Many marketing mistakes on a local and global level cost corporations financially, but also can have a devastating impact on a brand’s image. One social insensitivity, mistranslation, or a simple misunderstanding can set a company’s progress back and may cause it to ultimately fail. This is becoming increasingly complicated by the processes of globalization and the seemingly endless forms of digital media.
Photo by Jezael Melgoza
How can any company market in a way that keeps up with a world of different cultures, subcultures, religions, internet slang, rapid trends, and events that endlessly alter communities? The answer could be found in the study of Anthropology.
The American Anthropological Association states that “anthropologists take a broad approach to understand the many different aspects of the human experience,” a technique they call “holism.” This broad, or holistic, look at humans involves understanding our past, present, and future, as well as our biology, linguistics, and cultures: the whole package.
Global Marketing is an immense project. A holistic approach is necessary, but it does not have to be complicated. Hiring an anthropologist, or even a team of anthropologists, specifically to focus on Global Marketing is now more important than ever.
An inherent human need is to feel seen and to belong. When we feel excluded, insulted, or misunderstood this desire for belonging can shatter. This can happen to groups of people, not just on the individual level, and can even happen as a Global Community. A simple marketing mistake due to mistranslation, neglect, or a lack of knowledge about culture can not only cause strife between a brand and the culture it offended, but it can also cause the larger Global Community to turn against the brand. A brand’s image could be irreparably damaged.
Instead of damage control, we should focus our attention on getting our marketing right around the world. Let’s approach our Global Marketing with a holistic lens.