An Alternative of International Brand Marketing: Regional Standardization on Strategic Components of Marketing Mix

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the central issue of standardization versus adaptation debated in international marketing and complement this knowledge with an implementation strategy. According to the literature and a case study of three MNCs in Asia Pacific region, this paper suggests that a proper dividing line between standardization and adaptation should be based on the "strategic components" of marketing mix strategy, which include brand name, product features, packaging graphics, and advertising strategy. Regional standardization is the first step for international brand marketing before global standardization. This is a new emerging concept of "regional standardization on strategic components, local adaptation on executional components." Five research propositions have been developed with discussions.