Warm Up
Discuss these questions with your partner before you start the lesson.
Question 1
Have you ever seen a campaign, product name, or slogan that failed badly in another culture — something that made sense in one language but was wrong, confusing, or offensive in another?
Question 2
When your company runs campaigns in multiple markets, how do you decide what is consistent across all markets and what local teams can adapt?
Question 3
What does cultural intelligence mean to you in your day-to-day work? Is it something you think about consciously when creating content or communicating with international teams?
Vocabulary
8 key words for this lesson
Transcreation
Adapting marketing content for a new market so that it has the same emotional impact — not just the same words. Transcreation goes beyond translation to recreate the feeling, humour, or cultural reference that makes a campaign work.
Riley said: Translation gives you the words. Transcreation gives you the effect. If a tagline is funny in English because of a wordplay that does not exist in Portuguese, translation will give you a flat sentence. Transcreation will find a new way to make someone in São Paulo laugh.
Cultural intelligence
The ability to understand how cultural differences affect communication, behaviour, and decision-making — and to use that understanding to work more effectively across cultures.
Marcus said: Why did the campaign perform so differently in Japan versus Germany? Riley said: Cultural intelligence. Direct, bold claims work in some cultures. In others, humility and understatement perform better. Understanding that difference before you shoot the creative saves the budget and the relationship.
Regional adaptation
The process of adjusting a campaign's content, format, or messaging for a specific region — while keeping the brand strategy consistent. Regional adaptation is different from transcreation: it covers everything from imagery to channel selection to offer structure.
Riley said: Regional adaptation is not just changing the language. It might mean choosing different spokespeople, different visual references, or even a different offer structure. In some markets, a discount drives action. In others, exclusivity works better.
Compliance
Following the laws, regulations, and standards that govern advertising and marketing in each market. What is legal in one country may be restricted or banned in another — compliance protects the brand and avoids legal risk.
Riley warned the team: Before we launch in France, we need compliance sign-off. Comparative advertising is highly regulated there. What we can say about competitors in the UK, we cannot say in France without specific evidence and legal approval.
Localisation
Adapting a product, campaign, or piece of content for a local market — including language, format, currency, date style, imagery, and cultural references. Localisation is broader than translation and deeper than adaptation.
Marcus said: We localised the campaign for the UAE — not just the language, but the imagery, the pricing in dirhams, the timing around Ramadan, and the channel mix. That is real localisation, not just running the English campaign with Arabic subtitles.
Brand consistency
Presenting the same core identity, values, and visual language across all markets — even when the execution changes. Without brand consistency, customers in different countries experience different brands.
Riley said: We can adapt the message for each market. But the logo, the colour palette, the tone of voice — those do not change. Brand consistency is what makes us recognisable in São Paulo and Singapore. Execution varies. Identity does not.
Global brief
A document that defines the strategy, objectives, and brand guidelines for a campaign that will run across multiple markets. The global brief is the foundation — regional teams adapt from it, not away from it.
Riley said: Every global campaign starts with a global brief. It defines what we are trying to say, who we are saying it to, and what the brand experience must feel like — regardless of language or market. Regional teams take that brief and build their version within it.
Heatmap
A visual tool that shows where performance is strongest and weakest across markets, regions, or audience segments. In global campaign management, a heatmap helps identify where to invest more and where to investigate problems.
Riley showed the global performance review: Look at the heatmap — green across Western Europe, red across Southeast Asia, and yellow in Latin America. That tells us exactly where to focus the next 30 days of optimisation effort.
Phrases
6 phrases and their meanings
We need to transcreate, not just translate
A core principle of global campaign management — a direct instruction to adapt for emotional impact rather than just converting words. It is used when a translation would be technically accurate but culturally flat or ineffective.
Riley looked at the translated tagline and said: This is technically correct but it lands completely flat in Spanish. We need to transcreate, not just translate. Get a native creative team in Madrid to give us something that works culturally — same feeling, different execution.
Has this been through compliance?
A standard question in global campaign management before any content goes live. It ensures that marketing materials have been reviewed for legal and regulatory requirements in each specific market.
Before the team signed off on the campaign for Germany, Riley asked: Has this been through compliance? The claims we make about performance need substantiation under German advertising law. We do not launch until legal has cleared it.
What is the global brief saying on this?
A phrase used to redirect a regional debate back to the agreed global strategy. It reminds teams that the brief is the authority — regional preferences should not override strategic decisions made at the global level.
The regional team wanted to use a different brand colour for their market. Riley said: What is the global brief saying on this? The visual identity is fixed — it is one of the non-negotiables. We can adapt the creative concept, but not the brand elements.
What does the local team say?
A prompt to gather on-the-ground cultural intelligence before making a campaign decision for a specific market. It signals that global teams respect local expertise and do not impose decisions without consultation.
Riley said before the Southeast Asia launch: What does the local team say about the imagery? The global creative uses direct eye contact, which can read as aggressive in some markets there. I want their sign-off on this before we brief the media buy.
Build in regional flexibility from the start
A design principle for global campaigns — planning from the outset for the campaign to be adapted, not assuming the global version will work everywhere. It saves time, budget, and creative rework later.
Riley briefed the creative agency: Build in regional flexibility from the start. Design the campaign so that the hero image, the tagline, and the offer can all be swapped out by regional teams without rebuilding the whole thing. Flexibility is not a weakness — it is a structural requirement.
Where are we seeing the biggest performance gap across markets?
A diagnostic question for global campaign reviews — identifying which markets are underperforming relative to the benchmark and investigating why. It is the first step in global optimisation.
Riley opened the quarterly review: Let's look at the heatmap. Where are we seeing the biggest performance gap across markets? Southeast Asia is red — conversion is 40% below the global average. That is our focus for Q3. I want a local team debrief before we make any changes.
Videos
Watch these terms used in context
Dialogue
Read the dialogue and hover the blue words for definitions
Marcus
RileyRiley, we are launching our biggest global campaign next quarter — 12 markets across four regions. The creative is done in English. What do we need to think about before we brief the regional teams?
First: we need to transcreate, not just translate. Transcreation means the Spanish or Japanese version needs to feel right in that culture — not just be technically accurate.
The tagline uses a wordplay in English that definitely will not translate. How do we handle that?
That is exactly the problem. Use a native creative team in each market to build the equivalent — same emotional landing, different execution. Cultural intelligence is what tells you what that equivalent should be.
Should we have a global brief that the regional teams adapt from?
Absolutely — and it has to be clear about what is fixed and what is flexible. Brand consistency is non-negotiable. But the imagery, the offer structure, the channel mix — those can vary. Build in regional flexibility from the start.
What about legal? We are making some strong product claims in the campaign.
Compliance is market-by-market. Has this been through compliance in each territory? What you can claim in the UK is not automatically allowed in Germany or France. Legal review before launch — non-negotiable.
And what about things like imagery, spokesperson choice, offer structure? The creative uses very direct, bold visuals.
That is regional adaptation. What does the local team say? In some Asian markets, directness reads as arrogance. We need local sign-off on the creative before we brief the media buy.
And once it is live — how do we track performance across twelve markets without drowning in data?
Use a heatmap. It shows you at a glance where we are green — strong performance — and where we are red. That tells you where to investigate, not where to assume.
And localisation — how far does that go? Are we talking language only or everything?
Everything that needs to change for it to feel native. Language, pricing currency, seasonal timing, imagery. The English campaign with Arabic subtitles is not localisation — it is a shortcut that customers see through immediately.
Exercises
Complete all three exercises to see your final score
Complete the Sentence
Choose the correct answer to complete each sentence.
Choose the correct word or phrase to complete each sentence. Only one answer is correct.
1.The tagline does not work in Japanese — we need to transcreate it, not just .
2.Before we launch in France, has the campaign been through ?
3.The logo, colour palette, and tone of voice are non-negotiable — that is our brand .
4.Real means changing the language, imagery, currency, and cultural timing — not just adding subtitles.
5.The heatmap shows us at a glance where performance is and where we need to investigate.
6.The global brief is the foundation — regional teams adapt it, not away from it.
Matching
Click a word, then click its correct definition.
Click a word on the left, then its definition on the right.
Words
Definitions
Fill in the Blank
Drag the correct words from the word bank to complete each sentence.
Sentence 1
Translation gives you the words. — — — gives you the emotional effect — the same feeling in a different language and culture.
Sentence 2
What is the global — — — saying on this? The visual identity is fixed — that is one of the non-negotiables.
Sentence 3
Has this been through — — —? What we can claim in the UK is not automatically allowed in Germany.
Sentence 4
Build in regional — — — from the start — design the campaign so regional teams can adapt without rebuilding everything.
Sentence 5
The heatmap shows red across Southeast Asia — that is where the biggest performance — — — is.
Sentence 6
Real — — — means changing the language, the imagery, the pricing, and the cultural timing — not just adding subtitles.
Tip: Think about the meaning of each word and what makes sense in the sentence.
Multiple Choice
Choose the best answer for each question about the dialogue.
1.What is the difference between translation and transcreation?
2.What does Riley say about compliance when making product claims in a global campaign?
3.What does Riley say is non-negotiable in the global brief?
4.How does Riley recommend tracking performance across 12 markets?
Group Activities
Role-play scenarios and discussion questions for group classes
🎯 Choose the Best Response
Read what the team member or stakeholder says. Choose the best response from the three options.
Customer says
“Can we just translate the English campaign and launch it across all twelve markets?”
Salesperson responds…
Customer says
“The regional team in Japan wants to completely change the creative concept. Can they?”
Salesperson responds…
Customer says
“Our Southeast Asia performance is significantly below the global average. What do we do?”
Salesperson responds…
🔍 Spot the Mistake
Read the conversation. Three lines have a mistake. Can you find them?
Marcus
We're going to localise the campaign for the UAE — we'll add Arabic subtitles to the English video and translate the landing page.
Riley
That is not real localisation — it should include cultural timing like Ramadan, local imagery, and pricing in dirhams, not just language.
Marcus
Understood. And for the legal claims, I'll get global compliance sign-off and that should cover us in all markets.
Riley
No — compliance is market-by-market. Global sign-off does not cover each territory. You need local legal review for each market.
Marcus
Got it. And for the tagline — we'll adapt it from English, not translate it, to make sure it has the same meaning across markets.
Riley
Not just the same meaning — the same emotional impact. That is transcreation, not just adaptation. Meaning is not enough if the feeling is lost.
✏️ Finish the Salesperson's Line
The global campaign manager starts a sentence. Work with your partner to finish it naturally.
Customer
“Can we use the same creative across all markets to save time and budget?”
Salesperson
“We can use the same global brief and brand elements — logo, colour, core message. But we need to build in regional flexibility from the start so that local teams can adapt... …”
Customer
“The Japan team says the campaign feels too aggressive for their market.”
Salesperson
“That is valuable cultural intelligence — and we should take it seriously. What does the local team say specifically needs to change? The question is whether we are talking about... …”
Customer
“Performance is red across three markets in the heatmap. What do we do?”
Salesperson
“Before we change anything, I want to understand where the performance gap is — conversion, engagement, or reach? And what does the local team say about why? The heatmap tells us where to look, not what to fix. Once we have the diagnosis... …”