British Brands Abroad
Welcome to our final quarterly special report of 2010, which looks at the marketing decisions involved with launching a British brand to global markets - and on the other side - the opportunities and challenges that surround supporting international brands that are hoping to establish a foothold in the UK.
Firstly we wanted to find out whether British brands heading overseas will be sticking with British agencies. What role does patriotism play, if any? What about a belief in supposedly higher standards from the UK marketing services sector? And what about straightforward logistics?
We asked marketing budget-holders at UK brands expanding into Asia, mainland Europe and the US what agencies should be doing to excite them. We found that while local insights and production capabilities are sought when it comes to in-territory campaigns, on the whole businesses are hesitant to entrust the big decisions for their brand to Johnny foreigner.
We spoke to senior decision-makers at British brands: -
Harrods (to Asia)
Harvey Nash (to Europe)
Flirtomatic (to Europe/US/Asia)
Mrs Crimble's (to the US)
Alpari (to the US)
But how do things work in reverse? To find out, we spoke to brands headquartered in South Korea, France, the Netherlands and the US that are currently looking to enter the UK. And the news is certainly positive for UK agencies, in that the majority of these are looking for local and strategic support. We identified opportunities at each brand, covering digital, advertising, media planning/buying and brand strategy. Strong demand for UK PR agencies was the most common trend, though - all the international decision-makers we spoke with identified the appointment of a lead UK PR shop as essential.
We spoke to: -
Hankook Tire
Carmignac
Kuyichi
Denny's
Anytime Fitness
As brands seek to enter lucrative new territories, they have to weigh up the benefits of levering their national identity with adapting to the tastes of a local audience: a balance between localising and staying true to the brand. Priorities vary; what some see as "cookie-cutting" others term "brand integrity".
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