International Advertising: Researching Culture

Quantitative Elements of International Research

"Quantitative" means things that are easily counted. So for example, for advertising and marketing purposes, you may want to know things like this about a country and its residents: 

• GDP (overall wealth of a country)
• GDP per capita (how much spending money does the average person have?)
• Rate of inequality (how much of a divide between the haves and have-nots?)
• Largest contributors to the country's GDP
• Biggest employers (specific companies, and overall industry -- e.g., mining, agriculture, tourism)
• Financial infrastructure (how does the banking system enable, or not enable, purchase behavior?)

All of these things and more could affect how you can effectively advertise to consumers in that country. 

Qualitative Elements of International Research

"Qualitative" means things that are NOT easily counted. So for example, for advertising and marketing purposes, you may want to know things like this about a country and its residents: 

• Language and dialects, and the cultural implications of using one language over another in a certain region (French vs. English in Quebec, for example)
• Greetings
• Customs
• Taboos
• Expectations of people of certain genders, ages, ethnicities, or social level
• Clothing and dress expectations
• Body language
• Religious observance
• Amount of regulation of media (see Regulatory Bodies in the right column)
• Social media usage and attitudes

Because these things cannot be easily counted and quantified, these areas can be a much bigger minefield for companies entering an international market!

The sites and tools below attempt to describe and quantify the interpersonal and intangible elements of culture.