business psy/322

1. Japan to Apple iPhone "No Thanks" and Would Mickey Mouse Eat Shark Fin
Soup these two case studies shows what happens when consumer behavior and
marketing mix in globalization goes very wrong. These two studies reveal how marketer
think they are giving a wonderful product and service in the case of Apple's the iPhone
and Disney the Shark's Fin Soup. Understanding the consumer’s behavior and the
customs and values of the culture impacted these two campaigns. Apologies good
media press and changes in the strategy to get the approval of the consumers. Both
case studies points out the impact of technology and how it at first affected the
campaigns for bad with negative that changed the reputation of both companys.
Apple's dilemma was very embarrassing for the company with negative reports
and predictions of how the iPhone was going to sell in Japan. The propaganda was
already put out to the media about the Japanese saying No Thanks to Apple concerning
the iPhone 3. Apple thought that Japan would be ecstatic with the new product but
supposedly the opposite occurred with reports of weak showing of the iPhone3. Of
course with Apple being the cutting edge in technology and innovation in the western
world Japan did not feel the same way about Apple's iPhone3.
First Japan was a hard market to try to get into the for Apple and their competition
Nokia, and Motorola, whose attempts to grab Japanese customers were futile. So this
was going to be a difficult campaign for Apple. At the time Japan was hostile toward
western brand including Nokia and Motorola which I thought were Japanese brands.
What’s wrong with the iPhone, from a Japanese perspective? The high monthly data
plans that go with it, its lack of features, the low-quality camera, the unfashionable
design and the fact that it’s not Japanese.

2. Besides cultural opposition, Japanese citizens possess high standards when it comes to
cell phones. The country is famous for being ahead of its time when it comes to
technology. Japanese consumer rather would use their own brand even if the feature is
not used frequently. For example, Japanese handset users are extremely into video and
photos .The iPhone had neither a video camera nor multimedia text messaging. A
highlight feature enjoy on their handset is a TV tuner. Many consumers also used their
cell phone as their only computer device and also as a TV. The monthly rates was
considered to expense and many consumers did not want to pay the monthy bill.
Apple had to make decision because the consumer’s behavior was very different in
Japan. The Japanese in the time of No Thanks were more communal than individualistic
which a new trend with the younger generation is. They were not considered
conspicuous consumption they way it is in western countries. The Japanese way of
consumer behaving was inherited from Edo Period of history (each class had it own
code) Brand shopping revealed two things about the Japanese consumer social status
and quality of product. Japanese consumers are known for being demanding with
products. The Japanese consumer shopped mostly in department stores but now this is
changing with malls. The Japanese consumer is a cautious spender and that is why the
monthly charge for service was problem for Apple. They are also very environmental
aware and health conscious. Apple did not understand that Japan demographic of aging
is very large with life expectancy being vey long. So Japan has a big 60 plus consumers
demographic that live by the old tradition, values and customs.
These consumer behaviors were very different from the western marketer Apple did not
take these in to consideration when the iPhone came out. The marketer had to start at

3. zero level and make huge marketing decision for the Japanese market. Quality of the
iPhone its features had to be reintroducing to the consumers to the cell phone market in
Japan. Many iphones were given away so as to help the consumer get comfortable with
the iphone a great strategy. The monthly pricing had to be adjusted but they really had
to do with the value of the Yen.
The Bloomberg report today notes that the iPhone has captured 72 percent of the
Japanese market. High price, lack of a video camera and support for multimedia
messaging, all three of those shortcomings have been addressed. “Softbank who Apple
used to sell iPhones gives away the phone for free, and Apple has added a video
camera and support for multimedia messaging. The Bloomberg report further suggests
that those moves were just what the iPhone needed to gain a foothold in Japan, which
we also acknowledged in a report published August 2009.”(Tewney ,2008)
Would Mickey Mouse Eat Shark's Fin Soup? Became fiasco for Disney with reports that
Disney wool start serving Shark Fin Soup to their customers in Disney Hong Kong. In a
feature dated May 18, the Hong Kong Standard reports that shark fin soup, along with
roast suckling pig and sliced abalone, will be included in wedding banquets Disney is
promoting at the two hotels at the Hong Kong Disneyland resort.
Shark’s fin soup is a traditional Chinese delicacy popular at weddings and other
important social events. Eating shark’s fin soup carries cultural significance and is seen
as luxurious and a display of affluence and generosity. However the process by which
sharks are caught and killed to provide the ingredients has long been criticized for the
way in which fins are harvested. A 2004 survey by the International Union for the

4. Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found that out of 262 shark species around the world, 56
were endangered. The Hong Kong Standard publishes a follow up to the story on May
23 and reports that Disney’s plans to serve shark’s fin soup have outraged local
environmentalists.
Under the environmentally umbrella Disney has integrated conservation efforts into its
daily operations. The company says its employees around the world proactively support
environmental initiatives through all aspects of its business and states that it is
“committed to balancing environmental stewardship with our corporate goals throughout
the world.”
Disney lesson was tradition and customs no longer overruled environmental issues
because affluent consumer wants a certain food or clothes. The voice of green and
environmental safety out powered and was louder than the money of the wealth who
wanted the Shark Fin Soup. With the new rising environmentalist animal cruelty
advocate this was not going to be easy for the affluent consumer to win. Disney was
going to have to make a decision not to serve the soup at all and it did.
Globalization, can intentionally or otherwise remove social and cultural differences,
which can often have a bearing on consumer behavior and in turn, lead to brands
developing a more consistent global identity, one which doesn’t have to worry about the
backlash of possible misinterpretation in other parts of the world. This isn’t to say that
marketers believe cultural issues are no longer important. In fact, quite the opposite is
true. The more information a brand holds about the world and its contrasting consumers
the more chance it has of understanding and manipulating them. The interlocking of

5. economic spheres is another aspect, which has affected consumer behavior for very
different reasons all together. The European Union and the combine currency of Euro
connecting different countries with the same currencies make for a huge consumer
behavior being established. This was also the problem with Apple's because Japan
does not have the same cultural values as the western hemisphere which was a
learning campaign for Apple's globalization.
The arrival of the Internet and advances in technology have succeeded in
breaking down social and cultural barriers, but have not succeeded in stopping the
masses from being continually guided by those who are learning more and more about
them and the way they behave.
In conclusion these two global business dilemma help to open the way for a
precise understanding of different culture that helps with evolving of globalization to
include all cultures and to give the best culturally socially, environment decision while
giving the best service and product.

6. Key Characteristic of The Japanese Consumer (2014) Retrieved from:
http://www.slideshare.net/rpretet/key-characteristics-of-japanese-consumers
CRS ASIA (2014) Retrieved from :http://www.csr-asia.com/weekly_news_detail.php?
id=5318
Consumer Behavior (2014) Retrieved
from:http://publicresearchsystems.blogspot.com/2009/01/report-on-global-factors-
affecting.html
Why Japans Hate Apple (2014) Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2009/02/why-the-
iphone/
. “Softbank who Apple used to sell iPhones gives away the phone for free, and Apple
has added a video camera and support for multimedia messaging. The Bloomberg
report further suggests that those moves were just what the iPhone needed to gain a
foothold in Japan, which we also acknowledged in a report published August 2009.”
Why Japans Hate Apple (2014) Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2009/02/why-the-
iphone/
Would Mickey Mouse Eat Shark’s Fin Soup Retrieved
from:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/17/business/worldbusiness/17shark.html?
pagewanted=all&_r=0