Thursday, July 30, 2015
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13 Businesses With Brilliant Global Marketing Strategies
Thanks to the internet, global reach is no longer reserved for deep-pocketed brands, nor is it an incredible hassle for already over-burdened marketing managers.
In fact, a global presence is possible for any business with a creative strategy and an understanding of world markets.
To give you an idea of what a great global marketing strategy looks like, we've compiled a list of brands that totally "get it."
Download more examples of awesome marketing and advertising campaigns here.
From adapting their social strategies to translate across multiple languages to adjusting their menus to appeal to the cravings of a diverse group of people, these brands are taking positive steps towards creating a solid presence across the globe.
So if you're looking for inspiration on how to craft a successful international marketing strategy and expand your business' reach, check out these examples from 13 successful companies.
13 Companies We Admire for Brilliant International Marketing
1) Red Bull
Austrian company Red Bull does such a great job with global marketing that many Americans assume it’s a local brand. How?
One of its most successful tactics is to host extreme sports events all over the world. From the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix to the Red Bull Air Race in the United Kingdom to the Red Bull Soapbox Race in Jordan, the brand's powerful event marketing strategy takes them here, there, and everywhere.
Aside from events, Red Bull's packaging also plays a part in its global appeal.
"Red Bull really looks like a product from a global economy. It doesn't look like a traditional American soft drink -- it's not in a 12-ounce can, it's not sold in a bottle, and it doesn't have script lettering like Pepsi or Coke. It looks European. That matters," explains Harvard Business School professor Nancy F. Koehn in a 2001 article. Though it's since diversified its product selection since that article was published, the fact remains that Red Bull's consistent packaging has helped this brand go global.
2) Airbnb
Airbnb, a community marketplace for people to list and book accommodations around the world, was founded in 2008 out of San Francisco, California.
Since then, Airbnb has grown to 1,500,000+ listings in 34,000+ cities worldwide. A large contributor to the company's explosive global success? Social media.
In January 2015, Airbnb launched a social media campaign around the hashtag #OneLessStranger. The company referred to the campaign as a "global, social experiment," in which Airbnb asked the community to perform random acts of hospitality for strangers, and then take a video or photo with the person and share it using the hashtag.
Just three weeks after the launch of the campaign, over 3,000,000 people worldwide engaged, created content, or were talking about the campaign.
3) Dunkin Donuts
4) Domino's
Similar to Dunkin Donuts, Domino's has prioritized menu innovation as a means of increasing international interest and awareness.
“The joy of pizza is that bread, sauce, and cheese works fundamentally everywhere, except maybe China, where dairy wasn’t a big part of their diet until lately,” explains Domino’s CEO J. Patrick Doyle.
“And it’s easy to just change toppings market to market. In Asia, it’s seafood and fish. It’s curry in India. But half the toppings are standard offerings around the world.”
By making a conscious effort to gain a better understanding of the preferences of the markets it's trying to break into, Domino's is able to deliver pies diverse enough to gain international attention.
5) Rezdy
Some companies may not be trying to attract global markets directly, but if their clients are, they better know how. Rezdy is an Australian-based reservation software designed to make online booking smoother for tourists and agents alike.
Though Rezdy's clients are Australian-based, the company needs to cater to its clients' international visitors. Click on the screen shot to check out this fun video on Rezdy's homepage:
The first feature the video spotlights is 'Internationalisation.' The video walks us through how easy the service is for users, but is sure to emphasize the language and currency customization tool upfront. Even if your company is marketing to other regional companies, consider their global customers as if they were your own.
6) World Wildlife Foundation
WWF took its Earth Hour initiative -- a voluntary worldwide event where participants turn off their lights for an hour to show how easy it can be to battle climate change -- and brought it to Norway's mobile audience.
Scandinavian countries like Norway experience extreme daylight hours in different seasons, making the country a prime candidate for WWF's Blackout campaign. Using digital agency Mobiento, the nonprofit placed the Blackout Banner across Norway's top media sites to promote Earth Hour. With one tap of the banner, the screen went black. Finger swiping the black screen slowly revealed the Earth Hour countdown. The banner attracted roughly 1,000,000 impressions and the campaign received three MMA Global Mobile Marketing Awards back in 2012.
Have a cool idea? Don't be afraid to try it out on one international market -- just make sure it's the appropriate audience. (Also, don't be afraid of the dark.)
7) Pearse Trust
With offices in Dublin, London, Vancouver, Atlanta, and Wellington, Pearse Trust has grown to be an international authority on corporate and trust structures. But it takes more than offices all over the map to reach an international audience.
That's why Pearse Trust keeps content flowing on its Facebook page that engages its various markets. In this screenshot below, you can see Pearse Trust posts lots of content featuring international affairs relating to the company's practice.
It also levels out external articles with Pearse Trust content, featuring news from places like Germany, Ireland (where it has a Dublin office), and the U.K. (where it has a London office). This is a great example of focusing on common interests shared among your company's various markets while also making the content relatable to customers by region.
8) Nike
Nike has been able to evolve its global presence through the careful selection of international sponsorships such as its previous long-standing relationship with Manchester United.
Although sponsorship spending can be fairly unpredictable -- demand costs tend to surge due to triggers like championships and tournaments -- these partnerships have certainly helped the brand capture the attention of a global audience.
Nike's NikeID co-creation platform serves as another strategy that the company is using to appeal to international markets.
By putting the power of design into the hands of the consumer, Nike is able to deliver customized products that align with different cultural preferences and styles.
9) McDonald's
We all know McDonald's is a successful global brand, so unlike its menu, I'll keep it light.
While keeping its overarching branding consistent, McDonald's practices 'glocal' marketing efforts. No, that's not a typo. McDonald's brings a local flavor, literally, to different countries with region-specific menu items. In 2003, McDonald's introduced the McArabia, a flatbread sandwich, to its restaurants in the Middle East.
McDonald's has also introduced macaroons to its French menu:
And added McSpaghetti to its menu in the Philippines:
10) Innocent Drinks
Innocent Drinks is the leading smoothie company in the U.K., but that's not the only place you'll find its products. In fact, Innocent products are now available in 13 countries across Europe.
And despite its widespread reach, the company's "chatty branding" remains consistent across the board. For instance, the website is very bubbly, with contact information that reads "call the banana phone" or "visit the fruit towers."
While global expansion and rapid growth can sometimes distract a company from consistent branding, Innocent Drinks has managed to remain true to itself. By ensuring that the brand's voice is interpreted the same way around the world, Innocent is able to create a more recognizable brand.
11) Unger and Kowitt
The phrase 'glocal' can be defined as "Think Globally, Act Locally." But what happens when you switch the two around?
Woah, fasten your seat belts -- literally. Unger and Kowitt is a traffic ticket law firm based in Fort Lauderdale defending drivers in the state of Florida. Not very global, right? Well, Unger and Kowitt understands that America is a melting pot and that Florida is bursting at the seams with different cultures and languages.
Though a domestic service, the firm's website is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Creole. With these options, Unger and Kowitt can cater to Florida's nearly 3.5 million Floridians who speak Spanish, Portuguese, or Creole. Don't miss out on expanding your client base -- sometimes you don't have to look far to attract international business.
12) Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a great example of a brand using international marketing efforts. Though a large corporation, Coca-Cola focuses on small community programs and invests a lot of time and money in small-scale charity efforts.
For example, in Egypt, Coca-Cola has built 650 clean water installations in the rural village of Beni Suef and sponsors Ramadan meals for children across the Middle East. In India, the brand sponsors the Support My School initiative to improve facilities at local schools. Not to mention, the brand sticks with selling an emotion that can't get lost in translation: happiness. Now, tell me this doesn't look like fun:
13) H&M
According to Interbrand, H&M is on track to increase new store openings by 10-15% a year. One of the secrets fueling its global expansion strategy?
Optimizing its online experience.
With an online shop available in 21 markets, including the U.S., H&M is doing everything in its power to create an easy-to-navigate, mobile-friendly online shopping experience.
What other brands out there do a great job with their international marketing? Let us know in the comment section below.
Editor's Note: This post was originally published in November 2012 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.
3 Mega Marketing Lessons From 3 Companies With Strong Brands
While on the surface these big mega-brands may seem un-relatable, we really can learn a lot from their work and how they approach both their products and brands.
8 of the Best B2B Publisher Email Newsletters
Producing email newsletters for B2B markets can be a vital part of your inbound marketing. Producing one, week after week, which actually gets read isn’t always so easy. Luckily, publications of all shapes and sizes can create great newsletters—you just have to know your audience and what they will find most engaging.
To get your creative juices flowing, here are 8 of the best B2B email newsletters we’ve come across recently:
1) Food Safety Update
Not exactly a catchy title unless you happen to work in food and beverage manufacturing and don’t want to inadvertently make people sick. But to the right audience, Food Safety Update's content is pure gold, presented in a clear and easily digestible manner. We like the clean design that’s smartly organized and well-labeled so readers know exactly what type of content they’ll be viewing (featured articles, sponsored white papers, events, products, etc.). They break up all that text with attractive thumbnails and tastefully designed display ads that don’t detract from the content. Unsubscribing is easy, as is social sharing.
2) GreenBuilder
GreenBuilder offers another tastefully designed newsletter that makes it easy to quickly find what you want. We especially like the text-only top with hyperlinks to featured articles—it gets you to the meat of the email fast. The graphics below help to separate additional linked articles with thumbnails and concise summaries. They also make it easy to share on social media with icons at the bottom, as well as text-based links at the top. The article titles are engaging and the writing is crisp and written with a very specific reader in mind.
3) InterDrone News
Yup! Would you believe there’s a really cool newsletter aimed at folks who build drones or use them in their work? Who knew? This newsletter is sparse on the bells and whistles, but has a super easy to read layout, direct and to-the-point writing, and the content stays on topic. The line breaks in particular are a great tool for moving readers' eyes down the page.
4) Dental Products Report
DPR writes catchy headlines and article titles that get dentists’ attention. We can see why it’s so popular. The layout and images are more reminiscent of a well organized website than a newsletter, and their use of topics along the top make for easy navigation. Their CTAs aren’t subtle—it’s clear what actions they want you to take. But their copy is direct, benefits-laden, and clear. They also create a sense of urgency where appropriate and incorporate social proof with testimonials from other dentists.
5) Chemical Processing Weekly
As far as B2B newsletters go, this one is not what you would expect. Forget the clinical, scientific vibe. It has more of a retro, down-home feel. We especially like how they incorporate polls and a reader questions to get engagement up. The headlines appeal to chemical engineers, content is concise, well-organized and stays on topic, native ads are clearly identified. They keep the reader's needs first by offering content from both their own publication, in addition to compiling top industry news from outside sources.
6) Smart Meetings News
Aimed at corporate event planners, this newsletter is attractive and fun to read (e.g. How to Stay Healthy at Conferences Using a Smartwatch). We like how it’s organized—more timely news is up top, with industry articles and events following. They include polls for favorite hotels and venues, and make it easy to share as well as return to the main website. The colors are bright, the photos enticing, and social sharing a breeze.
7) SD Times’ Featured Resources
Software developers love this newsletter because it’s filled with valuable educational resources, each tied to a unique and relevant industry issue. We like the way they use color and white space—the design is inviting, cheerful, and easy to read. The CTAs aren't buried in the text, but bold and easy to engage with.
8) SP TechCon News
This event-specific example gets right to the point. It shamelessly urges you to spend up your remaining training bucks at their upcoming conference. We like their direct style, and the alternating use of color for the different classes makes it easy to read. There’s no way any IT professional can mistake the message, and if the idea of Austin in February wasn't luring enough—they also provide an extensive sample list of classes.
Newsletters can be a great tool for any publisher, regardless of industry. Take a few notes from the examples above, and think about what your market is talking about, the expertise you have to offer, and how you can package these pieces into the most engaging format possible. These publishers knocked it out of the park, now it's your turn.
How to Keep It Real in the Digital Age
Websites and apps should offer more than a price and a pitch. For small businesses, the simplest way to maintain authenticity is to treat your digital brand like you do your storefront.
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