article by martin roll

8/7/2019 Article by Martin Roll

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Article by Martin Roll

Branding and culture - The strategic winning combination

One of the biggest implications of globalization for companies seeking to expand to

foreign shores is the task of balancing standardization with customization. From a

branding perspective, this issue assumes even more significance. When some of the

world’s biggest brands expand beyond their home markets, they are tempted to repeat

their tried and tested formula in the new market as well. In fact this has been the path

followed by many brands. The assumption in such a case is that customers would be

too eager to consume the great brand because of its authenticity, heritage and

associations.

Brands as channels of self expression

Brands in the current globalized world signify more than just products with recognizable

logos. Brands have transcended the commodity trap and have seeped into peoples’

lives in many aspects. Brands have come to signify avenues through which people tend

to express their personalities, attitudes, likes and dislikes, association to groups/

communities and so on. As such, brands succeed if they offer customers opportunities

to express. Being global brands with entrenched identities and personalities and still be

able to adapt to local demands is a Herculean task. The following steps would facilitate

brands to make a smoother transition:

1. Understand the local market: Companies would do themselves a huge favor if

they do not generalize the markets based on some superficial parameter. Each

market has its own subtleties, unique characteristics and customer preferences.

Many of these unique characteristics are deeply inspired by the cultural

underpinnings of the society. To understand these underlying parameters would

allow companies to effectively target the customers.

2. Finer segmentation for faster adaptation: Markets by nature are known for

their multiple segments. Segmentation though a very basic exercise in marketing,



Another example is of the leading mobile brand Nokia. Nokia also recognized the

growing importance of rural customers in the Indian mobile telephone market

which grew from a mere 300,000 subscribers in 1996 to a whopping 55 million

subscribers in 2004. Nokia introduced its dust-resistant keypad, anti-slip grip and

an inbuilt flash light. These features, albeit small, appealed to a specific target of

truck drivers initially and then to a broader segment of rural consumers. These

features endeared Nokia to the Indian consumer as Nokia displayed a genuine

commitment in responding to local customer needs.

Conclusion

This article illustrates the importance of inculcating the element of culture – local

practices, customer preferences, local pressures and purchasing patterns – into

the brand’s DNA. The process by which global brands strive to appeal to local

customers in spite of maintaining their global aura is also referred to as

globalization.

Globalization is a part of the process of being culturally sensitive. Global brands

are usually adamant to continue their winning structure into every market they

enter. After all it is these structures that have made these brands so powerful.

But in the process of being dominant and refusing to budge from the

standardized procedures, these brands tend to ignore the underlying force that

drives customers and their purchase decisions in diverse markets. As markets

integrate and customers migrate, there is a possibility of the emergence of a

much similar force that is common among markets.

But this is a farfetched thought. As Late Professor Theodore Levitt of the Harvard

Business School wrote in his landmark article Globalization of Markets, markets

across the globe may one day become similar in literally every aspect and then

the global corporations would rule. But despite the confidant march of

globalization across the world, markets still continue to be unique. Till such a

time arrives when differences cease to exist, global brands must continue to



honor local cultures and adapt their brands to such conditions in order to be

successful.

article by martin roll

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