When going to the website of almost all agencies in Marketing, Communications or PR, you can often find some catchy punchy phrases like “global agency with local expertise”, “the g-local agency with impacts”, “global connected agency with local insights” … I’m not pointing this out because I don’t approve it. On the contrary. In the world where globalization plays a huge part in our daily life and brings us closer together, it’s crucial to understand the importance of different markets in different cultures to tailor your messages and drive business forward.
One of the interesting modules I had in my first semester is Corporate Communications in an Inter-cultural Context. When looking at the modules for the PR and Communications degree from different universities, there’s quite often a module related to cultural aspects, or at least the ones I know of.
The importance of cultural aspects in daily conversation, in communication, in working in Communications is palpable. I said a thousand times in my previous blogs about the undeniable significance of cultural factors of working in Communications.
What we see is just a tip of an iceberg. We all know that the Britons drive on the left hand-side. It is the obvious thing and it may be a part of their culture. We all know if there’s one thing that brings the British people together, it’s a moan about the weather. It also might be cultural. I’m not sure.
There’s one thing that I always tell myself, which is I don’t know enough. I keep my mind opened to learn about the world. The cultural, anthropological and psychological topics are just so cool, so vast, and so vital for anyone, not just in business or in any particular industry like Communications. We are humans. We are a bio-psycho-social species. The power of social, cultural and psychological factors dominates and triumphs.
The differences, unique characteristics between different communities or societies, local, national, regional and international should always be carefully considered. What should be consider when jumping into a new market? Who are the target audiences? What is their behavior? What should be said when meeting new people from different cultures? What we should do when meeting new people? Shaking hands? Hugging? Or just smiling? It depends.
When I first came here to the UK, I see hugging people when meeting others as an exotic gesture, because I come from a totally different culture and it’s not what we normally do in our culture. But guess who now hug people all the time when seeing people? Yes that’s me. Miss Corona might not agree with me.
This cross-cultural communication can never have the same form because people, as argued above, relate to things differently. What matters to a key stakeholder group in a former Soviet Union state may not matter at all to its Latin American counterpart and vice versa.
Ella Minty
In Vietnam, we have the saying that (equally translated into English) “He who sees through life and death will meet most success. Know your enemy and you win.” It’s vital to be aware of and understand the cultural factors. Is it an individualistic or collectivistic culture? Is it a feminine or masculine (I don’t like these terms tho?) Is it a long-term orientation or short-term orientation country? How do people normally react with particular circumstances if they’re from a particular culture?
I’m reading Culture in Crisis Communications by Ella Minty at the moment and it is a total joy. It highlights the importance of understanding the cultural factors when managing a crisis and the impacts of cross-cultural differences. I write on my cover letter that I’m conscious of the importance of cultural intelligence in working in Comms because having the opportunity to study and live in different cultures, or just to read about them, brings me so many different points of view from different people, that’s why I’m able to see things through different lenses.
A crisis, irrespective of its nature and impact on an organization, represents a mirror into the actual culture of the business and into the way this business interacts with its various (and multiple) categories of stakeholders.
Ella Minty
I remember about the case of L’Oreal back in May/June when it was accused of racial hypocrisy. What you do with your campaigns, for your employees and stakeholders does reflect the culture of your company, and if you just do anything just for the sake of being present on a particular topic, then you can never dive into the real problems. You can never see the rest of the iceberg. In the Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report: Brand Trust 2020, there is a bigger need for brand trust today than in the past and it is more important than ever that brands must acknowledge to earn trust from public, solve problems and advocate for change.
“Brands are far more likely to gain trust than lose it when they take actions”.
Edelman Report
I am no one to talk about how to deal with a crisis communication. I’m not a consultant, yet. However, I do think when it comes to any crisis, it should be proactive, not reactive, you should prepare for unexpected things coming, because in the worst-case scenario, a crisis comes, you already have plans, time and resources to deal with it.
The topics about cultural and psychological factors or behavioral science always fascinate me. And if you’re like me and interested in, say, just knowing about the world, I recommend reading Culture in Crisis Communication by Ella Minty. She never ceases to amaze.
The cultural aspects never cease to amaze, that’s why we should be ready and be prepared to be exposed to different cultures and embrace the differences.
Photo by Robert Keane on Unsplash
