International Brand Management PDF

**CHAPTER 8: INTERNATIONAL BRAND MANAGEMENT** **"*As more and more companies come to view the entire world as their market, brand builders look with envy upon those that appear to have created global brands---brands whose positioning, advertising strategy, personality, look, and feel are in most re...

**CHAPTER 8: INTERNATIONAL BRAND MANAGEMENT** **"*As more and more companies come to view the entire world as their market, brand builders look with envy upon those that appear to have created global brands---brands whose positioning, advertising strategy, personality, look, and feel are in most respects the same from one country to another*." ([HBR, 1999](As%20more%20and%20more%20companies%20come%20to%20view%20the%20entire%20world%20as%20their%20market,%20brand%20builders%20look%20with%20envy%20upon%20those%20that%20appear%20to%20have%20created%20global%20brands%E2%80%94brands%20whose%20positioning,%20advertising%20strategy,%20personality,%20look,%20and%20feel%20are%20in%20most%20respects%20the%20same%20from%20one%20country%20to%20another.))** **Uber, Apple, Cola, and so many more names that transcend boundaries... Who among us doesn\'t love being associated with a global brand? There is a lot of effort that goes into building a brand that spans boundaries, despite how easy these corporations make it seem.\ ** **DEFINING INTERNATIONAL BRAND MANAGEMENT** **Unlike brands that focus on a local or centralized market, global brands target a broader audience, maintaining uniform marketing and messaging with slight adjustments for language and cultural differences.** **IMPORTANCE OF GLOBAL BRANDING** - - - - - - **CREATING BRAND GUIDELINES** 1. 2. 3. 4. **Balancing international consistency with local relevance in brand guidelines is a sophisticated exercise in strategic brand management. It requires an expert understanding of how to maintain a unified brand identity while simultaneously adapting to diverse cultural contexts.** **When brands expand into international markets, they face the challenge of balancing global consistency with local relevance. But effective brand guidelines help navigate this by providing a framework that maintains core brand identity while allowing flexibility for local adaptation.** **HOFSTEDE'S CULTURAL DIMENSIONS** **Culture = "*The collective programming of the human mind by which one group of people distinguishes itself from another group*." ** **Hofstede\'s Cultural Dimensions Theory provides a framework for grasping cultural variations across nations and the methods in which business is conducted in those various societies. The framework helps to differentiate between many national cultures, the aspects of culture, their influence on behaviour and to enable communication in spheres ranging from business to diplomacy.\ \ Culture is a collective phenomenon that is employed to evaluate the probability of groups of individuals behaving in a particular manner and to analyse the behaviour of groups. One individual does not suffice to represent an entire culture, and the culture does not suffice to represent the individual.** 1. **Power Distance** 2. **Collectivism vs. Individualism** 3. **Uncertainty Avoidance Index** 4. **Femininity vs. Masculinity** 5. **Short-Term vs. Long-Term Orientation** 6. **Restraint vs. Indulgence** **LOCALISING BRAND ASSETS** **Keeping your brand consistent while making it relevant to local markets is a delicate balance. Using style guidelines, glossaries, and terminology databases can help maintain a unified brand image across different languages. These tools are like your navigational aids, ensuring your brand's core message remains intact.** - **Example of Localisation Scenario** **MEASURING & OPTIMISING PERFORMANCE** **Relying on data is the most effective way to continuously optimize your global brand performance. Metrics like website traffic and conversion rates are key indicators of your success in multilingual markets.** **Tools like Google Analytics and the Weglot translation project dashboard can provide insights into how well your localization efforts are performing. For instance, before adding new languages to our website, we analyze page view metrics to identify the languages of our top visitors. This data helps us prioritize and make informed decisions.** **A/B TESTING** **A/B testing (also called split testing) is quite like a science experiment for your digital assets. You create two versions of something---like a webpage or an email---and see which one your audience likes better.** **Examples of assets to test:** - **Landing pages** - **Display ads** - **Marketing emails** - **Social media posts** **How it works** Ha**lf your audience sees \"Version A\" and the other half sees \"Version B.\" You then compare how each version performs based on specific goals, like clicks, form completions, or purchases.** **Steps for A/B Testing** 1. **Form a Hypothesis: Before starting, hypothesize what you believe will happen. For instance, \"I think a red CTA button will get more clicks than a blue one."** 2. **Create Variations: Develop your A and B versions. Ensure only one element changes to accurately measure its impact.** 3. **Randomly Assign Audience Segments: Use a tool to randomly split your audience into two groups. This ensures unbiased results.** 4. **Run the Test: Launch your test and let it run for a sufficient period to gather meaningful data. Ensure the duration is long enough to achieve statistical significance.** - 5. **Analyze Results: Compare the performance of both versions against your goals. Look for statistically significant differences.** - 6. **Make Data-Driven Decisions: Based on the results, decide which version to implement or if further testing is needed.** - 7. **Iterate and Optimize: A/B testing is an ongoing process. Continuously test and refine different elements to optimize your marketing efforts.** - **KEY TAKEAWAYS** - - - - -