From industry to Luxury: French Perfume in the Nineteenth Century
According to this article, the perfume industry started getting more attention from the nineteenth century. This is a period when people started concentrating a lot on their body odors. People became sensitive to unpleasant odors. Initially, one could tell the difference between the rich and the poor by just paying attention to their body odors.
However, during the nineteenth century, technological and cultural developments brought a positive change in the society. The cost of producing perfumes decreased hence making it affordable to everyone in the society. Innovations emerged that ensured the production of a lot of perfume to cater for the growing demand.
The increase in the demand of perfume made the income generated to shoot up and consequently led to the increase in the number of perfume houses. The number of middlemen also increased in order to help in the distribution of perfume from the manufacturer to the consumer. According to the article, large flower farms were established to provide raw materials to the perfume houses.
The author talks of how many perfumers used their names in their perfume brands. A perfumer is another name for the perfume manufacturer. The perfumers who were famous at that time dominated the market. This is because people like being associated with fame or products of familiar people.
The stiff competition in the perfume industry made perfumers to devise ways to ensure maximum profits for their products. For instance, some perfumers chose to sell their products in nicely decorated boutiques to attract wealthy clients. The decorations were an excuse to justify the high prices. The perfumers also discovered that packing their products in nicely decorated containers brought in more sales.
Marketing management
According to the author, the Japanese cosmetic market is second largest in the world. Women play a crucial role in the cosmetic market since they are the main consumers of beauty products.
In the 1970’s, many women did not pay much attention to their personal grooming as most of their time was spent doing housework, and taking care of their children. Most of them were not employed and, therefore, could not afford to buy cosmetics. However, after the oil crisis in 1973, many women got jobs and were able to buy cosmetics.
Advertisements play a vital role in the usage of cosmetics, in Japan. This is because Japanese people are very sensitive to culture and religion.
They have a materialistic culture, and this explains why they like emulating the western culture which is said to be advanced. Celebrities are preferred when it comes to advertising Japanese cosmetics. This is because the consumers like being associated with the prestige and the sophistication that comes along with fame.
Also, Japanese manufacturers prefer using the television media and magazines to advertise their products, as opposed to newspapers and radio. However, the internet proved to be the best medium of communication between consumers and the manufactures. This is because through, the internet, the manufacturers can get different views concerning their beauty products.
The author suggests that, in future, Japanese advertisements need to be localized in order to reach a large number of users. He further acknowledges that the degree at which cosmetics are used in Japan depends on how the product is advertised, packed and how it is branded.
Language for International Business
The author explains how language has a significant impact on advertisements in the French market. English, which is not a native language in France, has been widely used in the overall advertisements of cosmetics. This is due to the fact that English is globally recognized as the major commercial language.
As discussed in the article, imagery is commonly used particularly in recent French advertisements. Imagery is a rich form of language that helps in creating mental pictures in the consumers’ minds. With the use of imagery, one statement can have various interpretations depending on the consumer’s culture.
A number of American brands such as the Coca Cola, Starbucks and McDonald’s have found their way into the French market. This has sparked a lot of debate on how to advertise these products. Post cards have been popularly used in the French market since many people like communicating with their loved ones through this medium of communication. International companies such as IBM have greatly relied on post cards.
The Microsoft Company recently used the print media in its effort to reach the French audience. The message was simple but funny enough it was a smashing success. The message which read “one second between sunset and sunrise” evoked a lot of curiosity among the French consumers.
What Microsoft meant was that it could keep a firm running 24/7. Many firms chose to conduct their businesses with Microsoft because, in the business world, time is money.
The author further asserts that the French consumers prefer products which are natural and environmental friendly. The consumers will always go for products which cannot harm their health. English has borrowed some words from the French language, and this has created a strong relationship between the two nationalities.
For instance,’ lite’ is a French word adopted by the Coca Cola company to advertise its diet soda. The soda is now globally recognized as Cola Lite.
The use of English in French advertisements has become exceedingly common. On the other hand, English has not borrowed as many words as its French counterpart. English is a second language in many countries and is appreciated by many consumers around the world.