Back in November, I wrote on the topic of
cross-cultural branding – a specialty here at
B&LPR and a discipline that, we think, will become more and more relevant for two reasons:
1) The global marketplace continues to flatten, putting US brands in direct competition with other brands from other parts of the world. Very often, the battle for share-of-mind and consumer pocketbook doesn’t even take place on our own shores or in our cultural idiom, so US brands need to be prepared to act global but market local; and
2) The demographic shift in the US (away from Euro-centrist and towards Latin-centrist) is an inevitability we need to embrace. In order to compete in our own domestic market, we need to start identifying the cultures that will influence American culture in the future and make sure we’re positioned appropriately.
Many business people, when faced with these two facts react predictably – they deny. Denial is to be expected. Who wants to admit that they are not only in a minority globally (Americans only account for 5% of the world’s population) but that we may very soon be a minority in our own country (by 2040, no single ethnic group will constitute a majority).
But sticking your head in the sand and hoping the problem will go away won’t work for long. Eventually, someone or something is going to come along and ask you to move or, worse yet, pave you right over. Action is required and it doesn’t have to be painful.
In fact, many clients take consolation in the fact that many of the core values that make up their brand are shared by cultures all around the world. Interpreting those values may require some legwork (and nuance is an acquired taste, I’m convinced), but the end up to this whole situation is actually much to the benefit of Americans and our culture (thanks, in large part, to
our inherent diversity):
America still stands for something in the hearts and minds of people everywhere. And nobody makes that case better than Americans. We may still have a lot to learn about how we present those values and how we listen to divergent points of view, but we still have an incredible advantage in the sheer attraction of things American.
And the best way for us to take advantage of that advantage is to put it into action inside our own borders. As people of different countries and cultures see Americans embracing and appreciating the value brought forward from different cultures, they see something they can’t see anywhere else. Application of cross-cultural branding principles inside our own country makes perfect sense and it’s good for business in the long run.
Technorati Tags: Marketing, Advertising, B2B Marketing, Ethnic Advertising, Minority Marketing, Client Management, Leadership, Creative Thinking, Culture, Cultural Diversity(c) 2006 - Bawden & Lareau Public Relations, all rights reserved.
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