Embracing globalisation

While feelings of love are universal, an Argentinian person says, “I love you” 24 times a week, while a Japanese person says it less than once a week. Seemingly disparate cultures can provide a real challenge to brands with global aspirations.

Accessible technology has propelled globalisation, giving everyone access to international communication and a taste of foreign cultures and experiences. Brands can, and should, take advantage of this opportunity by creating values that cross borders and targeting nationalities who are the best fit for their service or product.

McCann Worldgroup published a worldwide survey of public sentiment toward globalisation. The research shows that public attitudes vary widely from country to country, both toward the phenomenon of globalisation and towards the brands that seek to engage with global audiences.

Suzanne Powers, global chief strategy officer at McCann Worldgroup, says, “The surprising finding that more than four-fifths of the world’s population believe that global brands can make the world a better place suggests that marketers have an important opportunity. By addressing local cultures with more reverence and nuance, they can earn their way into people’s lives in much deeper, more meaningful ways.”

For deep globality, McCann recommends three principles: Create a globality framework, earn our way into culture and inspire creative that travels. The research entailed interviews with 30,000 people in 29 countries supplemented with qualitative research. The Truth About Global Brands was launched on January 22 in New York and has been rolled out in cities across the world since then.

Luca Lindner, president of McCann Worldgroup, says, “The worldwide marketing landscape is shifting toward a new balance between global and local brands. As a result, global brand marketers need to employ new approaches in how they make their brands relevant in all markets and increase their connections with consumers.”