Global Human Insight

Global brands benefit from Global Human Insight. Why? Because when the same brand needs support across the world, it is more efficient to run one campaign. Resource economies aside, though, there is the integrity of unified brand identity to consider. We are as bound to one ‘local’ location as our web exploration and travel adventures will allow. Experiencing multiple, smart, locally-relevant manifestations of a single ‘global’ brand position is a delight for the traveller or muli-local. Even witnessing a brand repositioned to fill a local market need can stir positive curiosity. Everyone knows that Starbucks is the third place across the world. In China Starbucks is a third place too, but its prohibitively high prices by local Chinese standards, makes it more The Place to Find Fellow Affluents, Ex-pat Co-workers, or ‘a Husband’. Olay is another example of a brand that, while broadly providing the same value proposition across the world, takes on a more premium space in China. Similarly to how the sleek Zurich Bahnhofstrasse McDonalds in incomparable to its ostensibly cheaper downtown Manhattan version, glossy Olay cosmetics can be found in Chinese department stores, and are distant cousins to their US/EU drugstore versions. In both cases, however, the core brand value to customers is unchanged globally. McDonalds is fast food (global menu and local inventions) conveniently (frequently) located. Olay is about age-resistant skin care, everywhere.

One thing that Global Brands play on and count on to succeed is the simple fact that certain human truths are universal. Sure, Greeks like to openly debate politics while Chinese will avoid engaging in these types of conversations. This local reality is important to understand – the causes are historical, political, and as a result, now cultural. But, biologically-speaking people have same evolutionary, neurological, physical realities weaved from the fabric our evolution as a species.

When it comes to unlocking human emotional wisdom, the kind that facilitates innovation, design, distribution, communication, and interaction of ideas with people, the universal human heart is a fine place to start. In her book, the Female Brain, Louann Brizendine, M.D., describes emotional attachment between people sometimes being sparked by an associated positive or exciting extermal experience. The brain’s response to new experiences results in a positive physical/emotional reaction which in turn gives innocent bystanders associative brownie points. This is why a well-designed date can make a difference. It is also why shared experiences and activities as a group inproves team building/and group bonding. By the same token, brands and products that happen to be there at the right time can gain points in people’s hearts. If a brand knows that it wants to associate itself with the high people feel while cheering for a sports team, then equipped with this basic principle local managers can decide which sports, teams, games, and forms of cheering are most relevant. Another universal emotional bonding window is a time of change, challenge, or an identity turning point. For example: the teenager, the new mother, the newlywed, the new college student, the retired man, the menaupausal woman, the new parents, the first job, the discovery of a health problem, etc. Each of these ‘change moments’ changes slightly depending on the local environment, norms, and generational statistics and societal reactions. That said, though, the key thing is for a brand to own a particular part of these emotional territories and adjust it according to the place and times.