Launching a brand into Europe - things to remember
The latest Launch Marketing Council has been held. This time instead of focusing on launching into Australia, the theme of the last council meeting in Sydney, the UK Council looked into launching into Europe.
Executive summary.
There are 741 million people in Europe. There are 44 countries, 24 official languages and more than a thousand years of history, culture and wars, creating contradictory cultural contrasts across what can sometimes be mere metres of land.
As if the prospect of launching into such a cultural melting pot wasn’t daunting enough, 508 million of those people across 28 countries have opted into one major trading block. And this block has different regulations and trading rules from everybody else. Soon, 55 million people (and one of the biggest countries in that block) will leave (maybe), just to add a final layer of complication.
Taking all this into account, it’s totally understandable that people might feel slightly reticent about launching in(to) Europe in the current climate. But positivity is a keyword of the Launch Marketing Council.
Launching is at the lifeblood of business, and a vital driver of growth. While it’s true that in times of trouble, the brands that continue to invest are the ones that succeed, so it is with launching in turbulent times. Fortune favours the brave.
So, we pulled together seven of the continent’s most talented and experienced launch strategists. With representatives from startups, such as what3words, to multinational mammoths like Unilever, to provide the insights, knowledge and tools needed to take that bravery and turn it into a fortune.
“There should not be fear, regardless of your political views. Life goes on, and consumers will continue to engage with brands and purchase products.” Alenka Ward, Launch Marketing Specialist.
Themes covered range from how to find and deploy the right insights across multicultural audiences (without falling foul of the potentially ruinous cultural nuances that exist market-to-market), to handling the repercussions and reorganisations brought about by Brexit.
Also covered are areas that might not spring to mind straight away, but can still trip you up. These include regulations such as GDPR (understanding this is absolutely vital) to considerations such as sustainability and Diversity and Inclusion, which are of utmost importance in such a mature market.
“Europe is a mature and developed market. There is a difference in pace and expectation.” Jeremiah Ty, Senior Global Innovation Manager, Beauty and Personal, Unilever
Download white paper.
Keen to learn what things you need to do in order to prevent your launch into Europe from failing, download the white paper now from the Launch Marketing Council website.
Image Credits
- Two by Two photography.
By Alexis Eyre