Making Money On-line: What Global Marketers Can Learn From Quentin Tarantino

Wednesday, 9 November 2016

What Global Marketers Can Learn From Quentin Tarantino

Seems kind of fitting to reference Quentin Tarantino just days after he announced that he would be retiring from filmmaking after his next two projects are completed.

Arguably Tarantino's finest work, Pulp Fiction is about the the lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits which intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption. At least it is according to IMDB. Trust me that description doesn't begin to tell the story.

But be that as it may there is a lesson in the film for global marketers. Before I get that however, let's get one thing perfectly straight. In today's world, there is no difference between marketing a global brand and marketing a brand, globally.

Yes I realize some countries block the Internet and certain sites and so on but for the majority of brands doing business today, regardless of where they are based, are marketing on a global level.

So much has changed and continues to change, literally as we speak. As McKinsey puts it: “No single organizational model is best for all companies handling the realities of rapid growth in emerging markets and round-the-clock global communications.”

Royale With Cheese

There is simply no one-size-fits-all when it comes to marketing in today’s world, especially for those brands who truly are global, meaning they not only market in many countries, but they also have dedicated marketing teams across the globe, too.

Pulp Fiction provides a perfect example. There is a scene in the movie where one character (Vincent) asks his friend (Jules) if he knows what they call a (McDonald’s) Quarter Pounder with cheese in Paris?

Jules: "They don’t call it a Quarter Pounder with cheese?"

Vincent: "No man, they got the metric system. They wouldn’t know what the [heck] a Quarter Pounder is."

Jules: "Then what do they call it?"

Vincent: "They call it a Royale with cheese."

That of course is a very basic example but you get the idea and that is why marketing leaders today have so many things to consider when going global.

Culture and Teamwork

One thing to consider is culture and teamwork. Global brand leaders have to infuse their team with a cohesive culture that connects and transcends geographic differences. It’s this culture that is the driving force for so many potential successes that the organization can achieve. While many people talk about culture as if it is some fluffy concept, it’s so much more.

As a necessary ingredient for a global organization, Great Places to Work noted that it helps to attract the necessary talent that can propel the organization forward on both the local level and on a global scale.

Additionally, a strong culture bolsters a company’s brand, especially through what employees and customers broadcast on social media about how they love where they work and how they love the products or services. A strong culture is also a means of executing the company’s strategy on a global and local level.

When there are clear guidelines and a set of shared values, employees will want to follow and emulate those, thereby achieving the strategy that has been set out by leadership. Everyone will also be on the same page, furthering the ability of the strategy to be effective.

Transcending the Geographic Divide

Culture and teamwork are just one element that global marketers must deal with. Download The CMO Solution Guide For Global Brand Leaders, Transcending the Geographic Divide, research conducted by Oracle Marketing Cloud in partnership with The CMO Club, to learn about Go To Market Strategies and Technology and more from leading CMOs.