A couple years ago, my university professor emphasized that when expanding to new countries the most important factor of your marketing strategy comes down to knowing who your audience is.
Understanding the demographics, psychographics, and behaviours of your target audience will allow you to identify whether your organization can succeed in a new market and how your brand can connect with that new audience.
A recent blog by Hannah Fleishman of Hubspot, 13 Businesses With Brilliant Global Marketing Strategies, sparked my renewed interest in global marketing approaches. While I wasn’t familiar with all the organizations on the list, three companies’ strategies resonated with me and I thought that I’d give my two cents on why they’re my global marketing rock stars.
The following three organizations have adapted their social strategies effectively to translate across multiple languages and cultures while remaining true to their mission like the heavy-hitters they are.
Red Bull
Austrian-based Red Bull tops the charts. Red Bull’s global marketing strategy focuses on a variety of tactics; one that they’ve mastered is event-based marketing.
Playing host to extreme sports events across the globe – such as the Red Bull Air Race in the UK to the Red Bull Big Wave Africa in Cape Town – Red Bull’s event marketing is a global force.
What is Red Bull’s differentiating factor? After all, any organization can sponsor or host events. Look at their competitor Monster Energy who also utilizes event-based marketing. That factor is Red Bull’s ability to host successful events on a local level that remain true to their mission and values.
For example, this winter Red Bull ran four-on-four hockey tournaments in four Canadian cities: Winnipeg, Ottawa, Quebec City and Edmonton. These events all saw solid turnouts of Red Bull’s target market – young adults who are students or working professionals looking for a fun activity on the weekend.
While these events strengthen brand loyalty of current Red Bull consumers, it also gives consumers a reason to “be seen” at a cool event all while supporting a brand they’re in alignment with.
Spotify
As I’ve mentioned in prior posts, I’m a Spotify advocate. When I start to sway someone into switching to using Spotify over Apple Music, I pour my heart and soul into converting them because I know they’ll end up liking Spotify more.
Cue hero status.
What makes Spotify so great and why do their 87-million paying subscribers worldwide believe in their brand? It’s their ability to help you discover something new. And, they do an amazing job at it.
Case in point, Spotify utilizes the data of your streaming preferences and the country you’re in to curate playlists you’re likely going to enjoy. This personalized content is delivered uniquely to each user; and since Spotify does such an amazing job at it, everyone that I know who has switched from Apple Music to Spotify has been happy with their decision.
While Spotify utilizes marketing tactics – such as offering promotions or discounts – their amazing product grows within social circles once an individual has experienced what they have to offer. Referral marketing, also known as “word-of-mouth” marketing, at its finest.
To further increase the reach of an individual’s social circle, Spotify has made it extremely easy to share songs, playlists and content with frictionless sharing. With one click or a couple taps on your mobile screen, you can share your personalized content to the world.
Domino’s Pizza
Pizza?! Count me in! Just kidding, I’m working on my summer bod. Regardless, Domino’s has done an amazing job successfully transitioning over the years. This has been reflected in their stock price, where they have outperformed companies like Apple, Amazon, and Netflix over the past seven years.
There’s something special about pizza. Domino’s CEO, J. Patrick Doyle, says that special ingredient is joy. “The joy of pizza is that bread, sauce and cheese works fundamentally everywhere.”
In combination with their unique marketing campaigns – such as their “Paving for Pizza” campaign where they pave potholes to ensure your pizza arrives safely to your door – Domino’s has embraced technology to increase international interest and awareness.
This is reflected in a variety of areas, but one area is their menu. While the basics of “joy” remain the same in each global market, toppings do change, “It’s easy to just change toppings market to market. In Asia, it’s seafood and fish. It’s curry in India. But half the toppings are standard offerings around the world,” says Doyle.
Through understanding the preferences of each market, Domino’s has been able to expand their global presence through the use of new technology; which has delivered a new customer experience.
I encourage you to check out Hubspot’s extensive list of localized products for different markets. However, before you leave, I’d like to throw the spotlight your way and ask what companies you think are “global marketing rock stars” and who are their target markets. Email me at srohr@sherpamarketing.com with your thoughts.
Thanks for reading.