University of Cooperative Education, Mannheim
Faculty of International Business Administration –
Study Term: WIBA 03 B, 5th Semester
Training Company: SAP Systems Integration AG
Bürstadt, 9 December 2005

Advertising in Poland and Germany - A Comparison

von: Sotirios Dramalis

Table of Contents

1 POLAND’S ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION AND THE RISE OF THE POLISH ADVERTISING INDUSTRY  1

2 ADVERTISING THEORY 3

2.1 Marketing Communication  3
2.2 Definitions and Objectives of Advertising 3
2.3 Major Elements of Advertising 5
2.4 Advertising and Culture 7

3 ADVERTISING IN POLAND AND GERMANY – RESULTS OF A SECONDARY-STATISTICAL ANALYSIS  8

3.1 Poland’s and Germany’s Advertising Market 8
3.2 Legal Conditions and Consequences for Advertising  9
3.3 Advertising Infrastructure  11
3.4 Reputation of Advertising in Poland and Germany 17
3.5 Cultural Attributes of Poles and Germans and their Impacts on Advertising  19

4 POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE ADVERTISING MARKETS OF POLAND AND GERMANY  27

TABLE OF SOURCES

STATEMENT OF ACADEMIC HONESTY

Table of Abbreviations

EU = European Union
HR = Human Resources
OECD = Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
ZAW=  Zentralverband der deutschen Werbewirtschaft [German Advertisers’ Association]
 

1 Poland’s Economic Transformation and the Rise of the Polish Advertising Industry

In 1989 Poland entered the free-market economy. Radical and consequentlyexecuted reforms transformed the country’s economy from central planning to a free-market system. Accompanied by many international companies investing in Poland and the rise of numerous enterprises in the small- and medium-sized business sector Poland’s GDP increased by 30% in 2002 as compared to 1989’s level. Modern Poland has achieved a fully functioning market economy which has recently been acknowledged by its inclusion into the European Union. According to government prognoses Poland will have a growth rate of 5-6% in 2005. This prediction is confirmed by the European Commission and the OECD (Instytut Koniunktur i Cen Handlu Zagranicznego 2002, p. 32).

Poland is also one of the most attractive countries of the former Soviet block for foreign investment (Piekarski 2005). It offers a large market with about 40 million potential consumers, its political system proved to be stable and the early economic reforms provide the country with numerous benefits in the present. Poles are very keen towards the free-market economy. After being restricted for many years in the communism era, they are now ready to spend beyond their means to get branded goods which are new on their market. Therefore, contrary to many Western consumers, they pay much attention to advertising offers (Moczarski 2005). Furthermore, Poland is the ideal location to start entering further Eastern European countries and many international companies chose Poland to manage their Eastern European advertising activities from there (Wollschläger 1999, p. 162). Both number of advertisers and expenses for advertising have rapidly increased in Poland in the last years. From 1993 to 1994 advertising expenses grew from 299 to 469 million dollars. Continuous economical reforms and expenditure further contributed to this growth. Consequently, the case of Poland provides an ideal opportunity to study the impact an economy’s stage of development has on advertising management (West / Paliwoda 1996, p. 82).

Poland also offers huge potentials for its neighbouring countries which is especially true for Germany. From a German perspective it is eminently important to understand the differences between the German and the Polish culture as culture has a major impact on advertising and communication. The above justifies and is reason enough to have a deeper look at the Polish advertising market with reference to Germany. Therefore these issues will be dealt within the following study paper. It starts with theoretical background information on advertising and then continues with a secondary-statistical analysis of major advertisement conditions in the Polish and German markets. This involves comparing the legal framework and general infrastructure (advertising agencies, media) for advertising in the two countries. Furthermore, the attitudes of Poles and Germans towards advertisement will be explained as well as the influence the Polish and German cultures have on advertising appeals. The comparison concludes with an outlook on the further development of the advertising markets in Germany and Poland by stating potential similarities and differences.

2 Advertising Theory

2.1 Marketing Communication

Advertising is a part of the promotion or communication mix within operative marketing. Marketing communication includes other fields, such as personal selling, online marketing, public relations, event marketing, sales promotion, direct marketing and sponsoring which all need to follow a consistent messaging (Rogge 1988, pp.18-21). Many companies are nowadays adopting the concept of integrated marketing communications. In this approach companies integrate and coordinate all their communication efforts (including advertising) centrally from one department to reach a clear and consistent product image in the marketplace. An improved communication consistency has positive impacts on a company’s sales performance, too (Kotler et al. 1996, pp. 631-632).

2.2 Definitions and Objectives of Advertising

Several business scientists have tried to define advertising. One of the most popular definitions is the one by Kotler who views advertising as any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor (Kotler et al. 1996, p. 626). Another definition is offered by Rogge for whom advertising is an instrument within the marketing mix to reach the marketing objectives of a company by providing information about goods and services to the users and buyers of a product in a given market (Rogge 1988, p. 29). An additional perspective is provided by Pepels who defines advertising as a conscious influence of market relevant opinions of targeted individuals by using instruments which intend to adapt the opinion of reality to the own objectives and expectations (Pepels 2004, p. 9).

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