So much unites us today as a hyper-connected global community. Still there’s no denying the many differences that make each culture unique. Thank goodness we are not all the same!
Marketing, however, is most efficient when we can develop global campaigns that work across borders. A single campaign, adapted to local language and with imagery that connects with local consumers can work very hard at building a consistent brand image, while reducing creative development costs and production timelines.
The trick is to find a single overarching idea that is globally relevant.
So how do you find this balance between globally relevant and locally inclusive? Here’s some guidance that has worked for me.
Form a working group
One effective tactic is to co-create your campaigns in close collaboration with representatives from each of the markets where your creative will run. Form a working group at the outset of the project. Make sure you bring this team along every step of the way, starting with the creative brief. If your local teams feel listened to and included in the process, their will be a shared sense of ownership. This support system will facilitate selling in the creative work to local management.
You will also infuse this valuable local perspective on consumer insights and product differentiation into the brief, which in turn should lead to development of creative concepts that resonate more broadly.
Culture check your creative concepts
Once you move into the creative development stage, to avoid rejection and rework, be sure to conduct “culture checks” at key points in the developmental process. Sometimes we don’t realize how some creative ideas are simply not easily translatable outside of our maternal language. For example, concepts that work on plays on words that are intrinsically linked to English expressions. If the gag doesn’t work abroad, then it’s not appropriate if the goal is a global campaign. The sooner you realize this and move on to another idea, the better.
First start when you have initial creative concepts. Check in with your working team of local marketers and ask a few simple directional questions: Is this concept easily understood? Will this concept work with local consumers in your market? Any issues to keep in mind? Do this before you present your concepts to the key decision makers in your organization so you can be confident all your creative directions could work in the countries in project scope.
Then check again after you have selected the final concept and developed full copy and are ready to produce or search final imagery. Sometimes particular color schemes have strong associations, especially in some Asian countries. Or perhaps the tone in your writing is perceived as too assertive or perhaps too informal for some markets.
Be open to offering a level of flexibility
Ultimately, when final creative is then adapted into each of the local languages we have to be willing to let go a little and allow for some customization of the global campaign so it truly works everywhere. This may be replacing the image with a similar alternative that reflects local ethnicity. Or revising the headlines so they remain short and punchy versus lengthier literal translations. By involving your working group from the beginning so they fully understand the campaign objectives, you will trust them to localize the campaign in the best way possible.
