Why Global Brands Still Need Emotional Connection
A couple of weeks ago, we were invited to pitch for an international FMCG brand.
The brief centred around adapting a global B2B platform for the US market. The platform itself was mandatory across markets, built to deliver a globally consistent user experience. But the deeper we got into the work, the clearer one thing became: Local connection is still massively underestimated.
This project was only ever going to work if the content genuinely connected with US audiences; different regions, behaviours and communities within the States themselves.
For all the reach global brands now have, genuinely local marketing still feels surprisingly rare.
We see it all the time. A campaign launches across multiple territories using the same visuals, same messaging, same cultural references, just translated and resized for different markets. Technically international, but emotionally nowhere.
But most of us can spot pretty quickly when something hasn’t really been made with us in mind.
The relevance and relatability just aren’t there. It’s usually not one big thing. It’s loads of tiny things. The tone. The references. The way people interact. The atmosphere. Something just feels a bit off.
Ironically, they’re often the brands with the biggest budgets and deepest pockets. They can buy our attention; they already have it, but they’ve blown it within seconds because they’ve failed at the most basic level: making a relevant emotional connection.
This is exactly what happens when a local connection is missing.
The way we behave, socialise, celebrate, spend money, and experience culture changes massively from place to place, and not just country to country, but even city to city.
A night out in London is not the same as one in Manchester or Liverpool. It’s not a case of better or worse (although I do have my preferences…), it’s just different.
Same country. Similar demographics on paper. Just different vibes, a different atmosphere.
You can’t shortcut that understanding with a translation document; it just doesn’t work.
And it’s especially true in sectors built around lifestyle and culture. Sport, nightlife, hospitality, gaming, music, food and drink. These are spaces where the nuances are important. It’s about how we do what we do.
And it's why local understanding is so important. We've talked about this before when discussing live experiences and the thinking behind opening our Dublin office.
The little hooks that make something resonate in one place can completely miss the mark somewhere else.
Take the latest Walkers World Cup campaign, for example. They’ve roped in David Beckham, Thierry Henry and Steve Carell. And it feels weird. On the surface, it looked localised for the UK market. But underneath, it was clearly still the global Lay’s campaign with the branding swapped out for Walkers. Same structure, same dialogue, just a different packet.
The campaign itself wasn’t bad. In fact, globally, it makes sense. Beckham and Henry are icons, recognised almost everywhere and bang on theme. But Steve Carell?
I recently saw the ad in the US as well (lucky me), and it made much more sense. Random celebrities are used all the time in the US market, and ‘Soccer’ isn’t what it is over here, so they probably wouldn’t bat an eye at Michael Scott from The US Office selling you crisps…sorry chips. Yet, for a UK football campaign, the fit felt unnatural and forced. It felt fake. And, importantly, it didn’t make me want to buy Walkers for my next super-cool World Cup party.
And this is often where international campaigns can stumble. Not because they’re poorly executed, but because we are incredibly good at feeling when communication has been literally and often lazily translated.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand the why. These ads are expensive, why shoot loads of local ads when 1 big one could do the trick. I get it.
But if brands want to succeed in new local markets, they need to understand us: where we live and socialise, what matters to us, and the environments we live in every day.
When brands get that right, the interaction feels more natural. We’re more open to connection and consideration.
It’s not rocket science. It’s just about taking the time to properly understand your audience. Only then can you connect on an emotional level and create any kind of chemistry. The foundation of any relationship, right?