Samsung’s new ad in India is a masterclass in localization for global brands.
As more brands look to the huge markets in China and India with a mix of enthusiasm and consternation, Samsung’s latest ad campaign created for the Indian market is hitting the mark.
The video shows a story of how a young Samsung Engineer undaunted by rough terrain, attends to a customer complaint in a remote hilly area. His efforts help bring up smiles on the faces of a group of children, for whom their Samsung Television is the medium to celebrate their special moment. Every aspect of the ad from story-line, characters, actors, soundtrack and scenery are innately authentic to the market. At four minutes long this falls into the brandertainment category, where the emphasis is on engagement through story telling rather than a typical 30 sec. sales format.
For many brands the challenge of getting a foothold in foreign markets is a costly one, from either marketing spend that fails to connect or from missed opportunity as they hold-off from launching for fear of expensive failure. The missing piece of the puzzle is often having a local agency able to translate the brand for the current market.
At the very core of every successful brand sits the brand essence and values that direct how it behaves in all it says and does. These central brand elements are layered with brand personality, belief systems, brand story and key brand messages. Each of these layers of brand definition are critical to communicating the differentiated proposition to your market. But when your market experiences your brand through a different cultural lens, the meaning of your layers of definition must be translated accordingly.
We are part of a global network of marketing agencies for this very reason. With brother and sister agencies throughout Asia, Europe and North America we are able to work together to help brands understand how they need to translate what they do to successfully launch into new and exciting markets overseas.
Dave Ansett
David is the founder of Truly Deeply, a brand agency with 25 years experience working with brands to position them for growth. His deep expertise is in the creation of high engagement brands that attract the attention of their audience and stand out from their competitors. David has extensive experience working with corporate, retail, food & beverage and entrepreneurial clients. Find out more at…
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