In your opinion, is a blend of standardization and differentiation the most successful marketing strategy for global corporations? Give reasons to support your answer.

Answers will vary. The tension between standardization and differentiation is often not resolved by international companies just choosing one or the other; rather, they often must determine how to balance them for each product in each market. In fact, for many global corporations, the most successful marketing strategy is a blend of standardization and differentiation. The right blend enables companies to achieve economies of scale by standardizing products as much as possible and creating a brand that is recognizable across continents, while retaining the flexibility to customize products and marketing efforts to the end user based on market preferences. This blended approach is known as glocalization (GLObal + loCAL). Glocalization means balancing global integration while still meeting the demands of local culture.
McDonald's is widely considered a master practitioner of glocalization. On any given day, the fast-food chain serves more than 69 million people in over 100 countries. If you were to spend the next few weeks traveling around the world, visiting the golden arches in each of these countries, you would find the goat cheese Le McWrap Chèvre in France, the lamb and Arabic flatbread McTurco in Turkey, and the grilled salmon McLaks in Norway. In addition, you'd find jasmine tea in Singapore, chopsticks in Japan, and a wide variety of vegetarian options in India. While maintaining an internationally unified brand, McDonald's has glocalized to become culturally in touch with all 69 million of its consumers. Through its glocalization strategy the company has standardized its restaurants, its advertising, and its prices while differentiating its product.
McDonald's isn't the only company to maximize market share by glocalizing. During the 1990s, Unilever recognized a demand for ice cream that appealed to consumers in Asia. The company was able to make slight changes to its standard ice cream recipe by adding ingredients engineered to appeal to Asian tastes, such as lychee and green tea. As a result, it claimed 41 percent market share by 2000. Disney has also glocalized its theme park franchise by incorporating local architecture, folklore, and cuisine into the design of its parks in Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. In 2012, the Italian company Piaggio, which manufactures the Vespa scooter, released a model specifically designed for the Indian market. The Indian Vespa had better gas mileage, higher ground clearance, and a lower footboard to accommodate Indian women riding sidesaddle on the back.
Adopting a glocalization strategy means making adjustments according to regional consumer needs. By selling products and creating experiences that appeal to local tastes, producers are able to build a level of brand loyalty across borders that would be impossible with a standard, homogenous product. In addition, glocalization allows companies to maintain a level of standardization that lets them build a global image that transcends cultural barriers.
The section "Glocalization" on pages 312-313 discusses why a blend of standardization and differentiation is the most successful marketing strategy for many global corporations Students can use this section to make their own interpretation and answer this question.