The perils and pitfalls of globalisation
Agencies jumped on the globalisation bandwagon unaware of the disruption it could cause them, writes Michael Farmer in this guest post…
The globalisation bandwagon has been a busy place for the past few decades, ever since Theodore Levitt of Harvard Business School popularised the issue in a famous 1983 article in The Harvard Business Review. “The world’s needs and desires have been irrevocably homogenised,” he wrote. “The global competitor [must] seek constantly to standardise its offering everywhere.”
Globalisation meant that big brands, sold all over the world, should seek to ‘standardise’ their positioning and messaging.
An American Express Gold Card should mean the same thing around the world. So should a Ford Focus or (who knows?) a Big Mac. Handled successfully, globalisation could strengthen brands… or lead to their demise if local markets reject the global marketing.
Ad agencies – who were quick to claim globalisation expertise – rose or fell with global brand success. What they did not envision was the degree to which globalisation could disrupt their operations, undermine their morale and depress their profitability.
