We’re heading toward a new global brand perspective based on the insatiable demand among emerging-market consumers for Western brands.
The global versus local brand identity is somewhat of an age-old argument and all too familiar. Global brand purveyors take the “one voice speaks to all” approach, while local brand artisans favor a more decentralized and ear-to-the-ground approach. Either way, both sides are striving for success and looking for the optimum solution. But, in the current climate, who’s right? With a shrinking global marketplace, what are we really buying into?
The Western world is not necessarily dominating the global retail markets as it used to. My recent travels have taken me to Africa, South Africa, China, and India. It is these emerging markets and, in particular, the “BRICs” —Brazil, Russia, India, and China—where the demand for, and stronger trade with, the global brand giants of the West is generating a greater confidence and potentially shaping brand and design direction for a new global brand perspective.
New cultural brand authority
Two events are occurring here. First, the one thing the BRICs have in common is an insatiable demand for the imported Western brands. The media, the Internet, and more travel mean these brands are instantly recognizable and desirable. And the first principle of success is desire—creating an intense rational or irrational attraction to a brand.
It therefore follows that any successful global brand must understand what its consumers want. Wealth is now more prevalent in the mass population of the BRICs. The “badging” of these brands, including Starbucks, Cadbury, and Jaguar, is used to reflect individual status and aspiration. Simply put, universal design consistency serves as both a tool and a language to harness a brand’s power and potential for global reach, and many brand owners within these countries wanting to compete with Western standards are focusing on universal design messaging and communication.
Relatively soon, I believe, these traditionally manufacturing-led countries will become more confident with their design and brand skills. It all will become more equal. The West not only will be challenged to maintain a new creative standard, but the tables also will be turned. We inevitably will start looking to these countries for a sense of localized design identity plus inspiration and, ultimately, to import their brands.
A splash of local color
That brings me to my second point. One size does not always fit all, and we now expect more of the unexpected from our brands. Difference is highly desirable. Cultural difference also is highly desirable. Cultural values and heritage are important in terms of symbolizing the nation and the mind-set—and the purchasing motivation of the individuals within it—and this needs to be translated into local design.
But it is not just the locals now wanting to buy within the territory. We are all seeking out the new and uncharted from a veritable melting pot, and brands need to be able to visually communicate both their cultural and category message. We will want these brands to retain a local and quirky personality. These different cultural personalities and values, when put at the heart of the brand value, provide a different look to the shelves and a more unique relationship between brand and consumer. Design is still the most important medium of a brand because it appeals to both the mind and the emotions. Through inspirational design, the consumer can be given sufficient room to interpret and interact on an individual level.
The multi-award-winning Wokka Saki has continued to take the beverage marketplace by storm, blending premium Russian vodka with the iconic sake of the East. Not only is the drink like nothing tasted before, but the bottle also is visually striking. It does not fit within any defined category norms, for either vodka or sake, but rather engages subtle premium cues to promote a uniquely different and global offering steeped in culture and heritage.
Albsolut Vodka’s iconic, simple design speaks volumes about its Swedish heritage, but then it becomes an issue as to how to continually keep the icon fresh. Absolut 100 is a full-strength vodka in a smoked black glass bottle and is a great example of a cultural identity embodied within a brand, staying fresh and desirable.
The same could be said about Smirnoff’s various incarnations. They all look to express Russian authenticity, but are served up in a palatable way for a global audience. The trick for a designer working on foreign brands is to avoid cliché and to capture the exotic aspects of the local marketplace, with all the freshness and originality it represents.
Regionality is back in vogue and stronger than ever. For global brands, it is therefore crucial to consider all communication mediums employed to engage with the consumer. Powerful packaging design acts as a silent salesperson to convey the essence and quality of the brand while the local brand manager or retailer can employ advertising and other means to create a local twist. This is particularly important in the current climate, where online shopping as well as unorganized retail trade and—in the BRIC countries—shopping malls are coming to the fore as new retail methods of choice.
Talking the same language?
It doesn’t matter where the client or the agency is based or where a new brand is looking to launch. The creative approach is the same, and the design process should always be the same. But the difference—and what I think will make the most difference moving forward—is the new consumer demand and desire for beautiful and different products and packaging design. Designers need to look at ways to meet this demand and create a new and different design language that strives for excellence.
By 2050, we will see a leveling out, with energy from the Western market diffusing around the world to produce one global economy and a vibrant, diverse retail “bazaar.” We will see brands exported on a mass scale and traded. We will all become even more brand- and design-conscious.
These factors will create a smaller-feeling economic world but an immense amount of brand choice and power. The BRICs undoubtedly will invest still more into their cultures and brands. And, as we look for a new brand and design authority to help us make our choices, these brave countries are set to become serious contenders in leading this new global design offensive: an offensive that doesn’t offer a global or local consistency but rather culturally authentic and beautifully different design solutions. {SI}
The author, Jonathan Ford is Creative Partner of Pearlfisher (www.pearlfisher.com), a design consultancy in New York City and London. Contact him at jonathan@pearlfisher.com.
