Differenece in Global Brand Awareness-- In the US market vs. Asian markets

Most Americans have heard of brands like Levi's, Nike, McDonalds, Adidas, Wal Mart, and Ruby Tuesdays and know or use those brands regularly. Simularly, these names have also been in introduced in markets in Asia (ie. China/Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia) What I find so interesting is that although the brand name is the same, the perception of the brand is completely different in Asian markets; often having different status, products and styles that are specific to their market. For example, think about Levi's jeans in the US... although they are making attempts to become more fashion-forward, most people here don't associate Levi's with style or trendiness. In Asian markets, Levi's look very different and are very popular among the stylish urban youth. Levi's in Asia is known as a brand with high status and style and the denim designs are different and more edgy than the Levi's worn by Americans. The brand has an international appeal, and international brands are considered cool to the younger generations of Asia; who are exposed to different cultures and brands frequently (sometimes more so than American kids). Even though America is considered a 'melting pot', I think the difference between the concept of international exposure in Asia and the US is the level of accessibility and acceptance. Many [young] people in countries like China, Singapore, Korea, and Thailand know about the music and pop culture of each other's nations and are confronted with different languages everyday (for instance, if you ride the subway in Singapore you can see four different languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil) and many know more than one language...sometimes 2 or 3 different ones-- I meet very few (non-Asian) Americans who are familiar with trends or pop culture from other countries, especially when it comes to Asia.

With accessibility (international) I mean the ease in which a person can look/reseach/read about something from other country or language. For example, if I wanted to watch a Chinese movie, I couldn't just turn on my TV or go to my local dvd store and find much...but in places in Asia, it would be easier to watch an American movie....or Korean, or French, or Indian, etc.

Another example is McDonalds: in Asia, its different...it's really nice (clean too) , seen as a cool place to hang out by school kids, and the young employees are always polite, smiling and wear cute McDonalds trucker hats...however that's not quite what most Americans envison about McDonalds; for us it = older, disgrutled employees who sometimes are polite, (but let's be honest we don't really even expect them to be most of the time), cheap, not quality food, unhealthy...and is often associated with obesity and in general not the destination for hip Americans to go eat. Also Pizza Hut is almost like a 5-star restaurant some Asian cities; with appetizers, stylish lighting, and modern decor.

So why is the same American brand so different between the U.S. and Asian markets? I think to be 'different' is the only way for an American brand to succeed in Asia. US companies who assume that Asian consumers love American brands, who don't adjust their product offering or marketing, and who think the product is enough marketing alone are now regretting their arrogance as they attempt to recover from failed loses overseas. To me, that shows a major weakness in our economy and I am surprised when I hear about US companies failing in Asian markets...all those highly paid people and not one of them thought to open a book about Japanese or Chinese culture? Or that there is a significant cultural difference between the two? I think it's sad when a big, powerful company like Wal Mart fails in Japan while other international brands for example from Taiwan or Italy operate in that market with success. I think it important for American retailers to be aware of theses market-specific brand perceptions in order to ensure the success of their company.

Although the U.S. is a very influential country with a stable economy and a sizable middle class, we have a significant weakness that could hinder our future economic prosperity; our lack of global awareness in terms of people/business relations, culture, and language. Many American students do not learn a 2nd language and are not always encouraged to learn about other cultures. In general I think our education system should provide more of an international education to prepare America students for the future, especially Asian studies (including regions such as East Asia, India, the south Pacific, and the Middle East)

[This may be controversial to some, but this is just my opinion after living and studying in both markets. I believe both markets have strengths and weaknesses and think Americans should care about their future in the global economy--if you are patriotic and proud to be from the U.S., I would think you would want the best for your country. I say this because I have had some people express to me that learning about other cultures doesn't matter to them and that I am "un-American" by saying that our level of international awareness is low for a developed country and we should try to learn about other cultures...because these days it is vital to our economy.]