Buying Good PR

By Terri Morrison
© Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved

You’ve been allocated a new budget for a worldwide publicity campaign. Millions are at your fingertips, and hundreds of millions will see the results of your efforts. But how do you advertise across the globe? Where do you start?

Buying good publicity can be an incredible challenge when you consider the complexities of different cultures, media options, languages, religious sensibilities and politics. Here are some tips for investing your PR dollars.

  • Use your embassy to get references for reputable ad agencies in the target country, or call a multinational ad agency with a branch in that location. Be sure to get excellent references!

    Local publicity firms can help spin your advertisement to address current issues. (In 2002, many Indonesians were upset over the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan. In order to dissuade protests at Indonesian restaurants, McDonald’s launched TV commercials in Indonesia which emphasized the local Muslim ownership of their franchises. They also hung large photos in their restaurants which showed a Muslim owner making the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.


  • If you are looking for information on Muslim business and social practices, develop contacts within the Muslim community in your target area. In the USA, one organization which may be able to help review ads in Islamic countries is CAIR, the Council for American Islamic Relations.


  • Test and retest your ad locally. For every example of a global advertising campaign that has succeeded, dozens have gone so wrong that they required very expensive settlements to various special interest groups. (see article Reading in Reverse)


  • Watch for translation blunders. They are all too common in advertising, speeches, and virtually all printed materials. Politicians from Nikita Kruschev to John F. Kennedy have been misinterpreted, (i.e.: JFK’s famous "Ich bin eine Berliner" speech at The Wall. Instead of making an inspired and sensitive statement of unity: "I am a Berliner," President Kennedy’s reference reminded many Germans of a pastry, and came out as "I am a donut."). Another famous faux pas was Coca Cola’s "Coke adds life" campaign from several years ago. It was translated into Chinese as "Coke brings your ancestors back to life." That was definitely not the desired message, particularly in a culture that reveres its ancestors.


  • Don’t spend money on direct mail in countries where numeric street addresses are not common. In parts of Latin America, it is far better to invest your dollars in radio, TV and newspaper advertising than to chase after non-specific "occupants." Personal sales techniques (vis-a-vis Avon and Mary Kay) also work very well in countries where the word-of-mouth is the best publicity you can buy


  • Read publications before you place an ad. Newspapers can be strongly aligned with specific political parties in many countries (like Belize), and are generally read only by the supporters of those particular parties. Radio can also be politicized, since call-in shows which discuss politics are extremely popular. Pick your venue carefully – it doesn’t pay to run a hunting resort ad in a liberal publication


  • Advertising on televised sporting events offers one of the best means of reaching all political persuasions, but there may still be major population segments in your target country that do not own televisions. Confirm that that your local agency picks the right kind of event for your target audience. Expensive ads for elegant, well-engineered watches will get better results at golf, tennis and polo matches, rather than football or soccer games. Also use celebrities whenever possible. In Latin America, there is a strong level of brand loyalty to the products that popular celebrities advocate.


  • Use the right motivator in the right culture. Figure out the priorities of the culture, and support those values (like family, leisure time, religion…then work!) Conversely, abide by their prohibitions. Work is not the top priority in most of the world. Also, hype is offensive in many countries, and comparisons that pit you against your competitor’s product will bomb in places like Thailand and Germany

In contrast to conventional wisdom, all ink is not good ink. But if you research and appreciate the diverse beliefs and traditions of your marketplace, your publicity dollars can bring you an extremely loyal customer base, and an excellent return on your investment.



Excerpted from OAG Frequent Flyer, March 5, 2003