The phrase “global marketing” is becoming a thing of the past. While companies can be international and have marketing teams aiming to engage audiences in various areas with different backgrounds, there is no longer a need to separate global marketing from other types. In today’s interconnected business environment, all marketing is global. There is value in tailoring marketing efforts to specific regions, like how Oreo changed its cookie for China, but businesses must understand that they cannot restrict their marketing messages to certain areas, as people will share those messages beyond their intended locations.
Laptops, smartphones, tablets, and many other technologies have removed geographical limits, allowing almost everyone to create and share content, turning them into their own small media outlets. Consumers now see messages, images, and products from different cultures and places and can purchase items from those areas. Often, it’s better to create one main global message instead of separate local messages for each region and market. After all, the Internet is the biggest marketplace, and as Old Spice discovered with their Old Spice Man Super Bowl ad in 2010, having the right message and platforms can help your message and product succeed everywhere, connecting with your audience long after the first introduction.
Developing separate strategies for global campaigns and local campaigns is also not efficient; it takes time and resources. This causes a problem for rolling out campaigns, as consumers want to know about the product and services that are available, and marketers want to share the details with them immediately and in real time. We now can perform an efficient message exchange within seconds using technology like the Internet, mobile advertising, webcasts and live blogging, which significantly increases ROI.
Take Apple’s recent iPad and iOS unveiling, for example – a decade ago, a global roll-out of those products would have required an outsized outflow of company resources, with sales and marketing teams on the ground, visiting different regions and spreading essentially the same message, adjusted only slightly for localization purposes. Last month, the world was instantly exposed to Apple’s update with the company’s ability to host a live conference online, and as some have come to expect, Apple fans around the world will begin ordering Apple’s new iPads and lining up outside store doors as soon as availability is imminent.
In addition to the Internet’s impact on regional marketing, the proliferation of mobile devices is also expediting the elimination of regional barriers. By being able to access your information anytime, anywhere, people are literally bringing their data with them across borders and creating an always-on type of world that enables marketing and communication teams to reach audiences 24/7. This creates a marketplace where consumers hear many messages at once, eliminating the day/night cycles of traditional media. Having one clear and constant message is key to breaking though the jargon and jumble and achieving your marketing goals.
Globalization and technology make most local marketing strategies unnecessary. Instead, when it comes to marketing, think about optimizing efficiency with a single worldwide strategy.