Marketing in Japan & the U.S.

Japanese consumers are moving from passive status to involved participants, often dictating what the end product will look like (Mummert, Orr, and Yorgey 14-19). The Japanese younger consumer demands to be involved and to be heard. The Japanese market is becoming a consumer--driven marketplace, although the evolution has not reached the point where the Japanese marketplace is comparable to that in the United States within this context. The Japanese consumer, however, is moving in the direction of dictating where and when they buy and from whom.

The principle of face-to-face business transactions has long been considered an essential ingredient for success in the Japanese market ("SunExpress" 40-42). Japanese customers tend to be fascinated with the promise of fast, quality mail order sales, but also remain skeptical that a direct marketing company can live up to its promises. The consumer in the United States, by contrast, has embraced direct marketing.

In the past, segmentation in Japan was done by demographics (Mummert, Orr, and Yorgey 16). Segmentation in contemporary Japan, however, tends to be based on product

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vertising Certain topics are taboo in advertising messages in many countries (Magnier 6A). Americans have a tendency to think that the existence of such taboos is an indication that advertising freedom is much greater in the United States. In fact, however, there are numerous cultural taboos associated with the practice of advertising in the United States. The American taboos are simply different from those that prevail in other countries. Advertising has been found to be more effective in Japan, as an example, when the advertising message focuses on Japan no matter how nebulous the connection may be (Cody B1). A major difference between advertising in Japan and that in the United States is the type of sell. A soft-sell approach is necessary in Japan, whereas hard-sell advertising is typical in the United States (Lin 40-48). This difference reflects cultural differences. Showing anger and disagreement in advertising in Japan is counterproductive. By contrast, anger and disagreement frequently appear in American advertisements. While the emphasis on various media for the presentation of advertising tends to vary across countries, the relative effectiveness of the advertising does not vary to as great an extent. Advertis
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Approximate Word count = 1797
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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