‘English-first’ marketing strategies are in demand on the continent – here’s why

But as the doors of opportunity re-open across the continent following the tail-end of pandemic-related restrictions (and curtailed ambitions), there’s once again room to maneuver. Almost 45% of respondents said they planned to enter new markets and scale in established ones.

Interestingly, research into the data around German search trends reveals a substantial uplift in searches for English-language PR, search engine optimization (SEO), and advertising agencies in the past year.

This suggests the brands that want to break out of their regional boxes are turning to agencies specializing in an English-first approach. But why? And can the continent really learn something new?

On speaking terms

With 1.5 billion English speakers, it might be assumed that English-first marketing is the play simply because it’ll reach the most people.

But that 45% looking to expand their reach into new markets has another reason: breaking down barriers of communication, and collaborating more effectively across borders.

We recently took a close look at B2B businesses in Germany to see what marketers are striving for. We discovered some of the problems that marketers encounter when raising awareness of a new product or developing a global brand strategy and how to overcome them.

This approach matters both in terms of the marketing messaging, and in the strategy itself, to avoid any potential miscommunication in copy and creative.

Getting on the same page

In marketing, chances companies often pump out more content than anyone has the time to sign off on. Content that needs to be signed off, translated, and signed off again is even more of a time-sink.

The easier, more efficient solution starts at a much deeper level. Creating the marketing masterplan in English means the information can be disseminated among local teams much more quickly. Local teams only have to translate and localize messaging once from English, which means a much better grasp of the nuances within the language. Translating into and back out of English as a resource-saving shortcut between two languages can risk losing and confusing the message.

It’s important to make sure local teams are fully invested in brand values, can communicate messages with the desired effect, and manage anything that may crop up in the meantime.

This allows more time to focus on the bigger picture, and displays a level of trust in local teams that can provide an even sharper edge when it comes to reactive messaging.

One-size-doesn’t-fit-all

There’s no such thing as one-size-fits-all in cross-territory marketing. We can see the most immediate risk in well-documented cases of campaign messaging getting somewhat lost in translation (most famously that time Pepsi promised Chinese customers it would bring their ancestors back from the dead).

On the other hand, there’s the choice to keep messaging as broad as possible to lessen the risk of confusing, offending or alienating. But the real risk here is getting lowest-common-denominator messaging, which has no real impact and runs the risk of boring customers.

Getting the message across in target territories calls for some flexibility. Consistency with the brand’s core values and beliefs is key, but wording and imagery should be tweaked where possible to stand more chance of hitting home.

Pay attention to cultural differences, from spellings to keywords in SEO. In the grander strategy, this may not seem important (and in fact it may look as though the brand is straying from core messaging), but accurate localization is a vital part of creating effective messaging. Get it wrong and a well-intentioned email or social media post can come off cliched or even outright offensive.

Companies seeking a way across borders can spend time researching the preferences and habits of other countries’ customers. Turning these actions into an English-first marketing approach can be a huge time-saver – and a more effective way to process the cultural differences between countries.