The myth of the invincible global brand – understanding the drivers of brand loyalty
Nigel HollisMillward Brown, United States
Jorge AlagónMillward Brown, Mexico
INTRODUCTION
In 1983, esteemed academic Theodore Levitt made this pronouncement in the Harvard Business Review: “Gone are accustomed differences in national or regional preferences.” Levitt asserted that the world was going global, and that before long companies would be marketing their brands the same way everywhere.
Levitt's provocative assertion helped spark a massive effort by many multinational corporations (MNCs) to take their brands global. Now, over twenty years later, the brands that have...