Vol.38 – How to Remake Global Content to Meet Local Needs

The previous article Vol.37: How to Develop and Evolve Contents Globally Starting Locally was about developing and evolving content for global and local audience based on local information.

This article is the continuation of the previous article, which is about remaking global content to meet local situation and needs based on target buyer persona.

1. In what kind of situation is global content usually remade totally to meet local needs?

This methodology is adopted when global message needs to be delivered to local audience and global content (information) is relevant to local audience cannot be made local by simple translation, addition of interpretation or modification.

Such content can cover wide a range of topics. Some examples of topics include environment, business and economy, politics, compliance, and diversity, to name a few.

2. How can global information remade totally to meet local needs?

Basic stance is the same as tailoring global content to develop local content to meet needs of local audience by changing the viewpoint/subject based on the buyer persona of audience segment.

The author would like to explain with a few concrete examples.

1) Product information (website, catalogue etc.)

This may be the most typical one and the easier one to understand. In global companies, unless the product is planned, developed, produced and marketed all locally, the global HQ is the core of the whole value chain and controls/monitors the total chain. This means the global HQ would have the product information, and one of the main responsibilities of the marketers in the global HQ is providing product information (e.g. catalogue) and other relevant materials such as photos and logo data to local marketers.

Having received information and materials, local marketers would usually remake into local product information tools such as catalogues and product information web pages, according to their product line-up and local market needs.

The degree of remaking depends on case by case. It can be just modifying the product lineup and translation using the data supplied from the global HQ. This seems to be popular among IT companies in particular. Remaking can also be as much as of the total structure and content of the catalogue, product information web pages etc., and redesigning of the front cover and pages, in addition to modifying the product lineup and translation.

Such remaking is performed based on the CI (corporate identity) guideline and other rules specific to the company, and on buyer persona of the local product information content. Total remaking of the content seems to be popular for BtoC, especially for products of consumer electronics and FMCG (fast moving consumer good) industry, assumed to attribute to the fact that such products are closely linked with manners and customs and lifestyles of the local consumers.

2) Company policy/message (internal communication of a company)

Company policy and message of a global company also originates from global HQ. In most cases, as the message is delivered further down the organization layer and/or regional segment, the content is remade, with more detailed information of the target organization layer and/or regional segment. The scenario needs to be carefully developed so that the local audience would be able to understand the global overview (big picture) and how the local content fits in it and is aligned with the big picture of the global overview.

It is the more detailed information part that is focused on because that is what the target (local) audience really needs, and that is usually from which the target audience understands the global core message. In a sense, the local detailed information is the interpretation and explanation of the global content.

Although it may be a rare case, there are some cases in which the key message (content) of such detailed local information may be an exceptional one and different from those of global and other regions/countries. In such a case, the scenario is to be carefully developed and delivered so that the local audience would understand how and why the local content is different.

3) Blog articles about a global issue

The blog article of a global issue can be about the recent abnormal weather for example. The author would like to explain with a specific example of a recent English blog article targeting global audience and Japanese blog article targeting Japanese audience, based on respective buyer persona.

(1) English blog:

Abnormal Weather Worldwide - Why and Effects
http://megoyanagi.blogspot.com/2010/07/abnormal-weather-worldwide-why-and.html

i) Style

The blog is in news article style, and this article is no exception. This is because the fact that English blogs are mostly in professional style and that much source of information for the blog would be news for the blog.

ii) Information / content

The information is mostly of facts, what is actually happening worldwide and Japan, and theories and views of experts. In the first half of the article worldwide information on how abnormal the weather is explained with concrete examples of how abnormal the weather has been lately and its effects on economy, society and people’s lives. In the latter half, Japanese information on its abnormal weather and its effects on summer business as more detailed information is introduced, supporting the total message of the global trend.

(2) Japanese blog:

Abnormal Weather Again – Mother Earth is Really Angry? (the author’s translation)
http://ameblo.jp/meg-oyanagi/entry-10594113815.html

i) Style

The blog was remade completely, in a diary style with more personal touch. Japanese translation of the English blog could have been an option if the author wanted to target expert niche segment such as weather experts. However, the author wanted to target the volume zone of blog readers and the diary style blog was appropriate because such style with what the author did and how he/she feels and thinks is extremely common in Japan.

ii) Content / information

Aligning with the blog concept, the focus of the article is on the author’s thoughts and what she did rather than the detailed facts and explanation of the abnormal weather. The facts and explanation of the abnormal weather was substituted by a link to the English blog, as a part of introducing what the author did on a hot summer day, having read series of special articles about worldwide abnormal weather of a Japanese leading newspaper.