If only it were that simple.
And in some ways it is. One of
the things that makes those brands so iconic is they have distinctive logos and
color schemes. And you know when you see
a Coke product in a slightly off script that it’s a knock off just as you do
the distinctive coupling of the Channel “c” if it’s real or not. But branding is much deeper than that and
while the logo may be a visual trigger, the communication as a whole has to be
consistent to maintain your brand.
This is very challenging on a global scale because different
cultures have different esthetics and you want to connect with your audience in
a relevant way which, unfortunately, doesn’t always coincide with your
brand. Let me give you an example. About two years ago we rolled out a global
campaign. Our brand goals were to start
educating people on the company and create a positive association and we wanted
to do it in a credible and authentic manner.
For us in the West, that meant real life, real situations and images
that support everyday real experiences for our audience. Soon after the campaign launched, our China
office took the campaign and ran with it, but in an effort to localize it, they
altered the imagery to include a faux blue sky with a generic grass field. Pretty much the antithesis of authentic and
real. They sent it in to Brand Review
and we were suddenly faced with the challenge of deciding is this actually on
brand in their culture and are we okay with it as a global company.
The obvious answer (at least we thought) was no, it wasn’t
okay, this didn’t convey the realism and authentic nature of the company that
we wanted to establish. But what they
countered with was – in China, most of the major Fortune 500 countries were
using this type of brand imagery, so if we wanted to convey global, trusted
brand, then using this imagery helped our communication more than trying to
look authentic and risking looking small and untrustworthy. It forced us to have to face a tough
question: what is more important, global visual consistency or global message
consistency?
In the end we allowed them to use their imagery but it kick
started a process and discussion that is crucial for all global brands:
defining the essence of your brand.
Without that definition, and without that language, branding becomes a
series of rules to follow verses messages to convey. It puts the emphasis on the superficial (logo
color and placement) and ignores the deeper relationship you want with your
audience. And on a global scale, it robs
you of a platform that enables you to be consistent and still regionally and
locally relevant.
These days, with internet sales and social media platforms,
even local brands have become global and the challenge of staying true and
being relevant is harder. But with some
focused effort and creative minds, it can be done and the rewards are great. And if you're lucky like I've been, you'll get a chance to experience first hand how your brand looks in countries as diverse as Bulgaria and Mexico.
