In a marketing breakfast briefing held yesterday on 12 February by Nick Morris, CEO and Founder of global strategic insights practice Canvas8, leading senior marketing officers from major brands across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region gathered in Singapore to discuss the challenges and strategies for building global brands which have “a local soul”.
The guest speaker at the briefing was Siew Ting Foo, an award-winning CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) with more than 25 years of experience in brand strategy, business transformation, and driving growth from HP, Unilever, Diageo and Mars. Siew Ting is well known as a transformation growth leader who helps companies build business and brands and is the author of the book Building Brands with Soul: A CMO’s journey to humanising growth and creating lasting impact (Candid Creation Publishing, 2024).
She and the other guests discussed how global companies can successfully navigate the complexities of maintaining universal brand coherence while ensuring cultural relevance in diverse markets. Some of the key insights revealed include:
- Balancing Global Consistency with Local Relevance
One of the primary takeaways from the discussion was the importance of maintaining global brand coherence without sacrificing local relevance. While core brand elements such as positioning and visual identity should remain consistent, local insights serve as the key differentiator. To genuinely connect with consumers, brands must adapt their messaging and emotional expression to align with local cultural nuances, creating an authentic and meaningful connection.
- Evolving Consumer Segmentation
The traditional demographic segmentation model is becoming outdated, with a shift toward mindset and psychographic segmentation. As data-driven tools evolve, brands can now take a more agile and localised approach to audience segmentation, enabling them to connect with distinct consumer mindsets rather than focusing solely on regional or demographic characteristics.
- The Role of Local Insights
Local insights were identified as a strategic advantage for brand success. By tapping into these insights, brands can craft culturally relevant marketing that resonates with consumers. This requires collaboration between global and local teams, ensuring alignment across regions and bridging the gap between global strategies and local execution.
- Tension Between Global and Local Teams
The tension between global and local teams was discussed as an ongoing challenge in large organisations. Local teams often feel disconnected from global decision-making, while global teams may struggle to validate local insights. To address this, it was emphasized that global teams should immerse themselves in local markets through firsthand experiences. This engagement helps global leaders understand local consumer behaviour and strengthens the relationship between global and local teams.
- Leadership and Organisational Collaboration
Effective leadership was highlighted as key to bridging the gap between global and local teams. CMOs must foster communication, collaboration, and empathy across all levels of the organisation. A unified purpose and shared understanding are essential for ensuring the successful implementation of both global strategies and local adaptations.
- Leveraging Data and Success Stories
Driving growth through proven success stories was seen as an effective strategy for aligning global and local teams. Sharing success stories from key markets allows brands to build credibility and encourage other regions to adopt similar strategies, leading to greater cohesion. Additionally, data-driven decision-making was emphasised as critical in securing resources for localised strategies, with growth outcomes serving as validation for continued investment.
- Proactivity and Internal Alignment
CMOs must also take a proactive approach in internal marketing and communication. By influencing internal stakeholders across HR, finance, and sustainability teams, CMOs can secure the necessary budget and resources for brand initiatives. Building a strong internal brand culture, where everyone rallies behind the brand’s values, is essential for external success.
- Emotional and Cultural Sensitivity
The discussion also emphasized the importance of emotional and cultural sensitivity in brand marketing. For example, music trends like K-pop in South Korea must be reflected in fashion brands’ campaigns to resonate with local audiences. Understanding the local cultural context and emotional connections is crucial for fostering lasting relationships with consumers.
- A Collaborative and Inclusive Approach
To succeed in global branding, brands must adopt a collaborative and inclusive approach, ensuring that both global and local teams contribute to brand strategy. Local teams must have the autonomy to adapt campaigns while staying aligned with the global brand’s core message. This balance of autonomy and strategic oversight is key to creating truly localised campaigns without sacrificing brand integrity.
Nick Morris, UK-based CEO and Founder of Canvas8, said, “In conclusion, building a global brand with a local soul requires a clear, adaptable, and culturally aware strategy. By balancing global consistency with local relevance, fostering collaboration across markets, and leveraging local insights, CMOs can successfully create brands that resonate with diverse consumer groups while maintaining a unified global identity.”
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