ISSN : (Online)
DOI : https://doi.org/10.14377/JAPR.2013.3.30.39
Cross‐cultural Differences in TV advertising appeals : A comparison of South Korea and Russia
Abstract
- JAPR_2-1_39.pdf419.9KB
1. Introduction
1) Background and Purpose of the Research
We live in a global world. Developments in IT and transportation have contributed to making the world a smaller place. This has also been followed by a rapid shift in social and cultural paradigms. Developments in telecommunication’s technology such as the Internet, multi‐media, new forms of media and transportation are breaking down the barriers in the economic activities of each nation. Researcher of international advertising, de Mooij(1997) argued that there may be global products, however people are not yet completely global. In addition, enterprises are establishing a glocalized strategy in their pursuit of both global and local markets so as to be that company that leads the way both on global and local fronts. However, the importance for local cultural research even within a glocalized strategy, which has taken cultural characteristics into consideration, is being strengthened more and more.
It has already been 20 years since South Korea and Russia established diplomatic ties with each other. Since 1988, when the first trade agreement was concluded, Korea has become one of the largest trading and investment partners of the Russian Far East (Korenevskiy, 2005). Korea annually increases trade and investments flows to Russia and it should be noted that Korea has become the third largest trading partner of the Russian Far East in the 2010s. Russia’s gross domestic product is reported to be $2.022 trillion by 2012 making Russia the eighth largest economy in the world (IMF, 2012). Accordingly, the Russian consumer market is the sixth largest in the world in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) (CIA, 2012). The fast growth of the economy has made Russia attractive for global marketers.It was reported that many multinational agencies headquartered in South Korea have been seeking markets in Russia and bringing their offices to Russia.
At the same time along with their increased incomes, the Russian people have started to demand a wider choice of products and services. Russian consumers have become more used to employing advertising as their information source to make purchasing decisions, and in addition, more and more companies use advertising as a means to promote their products and services.
Advertising has become one of Russia’s fastest‐growing industries. According to Zenith Optima Research, Russia ranked as the tenth‐largest ad market in the world in 2011. At the current annual advertising spending growth rate, Russia is expected to surpass Spain and become the fourth biggest market in the EMEA (PwC, 2011). All this equates to tremendous opportunities for international advertising firms to help their present clients expand into Russia or to assist Russia with marketing their products abroad. This task, however, is particularly daunting for companies trying to do business with Russia because of the scarcity of empirical research.
Cultural differences serve as the hardest barrier to overcome as they have been deeply ingrained in the Russian citizens over hundreds of years. In fact, as some Korean firms have learned advertising that’s effective in other markets may not work at all in the Russian market. Therefore, a more detailed study that dives into the cultural differences that contrast country to country is still required.
Thus, this research aims to verify how well these two nations’ cultural characteristics are actually expressed through value appeals in advertising, by means of analyzing the similarities and differences of TV advertising aired in Korea and Russia. The reason why television commercials were selected as the medium to study is because they highlight cultural differences more clearly than any other medium. The cultural characteristics of Korea and Russia presented in TV advertising have essentially the same purpose: deliver information that’s easy to digest. However, even though the purpose was similar there were several differences found based on the awareness and effects of advertising between cultures.
We firmly believe that the empirical results acquired through this research shall provide not only academic theories, but also working‐level implications.
This data was compiled to help Korean advertisers, who are not familiar with Russian culture. This study will help them to better understand Russian cultural tendencies, and will logically explain cultural differences that exist between the two nations.
2. Theoretical Background
1) Concept of Cultural Values
Rokeach(1973) defines a cultural value as a unique behavioral pattern or purpose that is a continuous belief which is desirable both socially and personally. Several important points are emphasized in this definition. Firstly, the value is continuous, secondly the value is a belief, and the value, thirdly, is a belief for a desirable thing. Fourthly, the value is a behavioral pattern or purpose for living, that is to say an instrumental value or terminal value. The value, fifthly, is regarded as equally desirable personally or socially.
Furthermore, Kluchkhohn(1961), a cultural anthropologist, along with others have defined that the value may be explicit as a concept for the desirable thing, and characterize a concept or group, and all the other patterns of behavior for an individual or group, or external or inner concept which affects whilst making a choice among goals or means. Values were characterized as the concept that is generalized and organized for desirable and undesirable items in connection with a human being’s position, relationship and human beings versus environment, and personal relationships in nature.
Therefore cultural value is an important element that widely influences behavior. Cultural value dictates the behavior of human beings, and is a continuous force that drives motivation. Value is also considered to be a main part of someone’s personality; nonetheless it is learnt through experiences which are subsequently shared personally and socially. In this view, this was proven to be a concept which connects culture, social structure and personality, and plays a role as the standard for choice, belief, attitude and the behavior of mankind. (de Mooij, 1997)
2) Advertising and Culture
In the twenty first century in which various technologies such as transportation, telecommunication, IT, and the Internet, etc have developed and
the whole world has been integrated into a single market, advertising is no longer simply a service for sale. (Shin, Jong‐Gu, 1998) Advertising in a consumption oriented society does not only simply deliver a product’s functions or in‐depth information (denotation), but provides cultural images by means of various metaphorical expressions. (Kim, Hee‐Jin, 1996) The advertising acts as a cultural tool which strengthens the conventional values and cultural patterns, or can be used to change cultural values.
Interest regarding the relationship between culture and advertising started in 1950, and then rapidly increased since 1980. Each nation’s culture is inherent in advertising, which has been known by assertion of many scholars. Moreover, a culture is closely associated with advertising expressions and it should be deliberated, since international advertising can represent each culture through its advertising expression. Lately the importance of such advertising expressions has achieved recognition and many scholars tend to study cultures and expressions. Having compared 11 major journals in the advertising and marketing industry (Communication Research, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Journal of Communication, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly and International Journal of Advertising) published from 1975 to 2005 and analyzed the research over cultural values and advertising of 36 countries by Chang, Huh et al. (2009), the following study was selected as a preceding research from those stated hereinabove. (Refer to Table 1)
<Table 1.> Preceding Research on Advertising and Cultural Values
<Table 1.> Preceding Research on Advertising and Cultural Values
In addition, Ebren(2011) had analyzed 11 major journals published in the advertising industry from 2006 to 2011, in which cultural values had an influence on advertising. As a result, common things of these studies were mostly to compare U.S culture with that of other countries.
Therefore despite the fact that economic exchange is expanding, we have selected the field of South Korean and Russian TV advertising as an object of study, which has never been studied in a preceding study so far.
3) Analysis Model of Cultural Values
After understanding the cultural concept and importance of cultural differences in the advertising field, it can be said that appealing to the whole world using a single verbal and visual message is impossible. Consequently, a comparison standard for cultural values or analysis dimension is necessary. The analysis dimension for comparing the cultures systematically may be used as a means to categorize cultures, based on behavior trait and cultural comparison.
Analysis models vary country to country. This is because each country has differences in geographical, political, economical, social, enquiring, and cultural characteristics. When a country with its own culture communicates with another country with its own, they misunderstand each other or there are many parts that can’t be understood. Details regarding the analysis model of cultural values which are used most in the fields of marketing and advertising comparison are as followed.
Hall(1976), a cultural anthropologist, explained a High context culture and Low context culture in his book entitled <Beyond Culture>. People in the Low context culture directly and clearly communicate with others, and declare their intention by speaking or in writing. On the other hand, the communication for the High context culture is indirect, uncertain, implicative, and gives consideration to relationships with others. The Low context culture is more dependent on words or letters for delivering meanings in terms of communication, and the High context culture has less explicit expressions.
Trompenaars & Hampden‐Turner(1997) discovered differences in cultural orientation through academics, field experiments and over 15 years of study. They stated that problems for a culture are solved by a group, and suggested 7 cultural dimensions for finding solutions. As with all issues that arise out of relationships with others, such cultural dimensions were classified into ‘Attitude towards Environment’ in relation to environment issues and ‘Attitude towards time’ regarding issues resulting from Universalism vs Groupism, Neutral vs Emotional, Specific vs Disperse, Attainment vs Attribution, and the Passage of time.
Schwartz (1994) suggested a cultural model based on values from cross‐cultural perspectives. In 38 countries from 1988 to 1992, 45 valid values aimed at school teachers, college students, and office workers were drawn, and later became the 7 value types of cultural standards. These 7 types drawn above were classified into Conservatism, Intellectual autonomy, Affective autonomy, Hierarchy, Mastery, Egalitarian commitment, and Harmony.
Classification of cultural dimensions developed by Hofstede(1990), a cultural researcher, had been applied as one of the main analysis tools for cross‐cultural research over the last two decades. Hofstede initially developed five types of cultural dimensions (Individualism/Collectivism, Uncertainly Avoidance, Masculinity /Feminity, Power Distance, Long/short‐term Orientation) representing values in relation to Cultural Organization, and since 90’s researchers in marketing and advertising proved the possible applicability of cultural dimensions. (Milner et al., 1993; Mun, Yeong‐Suk, 2003) Values relating to consumption, analysis tools, which explain various values and motivations used in international marketing and advertising as well as prove useful in cross‐cultural analysis, were also provided. (Allbers‐Miller & Gelb, 1996; de Mooij, 1997; Milner & Collins, 2000; Taylor et al., 1997)
Hofstede’s cultural dimension model was also used in this study for analyzing TV advertising in Korea and Russia. Yet, as there were no findings on Russia’s society in the sector of Long‐term orientation/short‐term orientation from research outcomes of Hofstede, analysis was conducted in accordance with 4 cultural dimensions (Individualism‐Collectivism, Masculinity‐Feminity, High uncertainty avoidance ‐Low uncertainty avoidance, High power distance–low power distance). Its feasibility was proven to have been widely used in comparative research between conventional countries as well. Characteristics of four cultural differences used in this study are described in more detail as in <Table 2.>.
<Table 2> Characteristics of Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension
<Table 2> Characteristics of Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension
<Table 2> Characteristics of Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension
4) Trends of comparative study between Korean and Russian ad-vertising by Hofstede’s cultural dimensions
ccording to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, cultural characteristics of Korea show a High power distance, strong sense of Collectivism, High uncertainty avoidance, Feminity, and Long‐term orientation. Russian culture, in contrast, which is an intermediate society of Individualism and Collectivism with strong Feminine nature, shows a very High power distance, and scores High in uncertainty avoidance. (Refer to Figure 1)
In <Figure 1>, dimensions between Russian and Korean culture seem very similar. As for Feminity, Russia scored a 36 and Korea a 39. Uncertainty avoidance also scores high in Russia and Korea, and it is assumed that the ‘Safety’ value in Russian and Korean societies are very crucial. In spite of the fact that both Korea and Russia are countries with a strong sense of Collectivism, Russia would be more likely to be found in the middle of the spectrum of Individualism and Collectivism. Russia also has a higher degree of Power Distance than Korea.
[Figure 1] A Comparison of Cultural Dimensions between Russia and Korea Source: Hofstede official site, hppt://www.geert-hofstede.com
Such cultural characteristics were also found to be reflected in Korean and Russian ads, according to the study’s findings for conventional cultures and advertising.
a) Korean Culture and Advertising
Korean advertising shows Collectivism and prefers non‐verbal and an indirect style of communication. (De Mooij, 1997; Hofstede, 1990). In Korean advertising values such as ‘Self‐sacrifice’ etc. are frequently shown. Furthermore, most Korean advertising aims to show enterprises in a reliable and favorable light. Negativity or anything that goes against collectivism and harmony won’t be seen in Korean Advertising.
Korea with a High power distance often uses advertising appeals, which stand for position. For example, scenes in which seniors give advice to young people are seen frequently. It is because young people have respect for the elderly, which leads old actors to often appear in the TV commercials. Most products or brand spokesmen are elderly.
According to the findings of Jeong, Su‐Gyeong(1996), Koreans prefer to have a harmonious relationship whilst communicating, rather than being competitive like typical masculine cultures. Korea has a culture which con-nects through atmosphere, and an unspoken understanding, rather than through speaking or writing. Korean advertising also includes feminine culture by emphasizing on harmony, avoiding confrontation. Unlike the ads of countries with masculine cultures, which present emotionally, di-rectly, and have confrontation, Korea appeals amiably, intimately, and indirectly. Moreover, it has many implications and indirect expressions using its accommodation style.
Uncertainty Avoidance has an influence on the consumption attitudes of Koreans according to Lee, Mun‐Gyu·Mun, Yeong‐Gyeong (2008). Koreans inherently feel uneasy with a brand‐new product or a product they are not very familiar with. Koreans prefer to take their time and observe what others do. They decide to make a purchase only after closely observing others using a product,. That is why celebrity endorsed products and cam-paigns that use WOM(Word of mouth) strategy are highly effective in the Korean market.
b) Russian Culture and Advertising
Russia is a country with a very high power distance, according to the model of Hofstedes cultural dimensions. The study of Park, Gyeong‐Hwan(2003), a cultural researcher of Russia, showed that one of Russia’s cultural character-istics is to hold objects of great size in high regard, worshiping power, and size etc. A huge Kremlin, cannons, church bells etc in the Czarist era, and a huge dam, missiles, cyclotron and so forth under the communist regime are the examples. As shown hereinabove, Russians also prefer large‐scale adver-tising, especially for publicity events or advertising campaigns.
Collectivism presented as various forms throughout history (Shared re-sponsibility know as ‘Krugovaya poruka’ and ‘communalism’ etc, which had been a social convention since the old Slavic period) is shown stronger in Russian culture, rather than individualism. Such collectivistic dis-position greatly affects the advertising. Russians believe that the opinions of others are very important. They also believe advertising content is a good subject for conversation with relatives, fellow workers or friends, and moreover the opinions of others often influence evaluations for advertise-ments or brands.
Because Russia is a society with a strong sense of Feminity, Russians rank the following in order of importance ‘House’(86%), followed by ‘Family’(81%), and ‘Love’(78%). (Marketing lab of GIM Russia, 2009/ Refer to Figure 2)
[Figure 4] Value Hierarchy of Russians See Source : GIM Russia Marketing Research center,hppt://www.advertology.ru/article75105.
The strong feminity, part of the Russian culture, is mirrored in the advertising. Based on research of Russian advertising, when Russian viewers watch advertising, they think that strict morality is the most important value.
Also most Russians accept conservative and positive content in adver-tising far better than aggressive and progressive content. They have greater interest in things which are well known, understood, or explicable rather than unfamiliar things, violence, cynicism, lies or explicit sex scenes are all considered negative. (Latova&Latov, 2001)
According to Hofstede’s study, the uncertainty avoidance in Russia scores 95 points, which is very high. When Russians face a certain situation, it indicated that they have a tendency to try to solve it emotionally or by following their heart, rather than rationally or reasonably. (Park, Chi‐Oan et al., 2011) As the high uncertainty avoidance greatly affects Russian ad-vertising as per shown above, conversing about ‘Tradition’ and ‘Safety’ for the product rather than values of, ‘Adventure’ and ‘Youth’, will interest Russian consumers more.
3. Research Hypotheses
Hofstede’s (1980) cultural dimensions provided the first empirically and conceptually based set of value dimensions to compare cultures (Watson et al., 2002). In this study we took four dimensions of culture in which the two countries show some differences: i.e Individualism/Collectivism(Individualism index score: Russia 39, Korea 18), Masculinity/Feminity(Masculinity index score: Russia 36, Korea 39), Uncertainty Avoidance (UA index score: Russia 95, Korea 85), Power Distance (PD index score: Russia 93, Korea 60). And it can be expected that the differences in the dimensions will differently affect the use of advertising appeals in the two countries.
Therefore, the following hypotheses can be postulated:
<H1> Russian and Korean TV advertising will present different cul-tural values.
<H1a> An appearance ratio of ‘Individualism/Collectivism’ appeals in Russian and Korean TV advertising will be presented differently.
<H1b> An appearance ratio of ‘Masculinity/Feminity’ appeals in Russian and Korean TV advertising will be presented differently.
<H1c> An appearance ratio of ‘Uncertainty avoidance’ appeals in Russian and Korean TV advertising will be presented differently.
<H1d> An appearance ratio of ‘Power distance’ appeals in Russian and Korean TV advertising will be presented differently.
Since cultural differences in advertising are highly connected to types of products (de Mooij, 1997; Moon, 2003), it was determined what aspects the Korean and Russian cultural values appeared per product category, and the following hypotheses was established to verify these points.
<H2> The value appeals in Russian and Korean TV advertising will be differently presented per product category.
4. Methodology
Content for Russian and Korean TV advertising were analyzed in this study. The method of content analysis on the advertising is an important tool for studying the behavior of consumers (Kassarjian,1977), which is frequently used in order to search for microscopic and macroscopic con-sumer behavior issues. An observation method by content analysis is to analyze by means of a proper method (e.g, who, what, why, or how has it been influenced? etc) in the case of the research for conversation and communication, not the behavior of the targeted subject for observation or incidents to be observed. This study, therefore, collected TV commer-cials from Russia and Korea, and selected a method of content analysis based on categories to analyze the contents of cultural values, which are presented in the advertising of each country.
1) Sampling
660 TV commercials were collected and analyzed. The Korean sample (330 TV commercials) was obtained from the commercials of prime‐time programming broadcast on the three free‐to‐air Korean‐language terres-trial channels (MBC, KBS and SBS) from January 2012 to January 2013. And the Russian sample (330 TV commercials) was also obtained from the commercials of prime‐time programming broadcast on the three free‐to‐air Russian‐language terrestrial channels (ORT, RTR and NTV) from January 2012 to January 2013. Long running advertisements were limited to a single view to avoid unnecessary data duplication, and sales promo-tions, events, and advertising by sponsorship or public service advertise-ments were excluded from the study. It was determined that the advertising televised in both countries during this period was not influenced by events, incidents, and seasons.
2) Coding Instrument
Out of 42, 28 advertising appeals in which Pollay(1983) developed to analyze the contents of TV advertising were in use. Having referred to the findings of conventional studies which cultural dimensions of Hofstede were applied to analyze advertising, appeals relating to each cultural di-mension were categorized as in the following. (Albers‐Miller & Gelb, 1996; de Mooij, 1997; Shao, Raymond, & Taylor, 1999, Mun, Yeong‐Suk, 2003) Appeals such as ‘Independence’, ‘Distinction’, and ‘Security’, which represent self‐satisfaction, uniqueness, and product benefits for ap-pearance or body health, were included in the Individualism dimension, as everyone is free to choose in a individualistic society (Hofstede, 1980). Whereas in a collectivist society everyone is required to overvalue a decision made by a group and is emotionally dependent on an organization and local community, and the idea of belonging is emphasized (Hofstede, 1980), appeals such as ‘Community’, ‘Popularity’, ‘Succorance’ were in-cluded in Collectivism dimension. (Refer to Table 3)
<Table 3> Categories: Classified into 28 small appeals of Pollay(1983) according to Hofstede‘s cultural dimensions
<Table 3> Categories: Classified into 28 small appeals of Pollay(1983) according to Hofstede‘s cultural dimensions
<Table 3> Categories: Classified into 28 small appeals of Pollay(1983) according to Hofstede‘s cultural dimensions
While masculinity represents a society’s preference toward achieve-ment, heroic deeds and material success, feminity represents personal rela-tionships, relationships with family, modesty, and the protection of the weak etc. (Hofstede, 1983; de Mooij, 1997) Thus, appeals ‘Effective’, ‘Convenient’, ‘Productivity’ were classified into the Masculinity di-mension, and ones of ‘Naturality’, ‘Frail’, ‘Nurturance’, ‘Family’ into the Feminity dimension. (Refer to Table 3)
As dimensions of uncertainty avoidance are about anxiety and necessity for safety, dependency on experts and applicability of information (Hofstede, 1980, 1990), ‘Safety’, ‘Technology’, ‘Tradition’, ‘Durable’ ap-peals were categorized into High Uncertainty avoidance, and ‘Adventure’, ‘Magic’, and ‘Youth’ appeals into dimensions of Low Uncertainty avoidance. (Refer to Table 3)
People in a society with High Power distance use symbolic objects of status to display their strength through spending power which allows them to standout. Those that possess great and many experiences are also revered. So, it positively correlates with the dimension of High Power distance, whose ‘Status’, ‘Ornamental’, ‘Vain’, ‘Dear’ are high. On the other hand, people in a society with a Low Power distance tried to appear as if they had less power, believing that inequality should be minimized. Furthermore, be-cause the level of power distance tends to lower when the educational stand-ards increase, the dimension of Low Power distance positively correlates with ‘Cheap’, ‘Humility’, and ‘Wisdom’. (Refer to Table 3)
All commercials were classified into 11 product categories: Automobile, Home appliances, Electronic goods, Cosmetics, Food, Beverage, Cleanser, Finance, Retail, Clothing, Telecommunication etc.
3) Coding Procedure
he two coders both have resided in the relevant countries for over 5 years. Coders both attended graduate school in Korea and posses an ex-cellent command of the Korean language with scores higher than 5 on the TOPIK exam (Korean Proficiency Exam). After presenting about 10 % of each sample commercials, the coders identified the product category and the main appeal of each commercial, which was decided mainly by the overall impression or the key elements in the visual or audio messages (Moon, 2003). After the two coders analyzed the sample commercials the coding reliability of the two coders was checked to make sure it was over 85%. This is the method used most frequently in analyzing expressions in advertising, which applied to the minimum 85% of mutual reliability between coders set by Kissarjian (1977). As a result of verifying the reli-ability, the mutual reliability coefficient between the coders was 90% on average, which is considered a stable reliability coefficient. The reliability coefficient was of the highest standard and both trustworthy and objective.
A total of two coders whom which completed pre‐training carried out the analysis of TV advertising for the two countries.
5. Result
1) Comparing the advertising’s cultural values
(1) Dominant appeals
<Table 4> Comparing advertising samples of the two nations with domin- ant appeals, were based on 28 categories. The top 5 appeals for each country revealed the most about their cultural values. Korea scored as followed ‘Conv-enient’(9.4%), ‘Effective’(8.8%), ‘Ornamental’(8.8%), ‘Distinctive’(6.7%), and ‘Youth’’(6.1%). Russia scored as followed ‘Family’(14.8%), ‘Nurtu-rance’(9.1%), ‘Safety’(6.7%), ‘Technology’(6.1%), and ‘Ornamental’(5.8%). Thus it was proven that the appeal of ‘Ornamental’ was dominant in both samples. In samples for Korea the two appeals ‘Independence’ and ’Humility’ were found only twice respectively, and ‘Wisdom’ was found less than twice. In samples for Russia, the two appeals ‘Independence’ and ‘Humility’ were never found, ‘Succorance’ had a frequency of less than two and ‘Wisdom’ scored a two.
<Table 4> Comparison of each country toward TV advertising's appeals
(2) Analysis based on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions
Cultural value differences presented in TV advertising in Russia and Korea are as follows <Table 5‐1>, <Table 5‐2>, <Table 5‐3>, and <Table 5‐4>.
Results after cross‐analyzing the differences on UND(individualism and collectivism) for each country showed significant differences statisti-cally; 49.2% and 50.8% were shown respectively for individualism and collectivism in Korea, and 22.5% and 77.5% were shown in Russia, sug-gesting that collectivism was outnumbered. (Refer to Table 5‐1)
<Table 5-1> Results of cross analysis of individualism/collectivism toward Russia and Korean advertising
Whereas the ‘Distinctive’ individualistic value appeal among 7 small appeals of individualism/collectivism was found most commonly in Korean sampling, ‘Affiliation’ collectivist small appeal was found more in Russian samples. In Korean sampling, furthermore, individualist value appeals(‘Independence’, ‘Distinctive’, ‘Security’) and collectivist values appeals(‘Community’, ‘Popularity’, ‘Affiliation’, ‘Succorance’) had sim-ilar ratios, while collectivist value appeals were relatively found more in Russian sampling. (Refer to Table 4)
The results of having cross‐analyzed the differences of each country’s MAS(Masculinity and Feminity), indicated that it had significant differ-ences statistically: In Korea Masculinity was slightly outnumbered with 60.4%, yet Feminity was outnumbered in Russia with 74.8%. (Refer to Table 5‐2)
<Table 5-2> Results of cross analysis of uncertainly avoidance toward Russia and Korea's advertising
It also indicated that among the 7 appeals associated with Masculinity/Feminity Russia chose ‘Family’ and ‘Nurturance’ feminity values more, and ‘Convenient’ and ‘Effective’ masculinity values were found more in Korean samples. In summary, whereas feminity value ap-peals(‘Family’, ‘Nurturance’, ‘Naturality’, ‘Frail’) in Russian sampling were found more than masculinity value appeals(‘Effective’, ‘Convenient’, ‘Productivity’), masculinity value appeals were used more in Korean sampling. (Refer to Table 4)
Analysis regarding each country’s certainty and uncertainty avoidance showed that there were significant differences statistically as shown in <Table 5‐3>; A high score, 58.0%, was given to the uncertainty avoidance for Korea, and a much higher score, 74.4% was given to the uncertainty avoidance for Russia.
<Table 5-3> Results of cross analysis of uncertainly avoidance toward Russia and Korea's advertising
While ‘Technology’ and ‘Tradition’ among the 7 appeals, associated with high uncertainty avoidance were found more commonly in Korea, appeals like ‘Technology’ and ‘Safety’ were found more in Russia.
It, further, showed that value relating to ‘Youth’, which is among appeals connected with dimensions of low uncertainty avoidance, were found more in Korean sampling compared to that of Russia. (Refer to Table 4)
As for the dimensions of power distance, there was not much difference between countries in the 7 appeals of power distance, but Table 5‐4 shows that high power distance’s appeals (‘Ornamental’, ‘Vain’, ‘Status’) were often found in both Korea and Russia‘s sampling. (Refer to Table 4)
<Table 5-4> Results of cross analysis of power distance for Russia and Korea's advertising
(3) Comparison of Advertising Appeal Value by Product Category
<Table 6‐1> and <Table 6‐2> Indicates how often appeals used by each coun-try according to product categories were found. Because there were so many cases whose frequency of use was below 5 per table, result analysis was con-ducted based on its frequency, not through cross analysis. It shows that according to the product category of each country there was a difference in not only domi-nant value appeals used, but value appeals used by country in the same product category. It compared dominant appeals with sample advertising of each country by product category: As for Korea, ‘Distinctive’(13.3%), ‘Technology’ (13.3%) appeals were commonly found in the Automobile category, whereas ‘Safety’(13.3%), ‘Tradition’(13.3%), and ‘Status’(13.3%) etc. were commonly found in the Automobile category for Russia. As for Korea, ‘Technology’(13.3%), ‘Status’(13.3%) appeals were commonly found in the Home appliances category, whereas ‘Family’(23.3%), ‘Technology’(16.7%), and ‘Nurturance’(20%) etc were commonly found in the Home appliances cat-egory in Russia. As for Korea, ‘Convenient’ (20%), ‘Family’ (13.3%), and ‘Technology’ (13.3%) appeals were commonly found in the Electronic goods category, whereas ‘Family’ (13.3%) and ‘Traditional’ (13.3%) etc were com-monly found in the same category for Russia. As for Korea, ‘Effective’ (16.7%) and ‘Youth’(16.7%) appeals were commonly found in the Cosmetics category, whereas ‘Technology’(20%) and other appeals were commonly found in the same product category for Russia. As for Korea, ‘Effective’ (16.7%), ‘Traditional’(13.3%), and ‘Family’(13.3%) appeals were commonly found in the Food category, whereas ‘Family’(23.3%), ‘Naturality’(10%) etc were com-monly found in the same category for Russia. As for Korea, ‘Naturality’ (20%), ‘Family’(20%), and ‘Ornamental’(13.3%) appeals were commonly found in the Beverage category, whereas ‘Family’(20%), ‘Traditional’(13.3%) and ‘Nurturance’(13.3%) etc were commonly found in the same category for Russia. As for Korea, ‘Effective’ (20%), ‘Convenient’ (20%), and ‘Safety’ (16.7%) ap-peals were often found in the Cleanser category, whereas ‘Family’ (20%), ‘Safety’ (16.7%) and ‘Nurturance’ (13.3%) etc were often found in the same category for Russia. As for Korea, ‘Convenient’ (20%) and other appeals were commonly found in the Finance category, whereas ‘Safety’ (16.7%) and others commonly found in the same category for Russia. As for Korea, ‘Ornamental’(16.7%) and other appeals were commonly found in the retail cat-egory, whereas ‘Family’(13.3%), ‘Adventure’(13.3%) etc were commonly found in the same category for Russia. As for Korea, ‘Effective’ (16.7%), ‘Ornamental’ (16.7%) and ‘Youth’(13.3%) appeals were commonly found in the Clothing category, whereas ‘Ornamental’(16.7%), ‘Affiliation’(13.3%), and ‘Productivity’(16.7%) etc were commonly found in the same category for Russia. As for Korea, ‘Convenient’ (16.7%), ‘Traditional’ (13.3%), ‘Productivity’ (13.3%) were often found in Telecommunication category, whereas ‘Family’ (40%) and ‘Affiliation’ (13.3), etc were often found in the same ategory for Russia.
<Table 6-1> Use of value appeals of each Korean product category
<Table 6-1> Use of value appeals of each Korean product category
<Table 6-2> Use of value appeals of each product category in Russia
<Table 6-2> Use of value appeals of each product category in Russia
6. Conclusions
1) Discussions and Implications
Our study indicated that advertising appeals in the TV commercials of South Korea and Russia, based on conventional studies which had used Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, had associated with cultural character-istics of a society in four dimensions (Individualism/Collectivism, Masculinity/Feminity, Uncertainty avoidance, Power distance). When comparing Individualism/Collectivism value appeals presented in the ad-vertising of Korea and Russia, collectivism appeared far more frequently, and collectivist appeals appeared the most in Russian advertising. On the contrary value appeals in individualism were used by a similar proportion in Korean advertising. In value appeals related to Masculinity/Feminity dimensions, Russia showed a strong sense of feminity and displayed ‘Family’ and ‘Nurturance’ value appeals frequently, while it often used appeals (‘Effective’, ‘Convenient’) of masculinity inclination despite the fact that Korea shows a strong sense of feminity. As Russia is a society with higher uncertainty avoidance than Korea, samples from Russia showed that Russia tended to use ‘Safety’ and ‘Technology’ appeals more than Korea. Korea’s samples indicated that the ‘Youth’ value appeal asso-ciated with the dimension of low uncertainty avoidance was also used frequently. Differences of cross cultures within the power distance di-mension did not show, yet samples of South Korea and Russia indicated that appeals (‘Ornamental’, ‘Vain’, ‘Status’) with a high power distance were commonly used.
With part of the findings having been verified, it suggested a possibility of the influence of a value paradox in terms of the usage of advertising appeals. Researcher of international advertising, de Mooij(1998), insisted that a desired thing related to an individual choice needs to be distinguished from a desirable thing more related to social norms, noting that contra-dictory values are found in many cultures and even such a value paradox is expressed through advertising. Because the role of advertising is to have consumers make a choice, showing something to be desired more at the individual level is just as natural as it is in social contexts. Moreover, Shao et al. (1999) pointed out that countries that have gone through rapid eco-nomic developments are especially sensitive to a value paradox. (Moon, 2003)
Therefore, as for the concept of a value paradox, value appeals (e.g, a desirable appeal socially) which correspond with the cultural dimensions of Korea and Russia, that have undergone rapid changes lately, were ex-pressed through advertising communication. Yet it also proposed that val-ue appeals (e.g, an appeal desired individually) contrary to cultural di-mensions may be presented as well. Looking at the value paradox found in this study, it emphasized on an ‘Effective’ masculinity appeal, despite the fact that Korea has a strong sense of feminity. Also, value appeals of collectivism and individualism were used by a similar proportion in Korea with a strong sense of collectivism, while Russia, between individualism and collectivism, used more collectivist value appeals than those of individualism. This study reconfirmed that advertising value appeals were used differently according to the types of products. For instance, ‘Ornamental’ value appeal was mainly used in the Clothing category for both nations. In Korean samples, it showed that the value stated above was frequently used in Cosmetics, Food, and Retail categories, but in the Electronic goods category for Russia. The Telecommunications advertis-ing category for Russia highly emphasized on feminity values like ‘Family’ etc, however the ‘Convenient’ appeal was considerably used in the same category of advertising for Korea. ‘Effective’ and ‘Convenient’ appeals were highly emphasized in the advertising category for Cleaners in Korea, while ‘Family’ and ‘Safety’ were emphasized in Russia. ‘Convenient’ was mostly emphasized in the advertising category for Finance in Korea, while ‘Safety’ was highly emphasized in the same category of advertising in Russia. ‘Family’ and ‘Nurturance’ were frequently used in the Electronic goods advertising category for Russia, whereas ‘Technology’ was highly emphasized in the same category of advertising in Korea. ‘Convenient’ was highly emphasized in the Finance advertising category for Korea, whereas ‘Safety’ appeal was frequently used in the same category of adver-tising in Russia. Such findings suggested that it is important to consider not only the differences across cultures, but also the influences of different products have on a culture. These findings should prove very useful for those working in international advertising.
Differences in value appeals for South Korean and Russian TV advertis-ing were discovered through these research results, and suggest the following.
From a theoretical perspective, this study established the differences of cultural characteristics between Korea and Russia, according to the theo-ry of Hofstede’s cultural comparison, providing comprehensive data for comparative analysis per product category regarding TV commercials. Despite the fact that there were no suitable categories in comparative re-search for Korean and Russian advertising, measured categories from Pollay(1983)’s advertising value category and Hofstede’s cultural di-mensions provided further comparative research of South Korean and Russian advertising.
From a practical perspective, it implied that methods for delivering ad-vertising messages should be differentiated by applying the cultural values of Russia, when Korean enterprises make an entry into the Russian market. Korean enterprises should establish an advertising strategy suitable for the cultural characteristics of Russians in terms of executing the advertising communication and values like ‘Family’, ‘Nurturance’, ‘Safety’, and ‘Technology’ frequently found in Russian advertising must be taken into account.
Also, according to the results of this study, we determined that Korea, one of the representative collectivist and feminity country in the past, equally shows a sense of individualism and masculinity in terms of adver-tising value appeals. Therefore collectivistic values such as ‘Distinctive’ or masculinity values like ‘Effective’ and ‘Convenient’ frequently found in Korean advertising could be used to establish an advertising strategy suitable for Korean market.
2) Limitations and future suggestions
We have discovered limitations and directions for future research, our findings are as followed.
Firstly, as the sample size was not big enough, detailed analysis was not conducted. In future studies, more samples will be required to carry out a more in‐depth comparative analysis according to product categories.
Secondly, this study cross‐analyzed only value appeals of Korean and Russian TV advertising. Yet, it is a fact that in advertising there exist a varie-ty of elements such as message form, characters, background, music, crea-tive strategies and so on, besides such factors stated hereinabove. We must expand our scope to include these elements to have a more comprehensive analysis of advertising in future research.
Thirdly, the study compared TV commercials of South Korea and Russia around Hofstede’s theories. Future research must apply various the-ories of cultural comparison suitable for modern culture into a cross re-search of Korean and Russian advertising as well as Hofstede’s theories.
Fourthly, comparing only TV advertising of Korea and Russia is re-garded as a limitation. We think that a cross‐research in multilateral per-spectives in relation to especially new media ads like Internet, SNS etc, which are expected to continuously develop, is required in the future.
Lastly, as the advertising reflects the change of an era, cultural values presented in ads vary depending on changes of society and generation. The rapid growth of Russian and Korean economies is driving big changes in the values of the younger generations in these two nations. Therefore, re-search in advertising, consequently, must continuously be conducted with targets subdivided.
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