Most of the money spent on advertising in the United States goes to print ads. Local advertisers all over the country spend millions for newspaper ads in their own areas, from very small ones in weekly hometown newspapers to full-page ads in the New York Times. Because of the complexity of the American market, a lot of money is spentannually to analyze and conduct market surveys so that advertisers can target their ads for a specific group. In the U. S. the CEO often takes a personal interest in a company's image and advertising; American ad agencies are thus accustomed to working with the CEO and do not feel secure unless the CEO is involved. This is not true in Europe, where the advertising department of a company is usually the only group handling advertisements.
Americans like idealized images. The women in them are usually young, healthy, and beautiful, and the men are young, strong, and handsome. Children are clean and smiling. Even ads directed toward older population groups show young-looking though gray-haired people.
U. S. markets are segmented not only by age, gender, and Ticome but also by region and ethnicity. There are fast-growing ethnic groups who will exert a tremendous economic influence in the future, such as the American Hispanic population (there are now over 250, 000 Spanish-owned businesses).
The importance of getting to know local and regional customs and buying habits in the United Slates was emphasized to us by a European advertising executive: "Marketing, selling, distributing, and advertising have to be in the hands of local people. You can't just come in and say, 'Do it my way. '" Another advertising executive addressed the same point: "You must be very French in France, very German in Germany, and very American in America. "
The kinds of people who succeed in business in the United States are goal-oriented, concerned with individual achievement, and interested in the development of their own careers. They also tend to be pragmatic, assertive, and relatively egalitarian; at the same time they need constant feedback, evaluations, praise, and rewards—something they would not get in German or French business. Unlike business in France or West Germany, there are powerful American executives who are very young; Europeans favor older, more seasoned top executives. Women are found at top levels in some American businesses but are rare in Western Europe.
Decision making in American business is usually "top-down"— which means American executives often make decisions without consulting subordinates. The result is that decisions a re often made without crucial input from various levels within the organization. In a compartmentalized business organization it is very difficult to get vital information to the decision makers. This is certainly true in Germany and to a lesser degree in the U. S.
Many American businesspeople are driven to compete for promotion and will sometimes sacrifice social and family life to work, a situation rare in West Germany and France, where weekends and holidays are sacred and work is not always the dominant force in one's daily life.