Showing the variation in the decision process within different international markets

Luxury brands are on an upwards trajectory, with a recent McKinsey report showing that online sales are expected to double in the next 5 years – from the 6% to 12% in 2020, before tripling in 2025 to 18%. It's easy to see that the world of digital is currently, and will continue to impact the luxury goods market. McKinsey discussed the impact of Digital on the Luxury goods market and unearthed some interesting data about how the buying process differs between different countries. When intending to make a luxury purchase, we automatically default to thinking about pre-selected brands, of which 75% of the purchases will come from. Once deciding upon the brands, customers will have multiple touchpoints, or interactions, with brands before making the final decision to purchase. On…

Kellogg’s initial foray into the Indian market is generally agreed to have been a failure, although it’s now doing well in terms of both market share and sales growth in the subcontinent.

As part of our series of in-depth case studies with TranslateMedia looking at major brands tackling major new markets we look at Kellogg's attempts to crack the tricky Indian market.

But are Indian consumers ready to accept breakfast cereals?

Kellogg’s initial foray into the Indian market is generally agreed to have been a failure, although it’s now doing well in terms of both market share and sales growth in the subcontinent. In this article, we’ll examine what went wrong, and discover how Kelloggs recovered from its initial problems in this challenging market.

An unsuccessful first foray into India

The world’s leading producer of cereals and a major snack foods manufacturer, Kellogg’s entered the Indian market way back in 1994. Kellogg’s is no stranger to…

Understanding what local customers really expect when purchasing from an ecommerce site is an essential factor for success when it comes to international ecommerce expansion.

Failing to properly localise a website to be in line with local conventions will not only impact how users perceive a brand and feel about using a website, but ultimately effect how likely they are to buy from it at all. Did you know that German customers expect a wide range of payment options to be available including bank transfer, direct debit and invoice for payment after they receive an order? Did you also know that Japanese customers require input fields for two different scripts when entering their name? Or that French users expect SEPA (single euro payments area) compliant payment options when inputting bank details? Oban Digital has reviewed a number of sites over several ecommerce marketplaces, including Japan, Canada, France, Germany, Australia and the UK to assess…

One measure of how well you’ve infiltrated your brand into a local culture is how successfully you can align it with local holidays

Seasonal holidays are emotive times, whether it’s a country’s national independence day, saints’ day carnivals, New Year or the mid-autumn festival celebrations in parts of Asia. Getting the seasonal celebrations right is a big part of aligning your brand with local cultural values and engaging with your audience during a significant time in their calendar. Gift exchange and shared meals are often a big part of festivities and for many brands that represents a big opportunity for sales. Get the holidays right and you have a chance to really bring your brand into every household.

Big brand holiday case studies

KFC is a brand that has managed to transcreate itself with particular success into Japan. The fried…

When Shanghai Disney Resort opens towards the beginning of 2016, it will represent just the latest move by western companies determined to entertain and profit from China’s new middle classes.

Chinese household spending on entertainment and leisure activities rose 56% in just one year between 2010 and 2011 and the rise in entertainment spend is predicted to continue for some time. Chinese consumers, or more specifically their newfound disposable spending power, are a serious target for the film and entertainment industry now scrambling to meet their desires. Cinemas are being hurriedly constructed and theme parks are booming as both local and foreign enterprises battle for a share of the market. Theme parks are increasingly popular in Asia and in the last decade two of China’s theme attractions have entered the world’s top ten in terms of visitor numbers. About a third of the world’s…

UK Fashion brands see opportunity in expanding into the US Market

US businesses have long eyed up opportunities in the buoyant UK retail market with brands typically establishing a presence in the UK as a launchpad into Europe. Now a large number of British retail brands are heading back in the opposite direction. In many cases, these ventures have met with considerable success. The upscale retailer Boden, for instance, expects US sales to overtake those of its home market within a few years. It’s very clear, however, when it comes to relocating a brand across the Atlantic, American and British audiences shouldn’t be approached as a homogenous group even though the language is shared. Consumers on both sides of the Atlantic will respond best to localised and personalised content strategies. Buzzfeed, for example, one of the web’s biggest and most influential content hubs, has editorial teams in both regions. They find that their…

Updated Webcertain 2015 Global Search and Social Report

Value: [rating=4] The international search and social findings report from Webcertain spans 32 countries and measures social media engagement in terms of account ownership, visitation and usage. It has a snapshot of each market and shows which platforms are important, which you certainly won't know unless you're a specialist in these areas. Did you know that the Japanese are the least socially active - on average they spend 30 minutes a day on social networking sites? Or that Baidu is not the sole search engine in China, as Qihoo 360 degree (Haosou) search engine accounts for 30% of the market.

2015 report Findings on Global Search & Social Report

Our commentary: This well-established report will be of particular interest for marketers responsible for international marketing since it helps puts some key data surrounding…

Tesco International use viral videos to make an impact at a low cost

At our #DigitalImpact2014 conference a range of brands shared their successes and hiccups on Digital Transformation. One example that stood out for me, and I thought would be interesting to share, is this international marketing campaign. The marketing challenge for this campaign was that Tesco, although a household name in the UK, is entering new markets with its online grocery delivery service without a good level of awareness. It is looking to raise awareness amongst a younger generation who are using TV less than traditionally. Part of the solution was these humorous,  lighthearted Youtube videos, which This example shows how these videos 'went viral' in Poland. It's a great example of a campaign to show how entertaining and tongue in cheek content can appeal to different cultures. It started off as a low budget trial in Poland, and the videos reached…

How to simplify your website localisation project

A decade or two ago the extent of most business's online strategies would have been whether or not to bother having a website. Now there are all sorts of things to consider, from social media marketing to optimising for mobile and, if you are looking to reach an international audience, localising your website. Localisation can be a huge project but there are ways to simplify the process. It can also be hugely important when it comes to reaching new markets. The World Wide Web theoretically puts the whole world at your fingertips but in practice there are cultural and linguistic barriers to overcome. There's a temptation to think that a single English language website will suffice but numerous studies have shown this is not the case. A survey by Eurobarometer found that only 18% of EU…

Which channels matter most today? An analysis of the effectiveness of 40+ marketing channels

Several months ago, I created a simple spreadsheet of 40+ marketing channels available to marketers to reach and influence consumers today. I shared this on the Smart Insights blog and readers added to my base list - thank you for the recommendations! In this article, starting with the original channels, I've added attribute data about each channel to provide a better picture of channel versatility, cost, purpose and function. This blog post will cover an analysis of a new all channel spreadsheet available via my site to determine which are the best channels for functionality and value.

Cross-functional channels

Venn Diagram

The four segments in this Venn diagram show the functional intersections for channels used for different types of customer interactions. The four functional categories are: Marketing, can the channel be used to market to customers? Service,…