Ads That Travel

8/17/2019 Ads That Travel

1/4

Millward Brown: Point of View

Ads That Travel: Planning a Safe and

Profitable Journey for Your CampaignFor those of us who love to travel, the variety of cultures around the world is endlessly

fascinating. The Pyramids of Giza, the bright lights of Ho Chi Minh City, and the Gaudi

architecture in Barcelona all attest to the rich and unique history of each place.

Yet in countries and environments as different as Mumbai and Miami, a global traveler will

see many familiar brands. It’s no mean feat to maintain a successful global brand; managingbrand positioning and communication strategies across countries is a tricky business. And

in recent years, global media, the Internet, and an increasingly well-traveled population of

consumers have made it more important than ever for brands to have a consistent tone and

message. In addition, if they can harmonize a brand’s position across regions, marketers

can save money by reducing the number of campaigns and executions that must be

developed. But with the world’s cultures so diverse, can advertising communications really

cross borders effectively?

The answer is that developing such communication is a challenge. The dream of reaching

a worldwide audience with just one ad is rarely realized. Very often, something importantgets lost in the translation. But with a bit of due diligence, campaigns can be developed

that will work effectively across many geographies and cultures, allowing advertisers to

realize great efficiencies while establishing seamless brand positionings.

To create communication that can cross borders effectively, marketers must follow a three-

step process:

1. Determine the global brand promise, based

on applying the unique product benefits to

a universal human need.

2. Identify the marketing task that faces the

brand in each geography.

3. Implement the creative idea with sensitivity

to differences across countries and

cultures.

By following these steps, described more fully

here, an advertiser can leverage the economic

power of multi-country scale while achieving a

cohesive brand position around the world.

The dream of reaching a world-

wide audience with just one adis rarely realized. Very often,

something important gets lost

in the translation. But with a

bit of due diligence, campaigns

can be developed that will work

effectively across many geogra-

phies and cultures.

Sana M. Carlton

Managing DirectorMillward Brown [email protected]


2/4

Millward Brown: Point of View Ads That Travel

©2009 Millward Brown

2

standing varies significantly by country. For example, the

image-building campaign that will benefit a brand in countries

where it is well established will do little good in countries

where the brand is not very well known and needs awareness-

building communication.

A brand’s standing in relation to its advertising needs can be

defined by two things:

• The brand’s position within the category — that is,

whether it is a “Classic” or “Olympic” market leader,

a medium-sized “Defender, ” a “Specialist” brand

occupying a niche, or a recently launched “Little Tiger”

or “Clean Slate.”

• The maturity of the category itself.

Various combinations of these two parameters can point

to very different needs. Advertising for a medium-sized

Defender in a mature category usually needs to reinforce

product benefits, while advertising for a Clean Slate in a new

category needs to introduce both brand and category while

driving awareness and trial.

The women’s hair removal category provides an example

of a need to cluster markets due to category differences. In

some markets, such as Turkey, waxing is the norm, making

the removal of root hair well known and accepted, while

in others, including Russia, waxes play only a nominal role,

and use of razors is more broadly accepted. Therefore, the

messaging for a brand such as Braun’s Silk-épil, an electrical

epilator (root removal), may need to be adapted to account

for the different competitive environments. The benefits of

a razor versus wax or epilator are quite pronounced, so inRussia the challenge is to communicate about the benefits

of changing your habits to the root removal of the epilator.

In markets where waxing is the norm, root removal is not the

benefit, and instead the unique benefits of the Braun Silk-épil

versus waxing is of critical importance.

Once you’ve finished the process of classifying your markets

according to brand status and category maturity, you will have

done most of your due diligence for developing a successful

multi-country campaign. At this stage, you should focus yourattention back on to the local nuances of the marketing

environment.

Determine the global brand promise

A successful brand has unique and distinctive benefits that

set it apart from other offerings. Coca-Cola appeals to ouremotions with its promise of happiness through refreshment,

while Gillette Fusion offers the functional advantage of a fifth

blade. Whether their advantages are tangible or intangible,

most brands that succeed on the world stage do so by building

on a consistent brand promise that transcends cultures and

countries by tapping into some universal human truth.

If a truly relevant global promise can be identified, it is very

likely that a campaign based on that promise can successfully

travel. Working together with your research team, you need to

identify the brand promise that can be used around the world.

However, this will not always be possible; the needs and wants

of consumers do vary from country to country, and differentapproaches may be needed when a brand’s standing is not

consistent across regions. But even in those cases, clusters of

markets that will respond to a single brand promise can often

be identified.

Identify the marketing task in each geography

As always, the key to developing effective marketing

communications is to first identify the business and

marketing objectives. For an international brand, this includes

determining whether those objectives are consistent acrossmarkets. While this step may seem obvious, it is sometimes

overlooked and can lead to inefficiencies when a brand’s


3/4

3Millward Brown: Point of View Ads That Travel


where commercial advertising has a long history, viewers are

typically more receptive to emotional nuance and subtle or

coded messages. For example, an advertiser in France can

expect to transmit the exquisite taste of a luxury food product

through sensual images of people in an elegant dining room,

while in other markets that message might not register.

In markets that are relatively new to advertising, direct and

rational messages about product benefits are typically more

successful.

Interaction with various mediaFinally, the ways in which people interact with advertising and

media in different countries are perhaps as diverse as the

cultures themselves. If we followed a young woman in Los

Angeles throughout her day, we might observe that she has an

hour-long commute in her car on billboard-strewn highways;

she listens to radio stations that have not only audio ads but

also written ads on the radio display; and she spends most of

her day online. When she’s home at night, she has access to

over 500 TV channels.

A woman of similar age and socioeconomic status in Madrid

would spend much more time walking outside and commuting

Implement the creative idea with sensitivity to differences

Finding one ad that suits all markets is rare indeed. An analysis

of our Link™ pretest database shows that ads that performexceptionally well (that is, score in the top 5 percent) in their

country of origin do not usually replicate that level of success

in other countries. These findings support the point Nigel

Hollis made in a recent Point of View on cultural differences.

“The world is not yet a global village,” said Nigel, “and in

all likelihood is not going to become one.” In other words,

though there may be global brands, there is not one global

culture. Therefore, those who adapt a creative idea to different

markets must have a thorough understanding of the culturaldifferences that come into play.

Marketers must consider cultural differences that are

manifested in:

• Attitudes and values

• Levels of sophistication about advertising

• Interaction with various media

Attitudes and values

Attitudes and values vary by country; as a result, advertising

that might be highly successful in one region may fail in another.

For example, the value placed on the concept of “face” in China

makes certain kinds of humor unacceptable in advertising. (In

China, to get a laugh at someone else’s expense causes him

to lose face.) In the Middle East, it’s inappropriate to use dogs

in advertising because they are seen as dirty. Clearly, sensitive

topics such as sexuality and religion present issues, but so

too do some seemingly more innocuous elements such asnumbers and colors.

Though cultural differences can create pitfalls for advertisers,

they may also present opportunities to enhance a brand’s

message. For example, in Switzerland, Swiss produce is

highly respected. Therefore, the universal idea “I’m lovin’

it” is adapted in Swiss executions to highlight the fact that

McDonald’s French fries are made of Swiss potatoes.

Levels of sophistication about advertising

The sophistication of the target audience in relation to

advertising is another key difference to consider. In countries

There may be global brands, but there is not oneglobal culture. Those who adapt a creative idea to

different markets must have a thorough understand-

ing of the cultural differences that come into play.

Gaudi architecture in Barcelona


4/4

Millward Brown: Point of View Ads That Travel


4

Adapting a global approach for local relevance can take a

variety of forms, including:

• Relatively minor changes such as translating a taglineand recutting an ad to fit local norms for ad length. The

Nescafé Dolce Gusto coffee machine launch utilizes

this approach. Product benefits are at the center of the

communication story as a variety of coffees are shown

dancing around the Dolce Gusto machine to James

Brown’s “Sex Machine.”

• Utilizing the same consumer insight and creative idea

while reshooting the ad using local talent to provide more

identification with the target consumer.

• Evolving the creative to work within a new cultural context.

An exceptional example of this is the global campaign for

IBM Websphere Integration Software. In this campaign,

the idea of linking parties together is represented in China

by a spiritual man talking about the magical integration

thread of connectivity, but in the United States, it is

depicted as an electricity adaptor that can connect all

inputs together.

Avoiding the extremes of being mindlessly global or hopelesslylocal requires striking a balance between global synergies and

local relevance. Organizing insight around the brand equity and

category status in each country is the key first step. Developing

communications around market clusters brings the insight

into action. Then, adapting the creative idea in light of cultural

nuances maximizes the efficiency of each execution.

on the metro, where she’s exposed to poster and video ads as

she waits. She arrives home much later in the day, and if she

decides to watch television, she has just a few dozen stations

to choose from. Clearly, the touchpoints for the same target

audience may be very different across the countries in which

you market your brands.

Similarly, different communication opportunities will present

themselves near the points of purchase. For example, shoppers

in the United States are likely to buy shampoo in a large store

such as a discount drug store, supermarket, or Wal-Mart. In

those retail outlets, they might encounter in-store video. In

Spain, however, shampoo is more likely to be purchased in a

perfumeria, and ads are more apt to appear in metro and bus

shelters. Consumers in Vietnam would probably visit a local

one-room shop to make their purchases, where they would

find communication on the packaging that explained product

benefits.

The efficiency of individual media also varies across countries.

For example, in the United States, the use of relatively short,

frequent ad breaks encourages viewers to stay tuned. In

Denmark, there are fewer ad breaks within a program, though

they are also relatively short. In Spain, however, a 22-minute

show would be broadcast in its entirety, followed by an eight-

minute run of ads. So for an ad to be noticed in Spain, it might

need to be more actively engaging than an ad intended to air

in Denmark. The implication for maximizing the value of your

communications is clear: One size does not fit all. Both yourmedia plan and your ad executions must be developed with

the local media environment in mind.

4

To read more about advertising for global brands,

visit www.mb-blog.com.

If you liked “Ads that Travel,” you might also be in-

terested in:

Culture Clash: Globalization Does Not Imply

Homogenization

Why is it so Diff icult to Produce World-class

International Advertising?

Share this POV:
http://www.millwardbrown.com/Sites/MillwardBrown/Media/Pdfs/en/POV/15977FD9.pdfhttp://www.millwardbrown.com/Sites/MillwardBrown/Media/Pdfs/en/POV/15977FD9.pdfhttp://www.millwardbrown.com/Sites/MillwardBrown/Media/Pdfs/en/KnowledgePoints/44D1E5BC.pdfhttp://www.millwardbrown.com/Sites/MillwardBrown/Media/Pdfs/en/KnowledgePoints/44D1E5BC.pdfhttp://twitter.com/home?status=Millward%20Brown%20POV%20-%20Ads%20That%20Travel%20http://bit.ly/1N3AD1http://digg.com/submit?url=http://www.millwardbrown.com/Sites/MillwardBrown/Media/Apps/PageTurn/?AppID=POV200911&title=Millward%20Brown%20POV%20-%20Ads%20That%20Travelhttp://del.icio.us/post?url=http://www.millwardbrown.com/Sites/MillwardBrown/Media/Apps/PageTurn/?AppID=POV200911&title=Millward%20Brown%20POV%20-%20Ads%20That%20Travelhttp://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://www.millwardbrown.com/Sites/MillwardBrown/Media/Apps/PageTurn/?AppID=POV200911http://www.millwardbrown.com/Sites/MillwardBrown/Media/Pdfs/en/KnowledgePoints/44D1E5BC.pdfhttp://www.millwardbrown.com/Sites/MillwardBrown/Media/Pdfs/en/POV/15977FD9.pdf

Documents

Ads That Travel