How Marketing Impacts Your Product on a Global Scale

Environmental factors can be political, social, ecological, cultural, technological and ethical in nature. Any organization that develops a product or

service that they want to market domestically or globally must consider what the impact each of these factors may have for them. Not considering these

factors can result in the failed attempt to market a product, which may be successful domestically, in other countries where there is a significant

market potential.

PepsiCo is a large company which conducts both domestic and global marketing and is very well known. One of the main products and one that I use everyday

is Pepsi. PepsiCo also produces Quaker Oats, Lays chips, Gatorade, and Tropicana orange juice.

With the world so focused on ecological factors in today's environment it is only wise for PepsiCo to align itself with the majority. 2005 has seen

PepsiCo immersed in ecological environmental factors. Domestically PepsiCo has pledged themselves to the Greenhouse Gas Cuts, hoping to reduce gas

emissions enough to equal the use of 5 million automobiles (PepsiCo.com). In June 2005 PepsiCo opened a new state-of-the-art Frito-Lay plant in Texas

which is environmentally friendly and will serve as a model of resource conservation through innovations in renewable energy, alternative lighting,

energy efficiency standards and environmentally intelligent choices (PepsiCo.com). Internationally PepsiCo's beverage and snack has implemented a number

of water projects such as the one used in Europe, India and Latin America where rainwater is harvested to help replenish aquifer supplies (PepsiCo.com).

Without complete market research a company can encounter humorous and often embarrassing disappointments when it comes to cultural environmental factors.

In 1960, Pepsi's marketing managers learned a tough lesson about the language differences and how a successful English based product slogan can become

lost in translation. The Taiwanese consumers were reported to be taken aback by the Pepsi slogan "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation", which translated

into Taiwanese reads "Pepsi will bring back your ancestors from the dead" (Feingold, 2000). This marketing mistake caused obvious embarrassment among

Pepsi's top marketing managers, though this would not be the last time that they were too hasty in their pursuit of the international marketplace.

Technology can influence domestic and global marketing decisions and marketing and public relations common sense, especially when it opens any number of

doors to being able to tap into a vast global marketplace. Information technology is increasingly becoming important as an enabler to being able to

operate efficiently, interfacing with consumers and maintaining financial accuracy and effectively managing resources. PepsiCo has embarked on a

multiyear business process transformation initiative that includes the delivery of a SAP (a computer system that will link all of PepsiCo's systems and

processes) enterprise resource planning application (PepsiCo.com). This application will help to divert the possibility of PepsiCo not being able to

process transactions accurately and effectively or remain in step with the changing needs of the trade, which could result in the loss of customers.

Failing to deliver this application on time or anticipate the necessary readiness and training needs could lead to business disruption (PepsiCo.com).

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Minority populations are growing faster then the population overall. Each year, racial and ethnic minorities constitute a greater share of potential

consumers, employees and retail customers. Because of this PepsiCo employees receive human rights training, in which they explore the human rights

intrinsic to all and the importance of sustaining an inclusive nature (PepsiCo.com). PepsiCo's code of conduct requires all employees to follow local

employment laws and regulations, including labor laws and treatment of employees. This type of thinking and training helps to show itself in the

marketing practices of the company. In being able to achieve a high standard for ethical, social and environmental views PepsiCo has helped to ensure

that their reputation will take no damage which could result in a rejection of their products by consumers and a loss of brand equity (PepsiCo.com).

Environmental factors can significantly influence domestic and global marketing decisions. As such, it is an organizations marketing managers

responsibility to research legal, social, ecological, cultural, technological and ethical factors that may negatively impact the success of a product

marketed. Past, present of future, it pays to invest in market research in the hope of revealing the potential of all environmental