Melanie
The Monday Morning Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Esther of IPA Group, bringing premier online promotion to your business.
Esther
And Melanie of STOMP Social Media Training, who empowers business owners to manage social media and marketing for themselves. Good morning and welcome to the Monday Morning Marketing podcast. Today, it's just me, Esther. And I want to talk to you about something that as a company with IPA Group, we have been going through for at least the 10 years that I've been running, if a lot more, and that is cross-cultural marketing. So what do I mean by cross-cultural marketing? Well, the world has got a lot smaller. Ever since 2020.
We all know what happened then, don't want to bring up bad memories, but we all realised that there was another way of reaching other audiences. And those audiences might have been thousands of miles away, but they were easily reached through our computer screens. Our world is getting smaller and smaller, so we need to understand how to effectively communicate with people in other countries on the other of the world, because not working with diverse audiences is no longer an option. It is an essential part of your marketing. You may have people who follow you on any of your platforms that are not local to you. They may live in a country that speaks another language. They may have other cultural differences that you need to be aware of.
So what is cross-cultural marketing? Well, it's the practice of adapting your marketing strategies to effectively reach consumers from different cultural backgrounds, language backgrounds, cultural nuances, their values, their behaviours, even so far as your next door neighbour may have different cultural backgrounds to yourself. So cross-cultural marketing requires a deep understanding of the cultural differences in communication communication styles, the values that your customers have, and the way that they consume their behaviour. So how do they shop? Where do they shop? Do they make decisions quickly, slowly? Do they need to know you on a personal basis before committing all of those things as part of their values and their consumer behaviour.
But successful cross-cultural marketing campaigns are built on research and cultural intelligence, not a assumptions. We can't just assume that we know our next door neighbour just because they live beside us. They may have come from a different country. They may have come from a different part of your same country. They may have been brought up differently. All of these things make their culture different. So it goes beyond someone speaking another language or being able to market to them using different languages. Cultural faux pas in marketing can be very costly, both financially and in terms of brand reputation. So for example, when Pepsi entered the Chinese market, their slogan, Come Alive with Pepsi was translated to 'PEPSI brings your ancestors back from the grave. So knowing what your culture, what the other culture, expects or how their language and words are translated and used is very, very important.
There's a brand of bread in Mexico called Bimbo, which does not go down very well in the United States, their next door neighbours. Proctor & Gamble's Ad for Pampers, the nappies in Japan, featured storks delivering babies, unaware that in Japanese culture, babies are delivered by giant peaches. Gerber, when they entered the African markets, they didn't realise that what is printed on the label is what the image that's printed on the label is what people think is in the tin. So if you know your Gerber baby bottles, you'll know that it's a little baby's face on those bottles. So you can imagine the uproar in these different countries when the brands that go in didn't realise the in-depth cultural differences, and it can lead to embarrassment, offence, obviously in these big cases, significant financial losses because they're spending a large amount of money to go into a new market to print off all their new cans and products and their marketing campaigns or billboards, etc, for it to flop.
So you should always conduct thorough cultural research and consult consult with local experts before launching a campaign in a new market. So how do you decide your strategies for effective cross-cultural marketing? Well, first you need to decide whether you can adapt your marketing for each market or if you're able to maintain a global approach. So, for example, an IPA group, we sell websites, social media management. That is very global, that we can use the same approach or very similar approaches for those services. If you have a product, you may need to adapt your marketing for each market. There may be different flavors or scents that are unacceptable or have a different cultural connotation in different countries. There may be numbers that are perceived as good luck in one country, but very bad luck in another country. So all of these things you have to bear in mind. Understand the cultural dimensions. So use frameworks to understand how cultures differ in areas like individualism or collectivism, the power distance, and the long term orientation. So one that I've come across is Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions.
So you can check that out for yourself on this short podcast, I don't have time to go into it. But another way to make your cross-culture marketing more effective is to adapt your message. Think about how your brand's core message might be perceived differently in different cultures and adjust that accordingly. Like I said, I'm not just talking about languages here, I'm talking about the culture itself. Do people use strong words? Do they use powerful words? Or are they more softly approaching into things? How do they like to receive their marketing? Use local platforms and influencers.
The most popular social media platform in your country may not be the one that has taken off in their country. We know TikTok is a boom in most of the world, but there are some countries that do not allow it. The same with Meta, they are not in certain countries. Look at what is popular and partner with influencers who understand the local culture and who are popular in that country. They may not even need to be in the same sphere as you. It may be that they've never promoted your product or service or similar products or services to what you sell, but they may be the best person to help you get in because they are trusted in their local culture. And be mindful of colour and symbolism. Like I just said, some colours and symbols, numbers, have very vastly different meanings in different cultures. For example, white symbolises purity in Western society, but it's associated with mourning in many Eastern countries.
Like I said, numbers that are lucky in some, maybe unlucky in others. So effective cross-marketing, sorry, cross-cultural marketing requires a balance between keeping your brand consistency and adapting to local cultures. So You may even need to look at your own brand colours when it comes to marketing into a different country. You may need to adapt and adopt different colours. You may need to rebrand so that you have a continuity across all of your marketing in whatever language or culture you're going into. So develop a flexible marketing strategy that can be tailored to the different cultural contexts while still maintaining your brand's core identity.
One major example that I want to give you about cross-cultural marketing is McDonald's. So while McDonald's has kept its core brand identity, it adapts its menu, its marketing, and even its restaurant designs to local tastes and customs. For example, in Mexico, where I lived and worked for years, the breakfast menu is completely different to here in the United Kingdom because they adopted some of the traditional Mexican breakfasts into their menu. In India, where beef is not allowed or taboo for many, at least. McDonald's offers a maharaja mc, which is made with chicken instead of beef. In France, they have some upscale mc cafés that serve macrons, and other French pastries. They put brie on their burgers from time to time, something that here in the United Kingdom, you probably wouldn't appreciate as much. So successful cross-cultural marketing often involves adapting your products and services and not just adapting your marketing messages itself. So be prepared to innovate and adapt your offerings to meet local preferences and the cultural norms. So cross-cultural marketing isn't without its challenges, but as I said at the start, the world is a smaller place.
Some things that you really need to take into consideration, though, are language barriers. Even professional translations can miss cultural differences or cultural nuances. Don't just rely on AI or Google to translate the information for you because there are things, even between Mexican Spanish and Spain Spanish, that mean things that are completely different. Even with an English, if I say or if I write down row, but I really I mean, row, it all has to do with the context. So you need to know more than just the basics to get through the language barriers. Check out the legal and regulator that are the regulations that are different in those different countries, because marketing regulations can vary very drastically between one country and the next. Where I live in the United Kingdom, we're connected to to the Republic of Ireland, and even differences between those two markets can be huge.
Remember to bear in mind cultural taboos, what is acceptable in one culture may be offensive in another. Again, remember numbers, colors, symbols, hand gestures. You know what I'm getting at. Technological differences. Where do they like to consume their information, what platforms, how's their internet access? Or do they prefer the billboards and consuming it in a more physical format? So cross-cultural marketing as far as ongoing learning and adaptation, so stay flexible and be prepared to continuously refine your approach based on your feedback from the locals and your results going forward. So as I've just heard, cross-cultural marketing is a complex but very, very important aspect of business these days, because the world is your oyster. You have access to people at the drop of a hat at the tip of your fingers. But by understanding the cultural differences, adapting our strategies, and remaining sensitive to local customs, we can create marketing campaigns that resonate across borders, across languages, and across cultures.
So remember, the key to success lies in thorough research, cultural sensitivity, and a willingness to adapt. Whether you're a small business looking to expand or a multinational corporation, these principles can help you navigate the exciting world of cross-cultural marketing. So I encourage you to take a closer look at your current marketing strategies. Are there opportunities to make them more culturally inclusive? Could your brand benefit from a more global perspective? That's it for today, guys. I hope you find this information valuable. Don't forget to subscribe, leave us a comment, and we will talk to you next week with more Monday Morning Marketing. And until then, bye bye.
