In today’s global
economy, products, services, and communication often move beyond
national borders and influence people from diverse cultures. Satellite
television, the Internet, and a more mobile population mean that
potential consumers may encounter brands and products in more than
one market area. Customers have an understanding of a brand as its
promoted in their own community but find that the brand means something
else in another region. This inconsistency of brand message can
create confusion and possibly call the credibility of the brand
into question. Many businesses and industries will require a different
strategy when positioning their brand in a global marketplace.
Whether promoting sales in overseas or communicating to customers
in the growing multi-cultural U.S. population, effective design
must address cross-cultural and global issues. Greater understanding
of the cultural similarities and differences that affect brand
recognition is required for international businesses to succeed
in today’s marketplace.
Meyer & Liechty
Years of experience with international clients and an unwavering
respect for cultural influences in the global marketplace help
Meyer & Liechty stand out as a leader in cross-cultural communication
design. For us, looking at cross-cultural design solutions on
a continuum from adaptable to standardized has become a proven
strategy. Since each client and each market is unique, this continuum
allows us to find the right balance between a design created for
a single market and a design that is more standardized to reach
a global audience.
Meyer & Liechty has worked on many successful campaigns that
utilize adaptable and/or standardized approaches. In one case
for a Fortune 100 client, we were able to compare our centrally
produced, standardized, global campaign with a previous campaign
that had been produced regionally. Our campaign included 32 market
versions, covering 140 markets in 29 languages. We found that
our standardized campaign, while still adapting to meet local
needs, produced many benefits, including: an overall improvement
to design and brand images; greater access to more markets, including
small markets where it was not feasible to produce materials locally;
simultaneously-released materials that avoided the usual delay
in international markets; and a cost savings of 50% over a similar
campaign three years before.
In another situation, we found that a more adaptable strategy
that responded to regional differences was the key to success.
In this case, an advertising campaign for euro travelers’
checks, images and visual references were used to communicate
to customers. Since the campaign was targeted to both U.S. and
European customers, we quickly realized the importance of a more
adaptable approach that would address the differences between
these two groups while still selling the same product. Materials
for the U.S. market required a certain degree of education about
the euro, since few Americans had experience with it, while the
materials targeting Europeans addressed other challenges, such
as multilingual communication and establishing confidence with
the brand. In both cases, the adaptable designs we created met
the needs of client and customer.
Local vs. Global
There is no single approach to cross-cultural design. Marketing
strategies must be based on the unique product, customer motives,
and cultural issues at hand, and campaigns would be adapted accordingly
to suit marketing objectives. For example, some products such
as food products or household goods may require branding that
is adapted to each market, while others, such as computer software
or financial services, can be largely standardized across different
markets.
In today’s expanding marketplace, it is important to be
able to think globally, and the basis of a global mindset is the
understanding of the influences cultural differences will have
on products and brands all over the world — and even right
here at home. Meyer & Liechty helps clients communicate messages
that reflect their unique business objectives, and we look at
design as a business tool to encourage loyalty among customers
for the brands they buy. Our approach to cross-cultural design
can help companies create stronger global brands that, in addition
to being more culturally sensitive, also save money based on the
efficiency of a centralized brand management. Our work reflects
the balance required to respect the local needs and desires of
a community while forging new and exciting markets on the global
stage.
See Fortune
100 case study
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