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Florian Haller

Drawing strength from the DNA of the target market: how local myths and fairy tales offer additional impetus for brands

Without a deep understanding of local culture and myths, hardly anything works in the major growth markets, even if the rest of the preparations are perfect. Whether it´s about gods, festivals and colors in India, Chinese legends and Confucianism, or infectious joie de vivre and folk tales in Brazil: those who do not internalize the cultural DNA of the target markets and coordinate their own marketing accordingly will run into a wall. From Chinese philosophy to Hindu mythology, the extremely diverse future markets offer endless analogies to link a brand with the prevailing symbols, beliefs, tastes and myths. Niklas Schaffmeister (Managing Partner Globeone) and Florian Haller (CEO Serviceplan Group) explain the four factors that are especially important for this undertaking. All details can be found in our new Springer publication “Successful brand development in the major emerging markets”, written in German.

1. Referencing local worldviews: Reincarnation is a telling example

Each region has its own beliefs, religious convictions and myths. They express themselves in colorful rituals and festivals, in serious processions, or in traditional narratives. Western companies and brands have imaginatively used local myths and beliefs in many target markets. Volkswagen in India is a great example. For a while, the car manufacturer drove an ad alluding to the topic of reincarnation. Reincarnation is very important in Hinduism. The ad showed an old VW Polo, which was highly appreciated by its owner. Even in old age the man still took care of the vehicle. But he died when his daughter was expecting a child. The daughter and her husband buy a new Polo and discover that their grandson appreciates the car as much as his late grandfather. The analogy here is that the grandfather must have reincarnated himself in his grandson and thereby also transferred the love for the vehicle. The advertising spot culminates in the slogan: “The new Polo – so good that you will come back for it”.

2. Use local festivities: How to make effective connections

Religious and other traditional festivals in some countries initiate massive migration of peoples. Hundreds of millions of Chinese return home to their families to celebrate Chinese New Year. The whole country is on its feet for these emotional celebrations. They are wonderful occasions for brands to establish or expand connections with their target groups. Starbucks used the Chinese calendar in a clever advertising campaign to increase sales. The Seattle-based coffee chain developed a 30-day calendar around the annual Spring Festival, when all of China is on its feet and all Chinese give their loved ones red envelopes with gifts of money. The Spring Festival is often used in China for weddings, travel or other important events. One day in the Starbucks calendar was declared to be good for visiting relatives. Another day was reserved for blind dates. The calendar was distributed on social media platforms and the various days were linked to special offers in the coffee chain stores. Once, customers were asked to hug their parents in a shop to take advantage of an “order three, pay two” offer. On another day the drinks were free and customer cards were offered. With relatively little investment, Starbucks made its “Campaign of Daily Friendliness” a huge success. It is said to have increased sales revenues tenfold compared to other advertising campaigns.

3. Local research: Identifying future global trends at the source

Global trends usually emerge from the largest, most agile and creative markets. The large growth markets are therefore increasingly becoming the source of new standards and trends. For this reason, Western brands have been strengthening their local research and development in the markets of the future for some years now. Mercedes-Benz was one of the trendsetters in China. The car manufacturer opened a center for advanced design in Beijing in the first half of the decade. The reason was the farsighted assumption that the preferences of Chinese consumers will set global trends in the future. In addition to adjustments to infotainment and driver assistance systems, the R&D center is also researching the vehicle design of the future and the specific preferences of local consumers. Parallel to the opening of the R&D center, Mercedes presented its first local concept car, an SUV coupé crossover called “G-Code”. The car features numerous adaptations that serve the special taste of the local target group. In addition to borrowings from traditional national architecture, fashion and calligraphy, the design was also influenced by specific tastes of modern customers. The Chinese prefer an expressive and dominant design to demonstrate their individual social rise. This even includes striking gimmicks such as a radiator grille that can change its color.

4. Well translated is half integrated: When BMW turns into a “precious horse”

A local adaptation can be really tricky when it comes to the language. There are pitfalls lurking here. They can prove expensive if something goes wrong, especially when it comes to translating the brand name. Names are very important, for example, in the Chinese culture. Before the Cultural Revolution, it was a widespread custom to add a pseudonym to the family name and first name when you reached adulthood. From this self-chosen name one could deduce characteristics and activities of the name bearer. The same applies to brand names. From the point of view of Chinese consumers, the brand name is a manifestation of the culture and values of the product advertised. But with about 50,000 characters and hundreds of dialects, negligence in translation can end in disaster. Some German companies have succeeded in making successful transfers with the help of experts. The name for Siemens – “Xi-men-zi” – means “Gateway to the West”. In Chinese, the name BMW is “Bao-ma” – “Precious Horse”. And “Ben-chi” as a transmission from Mercedes-Benz is translated as “galloping fast”.

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Florian Haller

Global, hybrid or local: 4 decision factors for the right degree of adaptation to the target market

Authors: Florian Haller, CEO Serviceplan Group, and Niklas Schaffmeister, Managing Partner Globeone

The successful positioning of a brand is part of the high art of marketing. Based on complex factors, a concept needs to be developed that supports branding in the minds of consumers in the local target market. In the first part of our blog series we explained the most important strategies for the global expansion of brands. Against this backdrop, brands basically have the possibility to choose between a global, hybrid or local positioning. It is therefore important to determine the right degree of adaptation to the local market on the basis of suitable criteria. Following, we briefly present the four most important strategies. For more detail see the new Springer publication “Successful brand development in the major emerging markets”, written in German, by Niklas Schaffmeister (Managing Partner Globeone) and Florian Haller (CEO Serviceplan Group).

1. Product category: How much culture is in my product?

Every consumer is familiar with that: certain products are more closely linked to cultural ideas and habits than others. This becomes particularly apparent in the case of food or clothing, where local consumer perceptions have evolved over centuries. Contrary to that, products such as vehicles or electronic devices have a weak cultural component. Before deciding on a local positioning, it must therefore be clarified whether the product has a realistic chance of sufficiently reflecting the local culture and thus prevail over local competitors.

2. Status relevance: Does my product serve the right status factors?

In major growth markets, foreign brands are often used to demonstrate a certain status. Newly-rich Chinese, for example, like to display their prosperity with luxury watches. According to research, wealthy Chinese own six luxury watches on average. But be careful: too much adaptation to the local target market can dilute the global brand promise of premium brands. Against this background, they are generally better advised to play to the strengths of their country of origin image that serves the status needs of local consumers. Before entering the target market, they need to ascertain that the brand meets the local status requirements and whether this might be jeopardized by too much adjustment.

3. Consumer patriotism: How big is the political influence on purchasing decisions?

Patriots can still have a soft spot for foreign brands. In times of political tension, however, solidarity with one’s own country can be a serious obstacle against the purchase of foreign brands and thus prove to be a huge risk for a successful positioning in the target market. This risk needs to be thoroughly examined before entering the market: What kinds of conflicts are lurking, which ones can be anticipated? Traditional elites, low-income consumers and the elderly tend to be more patriotic than other social groups. In addition to conflicts that go back a long way in history, current political tensions, such as Donald Trump’s protectionist agenda, can also have a negative impact on foreign brands.

4. Income level: What can consumers afford after all?

The income level is another decisive determinant of a positioning strategy. The rule of thumb for most emerging markets is that with higher prosperity more consumers prefer foreign brands. This reflects the tendency to demonstrate one’s prosperity by buying foreign brands. Before entering a local target market, brands must therefore analyze the income level of their target groups, because the extent to which they need to adapt to local market conditions ultimately depends on that.

All four factors must be carefully weighed against each other. The most important principle is to avoid conflicting positioning goals: Once you have decided on a global or local positioning, you must carefully avoid inconsistencies. The difficulty with a hybrid positioning, on the other hand, is to separate the global brand core from those aspects that are adapted to the culture in the local target market.

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