Submitted by Natalie Kaucic on the 2018 spring semester program in Rome, Italy…
International marketing is one of the four classes that I am taking this semester. I knew I wanted to take this class abroad because of the global aspect of the course. I thought it would give me a unique perspective on the material since I am currently an international student in Rome. I have taken a marketing class before, but it means something completely different when a teacher in Delaware is talking about product adaptation and market expansion into different countries and when a John Cabot professor is talking about it. In Rome, I can actually see how things are marketed differently in a real-world setting instead of just learning about it in a textbook. For me, walking into a grocery store and seeing the same products we have at home packaged in different ways is an international marketing lesson in itself. My favorite thing to look for is how Oreos are packaged. In the United States, we have the mighty four sleeve packet of double stuffed delights. We also have about six different flavors and the occasional new Oreo product like Oreo Thins. In Italy, the packaging is completely different. In Italy, most people do not live in a house and especially not in the metropolitan city of Rome. Since living spaces are small, so are the packaged goods. Italians won’t have the walk-in pantry that many large American houses do so they just can’t store the four sleeve “family size” package of Oreos. Instead, Italians will buy a single sleeve of Oreos at a time. This single sleeve also reflects the Italian grocery shopping culture. There is not a large crowd at the grocery store every Sunday, instead, Italians are shopping numerous times a week in small quantities to get the freshest ingredients and they only buy what they need for the immediate future. I have never seen an Italian check out with more than 20 items in their cart and never seen more than three bags of groceries packed for a customer. The Italian culture is based on freshness so the idea of having produce or even cookies for longer than a week is frowned upon and simply not done. By the small package of Oreos among other grocery store items, you can also determine how Italians cook and what they value. As I already mentioned, freshness is vital, but Italians also cook almost every single night. TV dinners are unheard of and simply not sold. Cooking a meal is not a waste of time in Italy, it is a tradition, a labor of love and a vital time for family. And since I’m speaking about Oreos, Italians do in fact enjoy this American treat and dunk them in milk, put them in their gelato and on top of donuts. Although my International Marketing class gives me the foundational knowledge I need and teaches me to search for these nuances in culture, it is the examples I find in the goods and service markets in Italy where I am able to expand my knowledge of international marketing.