Chapter 7: Exploring Consumer Perceptions of Global Branding and Iconization

From the Book: The Refractive Thinker®: Vol. II: Research Methodology

Summary

Global usage of the Internet continues to increase exponentially, yet non-English-speaking audiences misperceive the meanings of corporate communiqués. Diverse communities of global consumers purchase products based on a positive image of the product as reflected in the content found on the Internet, and social networking applications such as DIGG, Facebook, Flickr, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube, which includes text, images, and icons. Corporate leaders may not have an awareness of the common elements present in successful Internet communiqués as comprehended by different cultures. In this article, a qualitative, phenomenological data analysis was used to explore the perceptions and feelings of a purposive sample of participants regarding content found on global corporate Internet applications. Each participant in the study spoke English or a combination of English and Spanish and explored their perceptions and feelings regarding global Internet applications. The following five themes emerged from the research results regarding consumer perceptions of global Internet applications: (a) product, (b) information, (c) people, (d) simplicity, (e) and brands. Information gleaned by this study regarding consumer behavior can be incorporated into a comprehensive global marketing campaign that can be used by leaders to expand business internationally.