A Brand is A Brand No Matter the Location
A couple of days ago I was talking to a group I mentor about their brand strategy when it comes to different regions. One very good question came up that was "Should we keep the same brand image and 'translate' everything else when we go into different geographical regions? Even the name?".
The short answer is, No. You have a company and you've built a brand. That brand has a specific position, identity and image. It should be the same no matter where you interact with it. So how do you deal with different cultures and locales? There are two ways:
- Build a different brand. I know you've spent all this time building your brand and you don't want to go through the same process again, but this is an effective option. If you need to talk to a specific region and different culture, then you are probably better off building a new brand.
- That's why we have marketing. Marketing is the way you communicate and sell to people. So your marketing strategy will define how you speak to the people but what you say will be defined by your brand, not the other way round.
This doesn't apply just to culture and geographies, it also applies to introducing new products. Instead of expanding your existing product line, create new brands. That's how Coca Cola is doing, so why shouldn't you?
