When General Motors was launching its new Nova car in Spanish speaking Puerto Rico, it came up against a linguistic problem that in the era of global marketing is legendary. It transpired that `No Va' in Spanish translates as "does not go". The list of other such potential pitfalls in global promotion is endless. In China the `Come alive with Pepsi' slogan was translated into the rather macabre `Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the dead'. A beer company that boasted the slogan `Turn it loose' was given an unappetising mistranslation in Spanish - `Get diarrhoea'.

Language is just one of several key issues to be taken into account when promoting a cohesive global product and a crucial element of the global marketing mix.

But while there may be global brands, is there a global consumer? Some marketing experts do not believe so. Quoted in the Financial Times recently, Mr Nicholas Trivisonno, chairman and chief executive of AC Nielson, the US-international market research company, maintained that the global consumer did not exist:

"There is no global consumer. Each country and the consumer in each country has different attitudes and different behaviour, tastes, spending patterns," he said.

However many companies adopt a marketing strategy that imbues their product with a global image. Certain adjustments will always have to be made in areas such as distribution and pricing - but as far as some companies are concerned the world is a single marketplace.

Mr Andy Williams, general manager of Pepsi Co Ireland, explains its approach to promoting its soft drink around the globe. "We look for consistency in all our promotional work. This can be seen from the uniform signage, posters and packaging on our products around the world," he said.

Sometimes though, local advertising - such as the recent UK and Ireland Pepsi campaign featuring Boyzone - will differ from market to market. The Spice Girls, meanwhile, were at the heart of a global advertising campaign.

As we have seen, language will often dictate the name that appears on the can or bottle or packet. In Russia, Thailand and China the word Pepsi is unreadable so it is translated into the local language.

"It is a challenge to maintain the consistency and integrity of the brand. Issues such as the colour of the logo and the type of font used are very tightly controlled," said Mr Williams.

While the Coca-Cola brand would share a similar global philosophy, it, like Pepsi, will sometimes take a more local promotional approach. A television advertisement for Coke in Russia features a young man on a Moscow subway relaying an updated version of an old Russian folk tale about the firebird. The slogan is `Drink the legend'.

The distribution chain, packaging and pricing are three other elements of the global marketing mix that can differ depending on the country in which a product or brand is introduced.

The Campbell Bewley Group exports large amounts of tea to Europe and Japan. A local distributer sells the product through the most appropriate outlets - in Japan it is upmarket department stores with food halls. In terms of pricing, Bewley's tea costs much more in Japan than anywhere else, a development that is due to freight costs and exacerbated by the currency crisis in Asia.

A very real illustration of how the cultural sensitivities of consumers must be taken into account can be seen in how the Campbell Bewley Group packages its goods for Japan.

"The Japanese customer is very particular," said Mr Tom Brennan, group marketing director. "Every little detail has to be spot on".

Packaging has to be even more tamper proof than other markets require and loose tea has to be put in cellophane bags before it goes into a tin. "It is a challenge, and we feel that if we can satisfy the Japanese market we can satisfy anyone," said Mr Brennan.

The McDonalds food chain is an example of how a globally recognised entity can modify promotional ideas depending on the market.

Promotional ideas are regularly shared by franchisees from country to country. The current potato wedges campaign is back after research and analysis showed that it had proved popular with Irish consumers.

Around the world McDonalds has offered different selections depending on the consumer from serving wine in France and beer in Germany to dishing up McSpaghetti in the Phillipines.

For many companies it is a case of trial and error, as Mr Tom O'Toole, lecturer in international marketing with Waterford Institute of Technology explains:

"It is definitely an experience issue," he said. "Companies must try to develop their cultural competence and ensure that this is appreciated at every level in the organisation. If promoting a product in Germany, you have to become as German as the Germans themselves". He gives one instance where an Irish company spent £10,000 on a brochure for the French market only to have it scoffed at by the peeved continental customers because it was full of grammatical errors. It meant starting again at a loss of £10,000 and showed that in terms of global marketing there are tangible benefits in really doing your homework.

In one obvious example an Irish crisp company, Perri, took the simple step of translating their packaging into Russian when they moved into that market - it was a step which saw their sales there dramatically increase.

Next week the Business 2000 feature will explore the part ethics have to play in the business world