Cultural adaptation: Gains & pains in the pre-natal product dev. for new market entry.

1. Product Brand I18N:
Transforming cultural challenges
into communal channels
Talia Baruch. Founder, Glocalization Strategist
Copyous: Localization program development & management
talia@copyous.com
www.copyous.com
415.722.6744

2. This is a roller coaster ride through
pains & gains in pre-natal product
dev. for new market entry:
• Climb up contextual, functional & visual hurdles.
• Dive into locale-tailored branding.
• Resurface for a quick peek into glocal strategy.

3. Product Internationalization = feels native

4. Weave I18N into your brand fabric
Cause | Brand identity & creative teams are typically
US-centric & isolated from the i18n/l10n planning.
Effect | Brand messaging hits (local) target,
But loses impact overseas.
Misses target (market).

5. We’ll explore 5 key questions:
1. Why localize products and campaigns?
2. How do we reconcile Global vs. Local models?
3. What are the ingredients baking a winner brand?
4. How do we strategize glocally?

6. 1. Why localize products and campaigns?
2. How do we reconcile Global vs. Local models?
3. What are the ingredients baking a winner brand?
4. How do we strategize glocally?

7. What’s your objective?
• Expand your brand’s footprint worldwide.
• Increase global users.
• Reap ROI.

8. No, really, what’s your objective?
CONNECTION.
CROSS-CULTURAL.
Make a meaningful & memorable connection between
product/brand and user/consumer. Worldwide.

9. People are wired differently.
More so people from different cultures.
We’re triggered by different
association paths,
collective memories,
stories & histories.

10. Tell to Sell: How you get there depends on how
well you tell your brand story, make it relevant.
Your message needs to
Click & Connect Hit home Fit in

11. 1. Why localize products and campaigns?
2. How do we reconcile Global vs. Local models?
3. What are the ingredients baking a winner brand?
4. How do we strategize glocally?

12. Global vs. Local considerations
• Regional vs. HQ authoring, budget, marketing and
management.
• Corporate identity and messaging.
• Principals: central One message/One voice/One world
vs. decentral/regional.

13. Global
• One size fits all.
• Globe-trotter concept, one that travels well.
• HQ-centralized budget, content authoring, management
and workflow: cost/time-to-market efficiency.

14. Every company wants its brand to get bigger.
The tricky part is balancing what the brand is with a vision
of what it would like to be.

15. Local
• The secret hand shake, the private joke, understood and
appreciated only regionally.
• Cinderella-slipper-fitted campaigns specifically
addressed to target market audience.
• Decentralized (regional) production, budgets &
management: cost/time inefficiencies.

16. Hybrid solution: Think local, act global
Reconciling business principles & product quality standards

17. Glocal
Procter & Gamble
Operation sites spread out across the globe.
Strategy is to centralize company overhead
management globally (for cost-efficiency) and handle
product delivery and marketing locally.

18. 1. Why internationalize products and campaigns?
2. How do we reconcile Global vs. Local models?
3. What are the ingredients baking a winner brand?
4. How do we strategize glocally?

19. Form follows function: Design product features
& functionality relevant for local need.
Hooked on hand-helds
Designing a mobile device for Japan?
Don’t forget to add on a hook-up for gadgets!

20. Mobile UI/UX localization hurdles
Remember: your strings are your ground agent, interfacing directly with the user!
Avoid stop-ship bugs!

21. Product shape shifts sale
The feminine contour of Coca Cola glass bottles disturbs
Orthodox consumers in Israel.

22. Barbie shuts shop in Shanghai
Was product culturally catered for locale?

23. Adapt product portfolio to please local palate
• Bistrone in Japan | Cola’s soup in a can on the go.
• Kuat in Brazil | captures local love of guarana fruit.
• Spritea in China | Green tea flavored sprite.

24. Adapt product to locale wants & needs
Launch in China: affordable to fit
• Levi Strauss & Co. launches dENiZEN
• General Motors Corp launches Baojun

25. Go Global logos: what makes ‘em great?
• We are bombarded by 6,000 logos daily, all trying to
communicate their unique, enticing story.
• A brand essence exists only in consumers’ memory.
The logo is the constant reminder.
• Use creative magic to turn humdrum into visual
messages that cut through the clutter.

26. No-Name | Text-less logos
A picture’s worth a thousand words.

27. Chalk the change up to the
company’s Go Global campaign
In early Jan., 2011 Starbucks announced it
would be removing the words "Starbucks
Coffee" from its 2-decade old logo and leave
its iconic twin-tailed, long-haired mermaid to
fend for herself.

28. à la mod(ular)!
As simple as possible. But not simpler.
• Simple, classic, modular logos are easy to remember,
playfully impressive and soothing.
• Maintain right proportions
and scalable graphics.

29. Gist it: Connect to universal principals
• TOYOTA: Trust
• NIKE: Victorious, Fluid & Fast
• BMW: Spinning Classic Elegance
• Playboy: Frisky & Mischievous

30. Fond of font
NUDE
Simple. Clean.
Transforming letters into visual concepts.
• Minimal, readable text.
• No more than 2 font types.
• Avoid overlapping or intertwining with logo.
• Keep tagline separate.

31. Color-choice:
Ensure your brand paints the right picture
• Color is the first impression a
package or brand makes.
• Color sets the tone for your
thinly sliced expectations in
the marketplace.
• You don't get a second chance to make a first impression.

32. Color connotations
Positive/ Negative/
RED Neutral Sensitive
Europe/Nort Love, desire, bold, attention Alert, danger,
h America stop, blood.
Soviet Communism
China Good fortune, luck, bridal color
Korea Written name
of deceased
Japan life
India purity
Egypt/Iran Luck, good fortune
South Africa Mourning

33. Color connotations
GREEN Positive/ Negative/
Neutral Sensitive
Europe/North Environmental, Military, catholic church,
America nature, spring, Avoid in France &
birth, GO, $$ Ireland
China, Taiwan Infidelity. Avoid.
Japan Life, high-tech
Egypt National color. Avoid.
North Africa Corruption.
Indonesia, Forbidden. Danger.
Malaysia

34. Color connotations
WHITE Positive/ Negative/
Neutral Sensitive
Europe/North Wedding, purity, Italy: death, funeral.
America holiness, peace.
China Trust. High quality.
Japan, Peru, Death. Mourning.
India, Iran, Italy (white Chrysanthemum)
Egypt, Nigeria Rebirth. Ominous.
Ethiopia Impure.
Australia Aboriginals: color of the
people.

35. Color conflict
France Telecom mobile & Internet subsidiaries
“The Future’s Bright – the Future’s Orange.”
Or is it “The Future’s Protestant Loyalist”?

36. Brand name evaluation
A. Available name
B. Positive/neutral association
C. Easily pronounceable
D. Name safe
Conduct a "name safe" test to make sure that an anti-
depressive doesn’t sound like a strong tranquilizer.

37. Available name
This lady is called for
Corona becomes Coronita

38. Negative connotation
• “Oness” for security … ?
• “Dreck” → “Dreft”
• “Barf” for soap …. ?
• “Sweat” for drink … ?

39. Easily pronounceable
Brand name landmines: Pronunciation trap
• Coca-Cola = "bite the wax tadpole“ in China
• Google = Gu Ge in China

40. Memorable taglines: Clear & Compact
• Nike: JUST DO IT
• IBM: THINK
• Yahoo!: It’s You!
• Sony: make. believe.
• Heinz: Grown Not Made

41. Culturally catered icons
Is iT “Twit” in other cultures too?
Make sure your brand identity & visual messaging are
culturally understood & non-offensive in other locales.

42. Get into it. Intuitively.
Use of metaphor to trigger subconscious
emotional thought that guides our action

43. Ties that bind
Produce emotional branding that bridges cultural gaps.
Key concepts that impact 70% of customers’ sale choices:
• Connection
• Transformation
• Balance
• Pleasure

44. So…, what’s the moral of the story?
CONNECT
• Trigger mutual understanding between brand & consumer.
• Signal the secret handshake, the collective connector.
• Tell the brand’s compelling story.
• Make it relevant and bring it to life.

45. 1. Why internationalize products and campaigns?
2. How do we reconcile Global vs. Local models?
3. What are the ingredients baking a winner brand?
4. How do we strategize glocally?

46. 5. How do we strategize glocally?
• Define specs
• Modify product/services to attract segmented groups
in local market
• Synchronize implementation (all media)
• Foster cross-cultural awareness
• Make local alliances, mergers
• Spread regional sites across target locales

47. Localize. Globally.

48. Q&A
Talia Baruch/Copyous
Internationalization & Localization
setup & support
talia@copyous.com
www.copyous.com