Marketers have had a hard time keeping up with the rollercoaster that was 2021. Parts of the world had to pause and lockdown, which meant demand for some products and services went through the roof, while others were left out in the cold.

We’re optimistic that 2022 will be a clean slate, and a chance to take the learnings from a turbulent year and apply them to a new world and way of thinking for many.

We asked some of our team to share the key thing they took away from this year and how this can be used for your brand’s success in 2022.

“Privacy, transparency and trust”

With Google set to depreciate 3rd party cookies by 2023 (though this date could still change), many brands will be putting plans in place to ensure they can effectively target customer groups in the absence of these cookies. Some brands are investing in a Consent Management Platform (CMP) to ensure they can comply with regulations, and capture consent for non-3rd-party and tracking cookies.

Brands should be focusing on obtaining first-party data directly from customers about their behaviours, interests and intentions to allow you to build your own personalised data sets. This is something that’s going to take a lot of trial-and-error and time investment, so if you don’t start in 2022, you’ll definitely be left behind when the third-party cookie crumbles from existence.

While there will be alternative methods that emerge after Google’s decimation of third-party cookies, I’d strongly advise that a more transparent first-party data collection strategy is put in place. We don’t know just how far data privacy laws will go, so your best bet is being as upfront and transparent with your customers as possible. Building trust is the priority long term.

“Don’t just survive, thrive”

If marketing budgets were cut and staff let go during the pandemic, your department may have had to get by with minimal resources. Many teams we’ve spoken to were starting to feel burnt out trying to work with a reduced staff while the demand for output remained heavy.

People are so important, but when there’s reluctance in senior management to replace them or fill the skills you feel you need, sometimes we’re left to ‘make do’ with what we have.

This is where we feel technology is going to play a huge role in 2022. So many incredible pieces of software have emerged and adapted throughout the pandemic to cater to the needs of a changing world. 

“Meaningful conversations”

Brands have been talking about “having conversations” with customers for years. But it was only when the pandemic hit that these conversations became truly authentic. They had to be. We were facing some of the biggest unknowns of our time.

Questions needed to be answered. People needed to feel informed. Online communities became even more important. Not only forums, but social media channels too.

They were places people could gather safely. People weren’t afraid to share their opinions. They had more time to leave detailed reviews and re-evaluate whether a product or service added real value to their lives.

A great example of a community that took off was Huel. Their followers on their Reddit sub skyrocketed to nearly 20,000 ‘Hueligans’. For a relatively new brand, that’s quite the achievement.

While the majority of contributions are user-generated, they do have dedicated Huel-employed moderators. The content they produce and cross-share isn’t just about educating new customers on their product, it’s helping existing ones make the most of it, with tips, feedback and recipes regularly posted.

Outside of using communities to help retain existing customers, many brands are being more vocal in topical events, a habit that was formed during the height of COVID-19 and that’s staying as the pandemic news eases.

“Content for data”

When it comes to building customer profiles and obtaining personal data, there are a lot of challenges about to hit brands. So why not use your content strategy as a chance to offer something substantial to your audience in exchange for their data?

No, it’s not a new idea. But a new way of thinking is needed to approach it in the right way.

Does your prospective customer want a 10-page report on why they should buy your product? Probably not.

What about a bespoke mini-report of recommendations tailored to them in exchange for their email address? That’s more like it.

Does your customer want a 60-minute documentary that goes behind the scenes of your manufacturing processes? Some might, but most likely not.

Do they want exclusive early access to sales and discounts? You see where this is going.

Data in exchange for content is an effective marketing strategy, but over and above content, you need to be providing tangible value to your customers. Now more than ever. Save them money, save them time, save them from having to research or do the hard work. Give them thought-out, genuine value and the email addresses will start filtering in.

2022 is here and brands are bracing themselves

Our team has shared their thoughts, and the reality is that there is so much to be done over the next year – beyond what’s been listed. Ensuring you can manage and thrive amid uncertainty and deliver what you need without barriers should be among your priorities.

Grasping onto multiple pieces of software or relying too heavily on external agencies can leave you vulnerable to gaps in your production. If your brand needs a dedicated portal where anyone in your team can create digital, print, video, social and email content then BAM by Papirfly™ should be on your research list.

In addition to creating and editing an infinite amount of assets each month, teams can store, share and save them anywhere in the world, manage campaigns and educate employees on brand guidelines along the way. 

To make this a reality, get in touch today to book your demo.

Is the hybrid model the future of work?

Hybrid working. The popularity of this term may have skyrocketed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but make no mistake – this is an inescapable future for the vast majority of companies across the globe. Let’s take a look at hybrid working at-a-glance… 

But just because it’s unavoidable doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. On the contrary, the growing trend towards some configuration of hybrid work model offers a lot of big benefits for businesses of all shapes and sizes, including:

Reduced running costs

With people coming into work on staggered schedules and businesses no longer needing to have all hands on deck at all times, this means there is less need to spend on extensive office space. Instead, companies could rent the space they save out to other organisations, or simply reduce the amount they rent to cut down their overheads.

Better work-life balances

A lot of people have benefitted both practically and emotionally from having the opportunity to work from home. They can work more flexibly, and when they finish for the day, there’s no long commute awaiting them. While interaction with coworkers is great for morale and to prevent isolation, many will appreciate the adaptability of a hybrid working model.

Boosted productivity levels

Research has found that many people claim to be more productive when working from home compared to being in the office. If employees have all the tools at their disposal to work remotely, this more comfortable, familiar environment can actually encourage them to work more efficiently.

Wider recruitment opportunities

By employing a hybrid or remote working model in your company, you are no longer restricted to hiring people within the vicinity of your office. Instead you can look farther across the country, or even internationally, to find ideal recruits for your organisation.

Appealing to younger generations

With a large proportion of millennial and Gen Z recruits prioritising benefits like flexibility and better work-life balances over traditional salary-based perks, being able to offer a hybrid working model can appeal to their needs and offer you a competitive edge when recruiting.

Tackling the challenges of hybrid working to marketing teams

Nevertheless, while hybrid working can inspire these benefits and more, it can also introduce a number of new challenges – many of which revolve around communication and organisation.

Now, these are two essential qualities that any effective marketing team must possess. Without them, campaigns become jumbled and chaotic. Assets become inconsistent or become lost in the shuffle. Jobs get duplicated or ignored altogether. And, as a result, your brand identity can take a big hit.

If not organised effectively, a hybrid working model can quickly create this unwanted scenario. With people working separately away from the office multiple days a week, or possibly in perpetuity, it can make it difficult to collaborate on campaigns or projects. And, if left to their own devices, it is possible assets and collateral are produced that contradict your brand’s personality.

This is a situation all marketing teams are keen to avoid. Fortunately, with the right systems and processes in place, it is more than possible for you to reap the benefits of a hybrid environment while avoiding any sleepless nights over the quality and consistency of your brand.

Here are our 6 top tips to help you get started:

Tip #1 – Invest in DAM

First, let’s tackle the potentially major headache of materials going missing, or employees having to send dozens of emails to get their hands on an asset they need. When teams are spread far apart and working disparately, it is easy to forget to send assets over to the people that need them or lose them in an ocean of folders.

To overcome this problem, it is crucial to contain all your assets in one central hub. This is where a DAM (Digital Asset Manager) or equivalent solution is a must-have for any hybrid work setting. You can store an infinite number of assets in this digital space, which can then be filtered, searched for and found by team members across the globe when they need them.

No delays. No lengthy email chains. No lost property. Everything is housed in one place for when it is required. A solid DAM solution will also allow you to assign permissions to users, so they can only access relevant, brand-appropriate materials for their needs, so there is no risk of anything being published that isn’t supposed to due to a misunderstanding.

A DAM-like system is a fundamental tool for effective hybrid working. It enables marketing teams to find all the assets they need in one place, wherever they’re working from at the time.

Tip #2 – Make brand guidelines easily accessible

As well as centralising your brand assets, it’s crucial to do the same with your brand guidelines. Guidelines and style guides in general are crucial for keeping your marketing efforts aligned and consistent across all channels, from social posts and blogs to posters and billboards.

It prevents your teams from second-guessing your brand identity and empowers them to create with confidence. But, if your brand guidelines are solely printed out in a folder somewhere in your office, it isn’t much use for your employees working from home.

So, it is critical that these guidelines are housed in one central, accessible online location. Your remote employees can then always refer back to them when creating materials regardless of where they are, meaning there’s no risk of going off message.

Tip #3 – Establish clear communication channels

Nothing can create chaos in a marketing team like not knowing who is on a job, or who they should contact for updates. Whether it’s a designer in need of copy, or a marketing coordinator waiting for assets to set a campaign in motion, if people are out of the loop, it can cause costly delays and derail productivity (particularly if there are time differences involved).

With this in mind, it is important to establish points of contact for everyone, be it project managers, creative directors or others, who can coordinate messages and prevent any long-winded, convoluted email chains among various team members. If you work with an agency or other freelancers, this also ensures that any contact with them is streamlined and consistent, so that any work or amends aren’t missed or duplicated.

Leveraging effective communication tools like Slack, Zoom, Trello, Asana and the many others available on the market can also be highly beneficial. These help keep everyone in touch over the course of a campaign or project, ensuring nothing is overlooked as a result of people not being in the same vicinity.

Tip #4 – Keep briefs focused and available

Successful briefs succinctly translate the goals, purpose and intentions of a project to the relevant team members, forming the foundations for inspired creative thinking. If they contain an excessive amount of detail, are lacking key information, or are simply written in a confusing way, this will lead your remote workers down problematic paths.

To prevent this, establish a clear, consistent template for creative briefs, refining it over time where necessary, to ensure that your disparate workers always receive the ideal level of detail to produce high-quality work. This will help guarantee that work reaches the proofing/approval stages in a strong position, without the need for constant supervision or check-ins.

Tip #5 – Digitise proofing and approval workflows

Proofing and signing-off completed work can be a wearisome process even with everyone working in the office at once. If an asset is constantly going back-and-forth between designers or agencies and the relevant marketing managers, this can quickly push campaigns back hours, days, or even weeks.

Digitising these processes can cut down these waits significantly, and help work get through regardless of where everyone involved is based. Online collaboration tools mean that everyone who needs to check an asset can see and input amends in real-time to the recipient, so they can all be made in one motion, and then be instantly approved for use in the required campaign.

At its heart, this is about making a previously manual, tedious process into something more dynamic and efficient with the right digital proofing and approval workflows.

Tip #6 – Have a centralised campaign planner

When you have deadlines to meet, it is helpful if everyone involved is aware of this information. So, giving your remote workers access to a digital, centralised campaign planner can give them total clarity on what assets need to be supplied and when. They can then structure their days around these priorities, so nothing is overlooked.

For the best results, we’d recommend a campaign planning tool that enables you to attach briefs, tag marketing materials, and manage specific folders for each project. This will give you total oversight and clarity from start to finish, regardless of whether your teams are working from their desks or are at home.

Embrace hybrid working without hurting your brand

Now it has gained a greater foothold across the globe, the hybrid working model is here to stay. With more and more professionals appreciating the flexibility that this approach offers, it is crucial that everyone, including marketing teams, identify ways to make these models work without compromising on the integrity and strength of their brand.

We hope that our tips will enable you to embrace this model with no repercussions to your brand identity. It will take some getting used to, but with the right tools in place to keep communication and organisation at a high level regardless of people’s working environment, you can really start to feel the benefits of a hybrid approach.

Managing a brand in a hybrid workplace?

Digitise your brand assets, guidelines and more. Keep everything in one central place and give teams access to everything they need, wherever they are in the world. Sounds ideal doesn’t it?

Discover the world of BAM. 

When your brand is accessible to consumers across the globe, it can become an overwhelming task to ensure that your marketing comes across as it was intended. Without a translation process, you risk undermining any attempt to instil trust and loyalty between consumers and your brand.

If your brand wants to be truly global, it needs to speak in many languages and adapt to the cultural norms of many different countries.

Brand translation blunders

Relying on literal translations of names and marketing taglines may seem like the most obvious pitfall in a global campaign rollout. But you’d be surprised at just how many brands have fallen victim to some embarrassing marketing faux pas as a result. In no particular order, here are 8 of the biggest mistakes to learn from:

#1 Canned and frozen foods company, The Jolly Green Giant, has been a friendly face in the US and the UK since the 1960s. However, when the brand was translated in Arabic, their beloved mascot inadvertently became the “Intimidating Green Ogre”.

#2 KFC’s long-standing “finger-licking good” tagline became much less appetising when it was directly translated into Chinese as “eat your fingers off”.

#3 In Italy, the quintessentially British gin and tonic didn’t sound so refreshing after a major translation fail by Schweppes… “gin and toilet water” anyone?

#4 Pepsi is another example of a big brand translation blunder. Its tagline, “Pepsi brings you back to life” became terrifyingly literal in Chinese, translating as “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave”.

#5 Parker spelt out the obvious when they tried to tell the Mexican market that their new ballpoint pens “won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you”. By confusing the Spanish for ‘embarrass’ with ‘embarzar’, they ended up reassuring audiences that their pens “won’t leak in your pocket and impregnate you.”

#6 Without a basic knowledge of Portugese Brazilian colloquialisms, Ford made the mistake of launching the Ford Pinto – ‘pinto’ being a local slang term meaning ‘tiny male genitals’.

#7 Coors is another brand that didn’t account for colloquialisms when its slogan, “Turn It Loose,” translated into Spanish as an informal term for having diarrhoea.

#8 Paxam, an Iranian consumer goods company, marketed their laundry soap in English speaking markets using the Farsi word for “snow,” resulting in shelves of packs labelled “Barf Soap.”

Translate the message, not just the words

Despite the numerous examples above, all it takes is a simple check by a native or fluent speaker to avoid an embarrassing, not to mention costly, mistake. However, this doesn’t guarantee that your brand won’t be lost in translation — even if your messaging is correct from a linguistic point of view, it can still fall flat and lifeless as a marketing campaign.

Most often, a basic translation will lack the humour, emotion or catchiness created in the original creative. This highlights the importance of understanding what makes the campaign resonate with local audiences and how to capture it in local dialects. 

We’ve already had a list of brands who have got translation horribly wrong, so to balance things out, here are some success stories:

Haribo

For years, confectionery brand Haribo has run its undoubtedly catchy jingle with the line ‘Kids and grownups love it so, the happy world of Haribo’. Retaining meaning is one thing, but ensuring that the tagline also hits the right beats in a memorable jingle presents a host of new challenges. Despite this, Haribo has managed to balance consistency and catchiness across numerous markets.

In Germany, for example, where the direct translation sounds odd and clunky alongside the music, the slogan was adapted to “Haribo macht Kinder froh, und Erwachsene ebenso”, meaning “Haribo makes children happy, and grownups too”. Not only does this roll-off the tongue better for German-speaking audiences, but it fits the tune perfectly. This meticulous consistency means that the brand sounds and feels the same wherever its products are being advertised.

Hawes and Curtis

In an article for Marketing Week, Simon Kinsey, Commercial Director at TranslateMedia, shared some insight on the differences between translating brand tone of voice in UK and German markets, using shirt makers, Hawes and Curtis as an example. 

“Germans expect greater formality in tone and they value seriousness far more than the Brits. In the UK it’s culturally important not to seem stuffy or over formal, and people are mainly obsessed with dressing in a way that’s appropriate for the occasion”.

These cultural nuances can be seen in the differences between product descriptions for each market. On the company’s German site, the product descriptions highlight ‘precision engineering’ and ‘excellent workmanship’, whereas on the UK site, there is more of a focus on shirts being ‘fashionable’ and ‘effortless’. 

By picking up on these subtle cultural differences between UK and German consumers, Hawes and Curtis are able to address which selling points resonate best for each audience.

Starbucks

Translation isn’t all about copy. Your brand’s visual language also needs to be understood as intended and accommodate local cultural nuances.

For Starbucks launching in Saudi Arabia back in 1992, this meant the iconic Siren was removed from their logo — instead, just her crown remained floating on the waves. The logo has remained the same since, despite the original Siren logo being present in more liberal neighbouring states.

For any brand launching in a new market, it’s important to consider and understand how cultural sensitivities can change the meaning of both written and visual elements of your communications.

Top tips for effective brand translation

Hire a native speaker who is also fluent in marketing

A reliable translator is essential for making sure that your message is understood, and for avoiding any embarrassing miscommunications. But to be sure that your campaign can make an impact, linguistic skills need to be combined with marketing expertise.

Understand cultural nuances 

Relationships between brands and consumers are built on emotional connections. These are best achieved when a campaign is able to tap into culturally relevant insights that resonate with your audience.

Avoid using niche turns of phrase

Colloquialisms are notoriously difficult to translate. For example, using phrases like ‘raining cats and dogs’ might be a common term in the UK but is likely to set your campaign up for confusion in any other market.

Use culturally relevant images

Imagery is its own language and will take on a different meaning in different cultural contexts. What may be striking and powerful in one country, may come across as insulting or insensitive in another. This is where research and local knowledge is invaluable.