1. Reason or excuse
Culture is often the subject of discussion and lip service.

2. Cultures are closer than ever before
We know that the cultural influence has been further enhanced with the rapid increase in economic and financial interdependence worldwide. And now digital technology has brought cultures closer than ever before.

3. Culture sets boundaries
and discriminates
However culture is also a powerful discriminator and sets boundaries others cannot cross. It is used as a reason and an excuse. It liberates and imprisons. As the world gets smaller, understanding and appreciating culture is now more important than has ever been.  

4. Brands never speak directly to consumer,
always filtered through culture
Have we ever given thought to the fact that brands never truly speak directly to a consumer, it is always filtered through a culture? The interpretation of a culture then opens a door to greater consumer insights. Powerful insights can lead to powerful change, both commercially and socially.
A common catch phrase, ‘think global act local’. To many marketers this is a paradox. Even though one may think global they are thinking and behaving within a culture. Seeing a young person drinking Coke for example, we might think everyone is the same. As the human race we have a collective unconscious and are collectively programmed and are bound by certain universal truths. And as marketers we might even think they are one group with homogenous needs and desires.

5. Unique versions of culture emerge
But culture dictates our view of the world, and a localised unique version of youth culture will eventually emerge within that culture, that can be identified with.
As we see here in 2 markets across the globe. This first one is from the west. PLAY AD. You might identify or recognise the expression you see here. Now let’s look at a different expression of youth culture from another part of the world. PLAY AD. Both expressing Open Happiness and youth, but clearly talking to two different cultures.

6. Culture makes us unique
It is imprinted on our collective unconscious and defines how we see and interpret the world
Culture makes us unique
So what then is culture?
Traditional definitions of culture have been argued with social scientists now viewing culture as consisting primarily of the symbolic, ideational, and intangible aspects of human societies. The essence of a culture is not its artefacts, tools, or other tangible cultural elements but how the members of the group interpret, use, and perceive them.
Our culture and our physical boundaries give us a sense of group and belonging while making us unique. This is our place in the world, and that gives us a sense of contentment and defines who we are. Culture is then imprinted on our collective unconscious and defines how we see the world, how we perceive and interpret the world as we know it defined by our man made boundaries. Culture says we behave and dress differently, we eat different foods, celebrate different events.
Every culture has a code, a code that makes that culture unique, what some might refer to as the soul of a culture – not different because they behave differently (of course they do!) but appreciated because they perceive and interpret life differently.

7. History impacts culture
The history of a country can influence and impact the culture, as Wal-Mart discovered the hard way when business in Germany failed. There has been much speculation and some cross-cultural misunderstandings identified as factors to its failure. One issue was the early morning chanting by employees. You might not know what I mean here, so here’s what that sounds like! PLAY CLIP.

8. I think you get the point, I’m sure the Germans are not alone on this!
Now this was intended to build morale but it didn’t go down well with the Germans. Some say they found it embarrassing or silly, or plain annoying. Others say they found it too regimented and oddly reminiscent of rallies in past decades.

9. Another issue was the smiling
Another issue was the smiling. Walmart requires its checkout people to flash smiles at customers after bagging their purchases. This unnerved the Germans, because the German people don't usually smile at total strangers. Walmart was forced to withdraw from the country in 2006, abandoning Germany's lucrative $370 billion retail market.
Wal-Mart a to impose its values around the world. It is often used as a case study on how to not do business – selling golf clubs in Brazil, where the game is unfamiliar, or ice skates in Mexico are frequently mentioned. Their German experience taught them to take a good look at their management style and the true value of acting local.

10. A cultural lens determines how categories and brands behave
Culture is learned
A cultural lens determines how categories and brands behave
The cultural context will determine how categories and brands behave. But how do we understand this cultural context?
Hofstede, a social psychologist was emphatic in his view that while human nature is inherited, culture is learned. He refers to the west as more individualistic as opposed to the more collective east. He also talks about masculine and feminine cultures. He refers to a power dynamic, a culture’s tolerance for authority and hierarchy and he talks of uncertainty avoidance. This lens of culture was developed to understand workplace dynamics and in our work as researchers falls short in looking at categories and brands and how consumers behave across cultures.
A cultural lens determines how categories and brands behave

11. What lens do we use to interpret culture
We, as researchers, have a responsibility to understand the relevant cultural context for our clients who are developing global brands. But are we doing enough? Are we approaching it the right way? What lens do we use to measure and interpret culture?

12. Archetypes influence our view of the world
There have been recent discussions around global marketing that mention universal archetypes. So, what are archetypes? Archetypes form the basis of our psyche and collective unconscious and you could say form the psychological DNA of being human. It also provides a structure to understand how culture has impacted. 12

13. So for example, what the west understands to be independent and confident, might look very different in the east. At the top is an example of Independence and winning in the west – driven, powerful, about me. At the bottom is an example from the east, still winning but it is about us – what you might not be able to see is the group of people that are helping her win, pushing her along, supporting her.

14. We know being a mother is about nurturance and care – but this might take on quite a different expression in the west compared to the east. On the left a more relaxed expression, playful even. On the right a more ambitious expression of motherhood, it is about your kids being the best, reaching their potential, you might have heard the term tiger mums.
So archetypes do provide the lens to explore culture.

15. What does this mean for research?
Marketers use universal taglines and themes that are synonymous with their brand, but can they travel across borders? As researchers it is important to understand and interpret the cultural code, rather than merely translate.

16. Unravelling the code Functional Identity Emotive
Food, drink, dress, language, behaviour, ceremonies
Functional
Social customs and rituals, the social etiquette and norms
Identity
Stories and legends, history, symbols, beliefs, values
Emotive
Unravelling the cultural code starts from the observable, the tangible. Observation and discussion on the food, the drink, the dress, and language will give us an understanding of the behaviour, occasions and ceremonies in everyday life. These features are easy to uncover. Research too often places emphasis and relies on pure observation, leaving interpretation in the hands of the researcher which is inevitably done through a cultural lens anyway. We need to dig deeper, we know the behaviour is a manifestation of much more than that.
The next layer is also observable but less tangible. These are the social customs and rituals, the social etiquette and norms that seem obvious to those within the culture. The gender roles and how individualistic a culture is can be taken for granted within the culture and not questioned, but less obvious to those on the outside.
Many of these customs and rituals have a history and significance that can be understood and decoded even further. The stories and symbols in a culture provide a richer understanding of the heart of the culture, their beliefs and values, and what makes each culture unique, special and different.

17. Male kinship at the heart of Nigerian drinking culture
Diageo a global alcohol company markets very successful brands across the globe, from the US to India to Africa.
In Nigeria, drinking in general is mainly a male activity. Women do drink, but it is men that set the acceptable social norms and behaviour. Therefore, while targeting the Everyday Friend archetype, we recognise that at the heart of these affiliative and upbeat occasions is male kinship. This cultural understanding is critical in providing Diageo with the insights to effectively communicate and market their global brands in the African context.

18. Keep Walking Symbol of success, you’ve made it
Diageo markets Johnnie Walker a very successful whisky brand. It uses the slogan ‘Keep Walking’ and target the Ruler archetype, in this category this means the need for status and assertion.

19. Status and assertion Dominance Progress Stay ahead Reach new heights
We might think we know what status and assertion means – success some might say, progress, reach new heights. In marketing a truly global brand, Johnnie Walker needed to truly think local too and used research to understand and express this slogan within a local cultural context.

20. Individual ahead of the rest
Standing apart and being noticed – a cut above the rest
In marketing a truly global brand, Johnnie Walker needed to truly think local too and used research to understand and express this slogan within a local cultural context. Individual cultures like the US view individuals as independent and able to succeed by themselves. It is about the individual ahead of the rest. PLAY AD

21. Celebrate personal progress
Stay self-motivated, aspire to live a life with no constraints and no guilt
Understanding culture is not only the domain of qualitative research as our clients often also need numbers. We know from quantitative research that there is an expression of status and assertion in Indonesia. It is the biggest motivation and poses a significant growth opportunity through their global brand. But how do we capture this expression from a local context?
In collectivist culture like Indonesia, the individual belongs to a societal group. Success then is not about independence but about self-motivation and the confidence to break away and be different and stay ahead. But also feel good and not guilty in doing this. Don’t have a video clip here, but those words translate to mean something like ‘keep walking despite increasingly heavy footsteps’, a sense of keep going and stay motivated though it is hard.

22. Reaching your potential
Follow your path to success, focus on making the change
Or in China, quite a different expression again – where the expression was more focused and channelled, determination to make your own path of success.
In understanding this expression, ‘Keep Walking’ takes on new meaning and while it can equally resonate in both the East and the West, communications developed had to tap into the right cultural expression.

23. Greeks classified beauty on symmetry and order
On another completely different subject beauty. Beauty we’ve been told is in the eye of the beholder. It is very much defined by the culture. For centuries, the ancient Greeks experimented with ways to portray beauty. They classified beauty as the combination of order, symmetry and definition.

24. Asian beauty is fair skinned and of slight build
Asian beauty is defined as fair skinned and of slight build…

25. Middle Eastern beauty is olive skinned, with a curvy figure
…Middle Eastern beauty is olive skinned, dark eyes and a curvy figure.

26. Beauty is timeless and classic
Our research based on a number of categories globally captures beauty across many cultures. Beauty is an expression of being a woman, it is holistic, it is about outward and inward beauty. Digging deeper, in the west particularly the UK and the US, beauty is classic, timeless, glamorous, enhancing your true self.

27. Open and charismatic beauty expression
Living Nature the New Zealand skin care company captured this expression of beauty through a more open, charismatic beauty expression.

28. Gentle pure beauty expression
Prior to launch in Japan, this expression of beauty needed to be modified to suit the market. The Far East expression of beauty is more about gentle beauty, pure and innocent, and the brand needed to capture the flawless perfection that was desired. The research provided the canvas on which they developed and refined their marketing and communication efforts to create a successful brand.

29. Branding and communications can break social barriers and connect cultures
All of this can be taken a step further. Branding and communications can break social barriers and connect cultures. Global marketing paves the way for big brands that communicate big ideas, brands you can identify with wherever you are and whatever culture you belong to, brands that have the capacity to effect change, brands that can change nations.

30. Brands can effect social change
India and Pakistan, divided by war and conflict, ironically share the same language and history. Coke used their brand to bridge the huge modern-day chasm by setting up two machines, one in each country that would allow people on each side to see and interact with each other. Let’s take a look at what happened. PLAY AD
Coke’s campaign ‘create a simple moment of connection’ will not solve the years of miscommunication and turbulent history, but is a step towards effecting social change. Coke understood and connected two cultures, in this case by not identifying differences but the commonalities. This campaign not only had a social impact but undoubtedly strengthened the consumer relationship with the brand, resulting in a commercial gain as well.

31. Unravelling the code
Cultural intelligence Beyond pure observation Unravel the cultural code Provide interpretation and perspective Challenge ourselves to think local
To conclude
Cultural intelligence is an extension of emotional intelligence – the first step for both is awareness. Some of us may just be curious about different cultures, others may learn to be curious when exposed to different perspectives or ways of doing things. We often observe cultural differences but do we dig deep and truly understand culture? Or do we merely observe and report behaviour, explore product use and explain rituals – not truly understanding what this all means.
We need to be not just aware of and open to culture around us, but recognise, interpret and understand. As global researchers the study of culture should be an inherent part of the research process, in order to make research decisions to market effectively globally. If we get the cultural message right through a brand’s identity, messaging and actions then everyone wins. This is critical for global branding and we, as researchers, need to challenge ourselves to effectively think local.