Localization Still Needs You - The Myth of the Global Brand

Will your job go away as the world gets flatter? Not likely, according to an article by Eric Pfanner in the International Herald Tribune (link below).

Nigel Hollis, chief global analyst at the market research firm Millward Brown, argues that instead of becoming more alike, people are more eager than ever to assert their differences. And marketers - at least those who want to create global brands - ignore this at their peril.

This approach, which marketers refer to as "global/local," has been around for a while, and Hollis has a vested interest in supporting it.

"The vast majority of people still live very local lives," Hollis said. "By all means go global, but the first thing you have to do is win on the ground," he added. "You have to go local."

As localization manager, of course, your job is to keep your company's eye on the local side of global/local.

Do your execs think that the only thing people want to personalize is the choice of music on their iPod? How about the language in which they deal with you and you deal with them?

One size still doesn't fit all. Nor does one language.

Here's the link to the Pfanner article. Happy reading and happy localizing.