‘A larger voice’: How brands are better aligning global and local teams to avoid waste

Date: November 26, 2024

‘A larger voice’: How brands are better aligning global and local teams to avoid waste

The Challenge of Balancing Global Consistency with Local Relevance

The Pressure on Marketers to Prove Effectiveness

As marketing budgets experience their largest increases in a decade, the focus remains on proving effectiveness. Marketers are expected to demonstrate clear results from their spending, ensuring every dollar is justified and spent wisely.
Despite increased budgets, the pressure to monitor marketing effectiveness closely has never been greater. Efficiency is paramount, as brands are expected to balance global consistency with local customization, without wasting valuable resources.

The Inconsistency Between Global and Local Campaigns

A significant challenge brands face is maintaining a global consistency in their campaigns while also tailoring content for local markets. This balance is often disrupted by inefficient processes between global and local teams.
Global campaigns may not always translate well to local markets, leading to the underutilization of assets or irrelevant content. The discrepancy between what global teams produce and what local teams actually need creates a gap that can lead to missed opportunities and wasted budget.

The Cost of Inconsistent Processes: Financial Losses

Underutilized Global Campaign Assets

According to research by CreativeX, 90% of global campaign toolkits are never activated by local markets. This means that much of the creative work, strategic planning, and assets developed by global teams are not leveraged by local teams, resulting in a significant waste of investment.
Furthermore, 45% of core global assets go unused, either because of miscommunication or logistical failures between global and local teams. These assets may not be adapted for local needs or may get lost in the transition between production and media execution.

Wasted Budget Due to Unused Assets

Brands may spend millions of dollars creating global assets, but without proper localization or implementation at the local level, these resources go to waste. This inefficiency is compounded when local teams do not have the tools, flexibility, or understanding to use these assets effectively in their markets.
For example, a global ad campaign might be perfectly suited for a US audience but miss the mark in Asia or Europe due to local cultural nuances, consumer behavior differences, or regional preferences. Without proper adaptation, this results in wasted resources and budget.

Why Global Campaigns Fail to Activate Locally

Miscommunication Between Teams

The failure to activate global assets at the local level is often rooted in poor communication between global and local teams. Global teams may assume that local teams will adapt the assets, but local teams may not have the resources, understanding, or support to do so effectively.
This lack of clear communication about how and why global assets should be used leads to confusion, inefficiencies, and missed opportunities for brands to maximize their marketing spend.

Lack of Local Insight and Customization

Local teams might not feel empowered to modify global assets to suit their specific market needs. In some cases, local insights and market conditions are overlooked when global teams create campaigns, making it difficult for local teams to make the necessary adjustments.
Additionally, local markets might face different regulatory constraints or cultural sensitivities that make certain global assets inappropriate or irrelevant, further compounding the issue of wasted resources.

Solutions for Bridging the Gap

Improving Collaboration Between Global and Local Teams

To overcome this challenge, brands must foster better collaboration and alignment between global and local teams. Clear communication channels, shared goals, and regular updates between teams can ensure that global campaigns are more easily adapted and executed locally.
Local teams should be involved in the campaign development process from the outset, ensuring they have input on how global assets will be localized and used effectively in their specific markets.

Creating Scalable and Flexible Campaign Toolkits

Global brands can invest in creating scalable and flexible campaign toolkits that allow for easier customization by local teams. These toolkits should provide key assets (e.g., video, images, copy) that are adaptable to different markets, allowing for localized changes while maintaining the core messaging and branding.
Brands can also provide templates, guidelines, and training to local teams to ensure they have the tools and knowledge to adapt global assets for their audiences.

The Financial Impact: Preventing Wasted Budget

Maximizing ROI Through Efficient Processes

Brands must invest in systems that track the usage and effectiveness of global assets in local markets. By monitoring how well these assets perform and ensuring they are used correctly, brands can reduce the risk of wasted budget.
Tracking the ROI of global campaigns at both the global and local levels allows marketers to identify which assets are most effective and which should be repurposed or optimized for future campaigns.

Aligning Global and Local KPIs

Establishing shared KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that align the goals of both global and local teams can help ensure that campaigns are executed efficiently and that resources are not wasted. These KPIs should reflect both the global objectives and the local nuances of each market, helping brands understand what works in each region.

Conclusion: Overcoming the Global-Local Divide

Successfully balancing global consistency with local relevance is crucial for modern marketing. By improving communication, providing flexible toolkits, and monitoring asset usage, brands can reduce the financial waste caused by unused or underutilized global assets. This approach not only maximizes marketing budgets but also ensures that global campaigns resonate with local audiences, driving better results and greater overall effectiveness.