other hand, product defects and customers regarded for the product have a negative correlation; meaning, as product defects are seen or felt, customer is dissatisfied (Kardes et al., 2011).

Firms are now more culturally diverse than before the popularity of the internet. Through the power and “magic” of the internet, employer and employees can communicate and talk about business even if both are at the opposite ends of the globe.

Through teleconferencing, the employee can provide product presentation. However, this is not to say that cultural factors are taken aside because the individuals conducting business are not physically present; in fact, employer-employee relationship has to consider cultural norms despite the distance.

A quantitative and qualitative study was conducted in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. The study consisted of in-depth interviews with graduate students of the University of Economics. The quantitative study comprised interviews with 102 consumers. There was another main survey using face-to-face interviews with 477 Vietnamese buyers.

The study determined brand relationship quality using six variables: “interdependence, passion, self-connection, commitment, intimacy, and trust” (Nguyen & Nguyen, 2011, p. 48). The interviews used a sample of consumers who patronized different brands of consumer products from different firms.

The objective of the research was to determine the effects of the chosen marketing mix elements, such as “perceived quality, attitudes toward advertising and public relations,” in brand perception and brand relationship quality in a developing economy like Vietnam (Nguyen & Nguyen, 2011, p. 48).

Vietnam is considered a transition economy because of its recent experience as a war-torn country and its transition to a developing nation amidst an autocratic government in the guise of a free economy.

It is found in the study that brand relationship quality in Vietnam is determined by six elements, such as “interdependence, passion, self-connection, commitment, intimacy, and trust” (Nguyen & Nguyen, 2011, p. 52). Brand relationship quality is also multi-dimensional.

The findings further indicate that traditional marketing mix elements, such as advertising and branding, are significant in “building high-quality brand-consumer relationships” (Nguyen & Nguyen, p. 52). The study concludes that building high-quality brand-consumer relationships is important in developing economies like Vietnam.

In the branding research, it is found that the perceived quality leads to brand equity for the organization as it enhances brand relationship quality. From the findings of the study it is clear that the perceptions of consumers toward ads and promotions have a significant influence on improving brand-consumer relationships.

On the other hand, advertisers have identified a segment among the Vietnamese consumers who are used to promotion; advertisers call them promotion seekers. Because of this, marketers have increased their marketing expenditures in sales promotions since these have accumulated between 60 and 70 percent of their public relations budget, particularly promotions.

Moreover, promotions need big budgeting and before this is done, managers have to closely study and monitor consumer behavior (Iranmanesh et al., 2013, p. 874). Among the Vietnamese and Asian consumers, volume discount as a promotional tool is quite popular. The volume discount means buying in bulk wherein the total price for a number of items is discounted or reduced. The aim is to encourage customers to buy in bulk.

In a Nielsen study conducted in 2010, it was found that promotion seekers were increasing in developing countries like Vietnam and Malaysia, which means that this strategy is popular in developing countries. However, since many marketers use it as a marketing tool, its effectiveness has become less successful (Iranmanesh et al., 2013).

In analysing the effectiveness of promotion, for example, the volume discount as a marketing tool, one should pay attention to its effect on consumer behavior and its advantages for the marketers, who spend much for promotion in order to increase profit. Consumers like it because they can save by having a large quantity of the product.

However, consumers have to consider the quality of the product as it may be sacrificed for quantity. Moreover, in the study of Iranmanesh et al. (2013), it is clarified that the volume discount is not as effective in some Asian countries as before.

Additionally, it is patronized only by the low-income group, the ordinary employees and those who buy cheap products. In Vietnam, many consumers purchase cheap products. The increasing number of middle-class segment of the consumers has not surpassed the increasing number of low-income groups (Nguyen & Nguyen, 2011).

The Vietnamese consumers also pay close attention to prices of brands, particularly, foreign ones. Those who can pay expensive brands are the rich and members of the higher-middle class. Due to this fact, there are a few expensive brands in the country, available for sale only for the moneyed class, as there are smuggled goods and fake or pirated products from China available for the low-income group.

The experienced Vietnamese consumers purchase expensive but genuine products as investment because they can sell them at higher prices in the future. When this segment buys their brand, they look for quality and products that last a lifetime.

Moreover, pricing is affected by the lunar calendar, which refers to the time the Vietnamese consumers’ flock to markets and retail stores to buy their favourite brands during the months of January and February, an important holiday season in Vietnam.

This has a special meaning to the Vietnam people; culture influences the buying behaviour of the Vietnamese since after these months, consumers relax their buying spree (International Business Publications, 2008).

Consumer behaviour in Vietnam is unique. For example, the Vietnamese managers and business people value brands but it takes time for consumers to attain loyalty to the brand. Consumers require a long period of time in order to know the brand and to hold on to that brand and consider it their own. Brand relationship is influenced by advertising and other public relation tools of the firm.

Perceptions of advertising and public relations affect the brand’s quality positively. Firms have to spend more and invest their public relations budget to court and convince consumers and attain loyalty for their brands.

Thus, the investments for this kind of activity that focused on consumer interaction are critical to the development of the relationship between customer and the firm (De Wulf et al., 2001 as cited Nguyen & Nguyen, 2011).

The Vietnamese marketers have to find ways to link brands and consumers in the context of customer satisfaction and brand equity, which adds value on the part of the firm but customer satisfaction is still in question. What motivates consumers to buy? Is it because of the advantages the product can offer? Satisfying customers is associated with meeting their needs and wants.

The Vietnamese firms realize this missing relationship. To attain healthy customer relationships is significant in attaining business profitability.

If this cannot be attained, firms have to be concerned with customer switching. Employees will go away, find new products and look for other brands. Firms will have to recruit or convince new customers to buy their products and this is very costly and difficult to attain. Such will necessitate new techniques in advertising, selling, and training of employees and even customers (Mittal & Lassar as cited in Nguyen & Nguyen, 2011).

Therefore, it is important to retain customers at the expense of company savings, i.e. spend more for advertising and promotion and meeting the needs of loyal customers. Loyal customers will continuously provide profit in the long run and make it increase significantly as time goes by (Reichheld & Sasser as cited in Nguyen & Nguyen, p. 45).

Moreover, this brand relationship must have “strength and depth” and not just a relationship for a short period of time. Brand relationship quality can be attained if it is built and established with an amount of efforts and resources and time.

Brand relationship quality has six elements, which are: “love and passion, self-connection, commitment, interdependence, intimacy, and brand partner quality” (Fournier, 1998 as cited in Nguyen & Nguyen, p. 45).

According to this theory, to have a quality brand relationship, the six components have to be implied. Love and passion connote feelings or affection for the brand. Consumers who have this quality feel that life is not complete without it (Fournier, 1988; Smit et al., 2007 as cited in Nguyen & Nguyen, 2011). When we say life is not complete, it simply means that the brand is a necessity and a part of life.

“Self-connection” means consumers have connected the product with their daily needs. “Commitment” refers to the fact that consumers have already pledged their loyalty to the brand and feel that there are no other brands than the one they are accustomed to.

“Interdependence” means to rely on each other’s strength. “Intimacy” covers having lived with each other’s company. “Brand partner quality” is the customers’ personal measure on product quality, whether it lasts for a long time or it cannot be depended on.

Price is a factor in the Vietnamese consumers’ preference to buy, i.e. they mostly purchase cheap products. Quality products are preferred by those who can buy expensive goods. There are times that quality is sacrificed in exchange for cheap products.

The perceived quality determines the strength of a particular brand, and according to Aaker (1991 as cited in Nguyen & Nguyen, 2011), can mean the customer’s feeling of the overall strength and durability of the product or service in the context of why it was made and how it met the customer needs. Consumers’ perception is one factor in determining the perceived quality.

Consumers acquire positive attitude of the product when they judge that the product has high quality compared to other brands. Customers’ opinion of the product and the perceived quality are related. When people feel that the product’s quality has deteriorated, other qualities or elements of the product also decrease according to the customer’s personal judgment.

Conclusion

This paper centered on some elements of the marketing mix, promotion and advertising, that impact on consumers’ decision-making process, and also focused on the Vietnamese consumer behavior.

The Vietnamese consumers experience marketing mix influences as their Western counterparts, but the emerging-market consumers have to deal with other factors like culture and the difficulties of a limited budget.

Time is a factor in the Vietnamese buying habit, meaning, they flock to the market to buy their favourite brands during January and February, considered holidays for the Vietnamese. Prices for brands at this season are different from those in ordinary days.

Consumer behaviour is not permanent as it changes over time. The attitudes of consumers toward advertising affect their decision to purchase a product. Advertising and promotion influence consumers and their perception of the product.

However, the main objective of advertising is not to change consumers’ perception of the brand but to inform and remind. The Vietnamese consumers perceive brands as important in their decision to buy.

It should also be stated that brand users comment that the brand “tastes nice” than non-users would say. But the popular brand has more users than the not-so popular brands. Therefore, more people say that it “tastes nice” for popular brands than not-so popular ones.

The belief of “brands are brands” is supported by many ads, for example, they create “attention, impact, memory traces for the brand” but not because they are persuasive. Advertisements are used to remind people of the brand, or that such brands are still in existence or leading in the market, but ads are not used to persuade consumers to buy.

Successful advertising and promotion require sensitivity to customs and business practices of the target audience or target segment. For example, the Westerners advertising their product in Vietnam have to bear in mind that the Vietnamese consumers do not respond in the same way as the Westerners.

The Vietnamese buyers consider advertising and promotion seriously. When they plan to buy products of their brand, they have the ads and promotion in their minds. This phenomenon is known as promotion-seeking, i.e. they seek promotion first before they decide to buy. Still, they have their favourite brands, and that is the question.

The Vietnamese consumers also grab promotional activities of some brands, for example, they prefer volume discounts and other promotional gimmicks.

This is understandable because of the limited budget. Moreover, the Vietnamese marketers know very well their consumers and their behaviour. If consumers grab their gimmicks, they immediately take hold of the opportunity. Advertising and promotion are alive and kicking in the Vietnamese market.

Since consumer behaviour involves psychology and sociology, it is important to apply this on the Vietnamese market. Sociology includes study of different cultures that influence the Vietnamese decision-making process and their decision to buy. The Vietnamese culture is affected by years of war, poverty, government, and other factors.

Thus, advertising and promotion can be considered such factors, or, it could be that advertising and promotion are the outcome of these factors since these elements take into consideration consumer behaviour first before they become part of the advertising strategy.

Consumer behavior and consumer research are subjects of interest for the marketers. Firms spend a lot of time and resources to find out how consumers behave and what factors influence their buying decision. The results of studies are important to firms because they became part and subject of their next advertising and promotion.

Cross-cultural communication is a complicated but interesting subject involving consumer behavior, cultural factors and influences. The thesis for this paper stated the cultural factors that evoked consumers’ buying decision. Consumer behavior is influenced by cultural norms and beliefs. Inside the organization, relationships of employees and managers are also influenced by these cultural factors.

Ethnic differences affect consumers’ taste and regard for the product and the customers’ decision to buy the product. This was proven in several studies involving different ethnic groups, for instance, the studies conducted by Schuman et al. (2004). One significant finding made by their studies is that there are important differences existing for a single group, like Asians or Hispanics.

Different cultures practice marketing principles differently, particularly in the art of advertising. Thus, advertising in Vietnam has evolved from unbranded practice to buying brands. Times change and so do people’s concepts for brands and the products they want to buy.

Advertising has to conform to the prevailing situation, for example, while the Vietnamese love brands, due to the budget constraints they patronize or purchase the unbranded ones. Generic and pirated products from China force Vietnamese consumers to buy the unbranded ones. But advertising does not change because of the unbranded ones.

A part of the literature discussed in this paper is the universality in advertising. This means that concepts of advertising are the same all throughout the universe. Advertising is an exciting profession because it taps an individual’s talents and creativity.

Without creativity, advertising is dull and useless. Consumers will not spare a portion of their precious time reading or watching a program. But the most creative advertising will affect consumers’ decision to purchase the product and their propensity to buy.

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