LISAFacebook has been growing rapidly and is the top social network in many major countries now, particularly in North America and Western Europe. However, it’s not the only social network to consider.Orkut is popular in Brazil and IndiaB Kontakteis popular in RussiaHi5 is popular in MexicoMixi is popular in JapanTenCent’s QQ or Qzone is popular in China in fact , they announced that they hit the $1 billion mark in revenue for 2008 (some ad revenue, mostly sales of avatars and applications)
LISAWe’ve shared a lot of stats. But it’s hard to substitute numbers for visual experience. Let’s look at some top sites around the world – all of these are in the top 20 most visited sites in their country, according to Alexa.com. I think you’ll quickly get a sense on just how different web experiences are across the world.
LISAA online seller of goods. Mostly electronic and home appliances but other goods as well.
LISA
LISAQQ.Com – part of the largest social networking site in the world
LISA
LISAIndia Times. A liberal use of colors is characteristic.
LISA
LISAPopular web portal site
LISA
LISAAmeba
JEFFThanks Lisa for walking us through those insights. Clearly the needs, wants, habits and preferences of the digital user differs across the globe. That presents multiple challenges: not only technological and cultural, but even on topics that we didn’t cover, like inherent costs and the relative accessibility of some countries over others.The question now is how as Marketers do you respond? How do you make sure your decision to take your digital experience global succeeds?
JEFFTechnologically-speaking, companies have a tremendous incentive to make global websites centralized —it saves money and effort. And often times they want to tightly manage the brand experience. So in other words, they want to THINK GLOBAL and act local. But, this approach has the risk of downplaying regional differences — the different ways people want to experience a brand, and the ways they prefer to interact on the Web. On the opposite end of the spectrum, THINK LOCAL puts a premium on flexibility and deliver a superior experience that is tailored to each audience. But here the risk is a disconnected brand experience and greater expense as each country or region has to reinvent the wheel. So, how do you maximize both?
JEFFThe key is strike the right balance in terms of central versus local governance. And what is the right balance? Is it 80-20? 40-60? Every situation – every product, every country, every campaign – can differ. But the best outcomes require a thoughtful consideration on a topic by topic basis. We’ve listed out some of the key execution topics and grouped them by whether they lend themselves to a more Centrally-oriented approach or a more Locally-oriented one. Lisa and I are going to spend the rest of the webinar walking through examples of how to address these nuts and bolts cultural and operational issues.
iCitizen Webinar Series: Go Global - Presentation Transcript
Global Delivery in a Digital World Presented by Resource Interactive October 13, 2009
Monthly webinar series iCitizen mission: Take a deep dive into the opportunities and challenges offered by the new breed of consumer—the icitizen Topics ranging from social media to consumer personas and beyond iCitizen Symposium: May, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio For more information, visit: www.resource.com/icitizen
Today’s topic: Global delivery in a digital world Target Audience: companies that have already taken their products/services/brands global, or that are about to, but have not yet extended their digital support globally
speakers Jeff LeonardDirector of Account Strategy Lisa Bownas Director of Consumer Research & Insights
agenda
Insights: the global digital world is not an extension of the U.S.
Guiding Principles:balancing global vs. local
Critical Success Factors:overview of the cultural and operational nuts and bolts
Key Takeaways: four things to remember
GLOBAL INSIGHTS
Insights: Internet growth coming mainly from Asia
Insights: Top social media sites vary by region … Sources a – comScore data, February 2009 b – Alexa data, Top Sites by Country, May 2009
… and even by countries within a region Mongolia Romania Azerbaijan Bulgaria Croatia Egypt Israel Jordan Kenya Lebanon Lithuania Bosnia-Herzegovina Morocco Nigeria Pakistan Serbia Slovak Republic Slovenia South Africa Turkey UAE Poland Czech Republic Armenia Estonia Georgia Kyrgyzstan Kazakhstan Russia Ukraine Latvia Hungary Sources a – comScore data, February 2009 b – Alexa data, Top Sites by Country, May 2009
Insights:Internet penetration shows the same kind of variability Source: eMarketer
Insights: Middle East/Africa using mobile to do more than other regions
Insights: by the numbers 80% of Scandinavians are online 84% of South Koreans have broadband access 90% of Internet users in the Philippines read blogs; 69% write blogs 73% of Chinese internet users search for and share opinions online Source: eMarketer
France
China
India
South Korea
Japan
Global Digital Challenges Technology: Internet is still in the process of standardization in terms of technology, file formats, etc.; bandwidths and hardware vary across regions Culture: Even for countries sharing a common language, the Internet has its own lingo and idioms Market Needs: Internet penetration, and even what the Internet is used for, differs greatly between regions and even countries Costs: foreign-exchange/currency issues; high costs of product / communication adaptations Free Markets/Economic conditions: foreign entry and government bureaucracy
Global Guiding Principles
Global Guiding Principles Be consistent and efficient (aka thinkGLOBAL, act local)
Present a consistent look and feel for your brand
Create a consistent but flexible global infrastructure
Leverage existing best practices globally
Be relevant (aka thinkLOCAL, act global)
Target the key influencers and customers in each region
Be a part of relevant experiences wherever they are taking place digitally
Deliver globally relevant content with locally appropriate layers
Dilemma: how to maximize BOTH??
Striking the Right Balance CENTRAL LOCAL
Culture-specific imagery
Optimized usability for local preferences
Local/regional language
Progressive enhancement
Localized brand interaction
Agency coordination
Standardized technology and solutions
Configurable templates
Content management
Country-by-country play book
Systems integration identified and documented
Execution – CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
Local: culture-specific imagery Color Symbolism: there are vast differences in the meanings behind colors in different cultures Red = love, aggression, celebration or purity White = peace, purity or death Green = peace, health, or danger
Local: culture-specific imagery Icons: country specific understanding of icons and symbols is important
Local: optimized usability for local preferences Navigation modes: the variations in language readability (left to right, or right to left, or vertical) across cultures impact how people browse the web pages
Local: optimized usability for local preferences Text length: text length determines the format of the Web pages needed for the website in a particular country
Local: optimized usability for local preferences Text length: text length determines the format of the Web pages needed for the website in a particular country
Local: optimized usability for local preferences Text length: text length determines the format of the Web pages needed for the website in a particular country
Local: optimized usability for local preferences Text length: text length determines the format of the Web pages needed for the website in a particular country
Local: local-regional language Translation: effective translation requires a 3 step process Create original content Compare against original content translate translate Local content
Local: local-regional language Translation: be aware that the same language can also differ in the form of dialects
Central: agency coordination RASCI: Need clear understanding of responsibilities / accountabilities between lead agency and local agencies Communication: need regular communication in BOTH directions
Central: standardized technology and solutions Progressive enhancement: recognizes that Internet access varies country by country by allowing everyone to experience basic web page content and functionality for any browser or Internet connection, while providing those with better bandwidth or more advanced browser software an enhanced version of the same page * source: eMarketer, 2/09
Central: standardized technology and solutions
Central: standardized technology and solutions
Central: configurable templates Localization enabled by country and language, at content and feature level; centralized infrastructure for cost savings and delivery management
Localize brand interaction: allow for product portfolio variations, i.e. which products are available by country Central: configurable templates
Central: content management
Central: country-by-country play book Digital Style Guide Tool-kits: template creation, file structure, scorecards, how you upload, workflow, standards, style guide, etc.
Central: Systems integration identified and documented be aware of what technology is preferred or even possible in each country; even something as simple as paper/output sizes for printers can be different American National Standards Institute International Standard (ISO) 216
FOUR THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
1 Know your markets: leverage existing research and collaborate with in-country market managers to create priorities and learning plan to foster insights Keep in Mind
Define Digital Strategy: use insights to identify differences and commonalities among regions/ countries to help identify opportunities and holistic digital strategies and scale Keep in Mind 2
3 Determine Governance: Create buy-in to a clear governance structure, and then communicate, communicate, communicate! Keep in Mind
4 Implement: consider all creative, operational and technological aspects of execution before committing to a specific project plan Keep in Mind
dialogue Let’s talk.
thank you GET AN O.P.E.N. ASSESSMENT Jeff Leonard, Director of Account Strategy jleonard@resource.comLisa Bownas, Director of Research & Insights lbownas@resource.com www.resource.com/icitizen
Maintaining positive brand recognition globally can be challenging. It’s not enough to think about your strategy anymore; you have to successfully execute it, too. So how do you create a tech savvy global site without muffling your brand’s voice?
Jeff Leonard and Lisa Bownas present this discussion with focus on creating a balance between central control and local input for brands that have already gone or are about to go global. less
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