When entering a new market having dedicated brand custodians, building a glossary of terms, getting local market approval and being knowledgeable about your own brand are all crucial to maintaining brand and marketing consistency.

Here are our top 10 takeaways on Cross Border Brand and Marketing Consistency:

  1. First decide if a international strategy is right for you before trying to move into a new market.
  2. Local knowledge should fuel a curated, relevant brand development but always retaining the core brand DNA.
  3. Content-wish 70/30 Global – Local.
  4. Use your global voice to negotiate e.g. Facebook rather than manual.
  5. Focus on your brand first and localisation second.
  6. Test and learn! Move to adapt your strategy.
  7. Don’t rule out using marketplaces if in premium sectors and marketplaces are perfectly poised for this; the reach you could gain could be huge.
  8. Run international sites from a global hub; maintain the brand voice across all channels; consider the key proposition for the brand to generate sale within new markets.
  9. Brand consistency and the development of brand guidelines is vital.
  10. Know your customer inside out; their payment habits, delivery habits, local nuances and local translations are best done by local people in the market.