Country of Origin Effect

The foreign branding or country of origin effect describes the influence that the image may have the country of origin on the perception of a product or a service. Companies can also consciously use this effect in the context of image transfer strategies for the marketing of their products.

Image impact of a country

Certain things symbolically shape the positive image of a country. This can be, for example, landscapes, buildings, personalities or cultural peculiarities or characteristics generally assigned to the residents (hard work, humor, joie de vivre, ...). The setting of the consumer to a brand and their readiness they can buy from the associations depend on that link them to the country of origin.

In order to implement the country-of-origin effect, there are numerous options in addition to traditional advertising to convey the country's image, such as brand name, logo , packaging and sponsorship . The goal of differentiating oneself from the competition by referring to the country of origin and benefiting from the transfer of positive image components of a country to one's own brand cannot be achieved by using a mark of origin alone. The entire communicative brand presence must be tailored to the country of origin.

Examples of the country-of-origin effect

The Switzerland is known worldwide for high quality work and precision in the watch industry and uses that image to other products and brands. Information such as “Swiss made” or images of the Swiss Alps are intended to convey a positive image of the country and convey positive associations. The French use their national image primarily for marketing strategies and marketing of wine and perfume. American companies often use the American lifestyle or freedom as an approach to image transfer for many products. German and Austrian brands also use this homeland effect. Audi is also communicating the slogan “Vorsprung durch Technik” in German abroad, signaling innovative German technology.

Advertising slogans from automobile manufacturers:

• VW : The Car (in the USA / China)
• Audi : Vorsprung durch Technik (in Switzerland / Australia / Great Britain / Denmark / Japan)
• Renault : Créateur d'automobiles (in Switzerland / Germany / Austria / Denmark)
• Seat : Auto emoción (in Germany and Switzerland).

COO Marketing

When companies try to communicate the country of origin (COO) to their customers, they use one of the following strategies:

• Use of "Made in ..."
• Use of quality and origin seals
• COO as part of the company name
• Typical COO words as part of the company name
• Use of the COO's language
• Use famous or stereotypical people from the COO
• Use of the flag or symbols of the COO
• Use of typical landscapes or famous buildings from the COO

Foreign branding

This branding strategy can not only be used to transfer positive characteristics of one's own country to the image of a product, it is also used in a targeted manner to use a foreign image for one's own product. The so-called foreign branding (foreign branding , one also speaks of "cuckoo brands") usually begins with the choice of a product or brand name that comes from the relevant national language or sounds like it.

Examples of foreign branding

• the Italian-sounding German fashion manufacturer " bruno banani "
• the Indian-sounding German outdoor equipment manufacturer " Tatonka "
• the German sounding British outdoor equipment manufacturer " Berghaus "
• the North American sounding German clothing chain " New Yorker "
• the Scandinavian-sounding US ice cream brand " Häagen-Dazs "
• the Russian-sounding German vodka brand " Puschkin Vodka "
• the Mexican-sounding French mixed beer brand " Desperados "
• the Japanese characters of the British textile brand "Superdry 極度 乾燥 (し な さ い)"

literature

• G. Schweiger, G. Schrattenecker: Advertising . Lucius and Lucius, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3825213706 .
• The image of a country of origin as the basis for the image transfer between country and brand image . In: Advertising Research & Practice . 3/1990
• The emotional impact of the product origin . In: Consumer Research, Research Group Consumption and Behavior . Verlag Vahlen 1994, pp. 157-170
• The Influence of Country of Origin and Brand on Product Evaluation and the Implications thereof for Location Decisions . In: CEMS Business Review . Vol 2., No. 1, 1997, pp. 5-26
• A. Strebinger, G. Schweiger: Advertising and brand research . 1st edition, Gabler Verlag, Wiesbaden 2006, ISBN 3-8349-0395-7 .
• Gereon Friederes: Country-of-Origin Strategies in Brand Management , in Advertising and Brand Research , Gabler Verlag 2006, ISBN 978-3-8349-9069-3

supporting documents

1. ↑ Aichner, T. 2014. Country-of-origin marketing: A list of typical strategies with examples. Journal of Brand Management, 21 (1): 81-93.