1.
16 Communication World • November–December 2010 www.iabc.com/cw
O
ver the past few decades, as trade, capital flow, foreign
direct investment, global supply chains and technol-
ogy have spread in an ever more complex web, com-
panies have had an unprecedented opportunity to
expand geographically. Many have grown organically,
using their established domestic brand to enter new markets. Others
have grown through acquisition, often rebranding local businesses with
the acquiring company’s global brand.
But a challenge to global brands comes when campaigns ignore, mis-
understand or fail to capture regional nuances, resulting in a lack of
engagement, understanding and that crucial emotional connection
with consumers. In cases in which financial directors have wrested con-
trol of vital decisions related to brands from the marketing or brand
managers, the emotional connection between brands and specific
groups has often disappeared. In essence, costs were saved in the short
term to boost the bottom line, but the brand’s long-term value was neg-
lected—and the cost of that neglect can be significant.
A whole
new worldTo be successful today, global brands need a
comprehensive strategy that covers every market
by Stephen Cheliotis and Lizzie Carr
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2.
global branding
www.iabc.com/cw Communication World • November–December 2010 17
One of the world’s truly global
brands, McDonald’s has culti-
vated an image of quality, clean-
liness and consistency, while at
the same time catering to local
tastes. Above, a McDonald’s
restaurant in Delhi, India.
SHUTTERSTOCK
What should multinational companies do to take advantage of their
global footprint, yet build engaging campaigns that resonate with con-
sumers in discrete markets? How can they maintain brand consistency
and a core set of global values while being flexible and responsive to
local needs? And how can they do it while keeping costs under control?
The answer lies in a comprehensive brand strategy that takes all those
elements into account.
The value of a trusted brand
The role of a brand is to positively affect attitudes and behaviors
toward either a business or a series of products and services sold under
a particular banner. To fully optimize a brand, a company must
understand which emotions that brand influences, to what extent,
and how that effect differs among different groups. For global brands,
this is a particular challenge.
A brand’s value comes principally from its impact on the demand
curve—how it stimulates interest for the branded goods in stable
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3.
18 Communication World • November–December 2010 www.iabc.com/cw
global branding
economic times, thereby increasing sales and/or
the premium commanded over competitors. In
a downturn, that value could be measured by
how the brand’s popularity limits declining
sales by discouraging buyers from switching to
cheaper alternatives.
Fundamentally, a brand’s influence on individ-
uals—and thus on demand—comes from its
emotional influence. Human beings, especially in
developed, wealthy societies where basic needs
are usually met, tend to make decisions based on
emotion, not logic. A known brand may reduce
our anxieties and insecurities by serving as a
trusted, reliable source. For example, McDonald’s
symbolizes a certain level of service, hygiene and
quality that reassures people that wherever they
are in the world, they can trust the brand to
deliver on its promises.
In short, a brand is an essential business asset
capable of swaying others to positively evaluate a
given business, product or service, thus maximiz-
ing financial returns for that business.
A framework for global
brand strategy
To ensure that, as a business, you are gaining
the greatest return on your brand, you need to
have a strategic plan that continually assesses
and reviews the brand’s global vision and strategy,
as well as its local position in each market in
which it operates. This assessment should be
carried out through a multilayered brand audit,
Human beings,
especially in developed,
wealthy societies where
basic needs are usually
met, tend to make
decisions based on
emotion, not logic.
The Co-operative’s new branding reminds consumers that the organization’s members have common goals.
about the authors
Stephen Cheliotis is chairman
of the Superbrands & CoolBrands
Council and chief executive of
The Centre for Brand Analysis, a
London-based consultancy dedi-
cated to understanding branding
and the performance of brands.
Lizzie Carr is a senior consultant
at The Gild, a brand and innova-
tion consultancy, in London.
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4.
www.iabc.com/cw Communication World • November–December 2010 19
with the principal goal of ensuring that the brand
engages and inspires internal and external audi-
ences in all markets.
The framework outlined below can help you
achieve the difficult balance between global and
local, and maximize returns while minimizing risk
from the challenge of the emerging set of emotion-
ally engaging brands.
Step 1: Internal brand audit
Start by looking within by conducting a thor-
ough internal brand audit that includes all disci-
plines across the business, not just marketing.
The audit should cover the brand’s history, sto-
ries, architecture, culture and equities; be global
in scope; and include input from local markets.
The point is to determine, from an inside per-
spective, what the brand has in its arsenal: why
and how the brand has developed, what it stands
for, and what its real values, personality and emo-
tional hooks are. Armed with that information,
brand managers can then assess how the brand
can be used to attract and inspire its various audi-
ences, both internal and external.
There are many ways to approach a brand audit,
from stakeholder interviews to secondary internal
research such as brand trawls—going back
through any information that you have on the
brand in your archives, which could include com-
pany accounts, internal reports and analysis on the
brand, stock analysis and retail data, merchandis-
ing or promotional activity—everything that the
brand has done throughout its history. It’s impor-
tant to get buy-in from senior management, too,
to ensure that everyone involved understands the
value of the brand and the need to keep it vital.
For example, the Co-operative is the largest co-
operative in the U.K. and the world’s largest
consumer-owned business, with more than
three million members. Each member has an
equal right to contribute to the Co-operative’s
decision-making processes. The group itself has
a diverse portfolio, from food, banking and
travel to insurance, legal services, online shop-
ping and funeral services.
The brand was revamped in 2006, with the aim
of refreshing its roots as a collective, while tapping
into consumer trends. The main idea was to
remind consumers that the brand is not just
another multinational, but a brand composed of
members, built on the core principle and values of
working as a collective to achieve common aspira-
tions and goals. Today, although the brand’s values
and core message have not changed, the way in
which the business communicates has. For exam-
ple, it has brought all of its different companies
under one roof and become more sophisticated as
a brand; its web site and communication feel uni-
fied, rather than coming across as a set of disparate
brands. The actual look and feel of both the brand
and the stores were also revamped to make them
more fresh and modern, while the traditional val-
Start by looking
within by conducting
a thorough internal
brand audit that includes
all disciplines across
the business, not just
marketing.
A brand audit helped the lingerie company Gossard identify the emotional connections consumers have
with the product and the company, which Gossard will use to develop future global branding efforts.
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5.
20 Communication World • November–December 2010 www.iabc.com/cw
global branding
ues were encapsulated in a more contemporary
tagline: “Good for everyone.”
Step 2: External brand audit
To gain a holistic view of the brand, taking into
consideration the opinions of stakeholders, cus-
tomers and consumers, the next step is to conduct
an external brand audit. The audit should give a
clear picture of how the brand is perceived from an
outside perspective, through a mixture of qualita-
tive and quantitative research.
An external audit not only paints the bigger pic-
ture in terms of public perception of the brand,
but also includes more detailed information, such
as reaction to local advertising or packaging com-
munication. For example, the team behind the
Gossard lingerie brand set up a series of qualitative
interviews with its retailer customers, including
large department stores and independent bou-
tiques, as well as in-depth interviews with poten-
tial target consumers.
Using the data gleaned from these interviews,
the team was able to identify the consumer’s emo-
tional connections with the Gossard brand: that
they used lingerie to express themselves, as a way
to be creative, be seductive and try new things.
This was an important hook that the brand could
tap into through different collections in different
markets. Going forward, this will help the business
develop its brand based on global needs and emo-
tional connectors. At a more local level, this audit
helped the brand managers to understand the
potency of brand values and perceptions, and the
efficiency of brand communication.
It’s not uncommon for a brand to generate dif-
ferent perceptions among consumers in different
markets. For example, in 1995, brand managers at
the British fashion house Burberry recognized that
An established
global brand position
and guidelines ensure
alignment, consistency
across markets and
local flexibility.
Consumer research inspired Burberry to revamp its brand strategy to focus on the company’s “English-
ness,” and to turn to its archives to create modern takes on its classic designs.
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6.
in the U.K. the brand was associated with lower-
income groups and football, while in the rest of
the world the brand was seen as a high-quality
designer label. To reset this image in the U.K., the
company went through a series of renovations that
harkened back to the heart of the brand—the
essence behind its original brand values. Burberry,
when founded, stood for “Englishness.” It tapped
into its history—that it was founded in 1856, and
was the “trench coat” supplier to the British Army
during World War I; that it clothed debutantes for
their launch into society. Not only did the brand
positioning change, but the designs that the com-
pany produced followed suit. For example, the
U.K. saw a return to Burberry’s classic designs from
the brand’s archives, but with a modern twist.
The information gathered through the internal
and external audits should provide the brand man-
agers—as well as the CEO, the finance director
and other senior decision makers—every-
thing they need to create an integrated exec-
utive dashboard that details the brand’s
health and performance.
Step 3: Target consumer group identification
Using the information in the dashboard, the
brand team can then review another key com-
ponent of the brand: the target consumer
group. A global target consumer group is one
that has relevance in all markets, either now or
in the future. It also may be appropriate to
identify primary and secondary target groups.
Getting the audience right is one of the key
elements of the brand’s strategy—it is these
consumers that the brand should aspire to con-
nect with on an emotional level. The brand
should be able to tap into the needs, hopes and
desires of its consumer target group through
emotional hooks. If the brand gets this right, it
will immediately be able to build loyalty. Just
think Persil washing powder, and the emotional
hook of its “dirt is good” slogan. The brand
understood who its target consumer group was
and tapped into a key emotional hook: Mothers
want to be able to give their children permission
to go outside and get dirty. Parent company
Unilever is therefore celebrating a universal child-
hood experience.
However, like Burberry, it’s not unusual for a
brand to have a different cachet in different mar-
kets. For example, although the brand proposition
for the Aldi discount grocery chain is the same in
both Germany and the U.K., in Germany, it is
interpreted as the “smart and clever” choice,
appealing to smart shoppers, whereas in the U.K.
it is perceived as the “cheap” option, aimed at
value shoppers.
Step 4: Vision and positioning
Although a global brand vision is required, it is
also necessary to overlay any future positioning
with local market nuances. To help in doing this,
arrange a workshop or conference for members
of the global and key local market brand teams.
The goal here is to build an aligned brand vision,
position, personality, and set of values that every-
one understands and agrees on, while identify-
ing how and where the brand needs to be or can
be modified at a local
It is critical that the
global and local teams
build individual market
strategies that both
leverage global initia-
tives and can adapt to
local behaviors.
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Unilever, the makers of Persil detergent, reaches
its key market—mothers—with a message that it’s
OK for their kids to play outside and get dirty.
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22 Communication World • November–December 2010 www.iabc.com/cw
global branding
level. An established global brand position and
guidelines on what can and cannot be done to the
brand ensure alignment, consistency across mar-
kets and local flexibility. These guidelines can take
the form of a simple brand positioning book out-
lining the core values and personalities, and defin-
ing which are flexible for certain markets. It could
also include a list of specific products within the
portfolio and their relationship to the brand.
The assembled team should also create a
global brand activation platform that defines the
brand communication’s core message and taps
into shared trends, consumer attitudes and
cultural behaviors. Again, it is important to agree
on and set the boundaries of what can and
cannot be done against the global positioning
and the local guidelines.
Step 5: Global versus local messaging
The final step is to determine whether a global,
local or mixed approach to messaging is required.
To help identify the strategy with the greatest
global impact and ROI, the economic, social and
technological aspects of each individual market
must be considered. Of course, the local brand
managers will be most aware of these, so it is crit-
ical that the global and local teams partner to build
individual market strategies that not only leverage
global initiatives but also have the ability to adapt
to local behaviors where necessary.
Tesco, one of the world’s leading retailers, is a
good example of a brand that not only has a
global position and a set of stated values (“to
understand customers, be first to meet their
needs, and act responsibly for our communi-
ties”), but also takes a local approach to its ser-
vice and product mix. Tesco’s stores in Japan, for
example, are small and cater to consumers who
are accustomed to shopping regularly for fresh
food. In Thailand, where people are used to
shopping in a traditional market, interacting
with vendors and rummaging through piles of
produce, Tesco adapted its offering accordingly.
In Europe it follows the Western approach of
neatly packaged, convenient portions. The result
is a brand that’s globally consistent and yet has
local market relevance.
This framework is one that brand managers
should continually review and use to assess their
brand’s relevance. It is vital that local markets
update the global brand team with feedback on
initiatives and vice versa. This means that the busi-
ness will always be performing steps two and
five—keeping the brand and financial goals at
their optimum. ●
Tesco recognizes that
shoppers’ habits vary, and builds
its stores to suit local tastes and
traditions. In Japan, for example,
Tesco stores are small and
focus on fresh foods.
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