When it comes to transnational marketing and transcending cultural barriers no one does it quite like the fast food chain, McDonald’s. In part, McDonald’s owes a large proportion of its success to their skills in localisation - the process of adapting key business assets to become culturally relevant to a specific country or region. Its consistent messaging paired with regionally specific menus has meant that the fast food chain has continued to introduce and franchise new restaurants across the world, year on year.
It’s not just food that McDonald's is well known for however, it is also known for its entertaining, and sometimes thought provoking, advertising as well. The impressive localisation skills are not lost on this side of things either.
Earlier this year, McDonald’s announced its intention to launch an exciting new growth strategy, aptly named ‘Accelerating the Arches’. With this, came a new, shiny TV advertisement to mark the occasion which has since really raised some eyebrows. Can you guess what it is yet?
As part of its recent mission statement, McDonald’s vowed to elevate its marketing efforts by placing more importance on ‘tapping into the zeitgeist’ of current society. What better way to tap into current British societal norms than through the lens of a corporate office, directed by the man who wrote the cornetto trilogy, Edgar Wright. The short but sweet advert entitled, “Fancy a McDonald’s” depicts a group of hungry office workers, wordlessly communicating their desire for a lunchtime burger through a series of well-choreographed eyebrow movements, set to the 80’s banger ‘Oh Yeh’ by swiss music duo ‘Yello’.
Despite its unquestionable entertainment value, what is culturally specific to us as dry-humoured Brits, may not be so significant to those outside of our culture. Much like it’s regionally specific menu options, McDonald’s chose to localise its recent advert, this time to cater to those located in The Gulf regions.
This stunning adaptation is a shot for shot remake of the original advert, however with the addition of culturally-specific elements like local clothing, office layout and even image saturation, making the overall environment look warmer. Cool, right? Other additions include more proactive security personnel, which is common in the Middle East, escalators instead of staircases and a mixture of international and local employees, also common in Middle Eastern offices.
Despite their differences, the localised version still maintained a consistent connection with the original by using the same choreography, sound track and unique colourway.
As Crowd continues to grow and access new target markets in the process, localisation continues to be an incredibly important tool in our skill set. Localisation is far more than simply translating content from one language to another, it goes a step further by creating a connection with potential consumers on a more cultural and personal level. Adapting key aspects of our website and services to appeal to those from the different regions, we ensure that we remain competitive with more local services and support our continued expansion.
If you would like to find out more about how Crowd can help you access a new target market, click here to get in touch
