A friend of mine told me about her trip to Japan several years ago, where she ended up making friends with a group of businessmen in Tokyo who kindly bought her a few drinks while she waited for a friend to arrive. Though the conversation was limited, she immediately resorted to the what she thought was an international way of toasting a drink by exclaiming ‘Chin, Chin!” The businessmen laughed and she thought she was finally in with the Japanese crowd. As each new beer came, she shouted the same phrase even louder, garnering more and more applause and laughter from her new Asian friends. It was only when her friend arrived that she was taken aside and told she had actually been shouting the words “Penis, Penis” to the entire bar. Global language is a funny thing and sometimes we forget a bit of local knowledge can be useful for when conversing with the locals.
A global theatre brand opened in Australia this week, in the form of ‘Mary Poppins‘ at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne. I love the show and the movie was a part of my childhood as it probably was for so many other people.
It’s great when a production translates globally after success on Broadway and the West End but what’s most interesting though, is that Disney has chosen to continue it’s social media marketing under the same international voice rather than allowing it to be localised for Australia. And I don’t mean adopting the “going up at the end of your sentences” inflection either.
Working with all three markets has taught me that even though we live in a world full of advanced communication which brings us closer together, how each territory responds to our campaigns can be radically different (just ask the producers of the ‘Drowsy Chaperone‘ or ‘Enron‘). It’s so important we adopt a voice that is familiar to our intended audience, so we can the gain trust which translates into positive word-of-mouth. Social media has allowed us to refine our message to a select audience, we no longer need to broadcast everything, all of the time in vain hope something sticks. The same principle has been used for tailoring press advertising and direct marketing for years, so why do certain brands chose not to do this and avoid not creating a regional Facebook Pages and Twitter accounts?
As much as I value Disney as a brand, a ‘Mary Poppins prize give-away in Washington D.C.” in my news feed automatically becomes spam to me when I am only interested in Melbourne opening night pictures. This is never a good thing for a brand, especially when the average Facebook user is connected to over 60 Fan pages or Groups. I want news that interests and affects me. If I get too much irrelevant news on the same subject, there is a strong chance (like a friend who plays Farmville too much) that I will end up deleting them.
Do you think an international voice or strengthens or weakens your position locally? I’d love to know how other marketers who look after international brands ensure they keep their social media voice balanced and relevant? As a fan of ‘Mary Poppins’ or say ‘The Lion King’ do you enjoy knowing what’s going on all over the world or are you only interested in production news where you live? Do you sometimes feel ’spammed’ by certain Facebook pages you join?