When I picked my friend up from the airport after a short-term study abroad session in Italy, I naturally asked how her trip was. She looked at me, smiled and said something along the lines of, “I have discovered the most delicious thing in the world.” I expected her to say fine Italian bread, or pastries, or anything along the lines of cultural food. With a mischievous grin, she opened her suitcase and there they were—three cans of her beloved Pringles Paprika chips. She was beaming! About 2 months later, I left for a study abroad trip and was in search of the Paprika chips to bring back as a gift. I bought some for myself and, though I hate to admit it, I too became hooked on the Paprika chips! After I was home for about two weeks, I began to crave them, so I went to the grocery store just to look around in hopes they would be there. Much to my disappointment, they weren’t. That same night I went to a cookout and tried a flavor of chips for the first time: Barbeque…wait, Paprika? Yes, you guessed it! Barbeque chips in the U.S. are the same as the Paprika chips in Europe! What a concept. Both Lays and Pringles knew “Barbeque” the way the U.S. knows it, wouldn’t make sense in Europe, so they decided to rename the chip!
Taking culture into consideration is vital when companies want to expand and market their product in other countries. Some products simply don’t translate. It is necessary to understand different markets and customer needs, or it could be a catastrophe. When embarking on an intercultural marketing campaign, it is essential that companies think about these scenarios. They may have to alter their product slightly, but it will translate more successfully. Though Lays and Pringles gave up the name “Barbeque,” they kept the idea of the chip and changed the name to the main ingredient in the chips, Paprika. Also, they had to note that “chips” in many countries are our “French fries,” and are instead referred to as “crisps.” Next on American shelves: the popular “ham” flavored chip from Spain, or the Mayonnaise Cheese flavored Pringles from Japan! Just kidding.
Rachel Kaylor
IMC Hawks Blog 
LOL!! That’s quite a story. We actually just finished discussing in my Organizational Communications class how you cannot take the same product and just ship it off to other countries as if they will completely understand what is going on. That was quite sneaky/smart of Lays/Pringles to do that with their chips, but they were thinking. Relating back to Seth Godin’s “Driveby culture and endless search for wow” blog, Lays/Pringles were focused on trying to get this product out there to the rest of the world. They had to go a different route, but I’m sure that they knew that the world would eventually put two and two together.
What a great idea for the company to do to pull a pran kon consumers. They knew that if consumers thought they were just bbq chips, they wouldn’t have any different experience than they would at home! Plus, it would get consumers hooked on something they felt was new! Great blog!
That was a great observation! I think it’s so interesting how a company changes the packaging or the name slightly, but still keep the same product, just to appeal to it’s international customers. That is great marketing, the fact that it’s the same product, has the same popularity, but completely different way it’s presented to another country.
I agree with Rachel that companies do alter or change a few things about their products, so the products can be marketed worldwide. Some words have differnt meaning in some countries than they would in another. An example of this is KFC’s slogan “Finger Licking Good,”in Japan this means “eat your fingers off.” Another example is when General Motor introduced the Chevy Nova to South America and it would not sell beacuse Nova translates in spainish to ” it won’t go” These are just a few examples of what can happen if a company does not have the right marketing approach for that specific market.
I completely agree that intercultural marketing campaigns have to be tailored to each country. We all remember the story of the Chevy Nova who, during a marketing campaign in Mexico, failed to realize that the car’s name translated to “No Go”…not a great quality to look for in a car! I think the example of the Pringles also shows why each little detail matters. If Pringles had kept the BBQ name, they probably would’ve still sold chips, but by taking into account the lack of American BBQ in Europe, they were able to establish a relationship with their European customers instead of showing a blatant disregard of the culture. This definitely is a great example of why Intercultural Communication and Interpersonal Communication are so important to learn about! And Mayonnaise Cheddar chips…yes please! (kidding…)
Products localization is a part of marketing strategy thus it is not something new and i agree that it is a highly essential thing to do. Another example of this is McDonalds. They localized their menus in every country, for example my cousin in studying in Japan and she said that all the menu is with fish.
The one issue that sometimes is forgotten when localizing a product is the norms of the other country.
Ps. I’m quite sure there is Lays BBQ AND paprika in Europe, at least in the Netherlands. And the tastes are different.
You’re right! In some places in Europe they have BBQ & Paprika – but I dare you to try a bag of each side by side. Why do you think they would have BBQ in areas such as the Netherlands? Hm…Millions of American tourists? If you’re traveling, often times you look for something familiar!
I really enjoyed this blog, mostly because I plan on working abroad, hopefully for an advertising agency (my dream job). We don’t think about it much here, but it is so important to take culture into consideration. Just the other day in my business Spanish class we watched commercials from Latin America and they are so incredibly different from what we would show here. I can’t wait to be involved in that research and finding out about other cultures! Thanks for this awesome blog.
I like this post, mainly because I love chips and I love to travel. It’s so cool to see the differences companies make in other countries in order to sell their product better. It makes sense, since languages and cultures vary so greatly around the world that a product that works in one country may be a complete failure in another. This was a really cool topic to introduce.
Intercultural Communication never ceases to amaze me. I find it really fascinating that something as simple as the name of a product can influence the way people perceive it. Sometimes it isn’t just cultural barriers, but language barriers also that must be taken into account. Another example of an international marketing blunder was when Pepsi’s American slogan (“Come Alive with the Pepsi Generation”) was translated in Taiwan to “Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead.” Language barrier or not though, it is important to realize that products translate differently to customers throughout the world and companies who don’t take that into account will likely suffer because of it. It is important to be well informed on the cultures you are marketing to so as not to make a mistake that could easily be avoided. I really enjoyed this blog—it was great!