Hyper-localized Marketing Campaigns — The What, The Why, The How, and Examples
A one-size-fits-all marketing strategy is insufficient to capture the attention of today’s discerning consumer; instead, marketing efforts based on localized consumer insights can help raise brand awareness among local consumers. Such insights give brands and businesses a 360-degree view of how customers feel about their experiences on a local, regional, or global scale, and so brands can quickly identify ways to improve customer satisfaction. Essentially, hyper-localized marketing encourages brands to “think globally and act locally” to cater to specific customer needs.
Also, it has been a steep and costly learning curve for many brands after regional and social media campaigns failed to resonate and offend local audiences.
While more companies are exploring this strategy, a handful of brands have already mastered it. Here is what they are doing and how you can learn from them.
1. Netflix
Netflix is a video streaming giant that is available in over 190 countries. Netflix continues to be relevant to a global audience by offering viewers options and preferences that are heavily influenced by their location.
Unless you live in Nigeria, you may be unable to see the Nigerian version of the subscription plan below.
Focusing on local preferences, content and language can make a significant difference in localisation
The image above is a 2022 nigerian film set in the 17th century Oyo Kingdom, it premiered on netflix on september 30, 2022 and it was produced and directed by veteran actor, Kunle Afolayan. The film featured notable Nollywood stars and topped the Netflix weekly global chart as the most viewed non-English Netflix original movie. The film resonated with people from diverse backgrounds across the globe, and Netflix was able to showcase an aspect of the Nigerian heritage and culture through its storytelling.
From original series and films to documentaries and reality shows, the brand has been able to hone its effective digital marketing strategy in local markets by creating relatable, culturally accurate content.
Netflix places a strong emphasis on adapting their content to appeal to the various cultures and languages of the markets into which they are expanding, allowing consumers to feel understood and connected to the brand, resulting in engagement and continued use.
2. KFC
KFC is a fast-food chicken restaurant chain which operates in over 145 countries and has over 23,000 locations worldwide. Stepping inside a KFC restaurant means enjoying a consistent taste experience ensured by global preparation processes and quality standards, irrespective of the size of the city. There is also the ‘think global, act local’ strategy at play. KFC varies by market, and the goal is to ensure that their brand is relevant in a local context.
The company encourages its executives to take a dynamic, local-focused approach when implementing policies and practices for locations outside the United States, so that franchisees can operate their businesses in accordance with local customs and culture.
Localization is central to their global marketing strategy; each country with KFC locations has a localized menu that caters directly to unique local tastes and preferences. The deep-fried corn soup is unique to KFC Japan and at KFC Thailand, you can enjoy a shrimp donut.
KFC launched a limited-edition bucket campaign in South Africa, showcasing the artwork of popular illustrator Karabo Poppy.
Customers were encouraged to take photos of their families and share them on social media with the hashtag #madeforsharing, tagging KFC SA, and they could win one of 11 personalized family portraits created by the Karabo Poppy.
With the help of influencer marketing, KFC made a cultural connection that resonated with its target market. With their limited-edition offering, they are able to demonstrate their understanding of different audiences and what attracts them to their product
3. Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola launched its massively successful Share a Coke campaign in 2013 and 2014. The “Share a Coke” campaign featured printed advertisements on Coca Cola bottles and cans.
The tremendous power behind this campaign lies in the fact that it connects directly with customers. Customers were instantly drawn to the Coca-Cola brand when they saw their own names printed on the sides of the bottles and cans that they were drinking from.
Developing this type of connection between customer and brand is central to building loyal patronage.
Coca-Cola provided customers with the ability to express themselves through a bottle of Coke and share the experience with others. The campaign tapped into a global trend of self-expression and sharing in a sentimental way. Our name is our identity, and “Share a Coke” hit the mark by letting consumers feel seen and represented by these personalized cans and bottles.
They used generic names like Mom, Dad, and friend to make the invitation about giving a Coke to someone else rather than keeping it to yourself. The idea of “sharing a Coke” with another person broadens its appeal.
Social media and media coverage blew up. During the campaign customers would create and share their own photos and selfies with the product.
Coke’s localized messaging resonates with buyers worldwide, as evidenced by their ‘Share a Coke’ campaign. The campaign demonstrated that you can focus your resources on developing ideas that people want and adapting to these needs to fit each localized market.
4. Spotify
Spotify is an audio streaming subscription service with 456m users, including 195m subscribers, across 183 markets.
It provides a variety of curated music discovery services, such as its Discover Weekly playlist, and is constantly introducing new ones, such as Stations. It has also increased its non-music content, with a focus on podcasts. It has an easy-to-use interface, a large catalog, and good device compatibility. Additionally, Spotify offers a free tier where you can listen to millions of songs and even stream Spotify Connect to multiple Wi-Fi devices without paying or requiring your credit card information.
In recent years, Spotify has evolved their value proposition to offer users more personalized listening experiences by leveraging the massive amount of data they’ve accumulated across geographies and time.
The Spotify platform lets people listen to music that doesn’t just conform to their favorite genres but suits their habits and lifestyles and there is a variety of music from artists across the globe. In this way, international artists can reach listeners in other countries.
Let’s take a look at some lessons to be learnt from Spotify’s product marketing approach. Utilizing the multi-market exposure to a product can help brands create a more robust and adaptable product.
Additionally, pricing should be determined by local averages, studying local consumer tastes and payment systems is important, so brands can gain insight into why and how its consumers make purchases online.
A higher satisfaction rate leads to more subscribers, which leads to higher long-term revenue, even if you offer your service at a lower price.
Spotify discovered this best practice when working in Asia, where it offered different prices based on the average incomes of its different Asian markets:
Spotify Premium individual plan is available in 38 of 48 Asian countries. In Asia, Spotify’s Individual Premium plan ranges from 1.073 USD to USD 8.86 per month. India has the lowest pricing for Spotify Individual in Asia ($1.073 USD/month), while South Korea has the highest pricing ($8.86 USD/month).
These rates are adjusted from the $9.99 rate for its US listeners.
For years, Spotify has publicly advocated for platform fairness and expanded payment options because they believe that fair and open platforms enable frictionless consumer experiences.
5. Asos
ASOS is a British online fashion and cosmetic retailer and the ASOS acronym stands for “As Seen on Screen”. It has built a global customer base by positioning itself as a “global online community of fashion lovers.” ASOS’ ecommerce success was built on providing a fully localized buying experience to their key international markets. It also prioritized warehousing and delivery solutions. The company was able to ship to numerous international destinations around the world within 48 hours due to distribution efficiencies and delivery options. Some countries may find it faster than their domestic retailers.
Furthermore, ASOS recognized the significance of tailoring their website and activities to local markets.
After launching a dedicated Russian website in May 2013, ASOS experienced rapid growth in this market. The company’s strong position in the Russian market is largely due to its local language customer service, social media activities, and express delivery solution.
A key element of its international strategy was offering dedicated websites in various markets such as the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Germany, Australia, and Russia, in-country teams, and locally relevant product offers, payment methods in their foreign currencies and various delivery options.
By improving the ASOS experience internationally, the company continued to expand its reach. It placed an emphasis on eradicating delivery and payment barriers.
A good shipping strategy has been proven to be an essential element of ASOS’ success in the international ecommerce space. Logistics efficiency has a positive impact on order quantities and customer loyalty etc.
Finally, for your business to succeed globally, you need to understand what your customers in different communities have in common and how to adapt your product accordingly. How do you start? Take a cue from one of these businesses above. Start small, then work your way up as your business grows.
