Marketing has rapidly evolved over the past few years, with progressive technologies allowing brands to execute campaigns and strategies quickly and efficiently. Of all the changes, nothing has had such a dramatic impact as the continued adoption of Marketing Automation (MA) platforms. These tools allow teams to move beyond program management to become revenue-generating machines, and according to Sirius Decisions, by 2015 up to 50 percent of B2B marketers will be leveraging a Marketing Automation platform. Many global marketing organizations’ existing infrastructure inhibits the efficiencies Marketing Automation has promised. MA systems are generally launched from a corporate marketing office, but most organizations still maintain in-country teams responsible for program development and deployment. The unintended consequence is isolated marketing activities, corrupt/disjointed customer data and an overall a lack of brand consistency. In the CMO Council Study “Integrate to Accelerate Digital Marketing Value,” 36 percent of marketers admitted their digital marketing landscape was really a random embracement of poorly integrated point solutions. Herein lays the opportunity for global marketing teams to realize the true value Marketing Automation can deliver by striking a new balance between global and local marketing.

1. Structuring for Success
Balancing Local Control and Global
Performance: The Digital Marketing Shift
Marketing has rapidly evolved over the past few years, with progressive technologies allowing brands to execute cam-
paigns and strategies quickly and efficiently. Of all the changes, nothing has had such a dramatic impact as the contin-
ued adoption of Marketing Automation (MA) platforms.
These tools allow teams to move beyond program management to become revenue-generating machines, and accord-
ing to Sirius Decisions, by 2015 up to 50 percent of B2B marketers will be leveraging a Marketing Automation platform.
Many global marketing organizations’ existing infrastructure inhibits the efficiencies Marketing Automation has promised.
MA systems are generally launched from a corporate marketing office, but most organizations still maintain in-country
teams responsible for program development and deployment. The unintended consequence is isolated marketing activi-
ties, corrupt/disjointed customer data and an overall a lack of brand consistency.
In the CMO Council Study “Integrate to Accelerate Digital Marketing Value,” 36 percent of marketers admitted their digital
marketing landscape was really a random embracement of poorly integrated point solutions. Herein lays the opportunity for
global marketing teams to realize the true value Marketing Automation can deliver by striking a new balance between global
and local marketing.
CONSEQUENCES OF LOCAL CONTROL
Driving efficiencies across global marketing efforts isn’t the only
motivation for identifying the right central strategy. By opting out
of a centrally developed program or campaign, in-country teams
are often unbundling a broader effort.
Many organizations carefully develop global and regional strate-
gies using a macro-lens, taking into account more than just the
view of the marketing plan. When it comes to crafting a corporate
strategy from a multitude of market and customer insights, there
are many hands in the pot — from corporate executive leader-
ship, to global sales and marketing and external consultants.
When the tactical application of that strategy takes shape in the
form of a centrally developed marketing program with a decen-
tralized decision matrix, an in-country marketing manager can
opt-out. They make that choice lacking any knowledge of the big
picture and initial strategic planning process, translating to the
unintended loss of regional market opportunities.
STRIKING THE GLOBAL – LOCAL BALANCE
Finding the right balance between what can be managed centrally and what needs to be executed locally is the first
step. For many global digital marketing efforts, what is localized is often language and imagery based cultural nuances
versus in-market rejection of the overall marketing initiative. Providing in-country teams the opportunity to opt-in to an
initiative based on their local knowledge can be an unnecessary step that causes a delay in time-to-market.
A centralized effort around key digital marketing initiatives can increase the total output while decreasing the overall
effort and strengthening the cost per metric (lead, conversion, opportunity). The first step is to create rules for which
elements of digital marketing need to be localized and what can be globally standardized.
The Business Case
Why centralize digital marketing operations?
Streamlining these efforts can increase campaign
effectiveness and contribution:
• Drive greater messaging and brand consistency
across diverse geographies
• Increase revenue-generation, lead volume and
decrease cost-per-lead from existing efforts
• Reduce the overall employee effort required
to replicate the same campaign over multiple
geographies independently
• Enhanced tracking and ability to develop global
behavior insights

2. Content
• Develop globally neutral brand content that remains
standard.
• Identify which content and messages can be tailored to
in-market nuances. Subject lines should be localized given
their impact on email performance.
Design
• Create comprehensive email templates with globally neutral
imagery, color pallets and fonts.
• If imagery is needed to convey the core message, tailor it by
culture.
Landing Pages and Forms
• Create universal landing page templates with globally neutral
imagery, color palettes and fonts. The same imagery caveat
from above applies here.
• Website forms should be templatized for managing global
data quality and enable consistent lead scoring.
Operations
• Global marketing best practices and operations should be
managed across the platform, enabling greater productivity
from an existing workforce.
• Lead scoring and routing should be consistent worldwide.
• Nurturing programs can be managed centrally, allowing for
the local content input referenced above.
Targets, Lists and Segmentation
• Due to the diverse sets of email, SPAM and privacy laws across
different countries, list development and ownership needs to
be managed locally to comply with opt-in regulations.
• Segmentation is part of the strategic planning process and
can be managed centrally.
The dynamics continue to change for marketing, both internally
and externally. Balancing global and local control has never been
easy, but there are assumptions regarding digital marketing efforts
that need to be revisited, driven by the rapid adoption of Market-
ing Automation systems. These platforms provide an opportunity
for marketing to drive efficiencies across their global efforts that
provide increased performance, brand consistency, and better
data quality and insights.
GET STARTED
To learn more about our Global Email
Operations solution, please contact us at
globalmarketingops.com/get-started
globalmarketingops.com
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A Perspective Beyond Digital
Marketing Operations
Given the need to control the customer experience
globally, there are opportunities beyond digital
campaigns to start managing programs centrally.
LOCAL
• Content marketing (blogs, web content): Local
insights are needed to drive real-time, relevant
content
• SEM/PPC/display advertising: In-depth
understanding of users, buyer-personas, search
terms and digital properties is required for
channel success
• Social media marketing: Tied to a global SEO
strategy, but driven by local content marketing
• Public/media relations: Requires cultivating
relationships with an evolving landscape of
influencers
• Event marketing (offline/online): Often
connected to regional associations,
professional groups and client/partner groups
• Sales promotion (B2B): Offers driven by
regional, in-country sales teams
CENTRAL
• Brand marketing: Programs and campaigns
driving core brand messages that are globally
neutral/relevant
• Thought leadership efforts: Publications,
initiatives and content that illustrate subject
matter expertise
• Product/solution marketing: General product
promotion and support messages, with room
for locally “tailored” content
• Websites/microsites: Centrally managed digital
properties
• SEO: Oversee organic search performance
centrally across all regions. Content driving
SEO can be developed locally