Executive Insights: Coordinating International Advertising—The Goodyear Case Revisited for Latin America

Abstract

In the mid-1970s, Goodyear's European advertising approach—designed to achieve an optimal balance between standardization and localization—was presented in a Journal of Marketing article. Since that approach was discussed, the interest in the standardize/localize issue has continued to receive extensive attention from both practitioners and academicians. This article reviews Goodyear's 1970s approach in light of today's global marketing environment and outlines how it differs from the firm's current patterned approach in Latin America. The steps followed in developing the current patterned approach are detailed, and the authors discuss the reasons for its success.