PMG Brain Room : International Considerations

Welcome to the PMG Brain Room.

Today we’re going to talk a little bit about a few things you’ll want to take into account when running Marketing campaigns internationally.

While if you have the internal capabilities to expand your business overseas it might seem like a no-brainer, it’s important to remember that audiences and consumer behaviors differ across countries.

The first thing to consider about international marketing is seasonality. Particularly in the retail space “seasons” are big for new product releases and can impact your copy and your message. However, seasons aren’t the same worldwide. While it may be winter here in the northern hemisphere, it’s actually summer down south in places like Australia or certain South American countries. If you’re looking to target countries outside of your hemisphere make sure to avoid seasonally related messaging or keep it appropriate to the country. In that way it can be more relevant to your consumers.

The next big point to consider is going to be about key shopping dates for international markets. While the big shopping days here in the U.S. are obviously Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Those are American-created “holidays”. While they are starting to have a creeping influence in other international markets, Boxing Day, December 26th, or more recently what has become Boxing Week is one of the biggest shopping events in CA, UK, and many others.

Another point to keep in mind is that while many sales and promotions are scheduled around holidays remember to stay away from emphasizing those that don’t exist outside the states. It doesn’t make much sense to promote a 4th of July sale in copy that is going to be viewed outside the US. Additionally, there are other holidays celebrated internationally, such as the Lunar New Year in China that aren’t celebrated here that you may consider developing copy around. Again, keep your message targeted specifically to your audience or at least generic and neutral.

Lastly, remember to be cautious when developing messages that are going to be viewed by people of different countries and cultures. While it should seem fairly obvious, make sure you stay away from potentially hot button topics in your messaging and don’t include anything that could be deemed offensive by others. The need to be cautious about this is amplified when marketing internationally as different cultures have different sensitivities As if I haven’t said it enough, keep messages straightforward and neutral. If the copy is in English you’ll likely be appealing to those that speak English as second language, making it easier for things to be misinterpreted. And if you will be translating the messages yourself keep in mind that online translation services aren’t always accurate as they may seem.

If you are considering expanding your reach internationally, but have limited experience doing so, I highly encourage you to go and do some research on your own to learn more about the market you’re targeting and how to best appeal to them. Relevant messaging can go a long way in capturing attention and ultimately revenue.

Thanks for watching the PMG Brain Room, and we’ll see you next time!

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