• About Us
  • Work
  • Capabilities
  • Careers
  • Technology
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Work
  • Capabilities
  • Careers
  • Technology
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
April 02, 2014

PMG Brain Room : International Considerations

Posted by Jonathan Hunt

Welcome to the PMG Brain Room.

Today we’re going to talk a little bit about a few things you’ll want to take into account when running Marketing campaigns internationally.

While if you have the internal capabilities to expand your business overseas it might seem like a no-brainer, it’s important to remember that audiences and consumer behaviors differ across countries.

1. Seasonality

The first thing to consider about international marketing is seasonality. Particularly in the retail space “seasons” are big for new product releases and can impact your copy and your message. However, seasons aren’t the same worldwide. While it may be winter here in the northern hemisphere, it’s actually summer down south in places like Australia or certain South American countries. If you’re looking to target countries outside of your hemisphere make sure to avoid seasonally related messaging or keep it appropriate to the country. In that way it can be more relevant to your consumers.

2. Key Shopping Dates

The next big point to consider is going to be about key shopping dates for international markets. While the big shopping days here in the U.S. are obviously Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Those are American-created “holidays”. While they are starting to have a creeping influence in other international markets, Boxing Day, December 26th, or more recently what has become Boxing Week is one of the biggest shopping events in CA, UK, and many others.

Another point to keep in mind is that while many sales and promotions are scheduled around holidays remember to stay away from emphasizing those that don’t exist outside the states. It doesn’t make much sense to promote a 4th of July sale in copy that is going to be viewed outside the US. Additionally, there are other holidays celebrated internationally, such as the Lunar New Year in China that aren’t celebrated here that you may consider developing copy around. Again, keep your message targeted specifically to your audience or at least generic and neutral.

3. Cultural Sensitivity

Lastly, remember to be cautious when developing messages that are going to be viewed by people of different countries and cultures. While it should seem fairly obvious, make sure you stay away from potentially hot button topics in your messaging and don’t include anything that could be deemed offensive by others. The need to be cautious about this is amplified when marketing internationally as different cultures have different sensitivities As if I haven’t said it enough, keep messages straightforward and neutral. If the copy is in English you’ll likely be appealing to those that speak English as second language, making it easier for things to be misinterpreted. And if you will be translating the messages yourself keep in mind that online translation services aren’t always accurate as they may seem.

If you are considering expanding your reach internationally, but have limited experience doing so, I highly encourage you to go and do some research on your own to learn more about the market you’re targeting and how to best appeal to them. Relevant messaging can go a long way in capturing attention and ultimately revenue.

Thanks for watching the PMG Brain Room, and we’ll see you next time!

SUGGESTED LINKS:

  • PMG Brain Room series on YouTube
brain roominternationalkey shopping datesmarketingoverseasseasonality
Previous
Next

Latest White Papers

  • Why Voice Matters: Identifying the Latest Opportunities in Voice Search
  • eSports Advertising and How Brands Can Get in the Game
  • Navigating the Amazon Ecosystem
  • See all White Papers

Featured Posts

  • How An Unusual YouTube Partnership is Disrupting an Entire Industry
  • PMG Among Best Employers for Parents
  • Why You Should Take Your Vacation: My Experience Going Off the Grid
  • Working with an Automation Mindset
  • Why B2B Brands Should Use Video

Categories

  • Content
  • Creative Design
  • Data Analytics
  • Development
  • Display
  • E-Commerce
  • Industry News
  • Local
  • Mobile
  • Paid Search
  • PMG Culture
  • SEO
  • Social Media
  • Structured Data
  • Video
Fort Worth

2845 West 7th Street
Fort Worth, TX 76107

Dallas

3102 Oak Lawn Avenue
Suite 650
Dallas, TX 75219

Austin

823 Congress Avenue
Suite 800
Austin, TX 78701

London

33 Broadwick Street
London
W1F 0DQ

New York

120 East 23rd Street
New York, NY 10010

Get in touch

(817) 420 9970
info@pmg.com

Subscribe to the PMG Newsletter
© 2019 PMG Worldwide LLC. All Rights Reserved.
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
We and our partners use cookies to personalize content, analyze traffic, and deliver ads. By using our website, you agree to the use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy.