Design a Marketing Localization Strategy in 3 Steps

Brands looking to earn market share in a specific area need to do more than slap a few regional signifiers onto an ad campaign.

Today’s consumers are accustomed to endless choice — especially when it comes to the food and beverage category. A trip to the grocery store presents aisles of options for all manner of snacks, drinks, and treats; but this wasn’t always the case.

Zooming in: Lessons from big beer

A couple decades ago, a handful of mega brands dominated the fray with various barriers of entry preventing smaller brands from gaining traction in the marketplace. Then things started to change.

In the beer industry, for instance, legislation allowing for home and small-scale brewing paved the way for the craft brewing movement. All of a sudden, consumers went from having a few choices of beer to thousands. The bigger players in the space took notice and set about understanding key drivers of choice.

They found that “local” was a big one: all things being similar (e.g., quality, price) consumers would choose the product they felt a connection to — and local was an effective way to create that connection.

This led to advertising campaigns tailored for local markets, which in turn led to product development for local markets, which ultimately led to opening offices in local markets — the goal being to hire local people and connect with local consumers in the most authentic way possible.

This “bottom up” strategy is one we anticipate taking on greater importance in the post-COVID era — and not just in the Food & Beverage category. As we’ve mentioned before, brand authenticity will be the key to winning over consumers in the years to come (especially Gen Z).

Unlocking your marketing localization strategy

Developing the right marketing localization strategy starts with insights. This is where local immersions can be beneficial.

Brands looking to earn market share in a specific neighborhood, city, or state need to do more than slap a few regional signifiers onto an ad campaign developed in New York or Los Angeles. That said, they don’t necessarily need to start looking for office space in their target market, either. Month-long local immersions are the happy middle ground. During these immersions, the goal is to steep yourself in a particular culture to understand it in a meaningful way — to learn what it really means to be from Denver or South Florida or Quebec.

1. Pick the right local immersion methodology

There are a variety of approaches available for your local immersion. It’s a good idea to consult with an expert like Material to discover which option (or combination of options) might work best for you.

Here are a few types that you may or may not have heard of:

Expert or Community Leader Interviews

Pick knowledgeable brains about what’s happening in your target market and discuss significant trends, innovations, and cultural shifts. These can be conducted digitally while COVID-19 remains a concern in certain regions.

Safaris

Along with other key stakeholders, explore stores, restaurants, and other notable destinations in areas of interest. Make observations and take notes, then regroup to discuss your findings.

TrendScans

Study social connectivity and shifts in economic, political, and entertainment spheres within a local community, then synthesize what these trends can tell you about the intersection of the area and your specific category.

Exploratory Qualitative

Use qualitative research as a way to better connect with consumers by exploring human needs, motivations, and preferences within a local community.

2. Be attentive to accurate representation

Whatever your methods, the most important thing is to account for the many nuances that define the identity of any given place.

Take Texas, for instance; while outsiders might have an overly simplistic idea of the state, its demographic diversity is vast. Communities in Austin will look very different from those in a border city like El Paso, or a panhandle town like Amarillo, or even another major metro area like Houston.

Quantitative or qualitative, you need to make sure you’re getting a representative sample of your region(s) of interest.

3. Do it like a local

Use what you learn to connect authentically to your region(s) of interest with an informed marketing localization strategy.

The equation isn’t complicated. Being more authentic = being more relevant = being more personal = being local. It makes sense, right?