Heineken: Cultural Issues of a Global Organization
As the top beer selling company on a global scale, Heineken Inc. has persevered successfully across 70 countries of cultural differences in its 145-year history in the international industry. Marketing alcoholic beverages across many countries comes with language barriers, translation issues, cultural acceptance issues, and possible resultant misunderstandings by stakeholders. What may be accepted and understood as a socially responsible marketing message in the American market can be an insult to African or Middle East markets. A socially acceptable Swiss image of a girl in a bikini holding a bottle of beer can cause significant cultural rejection in conservative markets, such as Israel. Furthermore, target marketing varies from country to country because of age legality and local customs. As Heineken continues to dominate one of the most competitive industries in the world, they must also continue to consider, address, and positively influence multiple consumer cultures across their global market to maintain standing as a competitive international organization in their industry.
When advertising to a global market, Heineken must understand the language and cultural acceptance of alcoholic beverages within each country. In more conservative Arabian countries, such as Egypt, beer is still considered to be sinful by many locals but is slowly gaining acceptance partially because it is relatively low priced (Euromonitor International, 2012). Although not a major competitor in Greece, Heineken took advantage of the recent economic downturn with locally acceptable supermarket advertising featuring Heineken and Amstel beers as low-cost alternatives to the more expensive and socially accepted spirits (Euromonitor International, 2012). In Croatia where beer is a highly sought-after tourist beverage, Heineken owns and