Vol.35 – How to Tailor Global Content to Meet Local Needs (Part 1)

The previous article Vol.34: How to Deliver Consistent Message to Global and Local Audience was about effectively delivering consistent message with consistent branding to global and local audience online and offline, meeting needs of both global and local audience.

This article is the continuation of the previous article, which is about developing content meeting needs of local audience while delivering consistent global message.

1. What must be considered first in tailoring global content to meet local needs?

Similarly to any other contents, relevance must be considered first in planning and developing content meeting local needs. The objectives of the buyer persona of the local audience and the relevant content for each buyer persona need to be considered.

Some global content may not be necessary to be delivered to local audience. Some of the examples of global contents mentioned in the previous article Vol.34: How to Deliver Consistent Message to Global and Local Audience are not always necessary to be delivered to local audience, for example, to local business partners (PR agencies) wanting to start business with local office and to consumers wanting to buy local products and services.

Some other global contents need to be delivered to local audience but do not need to be tailored but simple translation at most is appropriate, such as financial (IR) information. Such information is necessary and valuable to local investors as a great source in making investment judgments.

And, some other global contents need to be delivered to local audience and need to be tailored to meet local needs, although the degree and methodology is case by case. Such contents are focus of this article and upcoming article(s).

2. What is the primary methodology of tailoring global content?

The methodology mostly adopted in tailoring global content is adding and/or replacing details (examples and explanations) with local ones. This methodology is often taken for “other facts about the company/individual” mentioned in the previous article Vol.34: How to Deliver Consistent Message to Global and Local Audience.

This methodology is adopted because of local laws and restrictions, and other local situations attributing to local society, manners and customs, and culture that cannot be covered by global content/side.

1) Adding local details

A good example of adding details and examples may be compliance related content. Basic philosophy and information of compliance is consistent worldwide and some main examples can be provided globally, but many needs to be provided locally, meeting local needs and situation. This is why most compliance related information provided from global side always has phrases saying details are apt to local laws and restrictions.

Thus, local laws and restrictions, and concrete examples based on local laws and restrictions added locally. Also, concrete examples of cases to explain and/or support worldwide philosophy and policy are added locally.

Another example of adding details and examples may be sustainability (CSR and environment preservation) content. Basic philosophy and information of such content is consistent worldwide, but details are usually added locally for the same reason and in similar way as compliance related content. Also, information on local activities is added locally.

News releases and product information and other contents are planned and developed with the same concept.

2) Replacing with local details

This methodology might sound odd but the author has presented this methodology, distinguishing from adding local details because some methodologies taken are not quite adding but really replacing, whether the degree is large or small.

(1) Words and phrases, and sentence level

In practice, this methodology is on sentence level even in some of the global contents that are considered to be simply translation to local language. For example, in the case of mentioning M&A of a company, the timing (year) was replaced with the local one because it took place one year after the global.

Also, words and phrases are not literally translated but replaced by local equivalents for local audience to understand better. For example, when translating “emerging market” into Japanese, the author often replaces it with something like “countries of what we call BRICs”. “BRICs” is the term widely used in Japan meaning “Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa” and this term is much easier for the local audience to understand.

(2) Content level

The methodology of replacing with local details on content level is probably most adopted in explaining features/usage of products and services considering the local society, lifestyle, manners and customers and culture.

An example is what the author did for a matrix chart of plotting digital AV products based on assumed lifestyles of customer segments (buyer persona) when she was responsible for product marketing covering worldwide market. The matrix was a content of a training tool for worldwide sales person.

She first developed a “standard” matrix, i.e. global content. She then developed a few “derivatives” from the “standard” matrix to meet some specific regions based on their product line-up and the lifestyles, manners and customer and culture.

(3) Description/headline level

Although of a little different perspective, there is another methodology which can be categorized as replacing with local details. This is what the author often adopts in tweeting on Twitter and posting updates on Facebook. That is posting updates of different contents in English (global audience) and Japanese (Japan local audience) meeting their respective needs although the links is the same.

3. What methodologies need to be adopted when adding and/or replacing with local details is insufficient?

There are mainly 2 ways to overcome such a situation. The first methodology is tailoring the global content totally to meet local needs. The second is developing a new local content totally with delivering the consistent global message.

The first methodology will be the topic of the upcoming article.