Go Glocal, but do it right.

Managing global brands has become a priority in the current economic climate. In times of recession, global branding is emphasized as marketers need to create economies of scale, while in times of prosperity, marketers see every local difference as an opportunity and create a variety of local initiatives that can dilute the equity of global brands.

To manage global brands effectively, a balance must be struck between global coherence and consistency and local relevance and meaningfulness. This involves ensuring that everything done on a global brand stands for the same reasons, serves the same purpose, and follows the same strategy, while also respecting local peculiarities such as differences in consumer behaviours and expectations.

Regarding sub-brands in local markets,we examines the three Cs: culture, commerce, and communications. This involves understanding how consumers use and understand a given brand or sub-brand in the local cultural context, the brand's availability and go-to-market strategy in a market, and the promotional efforts of the brand.

When it comes to global brand management, models can be useful tools, but no single model is guaranteed to work across all markets. To be successful, global marketers need to have a specific mindset that is able to identify commonalities while respecting differences. This mindset can create scalable solutions that work across different markets.

While ideas can travel and be universal, executions need to be culturally sensitive and market-specific to be successful. For example, the idea of a place to worship the divine can take many forms, such as pagodas, cathedrals, shrines, temples, and churches. However, the idea that we need a place of worship is universal.

Global brand governance should be a system that directs and supports local markets. Pitfalls can occur when trying to apply a Draconian consistency across all markets or allowing every local marketer to interpret the brand as they wish. A good governance system should create "freedom within a framework," allowing local marketers to develop their creativity and intuition while staying true to the brand's purpose and strategy.

One of the challenges of global brand management is that it can be difficult to attribute ROI to the cost of global orchestration. During an economic recession, there may be pressure to minimize the cost of global brand management. However, neglecting global brand management can be detrimental to a brand's long-term success.

From an in-house or agency perspective, there may be a lack of focus on the non-financial benefits of global brand management, such as increased brand equity and long-term sustainability. To fully realize the benefits of global brand management, it's important to adopt a holistic approach that balances short-term and long-term goals.

To successfully manage global brands, one must become a global citizen, loving and understanding humans regardless of their backgrounds, behaviors, and beliefs. Global brand management is a cultural act before a commercial plan. This is according to an experienced marketer who has worked in Greece, London, New York, and Chicago. The tension between global and local can only be productive and creative if marketers understand people intimately.

For global brands, it's essential to explore unfamiliar markets and observe how people select and interpret brands. This is necessary to have a global perspective and open one's horizons.

While there are trends that global brands should embrace, they do not necessarily determine the future of global brand marketing. A seismic shift is underway, and it has a lot to do with radical democracy or the democratization of branding. Global brands used to position themselves as premium, but this strategy does not work anymore as transparency and authenticity are the new 'halos' that make people, especially the younger generation, choose a brand.

Therefore, global brands must work hard to wear these new 'halos' and make an impact.