Considering taking your digital marketing campaign to a whole different level – a global level? If so, our Senior Strategist of Integrated Campaigns, Melanie Cellini and our Senior Art Director Matt Borrelli joined forces to give you a run down on what you need to consider when creating a global, integrated marketing campaign.
1. Cost of Translation Services
One of the first items to consider when going global is the cost of translation services. While, on the surface, it’s not that costly to use a translator, think about everything in the campaign that will need to be translated, including ad copy, email nurtures, landing page copy, white papers, video content, etc. If you’re translating video or audio ads, you’ll need to find voice actors where you like their tone and annunciation, which can take some time and throw a wrench into your timeline.
2. Length of Text
Whether you’re writing a script for a 30-second ad, incorporating on-screen text into your explainer video, or laying out a premium campaign asset, be aware that non-English versions of these pieces are going to need to accommodate more words.
Take German, for example. The German language does not allow for nouns to describe other nouns like we do in English. Instead, German uses compound words, where the nouns are combined to form one long word. The example below is a comparison of the English and German versions of a frame from a video we recently completed. The German translation for “flame velocity” is the compound word, “Flammenausbreitungsgeschwindigkeit” which does not give you the luxury of breaking shorter words onto multiple lines.
So remember, make sustainable design choices when doing the original English version to ensure that the translations for all languages will have breathing room!
3. Regulatory Inconsistencies
Depending on the industry, messaging may need to completely change depending on what country you’re going to run a campaign in. Many European laws are ahead of American laws to help the fight against global warming, and therefore some companies may not even be able to sell their product there. Study up on what’s happening with legislation in your target country before you take it abroad!
4. Cultural Differences
Different countries have different value systems, so never assume that what’s important to your culture is going to be the same as what other cultures find important. Stick to the facts when marketing your product or service and make sure that the benefits you’re promoting will resonate with the audience you’re selling to. Avoid superlatives as they are not as commonly used in other languages and may be considered disingenuous.
5. Use a Universal Voice
As marketers, we rely on using idioms or “sayings” to craft a campaign message that’s relatable and memorable. But when you’re developing messaging that will be translated, you’re going to want to avoid using such phrases. Think about some common English sayings — beat around the bush, bite the bullet, under the weather... Literal translations of these will make no sense in other languages and there may not be a comparable substitution, so it’s best to avoid them.
6. Job Titles and Functions
For advertisers, something to consider when putting together your targeting strategy is how do these personas change in other countries? Job titles and functions in America may be called something different in European or Latin America countries. Most advertising platforms have tried to make it as seamless as possible to target your audience in other countries, but don’t be afraid to create different audiences for different regions if you know there are some big differences.
7. Ad Spend
The biggest - and possibly most obvious - item on this list is the budget. When you take a campaign from a smaller region or state, you’re obviously going to end up spending more when you begin running ads in multiple countries. I mean hey, you’re targeting entire countries and continents!
Take into consideration what the projected audience size is, what a typical cost-per-thousand views (CPM) or cost-per click (CPC) is in your industry, and what ad type or platform you’re on, and start estimating the ad spend needed to reach your audience. If you’re crunching the numbers and it’s way over your budget, that’s okay! You can always start small with a “pilot” campaign and then scale it when you start seeing results.
Want to amplify your reach to a global market but don’t know where to start? Drop us a line, we’re happy to help!