The mobile phone market has proved to be a fast growing market all over the world. During the 90s, companies began an aggressive strategy to reach the whole society. Now in most developed countries the penetration rate (percentage of people that own a mobile phone divided the whole population) is over 70%, and in some nations, such as Spain and Italy, there are more cellular phones than inhabitants. In most of these countries almost every adult has a phone, that's why companies direct their new campaigns to young consumers, especially teenagers. This paper will focus on three markets, the French, the Chilean, and the Dutch. All of these nations have a high rate of mobile penetration, over 75%, and companies have aggressive campaigns to capture the few inhabitants that still haven't got the product. For the Netherlands and France it is not surprising to realize that cellular phones are widely spread in the society, with a penetration rate of 81% and 75% respectively. The Chilean case is somehow surprising and completely a different to the scenario in the rest of Latin America. This country has one of the most open economies in the world, and many companies have entered the market offering low rates. These firms also profit from the trade agreements with the European Union, the United States, and Asia, which allow them to import new models for very competitive prices.
[...] The mobile phone is in this case seen as a constant link with his friends, to the extent that all other activities are not worth anymore. Relating this example to the previous one, we could say that personal ties are seen as quite weak, and mobile phones are to be the remedy. In Chile, friendship is even more important, but is strongly linked to a sense of loyalty. One could say that is specific to Latin countries, as we already encountered in the French case. [...]
[...] Conclusion Mobile phones are now widely spread all over the world and are increasingly becoming part of our life. Even though its utility and even the gadgets are the same in almost every nation, the way they are sold differs among countries. Marketing researchers usually try to identify several characteristics of the culture and even specific behaviors of consumers and include these elements in advertisements, and then buyers believe they need the product. By focusing on cultures or small groups, companies create a demand for their product, and many time consumers engage in unnecessary transactions. [...]
[...] Dutch ads usually show the characteristics of their new phones rather than focus on fares. Probably people in the Netherlands trust that the company is charging them a fair price and prefer those phones with more gadgets. In the Dutch market firms usually have similar rates and differences between companies are rather few. Dutch consumers are looking for better technology, and that's clear in specially the Hi and the KPN ads. For example KPN has an advertisement in which the dad is far from home during his son's birthday, but with his modern mobile phone he is able to be close to him, and even share a cake with the boy. [...]
[...] It has to do again with the sense of honour rooted in the French society. To sum up, the Chilean and French cultures still considers the family as important, even if in the French case personal honour is very much involved. In the Dutch case, family is a marginal value, but not an absent one. Concerning friendship, it is very important in Chile, as well as in the Netherlands. It is less emphasized in France. Engagement and trust The way these cultures deal with engagement and trust it is also an important element that appeared in these ads. [...]
[...] As to the Netherlands, institutions are not specifically crushed. Nevertheless, as in the other two countries, young generations are the core target of mobile phone companies. This underlines a shift in terms of income power as teenagers have now a lot of money to spend. Contrary to their parents, they are not especially suspicious toward new technologies. Besides, an other cultural change, which is highlighted in the advertisements, is immigration. Of course, this only applies to the two Western countries studied, the Netherlands and France. [...]
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