Global Marketers Remain Challenged Meeting Localized Content Demands
New research suggests that as marketers managing global marketing programs continue to develop digital content, they are faced with a series of localization challenges.
The “Adaptability in Branded Content Delivery” report from the CMO Council recently found that 39 percent of marketers are “not satisfied” with how they effectively adapt and modify their content for local markets.
Approximately 49 percent believe they need to improve their ability to execute more relevant, targeted creative content as well.
Survey findings revealed that 44 percent of marketers need weeks or months to accelerate launches required with global deployment, often impacting campaign launch date expectations. The report further notes that “… potential revenue loss from postponed launch dates, coupled with the cost and complexity associated with the inefficiencies in the supply chain, have the potential to be devastating to marketing campaign effectiveness.”
More than a quarter of respondents indicated that content localization can take a month or longer, and linked a lack of time allocation and investment to this lag.
49 percent of marketers say their companies are investing less than five percent of their budgets in creative adaptation for localization and cross-cultural engagement. Only 3 percent spend more than 40 percent of their budget to modify content for localized needs.
Localizing Content Strategies for China’s Market
Previous research indicates that marketers are not new to the concept of localizing their content strategies.
Earlier this year, data from the China Internet Network Information Center shed light on how marketers were leveraging popular digital channels overseas. About 83.3 percent of companies in China said their internet market efforts were incorporating mobile marketing efforts.
The most commonly used channel for mobile marketing has been WeChat, a social media app used for messaging, news and content sharing.
About 40 percent of respondents said they were leveraging search marketing specifically targeting mobile users as well.