Marketing and communications expert with vast international experience, our consultant Martine Ayer writes about the importance of localization in PR strategies.
When I first moved from Romandie to the German part of Switzerland many years ago, I got fully aware of the importance of adapting the message of any type of communication.
You can’t implement a “copy-paste” strategy. It’s about understanding the market and how to communicate a product to the end consumer.
That is what makes PR and media relations across Switzerland both fascinating and complex.
What resonates in French-speaking Romandie may fall flat in German-speaking Switzerland. And vice versa. It’s not that the information itself may not be relevant — it’s about how you communicate it across the country, in different markets, where brand’s awareness or company’s history may be different.
So before launching a press campaign, a company should take into consideration the following points:
- Assess brand awareness in each language region — Is your company, brand, product known in the region you’re targeting? How does it come across in the media? When have you last sent information? Understanding the context is important.
- Tailor the content to make it meaningful for the local audience. Relevance is key and may be different in each region.
- Make it resonate. Build a bridge between your message and your audience using local insights: data, cultural references, visuals, or region-specific facts.
- Avoid word-for-word translations. It’s not the text that needs translating, but the message as a whole. What do you want to say, how will it be understood by the audience? Adapt the message to the local audience. English may feel neutral, but it’s rarely the best choice for reaching hearts and minds here.
- And most importantly, work with people who know the market and how local media tick.
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