GOST-buster! New consumer segmentation tool helps companies succeed abroad

Who ya gonna call?Introducing the GOST-buster

Gary MuddymanCEO Conversis

Communication. In any language.

Test your Ghost Busters knowledge

• Ghost Busters was made in:

– A) 1981

– B) 1983

– C) 1984

• Answer: C) 1984

Communication. In any language.

Who’s the ghost?

• Which actor did NOT star in Ghost Busters?

– A) Harrison Ford

– B) Bill Murray

– C) Sigourney Weaver

• Answer: A) Harrison Ford

Communication. In any language.

I ain’t ‘fraid of no ghost!

• Who performed the hit theme tune, “Who ya

gonna call? Ghostbusters!”

– A) Lionel Richie

– B) Ray Parker Jnr.

– C) Huey Lewis and the News

• Answer: B) Ray Parker Jnr.

Communication. In any language.

Ghost Busters and globalisation

• Most successful comedy of all time

• Licensed in 19 countries

• First film ever released on a USB flash drive

BUT

• Foreign film is actually growing and gaining

ground in places like the UK

Communication. In any language.

What’s the point?

• Globalisation does not equal homogenisation

• How do we know how much to localise?

• A great job is localising the whole site or a

great job on the bits that need localising?

Communication. In any language.

Standardize or Localize?

StandardizedLocalized

• The decision whether to standardize or to localize is not dichotomous.

• Instead of having a black-and-white view, we need to understand degrees of localization.

Communication. In any language.

Homogenisation v. creolisation

• Homogenisation led to creolisation of global

consumer patterns

• A new pattern of consumption in which local

and global consumption traditions have

blended together

• New online consumer = global + local

consumption patterns

Communication. In any language.

The challenge

• How do the forces of cultural homogenisation

and fragmentation interact to form unique

consumer segments?

National/traditional Global

Communication. In any language.

Professor Nitish Singh

“Lumping all international consumers as global, national

or ethnocentric, or under some clearly defined heading

might be self-limiting and an incomplete picture of the

global consumer reality. A recent trend to equate

globalisation to global community, or, as some say the

‘global village’, is to discount the proliferation of

civilisational, continental, regional, societal, and other

particularistic dimensions of the global human

condition.” – Dr. Nitish Singh

Communication. In any language.

Introducing the GOST-buster

Communication. In any language.

Global Consumer Segments

High Global Identity/ Low National Identity

(HGLN)

High Global Identity/ High National Identity

(HGHN)

Low Global Identity/ High National Identity

(LGHN)

Low Global Identity/ Low National Identity

(LGLN)

Users‘ National Identity

Users‘ Global

Identity

Proprietary Research.

Communication. In any language.

Meet Boomerang Bob

• High global and high national

identity

• Businessman from San Diego

• Travels the world with his

multinational company

• Has diversified cultural values

• Loves home and local products

Communication. In any language.

Coke is it for Boomerang Bob

KO: China

KO: Norway

KO: Brazil

Communication. In any language.

Meet Tony Trendy

• High global identity, low

national identity

• Loves global brands,

products and websites

• Very little localisation

required

Communication. In any language.

Tony goes nowhere without his iPod

APPLE: USAAAPL: Brazil

APPLE: Denmark

Communication. In any language.

Meet Henna Housewife

• High on national identity and low

on global identity

• Don’t identify with any aspect of

global culture

• Strong ties to local customs

• Fully localised website

Communication. In any language.

Web localization Strategies

Unilever: Denmark

Unilever: Netherlands

Unilever: India

Communication. In any language.

• Low on both global and national identity

• Driven by a unique identity

• Can be an elusive category

• Must appeal to this self-interest

Meet the Rainbow Warriors

Communication. In any language.

Greenpeace – global but not

Communication. In any language.

Web localization Strategies

Communication. In any language.

Why should language agencies care?

• It’s not in our interests to tell every client that they need to localise their site from top to bottom

• We become global consultants

• Empirically validated tool to help our clients achieve ROI on their localisation spend and the best chance of success abroad

Communication. In any language.

Download the White Paper

• http://conversisglobal.com/news/detail/gost-buster_how_to_target_your_global_online_audience_more_effectively/

Communication. In any language.

Contacts

Gary Muddyman, CEO Conversis

gary.muddyman@conversisglobal.com

Telephone: + 44 1869 255 820

www.conversisglobal.com

www.conversishealth.com

Nitish Singh, St Louis University

http://www.professornitishsingh.org