McCann Erickson

Global brands only work if the companies understand localization. This is the core belief I walked away with after a three hour meeting with McCann Erickson. Both Frank and Sebastien stressed the importance of not simply taking an ad and translating it, but understanding the local audience and then writing to them at an emotional level.

Frank spoke about MasterCard, one of McCann’s biggest clients. They have an enormously successful “priceless” campaign; however, there are obstacles to transporting this campaign across the globe. In America, people use credit cards on items like gum at the gas station. Someone in Russia would never dream of doing this, so having this little moment as part of a TV spot would not connect with consumers. This is where research in advertising plays a huge role. Finding out what the audience can connect with is key.

I was very interested to hear about how McCann operates on a global scale. The story about the email that unintentionally was sent to 8000 employees was funny, but also enlightening; people who never talked to each other inside this huge company were instantly connected across countries and continents.

Frank’s views on a giant company like Microsoft were also appealing. He stated they were trying to defend themselves against Apple rather than act like the market leaders they are. By trying to be “funny” Microsoft was betraying its company identity. I learned so much about thinking globally during our meeting with Frank and Sebastien.