Dealing With a Foreign Audience (PR)

It may be easy to keep the interest of clients in your own country, but dealing with a foreign audience is a little more difficult. Here are some tips on how to maintain the foreign audience by recognizing cross cultural differences.

• Language and Culture - Maintain good translations when advertising a product. (Ex: Ford launched a car called the "Pinto" in Brazil and they were unsuccessful because the Brazilians did not want to buy a car meaning "small male genitals".
• The Written Word - Look at and integrate the cross cultural particulars of the target audience. Some cultures want colorful and inspirational writing while others may just want factual and objective.
• Communication Channels - Be aware of the different primary sources of information each culture has (Ex: Radio, television, Internet, the press, etc.).
• PR Materials - The publicity materials your campaign involves must be appropriate to each culture you advertise to. Logos may mean one thing in one culture and something else in another.

Build campaigns that target (appeal) the audience to which you are advertising.