Six in ten marketers do not tailor content campaigns for local audiences in international markets, according to a new study that highlights the importance of translation and transcreation during the creative process.
The International Marketing Report: Uncovering the power of local found that a third of marketers are still pursuing a one-size-fits-all approach for campaigns across all regions without any optimisation at all, while almost two-thirds are not leveraging local audience insights to improve targeting.
The study suggests that brands have a huge blind spot in terms of serving up natural and native content capable of connecting and engaging with foreign customers. This means that brands are some way short of fulfilling their potential in these markets, and more worryingly, could be actively undermining their ability to drive sales and improve brand image.
Croud’s CEO and Co-Founder Luke Smith said: “A failure to properly localise international campaigns can have a serious impact on the bottom line and brand reputation.”
Even those who do optimise content for local audiences are not going an adequate job, as 43% of marketers admit to using basic tools such as Google Translate. Despite the failure to prioritise market expertise, 83% said that tailoring content for audiences abroad is vital to achieving success.
It is no surprise, then, that 24% of the 250 marketers surveyed said that addressing the local expertise skills gap will be their biggest challenge in 2019. Brands looking to overhaul their localisation efforts may benefit from working with a digital agency that specialises in transcreation services.
