Localization is more than just translating website content; it also engages with customers on a personal level, allowing you to create a brand profile that is both open and exclusive. In a nutshell, localization is about creating trust.

Danyelle C. Overbo

Here are some top reasons why brands should adapt their campaigns to each country or region:

1. Create An Emotional Connection

By taking the time to learn about the country’s culture, language, purchasing habits and consumer behaviors, brands can readapt their global campaigns so that they fit with the country’s context. They can choose to do the campaign in the local language. But there’s more to it. By showing that the brand understands the country’s audience, they can create relevant and inclusive narratives that will show that they understand the country’s way of life. Furthermore, they can alter their products and campaigns to match the context of that specific country or region. Such steps make it easier for the local consumers to accept a foreign brand in their country: a brand that cares and won’t transgress their norms, laws and way of life but rather, integrate their values and adhere to them. 

2. Build Customer Loyalty

By aligning your brand’s marketing campaigns to a country, it’s easier for local customers to accept the brand. Customers feel that they get a more personalized experience with the brand that understands their needs and as a result, it leads to customer loyalty.

This can be done by sponsoring local events and campaigns, joining forces with the community for social work and taking the initiative to organize new events in line with the country’s culture and norms. 

Other measures can include country-exclusive discounts and promotions.

3. Increase Sales Revenue

When customers can connect with a brand that speaks to them, it builds a strong sense of loyalty that can help in boosting the sales of the brand. International brands like Coca Cola have created successful localized campaigns that are in line with their glocal strategy. However, by adapting to local markets, they were able to build a connection with local customers and that helps to increase sales revenue.

• Purchasing Preferences: In many countries, cashless transactions such as payments by credit cards, bitcoins or different phone applications are preferred as customers tend not to carry much cash. However, in some countries, people prefer to make payments in cash rather than cards or other applications. The brand should be aware of these preferences prior to launching so that it can cater for the proper means of payments. For example, providing a swipe card machine can be necessary in some countries to facilitate payments. 
• Cultural Norms: Understanding a country’s culture isn’t easy but if done carefully, it can help greatly in consolidating a brand’s presence. It’s wise to hire local experts that understand the local culture and local market. It’s important to know what is acceptable and what clashes with the local culture. This helps in building clear marketing campaigns, adverts and social media content that remain respectful of local culture. Furthermore, if a brand can make use of cultural references from the local community, it shows that they care about the country. Some brands can alter their products to fit with local preferences. 

• Language Barriers: Language is a key part of a localized marketing strategy. When adapting a global campaign to the local language, it’s key to ensure that the meanings are correctly translated. Else, there can be miscommunications and misunderstandings when translating the message that the brand wants to put forward to its audience. 

• Online Marketing: when tackling online marketing, make sure that you look into local seo keywords. Words can mean different things in different countries and if you want your localized content to rank high in search engines, you need to make sure that they are relevant to your market. There’s more than SEO that should be taken into consideration when handling online marketing. It’s important to know which are the most popular social media platforms that are used in that local market. For instance, in some countries, TikTok is very popular while Pinterest isn’t. In countries like China, many international social media platforms are banned and local platforms such as Wechat and Weibo are used. 

Coca Cola is known for embracing local cultures when it comes to its advertising campaigns. The Share A Coke Campaign was launched in Australia in 2011 and expanded to around 50 countries and was a global hit. 

Coca Cola’s aim was to strengthen the emotional connection with the brand and its customers. Through the Share A Coke campaign, it replaced the logo on its bottles and cans with popular first names. However, when bringing the campaign to other countries, Coca Cola ensured that it used first names that were popular for each specific country. By using culturally relevant names, the campaign became more inclusive. People were thus able to connect emotionally.  

More than that, Coca Cola also used common nouns such as mom, dad, bestie, friend, etc. that were translated in different languages to convey a sense of inclusivity.

Customers were also encouraged to take selfies of themselves with the product, featuring their name. This one-of-a-kind campaign made a huge buzz with people all over the world sharing pictures on social media and creating a global yet inclusive community for Coca Cola lovers.

2. Mc Donald’s

Mc Donald’s is one of the largest fast food chains in the world and one of the reasons behind the success of this major chain is the fact that it has adjusted its menu and its advertising campaigns to cater for the needs of the local markets where it operates. One can find the good old classics that made the brand famous but Mc Donald’s has ensured that it understands its local markets. 

For example, MC Donald’s has introduced the McRibs in the US which is very much in line with American food. But for the Japanese chains, you will find other burgers such as the Teriyaki Burgers which have been adapted to Japanese taste buds. In India, the chain has introduced the Mc Aloo which is a vegetarian patty burger and it also includes Naans and upped its spice levels to fit Indian preferences in terms of food. In Switzerland, you can find a Mc Raclette on the menu that is inspired by the traditional dish Raclette. 

By offering options that are closer to local cuisine, MC Donald’s shows that it cares about the local markets. Furthermore, it uses the local language to present these new options, creating a sense of familiarity with the local people. This helps to build trust.