Local differences exist, and local brand managers love to dwell on them
Speak to enough brand managers of a global brand in countries around the world and you’ll soon come to expect the all too common refrain: “...but my market is different.”
Ask them to elaborate, and you’ll get the low down on how consumer habits in their market are different, their consumers' purchase behavior is different, preferences and tastes are different, how the media and the retail trade are different, and how their consumers and customers require unique, tailored, and delicate handling.
And while you're wondering "different from what?", the brand manager will be on to her next refrain: “why do the folks at HQ just not get it?” “How can they not see, or choose not to see the differences?”; “why do they prefer a standardized, cookie-cutter approach, when a tailored approach would put us miles ahead of our competitors....”
In the eyes of the HQ manager responsible for the global brand (and, yes, for global standardization), these protestations are either irrelevant, or they are merely ways for local managers to justify (magnify?) their crucial role as interpreters of the global brand for the local market.
Fact is, it’s a bit of both – local differences exist, and local brand managers love to dwell on them.
We can all agree that there are some differences you have to adapt to: McDonald’s must advertise in French in Quebec, and will not serve beef patties in India. These aspects require localization or you can’t play in the local market.
But the friction inside the multinational tends to be about the more subtle differences: the Kellogg’s brand manager who says Raisin Bran is too bland a breakfast choice in Korea; or the chocolate company brand manager who says that black is not the right packaging color choice in China.
Of course, both HQ and the local managers are really trying to assess:
Reprint from Ivey Business Journal
[© Reprinted and used by permission of the Ivey Business School]