Global Brand Strategy: Unlocking Brand Potential across Countries, Cultures and Markets

Citation

Clarke, I. (2005), "Global Brand Strategy: Unlocking Brand Potential across Countries, Cultures and Markets", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 137-137. https://doi.org/10.1108/10610420510592635

Without question, brands are now competing in a global marketplace. Consequently, marketing managers must become cognizant of their brand's potential to reach multiple cultures and markets. The challenges arise from the desire to be locally responsive while maintaining global consistency. Local brands have also been pressured by the globalization of markets to transition into regional or global entities. Many local brands have been unable to make this changeover or to differentiate themselves in a meaningful way for local consumers, and have had longstanding positions shattered. While some global brands have become local institutions, others have struggled within the new competitive environments.

This book is built on the premise that each brand has its own specific potential for standardization. How managers approach this potential will vary by the cultural diversity of the market itself. The true potential for the global brand lies in the value perceived by the various stakeholders. What do consumers value about the brand? Do distributors value the brand enough to carry it? Do communities value the brand enough to welcome it? How can the brand provide value to its stakeholders? The answers to such question are provided by investigation into how the unique characteristics of the brand can be leveraged across societies and cultures.

This book appeals to the needs of those both interested in global and local brand development. Van Gelder contends that globalization has not created a single homogeneous consumer; rather, the global market‐place has fragmented such that local preferences and identities cannot be overlooked. As global consumers become better informed, they in‐turn are more demanding and no longer accept global brands prima facia. Therefore, all brand managers should be aware of the opportunities and limitations inherent in global brands. Those with a thorough understanding of the factors of success are more likely to design successful courses of action.

To build this understanding, the book is divided into three major sections: the internal analysis, the external analysis, and global brand strategy issues. The internal analysis section offers chapters on the organization, brand extensions and the marketing mix. The external analysis portion is composed of chapters on local conversions, brand domain, brand reputation, brand affinity, and brand recognition. The final section on global brand strategies discusses the issues of taking a brand global, harmonizing the global brand, extending the global brand, and creating a new global brand. Each section extends the experience of the preceding chapters to discover how global brands are created.

Every chapter begins with an introduction defining the primary topic. Numerous figures and charts are provided to assist in issue development. Most importantly, each chapter provides a clear conclusion with managerially‐relevant recommend‐ations. The overall organization is quite unambiguous and easy to understand. The chapters are well‐written, insightful, and rich with timely examples from the business world.

On the whole, this book provides an excellent overview of how brands are susceptible, internally and externally, to failure. Although each brand is unique, the author does an admirable job of presenting widely applicable models and methods of categorization to explain success factors. The type of global brand knowledge presented would be useful to both local and global brand managers, distribution partners, suppliers and even governmental leaders. For it is no longer possible to ignore away the effects of globalization on even the smallest of marketplaces. Awareness of how global brands are developed will only serve to further enhance the responses of all the relevant stakeholders. This book is certainly practical enough to become a meaningful addition to your marketing library.