Going local

The basic idea behind any marketing or advertising effort is to create a connection with the customers. The success of your campaign depends on how well a customer can identify with your product. And when it comes to identifying with a product, connection at a regional level plays a very important role. You can define a region at any level, it can be a country, a state and in some cases, even cities.

Let’s talk about going local in a country. In the world today, you got to consider the global marketplace which is full of diversity. In order to link to their customers in this diverse global market, companies try to adapt their stories to make it compelling for the people in a particular geography. Consider India as an example. In India, there are many global brands which are so well connected to the local community that people end up thinking them to be local brands. Vicks (Procter & Gamble), Maggie noodles (Nestle), Bata footwear, Cadbury Dairy Milk (CadburySchweppes), Lifebuoy soaps (Unilever) and many others fall in this category. The reason being the way these brands have established connection with the people in the country. The product itself is localized in many cases, followed by localized advertisements, packaging, slogans and what not.

But this concept of going local is not limited at the country level. In many states, companies use local branding strategies to connect with the customers. For example, while Ford slogan in most parts of USA is “Ford Built Tough”, in Texas the company goes local with its campaign slogan: “Ford is the best in Texas”. The goal is again very simple: connect with the customers in Texas, and if it can be done better with a local slogan, let’s use that.

I believe when a brand goes for local connection, it generates a much higher level of trustworthiness with the customers. It makes the customers feel important and increases their loyalty towards the brand, in-turn making the local connection work.