By Whitney Satin

When it comes to icons of American culture, few would dispute the global recognition enjoyed by McDonald’s golden arches or the Coca-Cola bottle.  But thanks to the constantly evolving world of pop culture, it may be time to add a new icon to the list: the poof.

And by poof, I’m of course referring to the signature coif sported by Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi of MTV’s Jersey Shore.  What started as a one-off exposé of Italian-American culture has morphed into what is today a gorilla juicehead-sized juggernaut for the cable network, with episodes of the third season currently averaging nearly 9 million viewers a pop.  More crucial from an advertising perspective is the fact that nearly 7 million viewers in the highly-coveted 12-34 year old age group tune in each week to watch Snooki and friends fist pump and GTL their way across New Jersey’s Seaside Heights.  (And by the way, that’s “Gym Tan Laundry” for those not fully fluent in the rapidly expanding Jersey Shore lexicon.) Read More »

Drum roll please… many of you noticed our recent poll asking where we should focus our research efforts in 2011.  Thanks to you (and particular thanks to those who offered up time to talk to us about your areas of interest) we have our major themes of our research for next year: Read More »

By Erin Lynch-Klarup

Opportunities in developing economies are attracting a lot of interest across our membership these days.  Thanks to growth in emerging markets and slowdowns in the US, Europe and Japan, a number of folks we’ve spoken with are expanding their international growth goals.

This focus on markets that were previously on the back burner has triggered questions about how to best organize marketing internationally.  Our conversations with members have revealed a few key tensions every company’s global marketing structure needs to balance:

1. Local Customization vs. Global Consistency: Vesting decision-making power with regional marketing teams through a decentralized org structure allows for greater customization and responsiveness to local conditions.  However this structure can lead to inconsistent branding and variable Marketing quality across regions, as well as unnecessary rework.
2. Budgeting: Global Prioritization vs. Local Accountability: Central budgeting has the benefit of enabling big bets on the best new opportunities.  Alternatively, allocating budget regionally allows for profit and loss accountability at the regional level.  Many companies have opted for accountability in the past, but with greater interest in emerging markets, global investment optimization is becoming a higher priority.
3. Flexibility vs. Continuity & Expertise: Most organizations need some amount of flexibility to respond to new priorities and changing strategies.  At the extreme, a project-based organization is structured around teams that form and dissolve according to shifting priorities.  However, more staid structures with continuity of roles and responsibilities allow for in-depth organization knowledge and expertise.
4. Collaborative Decision Making vs. Organizational Simplicity: A matrix structure with dual or dotted line reporting keeps multiple stakeholders involved in decisions – for better or for worse.  Organizations need to be sure that the benefits of each additional reporting line aren’t outweighed by the loss of agility and costs of coordination.

MLC members, for more on organization structure, check out our archetype org structures and other resources.

‘Glocal’ branding – as the neologism hints – involves a tension. Strong brands should be consistent, wherever in the world they are, but they must also be responsive to their customer base, which will differ from region to region. How should marketers reconcile this? Read More »

While the English language is certainly a common denominator in the business world, assuming everyone speaks it is definitely ill-advised.  So how does a marketing team ensure its product materials are accurate in another language?  One executive poses this question in our recently-launched Marketing Org & Ops Forum, asking “What are the best practices in assessing the quality and correctness of translation service jobs?” Read More »

First time at Wide Angle? Thanks for visiting! Please consider subscribing to us in your favorite RSS reader. Like what you’re reading? Use the tools below to share this post with your social network.

One of my favorite things to read about and experience is how quintessential American brands have localized themselves around the world. It’s odd, for instance, to think of American mainstays like McDonald’s and 7-11 offering radically different products and services in their outlets abroad, but they do: McDonald’s, for instance, serves porridge in Singapore and Malaysia, and 7-11 sells video games and consoles in Japan.

And as China’s economy and level of personal wealth has exploded, so too have the number of Western companies doing business there. Unsurprisingly, Chinese consumers have made their imprint on companies like Starbucks, Wal-Mart, and, believe it or not, Pabst Blue Ribbon. Here are some funny, insightful, and just-plain-weird examples of stuff they sell in China:

5) Pig faces at Wal-Mart

Picture me, sitting at my desk in MLC World Headquarters, perusing an off-topic link sent to me by a colleague. “16 Items They Only Sell At Chinese Wal-Marts“. Imagine my horror as I scroll down to find pictures of pig faces – not the heads, just the faces – stacked in a bin.

Apparently pig face isn’t just a delicacy in China – in Spain, it’s called careta – and, in any case, I’m not one to criticize. I’ve eaten even more disgusting things on a dare.

4) Pabst Blue Ribbon – for $44 a bottle

Catering to the growing Chinese business class is proving to be quite a boon for some American manufacturers, including Pabst. Long known as a blue-collar (and later, a hipster) beer in the United States, Pabst Blue Ribbon has a special edition in China called “Pabst Blue Ribbon 1844″, is sold in a bottle that’s reminiscent of a high-end vodka, and advertisements suggest that the beer be served in – what else – a champagne flute. Retailing for an astonishing US$44 a bottle, the beer is marketed to the Chinese public as similar to scotch, brandy, and Bordeaux because all four are aged in wooden casks.

In a country where per-capita income remains just over $3,500/year, Pabst probably doesn’t move many units of this premium brew yet. But it’s an interesting anecdote illustrating an empirical truth – Chinese consumers are gaining purchasing power, and quickly. Read More »

Here’s a common thread that I’ve picked up from conversations recently with CMOs and some research we’ve done into innovation.  There’s an interesting connection between what some call “polycentric innovation”, what I’ll call innovation “crucibles”, and marketing talent development.

Starting with polycentric innovation, in a recent special report on innovation in emerging markets, The Economist described how companies like Cisco and IBM are building innovation centers in emerging markets.  These aren’t just laboratory outposts—these are major innovation centers on par with those in developed markets. These emerging market innovation centers act as a sort of crucible—an intensely pressured, constrained environment that accelerates innovation, and potentially leads to discontinuous solutions that you simply wouldn’t get in other contexts. Read More »

With the World Cup winding down, which brand sponsors will have done the best? And what will have been the key to their success? 

There’s no shortage of sensational reporting on the sponsors.  For example, there’s an interesting report here on the buzz between Nike and Adidas (the official sponsor). Observation: the PR success for Adidas from the Jabulani ball has, like the flight of the ball, been erratic and unpredictable, but probably a net positive for Adidas. 

Meanwhile, other sponsors fled like rats off a sinking ship to get away from the implosion of the French national team.  Sacre (les) Bleus!

Non-sponsor brands also saw their share of action. In a provocative tale of ambush marketing, 36 female Dutch fans were detained for wearing orange miniskirts, evidently a clear symbol of Bavaria beer (NOT an official sponsor, by the way).

But beyond all the buzz and antics, what characterizes great, enduring world cup sponsorship marketing? Read More »

One of the most common social media questions we hear is “How do I build global capabilities?”  The challenge is that each market has a unique manifestation of social media (different platforms, levels of uptake, user habits), while each marketing team has different strengths and weaknesses.  With such varied needs and opportunities, attempting to standardize capabilities globally simply doesn’t work.

The best companies embrace heterogeneity instead of aiming for global consistency.  They assess each region’s individual needs in order to tailor capability goals and training accordingly. Read More »

The term “emerging markets” is a misnomer—many of these markets have already emerged and are better described as “ascendant markets”.  That much is clear after reading The Economist’s special 18-page report on innovation in emerging markets.  The key takeaway for marketers is that these markets are increasingly the source of commercial innovation (innovation in the way products are taken to market), not just product innovation (innovation in product design and features). Read More »