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Think everyone understands you? Think again!

I recently took a holiday in Barcelona, a city I've visited several times and can highly recommend. Though today part of Spain, this was not always so. As the capital of the ancient kingdom of Catalunya, the citizens of Barcelona maintain a culture that can sometimes be quite different to the rest of the country. Indeed, it is Catalan, not Spanish, that is their first language.

Though everyone you meet will happily converse in Spanish as well, businesses in the region - especially those marketing to consumers – must be prepared to communicate in Catalan. This is not something unique to Spain; in my own country too, we have strong enclave of linguistic variation. The country of Wales has long been part of the United Kingdom, but its language and culture survives, especially in the north. Again, you’re going to get on much better in business there if you communicate using the local tongue.

Differences in language are often symbolic of local culture, history and values. Whenever a business enters new a territory, it acts as a conspicuous marker that “things are done differently here”. It alerts us to adjust our own behaviour, trading practices and, most probably, our products. But what happens when you enter a new territory, even one that’s thousands of miles away, and the language is the same?

For American firms entering the UK market, or vice versa, this is precisely the situation. And precisely because the language is the same, many overlook cultural differences that are just as significant as those encountered in France, Germany or any other western European nation. Not speaking the language is a major motivator in encouraging overseas companies to seek local assistance, but when everyone speaks English it’s tempting to manage for oneself.

The mistakes that almost inevitably result are oftentimes trivial. Incorrect etiquette (be especially wary when switching between business and social situations) is easily forgiven. Misreading of dates (Americans write it month-day-year, in Europe it’s day-month-year) has led to countless upset travel plans. Such things are easy enough to recover from, but when it comes to more serious dealings, such as contracts or M&As, lack of cultural appreciation can be a deal-breaker.

Perhaps the most important area of all is with marketing communications, or the failure thereof. When making a gaffe, sensitivity to the reaction of those around you will quickly make it apparent and, unless you’re unlucky, there’s opportunity to review, explain and make amends. But what if the communication is one way? Get it wrong in your marketing literature, your advertising, even the manner of your call centre, and it could take months before you realise you’ve made a faux pas. Maybe you’ll never get to know at all.

Yet all the time the blunder could be costing your business dear. The flourishing market you had expected is in the doldrums, your CEO is fuming, and you haven’t the first clue what’s wrong. Then someone comes along and tells you that the fanny packs you’re struggling to sell mean something quite different in the UK (I’ll leave it for you to find out!). Perhaps you should have sought local advice after all.

Lessons in brand building

Interbrand’s annual survey of the world’s most valuable brands always makes interesting reading. Among the big winners and losers this year (HSBC up 20%, Samsung up 19%, Sony down 16%, Volkswagen down 12%), the factor that Interbrand noted most was that in a fragmented media environment, traditional advertising is becoming less and less important in building brand value.

To maintain awareness in an era where consumers can be more difficult to reach than ever, successful companies have been utterly focused on the consistency of every detail of their brand, for every market in which they exist. HSBC, eBay, Google and McDonalds are great examples of brands that deliver the same identity and message over and over, wherever you see it.

The Value of Consistency

SwelledHead agrees wholeheartedly, but it’s important to note that while consistency of identity and message is essential, it’s equally important to realise that they may be received differently by different audiences. Adjustments in the style of delivery will be necessary for different markets, be they segmented nationally, economically, socially, or by anything else. A good example is seen with Persil washing powder, as described in this article from BBC News Online.

History, nostalgia, matters of national pride and other cultural sensitivities can mean that consistency shouldn’t be sought for its own sake. Unilever’s Heart brand for ice-creams recognises the heritage of local market names - Walls in the UK, Algida in Italy and Breyers in the US. The firm understanding that a worldwide brand would not be welcomed. General Motors primary European brand is Opel, but in the UK the cars are badged Vauxhall. Introducing uniformity with Europe would cause an outcry, without delivering significant benefits, so the differences quite rightly remain.

While it’s true that investing in a single, all-powerful brand can help raise greater awareness, it can limit ability to stretch to different (often price-led) sectors of the market. Reporting on Interbrand’s survey, BusinessWeek notes “[Volkswagen] has attempted to move upmarket with the luxury Toureg sport-utility vehicle and Phaeton sedan models; but that has left car buyers, who associate VW with zippy, affordable cars, confused. Similarly, Levi’s introduction of its less pricey Levi’s Signature line in discount stores means it now competes on price at the low end, while trying to fend of rivals like Diesel at the upper end with its core “red tab” brand.” Toyota and Nissan were smart enough to realise that if they wanted to compete with premium makes in Europe and the US, separate brand names would be required. The firms’ Lexus and Infiniti models respectively are sold in their native Japan, but with the regular Toyota and Infiniti monikers. This is changing; the success of Lexus has convinced Toyota to introduce the name back home.

Coping with Media Fragmentation

Lord Leverhulme, founder of today’s Unilever, famously complained about his advertising spending: “Half of what I spend is wasted. The trouble is, I just don't know which half.” In today’s splintered media environment, getting 50% of your messages to hit their target would be extremely good going.

Yet while it’s now more difficult to mass market, there is opportunity to gain greater resonance with target consumers by appearing in the more specialist media they now see and hear, or by gaining exposure in locations they would not expect. Finding these opportunities requires companies to spend more time understanding their customers, even at the level of the individual. It’s a subject that gets a lot of hot air, with huge investments having been made in CRM (customer relationship management) combined with a more recent change in philosophy to CMR (customer managed relationships). Both seem to have made much less of a difference than was either promised and expected, but if brand builders want to maintain or grow their value, understand their customers they must.

Investment in media relations is one way to ensure your brand features in the editorial that consumers have opened themselves up to. Consumers’ level of trust of information that comes out of something they’ve chosen to watch, read or do is much higher than with advertising that is foisted upon them. As editorial becomes and increasingly targeted media outlet, both marketers and media controllers must ensure that the inclusion of brand messages is not handled clumsily. PR that is overt due to its lack of relevance simply loses its impact. Product placements that look out of context are never going to be worthwhile. But get these things right however, by ensuring you’ve taken the trouble to understand your consumer, the media and the relationship between them, and the approach can be highly successful.

Many advertising are now seeking to produce material that’s genuinely entertaining, such that audiences will actually tune-in, rather than tune-out. MINI’s ‘passport’ initiative is a good example of a clever PR tactic that works by reflecting the customers’ lifestyle and interests. Finding ways to let consumers interact with a brand can be a powerful way to build loyalty and deliver highly refined messages, but good execution is essential. Blogs, like the one you’re reading, are one example of setting up a dialogue with customers at a personal level, but don’t bore with bland corporate speak or information that’s not of use.

Historic Daimler car brand to return, but not to the US

One of the most valuable commodities in branding is the notion of heritage. This is especially true for automotive brands - its the years of history and the nostalgia they evoke which enables vanguard European and US marques to maintain an emotional appeal over Japanese, Korean and other new market pretenders. It's in the luxury car sector however, where heritage is prized most highly.

With wealthy buyers keen to differentiate as brands such as BMW, Mercedes and Audi have pushed lower into the marker with smaller models, the super luxury sector is expanding rapidly. Witness the resurgence of Bentley, Rolls Royce and Maybach. Keen to get in on the action, Ford is reversing its 2004 decision to can its Daimler brand. The company has announced that a long wheelbase version of its XJ model will wear the Daimler badge, with a price tag exceeding £100,000 ($180,500).

Insiders have said that it is unlikely the marque will be brought back to the US, to avoid confusion with DaimlerChrysler. Jaguar insiders say that the company wants to keep Daimler discreet and exclusive. They expect most sales in Europe, with particular focus on the UK, France, Belgium and Switzerland. Exports to the Far East are also under consideration. Daimler has not existed in the American market since Ford's ownership of Jaguar (when Daimler versions were badged 'Jaguar Sovereign').

Yet when it comes to British motoring heritage, Daimler has more of it than anyone else - 109 years in fact. Gottlieb Daimler, the father of the motor car, was befriended by an Englishman, Frederick Simms. They met at a German engineering exhibition in 1890, where Simms had been greatly impressed by the Daimler single-cylinder four-stroke engine. By 1893, Simms had established the Daimler Motor Syndicate in London. A financier, Harry Lawson, approached Simms and managed to persuade him to part with the Daimler name to establish the Daimler Motor Company in February 1896. Gottleib Daimler also, of course, formed Daimler-Benz, the basis of today's DaimlerChrysler. Daimler in the UK remained a separate company. In its early years it was known mainly for its coachbuilding work on limousines for British royalty and other heads of state and in later times as badge engineered version of top-of-the-line Jaguars.

Today's Ford-owned Jaguar marque is struggling for sales, so a diversion into reawakening a old brand doesn't appear to the wisest of moves. However, if Ford is intent on this strategy (and my heart, if not my head, would agree), then with so many years of history and royal connections that money simply cannot buy, the Daimler brand seems ideal for anglophile America. After all, this is where those quintessentially British car brands, Bentley and Rolls Royce, gain the lion's share of their sales.

Cutting out the US market opportunity after making the necessary investment to re-establish Daimler shows a misunderstanding of what appeals to a large segment of the US luxury car buying market. And if confusion among US consumers is the primary concern, as Daimler does not and has never appeared on any DaimlerChrysler models, the possibilities for this seem pretty remote.

Brand patriotism

The latest marketing campaign from Anheuser-Busch, brewers of Budweiser, Michelob and other beers, aims straight for the 'hearts and minds' of middle America. "Born Here. Brewed Here." emphasises the company's American roots, appealing to its countrymen to be loyal to its home-grown brands.

Patriotism in marketing is certainly nothing new, but Anheuser-Busch is pushing it further by distributing some information sheets that could easily be regarded as outright jingoism. One piece reportedly criticises the company's main competitors for being foreign-owned. The other says Anheuser-Busch is expanding abroad in order to bring back profits to the US.

The accuracy of the information has been called into question, but details aside the interesting thing here is the matter of summoning up national pride in support of your brand. By taking things too far, Anheuser-Busch could end up with egg on its face. However, a touch of flag waving is a tried and tested method for boosting sales. In today's troubled times, e.g. outsourcing job losses and threats of terrorism, it can make consumers feel as though they're doing something good to support their country. The reality is that very few major companies have nationally pure ownership. According to Bloomberg data, more than 6% of Anheuser-Busch itself is owned by British bank, Barclays.

Proud displays of the Union Jack are something of a rarity in Britain. We're often shy at displaying national pride, saving it for special occasions like yesterday's VE day commemorations or The Last Night of The Proms. We're probably the only country on Earth with a flag that symbolises racist oppression as well as patriotism, such is our hypersensitivity to multi-cultural political correctness. The contrast with the US could not be starker. Yet is our typically reserved way, we feel the same fuzzy glow from our - often dazzling - displays of nationalism as any American gets from a dose of Uncle Sam's best.

There's no doubt that patriotism is a marketing technique that works, but it pays to check out your identity thoroughly before embarking on anything public - your brand may be more 'multi-nationally contaminated' that you think. Evaluate too who you may offend, not just among your customer base but also with suppliers, distributors, retailers and so forth.

The irony as far as the Anheuser-Busch example goes, is that in the UK the company is currently running ads for its Budweiser brand that self-depractingly mock US stereotypes of being loud, brash and lacking cultural sensitivity. This application of nationalism is less rousing, but much more funny. And in Britain, you'll probably get further by making people laugh.