How STEM companies can reach new target markets
31 August 2022
Early in my PR career, I came across an article translated from English into Spanish. Where in English, the example used to describe two unexpected things that go together well was “peanut butter and jelly”, the Spanish equivalent was “ham and melon”. This early example highlighted the importance of regionalising content. Here, Alison Gardner, Account Manager at Stone Junction, shares some advice for getting an international PR campaign off the ground in a new market.
While engineering is a global market, certain geographies cater more to certain business types. For instance, Finland’s economy is known for its high concentration of metal-working companies, whereas Israel is known for its significant start-up economy. Understanding the engineering landscape of a region can help you to understand your place in the market, differentiate yourself from competitors and establish your value proposition.
Learn the media landscape
The media landscape will also differ greatly from region to region and can impact the types of results you can expect. If you’ve been running a UK campaign, where you can send a single piece of content and receive up to ten pieces of coverage, it’s unlikely you can replicate the strategy in the US or Germany, where exclusivity is more important. In these regions, you can shift your strategy to a more news and commission-based approach, to secure the coverage you are looking for.
When building tiered lists and establishing which publications are high priority, it’s important to remember that domain authorities (DA) and readership figures can differ greatly from region to region. A DA of 30 may be considered low for a US publication, but high for one based in APAC. Working with an international PR specialist can help you to set ambitious, yet achievable, targets in line with the media landscape.
Regionalise the content
Naturally, sharing content in the language the magazine is published in is important, but there’s more to regionalising content than simply translating it. First, you can make straightforward changes like adapting your statistics for your audience, for example using statistics from the British Automation & Robot Association in the UK to statistics from A3 in the US. If you reference specific examples or case studies, you can also change these to match the region you are writing for.
There are also more subtle differences in how countries operate. For example, in Europe, Siemens is the key supplier of industrial technology, whereas, in Asia, it’s Mitsubishi. You may wish to change which technology is mentioned in your content to resonate more closely with your audience.
Then there are cultural considerations. Every culture has different norms, humour and topics they deem taboo, which is important to take into account when you communicate.
Neil Payne, a Cultural Consultant, offers this advice: “The most important point, from a cross-cultural perspective, is how to write in a way that engages the readers in that society or culture. Some cultures may prefer colourful and inspirational writing, others factual and objective. Some may be motivated by language that incorporates a religious or moral tone, others by a money-orientated or materialistic one.”
To penetrate new global markets, you first need to understand them. Every country has different customs, there’s no one size fits all approach to communication.
Work with the experts
Marketing your business in a new territory can be intimidating, particularly if it will require you to communicate with journalists in a language you are unfamiliar with. At Stone Junction, we have twelve languages in-house, which we regularly use to communicate with core journalists and build close relationships. These specialist consultants sit within region-specific teams, who have a deep knowledge of their region’s engineering, media and cultural landscape.
On the international stage, building strong media relationships and creating meticulous content are still fundamentals that will underpin a successful PR campaign. However, it’s the ability to adapt your cornerstone messages for a new audience and marketplace that will then determine the success of the campaign in your chosen target area.
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