Localization Best Practices: Empathize to Optimize Your Global Strategy

When you think of your brand identity, you cannot not think about consistency – something you do to make an impression and a connection with your audience, to claim the white space in the industry and to make yourself recognizable in an ocean of competitors.

And when you have different markets to cater to, content localization is yet another way to scale video content while staying consistent… with a twist. Whether you have – or are part of – a local, regional or centralized team, producing ad-hoc content for specific markets is essential to ensure that your message resonates with your target audience in each location.

According to a study by CSA Research, companies that invest in localization typically see an average return on investment of 25% or more. How awesome is that?

A practical example

Take Uber, the ride-hailing service everyone knows about. Since 2009, it has expanded its operations to over 10,000 (!) cities worldwide, highly investing in ‘hyperlocal’ localization.

But, to stay on a country level, let’s say you’re in India. In that case, you have an app choice to make. You can either use the regular Uber app to hire a car driver or you can use Uber Auto for hailing auto rickshaws, something that reflects the local customs as an indispensable part of the Indian urban commuting landscape.

And, as for visual content… did you know that Uber, despite it no longer being accessible in China, initially changed its car icons in the country and made them red as the color represents luck. A simple yet effective tweak – from black and gray to bright red – that relies on the power of colors for brands with culture at its core.

The complexities of content and marketing localization

And yet, “nobody said it was easy”, Chris Martin told us, probably thinking about localization. There are so many different factors you need to consider: language differences and cultural nuances, local laws and regulations as well as customer preferences when it comes to engaging with and receiving information from brands.

But, what goes wrong if localization is not done right? Leaving localization to chance is a risk you can’t take. We’re not saying we’re clairvoyants but we might know a thing or two.

Worst-case scenarios if you don’t localize

Your engagement is meh

If you take the same video content you had in France and replicate it in a neighboring country like Belgium without taking into account that Dutch could be preferred, you risk alienating your customers. Belgians speak French as one of their main languages. Failing to do your research could make your content seem unfit for those who don't speak the language or dialect literally and tonally. This could lead to misunderstanding from your target audience. And what you don’t want to lose, on top of your reputation, is their attention.

Those revenue opportunities? They missed you like crazy

If your conversion rates are at historic lows, this may translate into just a bunch of customers, if you’re lucky. After all, why would they trust you if you didn’t make the effort to understand their needs, habits and preferences in the first place?

Each region has its own currency, pricing and payment options. Having a one-size-fits-all approach will make you unawarely miss out on revenue streams. You may want to know that, in another survey by CSA Research, 76% of online shoppers said they prefer to buy products with information in their native language while 40% said they’ll never buy from websites in other languages.

Your brand reputation is at risk

The Internet can be unforgiving these days – and rightly so. Any cultural faux pas or offensive language can be damaging for your reputation and, as a consequence, turn your customers from loyal ambassadors into resentful haters.

The competition out there is fierce

If your competitors have built brand loyalty in different regions while you haven't, well, it's time to get inspired and reassess your transcreation strategy.

Put this into practice

Let us know how it goes. Ideally, you localize up to the point of personalization. Although, we get it, it’s not always practical – real-world constraints such as workflow, budget or infrastructure might interfere. But having a fast time-to-market localization strategy in place is what makes you gain a competitive edge and establish your brand as the main leader in your industry. Outrunning competitors, anyone?

Using technology in conjunction with human expertise is the key to ensure that your content is properly localized and meets the quality standards you aim for, so make sure you have the right technology for this. For instance, if your marketing teams work with local translators make their lives easier by providing them with a possibility, perhaps an optimized data sheet, to update the content in one go. Most importantly, keep it simple and avoid using a gazillion different tools and softwares for tasks you or they need to take care of.

Having a tool that has a video/image templating system makes it way easier to create localized videos and images. All you need to do is simply adapt your copy, photos, clips or voice-overs. By using Cube’s creative automation video templates, your local and regional teams can adapt the content themselves whenever they need. Something that reassures global teams that brand guidelines and high-quality standards are being met.

And if you’re still in doubt, don’t trust us. Trust them:

• See how Booking.com localizes campaigns for other countries and touchpoints while optimizing the creative for the best performance

• “Before Cube, we had a really complex localization process. This meant that we were working with a lot of different partners and people to make sure that we could localize one asset into a specific market.” – Carine van der Heijden (Head of Brand Marketing)

Connect with customers worldwide through localized content and maximize your impact.