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Over the past few decades, as trade, capital flow, foreigndirect investment, global supply chains and technol -ogy have spread in an ever more complex web, com -panies have had an unprecedented opportunity toexpand geographically. Many have grown organically,

using their established domestic brand to enter new markets. Othershave grown through acquisition, often rebranding local businesses withthe acquiring company’s global brand.

But a challenge to global brands comes when campaigns ignore, mis-understand or fail to capture regional nuances, resulting in a lack ofengagement, understanding and that crucial emotional connection with consumers. In cases in which financial directors have wrested con-trol of vital decisions related to brands from the marketing or brandmanagers, the emotional connection between brands and specificgroups has often dis appeared. In essence, costs were saved in the shortterm to boost the bottom line, but the brand’s long-term value was neg-lected—and the cost of that neglect can be significant.

A wholenew world

To be successful today, global brands need a

comprehensive strategy that covers every market

by Stephen Cheliotis and Lizzie Carr

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global branding

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One of the world’s truly globalbrands, McDonald’s has culti -vated an image of quality, clean-liness and consistency, while atthe same time catering to localtastes. Above, a McDonald’srestaurant in Delhi, India.

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STO

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What should multinational companies do to take advantage of theirglobal footprint, yet build engaging campaigns that resonate with con-sumers in discrete markets? How can they maintain brand consistencyand a core set of global values while being flexible and responsive tolocal needs? And how can they do it while keeping costs under control?

The answer lies in a comprehensive brand strategy that takes all thoseelements into account.

The value of a trusted brandThe role of a brand is to positively affect attitudes and behaviorstoward either a business or a series of products and services sold undera particular banner. To fully optimize a brand, a company mustunderstand which emotions that brand influences, to what extent,and how that effect differs among different groups. For global brands,this is a particular challenge.

A brand’s value comes principally from its impact on the demandcurve—how it stimulates interest for the branded goods in stable

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global branding

economic times, thereby increasing sales and/orthe premium commanded over competitors. In a downturn, that value could be measured by how the brand’s popularity limits declining sales by discouraging buyers from switching tocheaper alternatives.

Fundamentally, a brand’s influence on individ -uals—and thus on demand—comes from its emotional influence. Human beings, especially indeveloped, wealthy societies where basic needs are usually met, tend to make decisions based onemotion, not logic. A known brand may reduceour anxieties and insecurities by serving as a trusted, reliable source. For example, McDonald’ssymbolizes a certain level of service, hygiene andquality that reassures people that wherever they

are in the world, they can trust the brand to deliver on its promises.

In short, a brand is an essential business assetcapable of swaying others to positively evaluate agiven business, product or service, thus maximiz-ing financial returns for that business.

A framework for global brand strategyTo ensure that, as a business, you are gaining the greatest return on your brand, you need tohave a strategic plan that continually assesses and reviews the brand’s global vision and strat egy,as well as its local position in each market inwhich it operates. This assessment should be carried out through a multilayered brand audit,

Human beings,

especially in developed,

wealthy societies where

basic needs are usually

met, tend to make

decisions based on

emotion, not logic.

The Co-operative’s new branding reminds consumers that the organization’s members have common goals.

about the authorsStephen Cheliotis is chairman

of the Superbrands & CoolBrandsCouncil and chief executive of

The Centre for Brand Analysis, aLondon-based consultancy dedi-

cated to understanding brandingand the performance of brands.

Lizzie Carr is a senior consultantat The Gild, a brand and innova-

tion consultancy, in London.

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with the principal goal of ensuring that the brandengages and inspires internal and external audi-ences in all markets.

The framework outlined below can help youachieve the difficult balance between global andlocal, and maximize returns while minimizing riskfrom the challenge of the emerging set of emotion-ally engaging brands.

Step 1: Internal brand auditStart by looking within by conducting a thor-ough internal brand audit that includes all disci-plines across the business, not just marketing.The audit should cover the brand’s history, sto-ries, architecture, culture and equities; be globalin scope; and include input from local markets.The point is to determine, from an inside per-spective, what the brand has in its arsenal: whyand how the brand has developed, what it standsfor, and what its real values, personality and emo-tional hooks are. Armed with that information,brand managers can then assess how the brandcan be used to attract and inspire its various audi-ences, both internal and external.

There are many ways to approach a brand audit,from stakeholder interviews to secondary internalresearch such as brand trawls—going backthrough any information that you have on thebrand in your archives, which could include com-pany accounts, internal reports and analysis on thebrand, stock analysis and retail data, merchandis-

ing or promotional activity—everything that thebrand has done throughout its history. It’s impor-tant to get buy-in from senior management, too,to ensure that everyone involved understands thevalue of the brand and the need to keep it vital.

For example, the Co-operative is the largest co-operative in the U.K. and the world’s largest consumer-owned business, with more than three million members. Each member has anequal right to contribute to the Co-operative’sdecision-making processes. The group itself has a diverse portfolio, from food, banking and travel to insurance, legal services, online shop-ping and funeral services.

The brand was revamped in 2006, with the aimof refreshing its roots as a collective, while tappinginto consumer trends. The main idea was toremind consumers that the brand is not justanother multinational, but a brand composed ofmembers, built on the core principle and values ofworking as a collective to achieve common aspira-tions and goals. Today, although the brand’s valuesand core message have not changed, the way inwhich the business communicates has. For exam-ple, it has brought all of its different companiesunder one roof and become more sophisticated asa brand; its web site and communication feel uni-fied, rather than coming across as a set of disparatebrands. The actual look and feel of both the brandand the stores were also revamped to make themmore fresh and modern, while the traditional val-

Start by looking

within by conducting

a thorough internal

brand audit that includes

all disciplines across

the business, not just

marketing.

A brand audit helped the lingerie company Gossard identify the emotional connections consumers havewith the product and the company, which Gossard will use to develop future global branding efforts.

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global branding

ues were encapsulated in a more contemporarytagline: “Good for everyone.”

Step 2: External brand auditTo gain a holistic view of the brand, taking intoconsideration the opinions of stakeholders, cus-tomers and consumers, the next step is to conductan external brand audit. The audit should give aclear picture of how the brand is perceived from anoutside perspective, through a mixture of qualita-tive and quantitative research.

An external audit not only paints the bigger pic-ture in terms of public perception of the brand,but also includes more detailed information, suchas reaction to local advertising or packaging com-munication. For example, the team behind theGossard lingerie brand set up a series of qualitativeinterviews with its retailer customers, includinglarge department stores and independent bou-

tiques, as well as in-depth interviews with poten-tial target consumers.

Using the data gleaned from these interviews,the team was able to identify the consumer’s emo -tional connections with the Gossard brand: thatthey used lingerie to express themselves, as a wayto be creative, be seductive and try new things.This was an important hook that the brand couldtap into through different collections in differentmarkets. Going forward, this will help the businessdevelop its brand based on global needs and emo-tional connectors. At a more local level, this audithelped the brand managers to understand thepotency of brand values and perceptions, and theefficiency of brand communication.

It’s not uncommon for a brand to generate dif-ferent perceptions among consumers in differentmarkets. For example, in 1995, brand managers atthe British fashion house Burberry recognized that

An established

global brand position

and guidelines ensure

alignment, consistency

across markets and

local flexibility.

Consumer research inspired Burberry to revamp its brand strategy to focus on the company’s “English -ness,” and to turn to its archives to create modern takes on its classic designs.

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in the U.K. the brand was associated with lower-income groups and football, while in the rest ofthe world the brand was seen as a high-qualitydesigner label. To reset this image in the U.K., thecompany went through a series of renovations thatharkened back to the heart of the brand—theessence behind its original brand values. Burberry,when founded, stood for “Englishness.” It tappedinto its history—that it was founded in 1856, andwas the “trench coat” supplier to the British Armyduring World War I; that it clothed debutantes fortheir launch into society. Not only did the brandpositioning change, but the designs that the com-pany produced followed suit. For example, theU.K. saw a return to Burberry’s classic designs fromthe brand’s archives, but with a modern twist.

The information gathered through the internaland external audits should provide the brand man-agers—as well as the CEO, the finance directorand other senior decision makers—every-thing they need to create an integrated exec-utive dashboard that details the brand’shealth and performance.

Step 3: Target consumer group identificationUsing the information in the dashboard, thebrand team can then review another key com-ponent of the brand: the target consumergroup. A global target consumer group is onethat has relevance in all markets, either now orin the future. It also may be appropriate toidentify primary and secondary target groups.

Getting the audience right is one of the keyelements of the brand’s strategy—it is theseconsumers that the brand should aspire to con-nect with on an emotional level. The brandshould be able to tap into the needs, hopes anddesires of its consumer target group throughemotional hooks. If the brand gets this right, itwill immediately be able to build loyalty. Justthink Persil washing powder, and the emotionalhook of its “dirt is good” slogan. The brandunderstood who its target consumer group wasand tapped into a key emotional hook: Motherswant to be able to give their children permissionto go outside and get dirty. Parent companyUnilever is therefore celebrating a universal child-hood experience.

However, like Burberry, it’s not unusual for abrand to have a different cachet in different mar-

kets. For example, although the brand propositionfor the Aldi discount grocery chain is the same inboth Germany and the U.K., in Germany, it isinterpreted as the “smart and clever” choice,appealing to smart shoppers, whereas in the U.K.it is perceived as the “cheap” option, aimed atvalue shoppers.

Step 4: Vision and positioningAlthough a global brand vision is required, it isalso necessary to overlay any future positioningwith local market nuances. To help in doing this,arrange a workshop or conference for members of the global and key local market brand teams.The goal here is to build an aligned brand vision,position, personality, and set of values that every-one understands and agrees on, while identify-ing how and where the brand needs to be or canbe modified at a local

It is critical that the

global and local teams

build individual market

strategies that both

leverage global initia-

tives and can adapt to

local behaviors.

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Unilever, the makers of Persil detergent, reaches its key market—mothers—with a message that it’sOK for their kids to play outside and get dirty.

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global branding

level. An established global brand position andguidelines on what can and cannot be done to thebrand ensure alignment, consistency across mar-kets and local flexibility. These guidelines can takethe form of a simple brand positioning book out-lining the core values and personalities, and defin-

ing which are flexible for certain markets. It couldalso include a list of specific products within theportfolio and their relationship to the brand.

The assembled team should also create a global brand activation platform that defines thebrand communication’s core message and tapsinto shared trends, consumer attitudes and cultural behaviors. Again, it is important to agreeon and set the boundaries of what can and cannot be done against the global positioningand the local guidelines.

Step 5: Global versus local messagingThe final step is to determine whether a global,local or mixed approach to messaging is required.To help identify the strategy with the greatestglobal impact and ROI, the economic, social andtechnological aspects of each individual marketmust be considered. Of course, the local brandmanagers will be most aware of these, so it is crit-ical that the global and local teams partner to buildindividual market strategies that not only leverageglobal initiatives but also have the ability to adaptto local behaviors where necessary.

Tesco, one of the world’s leading retailers, is agood example of a brand that not only has aglobal position and a set of stated values (“tounderstand customers, be first to meet theirneeds, and act responsibly for our communi-ties”), but also takes a local approach to its ser -vice and product mix. Tesco’s stores in Japan, forexample, are small and cater to consumers whoare accustomed to shopping regularly for freshfood. In Thailand, where people are used toshopping in a traditional market, interactingwith vendors and rummaging through piles ofproduce, Tesco adapted its offering accordingly.In Europe it follows the Western approach ofneatly packaged, convenient portions. The resultis a brand that’s globally consistent and yet haslocal market relevance.

This framework is one that brand managersshould continually review and use to assess theirbrand’s relevance. It is vital that local marketsupdate the global brand team with feedback oninitiatives and vice versa. This means that the busi-ness will always be performing steps two andfive—keeping the brand and financial goals attheir optimum. ●

Tesco recognizes that shoppers’ habits vary, and buildsits stores to suit local tastes andtraditions. In Japan, for example,

Tesco stores are small and focus on fresh foods.

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