Geography is Destiny: Universal Thinking in Advertising
Each of us can see the traces of the geography in which we live our lives, in the works we exhibit and in the many projects we add value to. When we look at the effects of advertisements on society and the businesses where geography leaves its mark, things may change for global brands.
Global brands, which often aim to reach a wide audience, aim to convey their messages and spheres of influence to the world in a universal language. However, the fact that these messages are not perceived in the same way in every culture causes advertising dynamics to be adapted according to geography. Local cultural elements that complement us, from the games we played as children to our beliefs, even from our behaviors to our habits, can make us think of global brands. In the advertising world, advertisers need to think 360 degrees and think carefully in order to create a communication that will have an impact in every region. The criteria that affect a successful advertising process are the compatibility of the advertisement with culture and geography.
Adapting each advertising campaign to the culture, traditions and social norms also enables the brand to establish a stronger and more meaningful bond with its target audience. Some examples show us that this can progress in the long term. We can also find some examples of successful campaigns of global brands that appeal to local cultures in our geography. The advertisements prepared by Coca-Cola specially for Ramadan warm the hearts of all of us from a religious and traditional perspective. When we turn our heads towards a different culture, we can see the memorable Peugeot 206 advertisement published in the early 2000s. These two examples appear frequently, showing how effective strategies created by understanding the importance of local culture can be.
For brands that want to convey the message correctly to the target audience, it may not be enough to proceed only with a message focus. Visual and audio elements of advertisements also constitute an important part of this relationship. Colours, music, symbols and even character choices can carry cultural meanings. While most of us dream of the color white as purity, when we look at the world map and move towards Asia, we can see that this color turns red. If we look at the wedding dress color choices that young women dream of from this perspective, the example will become clearer for all of us. At this point, sometimes every detail used in advertising designs needs to be interpreted correctly in a cultural context.
A nursery rhyme we hear, fairy tales we listen to and many more…
Long story short, we see that the messages that emerge by adapting global advertising campaigns to local cultural norms can create a success story. Taking this step, which will enable brands to be successful in the global market, will cause the traces of successful creativity to be talked about for many years.
Geography is Destiny: Universal Thinking in Advertising
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