The where, the when and the who. Then the what.
Did you hear about that time a Kiwi business owner presented an idea to Wall Street in stubbies and jandals, turning his business into a multimillion dollar company overnight? No, you probably didn’t. Once, perhaps. Maybe even twice. But outside of dreams and fictional movies, it just doesn’t happen. Because no matter how great your presentation might be, if you don’t get through the door, you can’t sell anyone anything.
Context is Everything
They say content is king and context is queen. And in marketing, if your marketing efforts are the content, what you know about the place you’re marketing to is the context. And it’s just as important, if not more important, than the content itself. Whatever it is you’re doing, be it ads, case studies, blog posts, presentations, videos or something else – there are many different angles you can take. Do you highlight the fact you’re from New Zealand? And if so, what benefit of being a New Zealand business do you focus on? Our landscape? Our people? Our resourcefulness? Something else?
That answer depends on where you are and who you’re talking to. And that’s where context comes in. Context is what you know about the place you’re going to. It’s knowing that talking finance at Wall Street is a suit and tie gig, while shorts and t-shirt might help you out when selling a clothing line in LA.
What does Context look like?
Thinking specifically about marketing your products or services overseas, context can answer questions such as, what does the country think about New Zealand? What do they already know about your product? What are they into? What are they not? What values do they appreciate? Are they into developing relationships…or do they just want cold hard facts?
For example, let’s say you’re a fashion designer trying to crack the New York market. New York is a hum of activity and they see themselves as driven, cultured and big on community. Therefore there’s no point going to New York with a case study about our large open spaces and farming expertise. The closest they’ve ever come to farming is their woolen jumper. They can’t relate. But talking about our creativity, our architecture and design capabilities, along with images of different people interacting, might resonate a bit more.
Conversely, research suggests that the Chinese always want what they don’t have. Therefore instead of going to Shanghai and talking about our business smarts (which probably aren’t quite as advanced as theirs anyway), talking about how your product has been influenced by our open spaces which inspires incredible thinking might be a better way to go.
New Zealand Story Global Image Testing gives you Context
Over the last 12 months or so, New Zealand Story has conducted Global Image Testing research in Australia, China and the United States. In it, we discover how these countries perceive New Zealand, how they perceive themselves and what the similarities and differences are between our cultures, along with other handy facts and tips about the country.
This information will help you figure out which part out our New Zealand Story to focus on – our Open Spaces, Open Hearts or Open Hearts. And knowing what makes these different countries tick will help you to be relevant and compelling when marketing over there.
So whether it’s our research, your own research or a quick phone call to a mate living over there, knowing your audience is key. After all, a king is nothing without his queen.