Alexandra Shaposhnikova is the Content Strategy Manager at Ball Corporation.
Every communication professional knows the golden rule: a campaign’s key message of any campaign should be clear and consistent. But how can you maintain this consistency across different regions, cultures, and languages?
I come from Kazakhstan, a beautiful country in Central Asia. Throughout my career, I’ve had the unique experience of working with global brands, both as their regional representative and as a member of teams developing communication campaigns. This dual perspective has given me valuable insights into crafting messages that resonate across diverse audiences.
I led the implementation of various campaigns and frequently observed that what seemed like a brilliant concept for a global initiative often struggled to connect with the local audience. The key message may get lost in translation, the image may showcase employees from backgrounds that don’t represent the region, or there might be delays in localised communication resources, leading to unfounded interpretations.
How do you ensure your campaigns will succeed locally?
Begin with planning
Involve diverse stakeholders in the discussions about the campaign, and let them share their ideas. These employees can come from various functions, backgrounds, regions, and levels of seniority. Explain the goal of your campaign and define your target audience. Ask how they feel about it, and let them express their enthusiasm and concerns.
Check with the legal team if the campaign you’re planning can raise any legal concerns in the countries involved (GDPR compliance, donation platforms, certain social issues).
Test your key messages and distribution channels with regional representatives. Invite them to provide feedback on the campaign and assess their understanding of the message. Engaging them early can turn them into advocates for the campaign.
Decide whether to translate the campaign’s brand name or keep it in English. This decision should be clearly established prior to the launch; otherwise, different locations may begin translating it locally, leading to a variety of interpretations and potentially losing the essence of the brand name.
Explore regional or local dates that may conflict with campaign launch dates. For example, avoid launching on a Friday, as it is a weekend in some countries.
Create content that resonates with your audience
Localise your visual content to reflect the regional and local environment. There are many ways you can amplify content using templates. You should also customise your poster and digital signage templates with photos and images featuring local teams and environments. The audience should be able to see that this information is relevant to them.
Translate resources before launching the campaign so that all locations get them at the same time. No one likes waiting. The delay could lead to some local translations that may not meet the required standards.
Test your translated content with employees fluent in the language, as even top translation agencies may overlook company or industry-specific terminology.
Make sure your distribution channels are working effectively
Ensure your content is accessible globally, as some platforms may be blocked in certain countries. Consider providing alternatives if needed.
If you’re relying on the local teams to cascade the information, make sure you’ve explained how the information needs to be presented and provided all resources, including talking points and Q&A for managers. Avoid sharing resources one day ahead of the launch, give the teams some time to set everything up.
Monitor the conversion, check to see if people engage with your content (views, call-to-action links, sharing). If you notice that specific regions or countries are not participating, take the initiative to ask about the reasons. There could be a bottleneck affecting the process.
Ask for feedback
Make sure the audience can give feedback in the local language. If you are launching a post-campaign survey, translate it just like other communication materials.
Ask your regional and local teams for feedback on what they noticed and heard from their peers about the campaign.
Measure results and analyse insights
Try to see how the campaign performed in different regions and countries, not just globally. It helps to understand why the campaign performed better in certain geographic areas or what challenges you’ve encountered so that next time you can make more informed decisions.
Share your results with the team and stakeholders. Your colleagues may discover that the insights are useful and can be applied in other communication and business areas.
