I recently had the privilege of attending a part of a global marketing conference held by one of our clients. I was there to present an overview of The Global Brand, and it quickly became apparent to me that the group was wrestling with issues common to any organization that manages brands across countries and cultures. It was also clear to me that on the previous day, a guest speaker had either deliberately or inadvertently exacerbated some of the tensions that exist within any global team.
I had not heard that speaker, but by listening to discussions the next day I got some idea of his pitch. He had said that brands seeking to challenge a category leader cannot afford to mirror the leader’s actions. They must think outside the box. And they must rely, not on research, but on their own insight. The example of Apple, led from the doldrums to its current status as a successful challenger brand by Steve Jobs, was mentioned more than once.
I think this proposition is fundamentally flawed. Yes, in order to make significant progress, brands do need to disrupt the status quo, but there are few visionaries like Steve Jobs who can do so without reference to research. The people who have an intuitive feel for what consumers want and will be willing to pay are very few. I am sure there are many, many more people whose brands never made it to the big time because their visions were out of synch with people’s needs, wants or desires.
The challenge of correctly anticipating what people really want is exacerbated on the global stage because of socio-economic and cultural differences. Can someone living in New York, London, or Paris guarantee that they have a good understanding of what people in Brazil, Russia, India, or China want, when the cultures of these countries are so dramatically different? Can they guarantee that they really understand the needs of the majority of people, who believe that Coca-Cola is a luxury, as opposed to the more familiar urban elite, who can afford to buy a Coke whenever they’re thirsty? I doubt it.
It is pretty easy to create a brand that will appeal to a small niche market of like-minded people in one country. It is relatively straightforward to extend that appeal to like-minded people in other countries. What is far more difficult is to create a mass market brand with appeal that transcends countries and cultures. If you think that successful global marketers at Diageo, Coca-Cola, P&G, Unilever and McDonald’s don’t do research before they launch their brands into new countries or create global advertising campaigns, you need to think again. These marketers invest significant amounts of money to understand people’s needs, wants and desires. Then they adapt their products, services, and communications accordingly. They don’t ignore their intuition; rather, they use research to understand and inform it.
For example, when Diageo set out to reverse the fortunes of Johnnie Walker, they faced a tremendous challenge. The brand was losing volume sales and share. The mode of whiskey consumption differed by country; it was drunk mixed in Spain, straight in the U.S. and with guarana in Brazil. Red Label predominated in some countries, and Black Label in others. Local campaigns all positioned the brand differently. What Diageo needed to find was some unifying theme that would unite its efforts to rebuild the brand.
Global qualitative research was commissioned to understand the nature of masculine success and to identify a big idea that could reinvigorate the brand. The research revealed that around the world, the idea of personal success was being superseded by the idea of personal progress. The striding man, a traditional icon of Johnnie Walker communications, was used to represent the concept of progress. The “Keep on Walking” campaign that was developed around this idea helped increase Johnnie Walker sales by 48 percent in just eight years.
Earlier this month, at the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising Effectiveness Awards, the campaign was rewarded three times: with the grand prix, a gold award and a special prize of best international multimarket. (Click here for the story.) As the IPA Award documenting the success of the campaign stated, “Progress was the insight with which Johnnie Walker would transcend market idiosyncrasies to inspire men throughout the world.”
Could someone have identified this idea by standing around swapping tales with people in the bar? Sure, but you would have to visit a heck of a lot of bars around the world to make sure the idea resonated everywhere. When it comes to global marketing, research will always be an important part of what creates a successful brand.
So what do you think? Does insight always get it right? Should my client “Just do it” or should they make informed judgments on how to disrupt the status quo? Let us know.
(4 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading ...
Email This Post