International Blunders
We’ve all been told of some of the cultural differences around the world; and some of us have even experienced them. When it comes to business and marketing, you would think that companies would do a better job researching and understanding these differences before proceeding.  But luckily for our funny bones, they don’t always do that. Here are some international blunders:
- There was an American oil rig supervisor working in Indonesia. He happened to yell something to the Indonesian worker and soon found out that it is frowned upon to berate an Indonesian man in public. An angry mob began chasing the owner with axes.
- Kellogg began selling a brand of cereal called “Bran Buds” in Sweden. They soon had to change the name because it was roughly translated as “burnt farmer”.
- When Fresca began marketing in Mexico, they became aware that “fresca” was slang for “lesbian”.
- When an American man met with a Saudi businessman, they didn’t start out on a good note. The American refused a cup of coffee that was offered. In Saudi Arabian, this is considered very rude and negotiations didn’t go much further.
-  A certain type of cologne was being marketed in several Islamic countries. The ad was a picture of a man and his dog in a beautiful landscape. This venture failed because in Islam, dogs are considered unclean and didn’t speak well for that brand of cologne.
If businesses ever want to reach the international markets, they will need to do a little research. Finding out cultural norms with everything from acceptable forms of online payment processing to how they should shake hands is crucial to building those relationships.