SETTING NEW TRENDS -- Cross-Cultural Communications Potential Pitfalls of Promoting an Event Internationally Cintermex Magazine, Volume 3, Number 17, November/December 1995. By Sarna Marcus President and Creative Director The Page Group Several years ago, my company was responsible for promoting a show in which the graphic theme was a race car with the caption "Floor It" on the cover. The campaign worked very well in the United States and the association sponsoring the event decided to use the piece to market to international attendees. We translated the piece into various languages in order to mail to foreign countries. When the piece was translated into Japanese, one of our translators asked us what we meant by the caption "Floor It." "Everything is done on the floor in Japan," he explained. In other words, our campaign slogan simply would not work in the context of the Japanese market. Since that infamous campaign, The Page Group has developed many successful international show campaigns, but not without learning a great deal about international promotions of this kind. One of our most important lessons was that in positioning an event globally, you must think less specifically than you would for a national campaign. A dynamic promotional concept for the United States may be a concept that simply does not exist in another country. Communicating ideas becomes the challenge. It is critical to translate the ideas behind the language rather than specific text in the piece. However, recognizing this fact is only the first step in conveying a compelling message to an international market. Cultural differences in various countries also weigh heavily in the consideration of a promotional tack. Americans tend to be very clever in promotional and advertising capacities. Cool sells! The American audience also tends to be much more casual in its business communications than are Europeans or Asians. With this in mind, the best bet in promoting a show internationally is to sell the merits of the show very directly. Clean visuals and nice graphic images will help increase the promotional nature of the piece and should not present traps for miscommunication. Translate On the subject of translation, it is vital to locate people who will work with you to translate promotional concepts rather than simply text. Translation service companies should have experience in translating for the markets that you are trying to reach. However, even if the translator conveys the language in a brochure, that person's limited interaction with a particular industry could still lead you into dangerous waters. To combat this, we always recommend that our clients utilize a trade person in the field to review any promotional materials. Ideally, a trade consulate representative who is familiar with both the language and the industry is the best person for proofreading material like this. A similarly hazardous translation that we encountered was for a client in the pool and spa industry. The phrase used in the marketing piece was "plumb the depths." After the language was translated, a person familiar with the spa industry notified us that the text as it read in translation referred to toilet plumbing, not the kind you would use for a pool or hot tub! This would have been a significant blunder on our part since this was certainly not what we meant. So you can see that it is preferable to have a person other than the original translator look over the document for those subtle but potentially disastrous errors. Time Time also can become a significant issue in the preparation of international marketing materials. In addition to the normal amount of time you need to develop a brochure, you will need additional time for the translation of copy and proofing of this translated material. It is necessary to allow yourself enough lead time for this whole translation process when developing these materials. Depending on the length of the piece, a one-week minimum time allotment is a good rule of thumb for the initial translation. After the copy is translated, the layout should be done. We have found that in many cases, people can't understand why it takes two weeks to make changes to an international piece. It is important to remember that the entire document should go back to translation with every copy change that is made in order to avoid potentially costly errors. Remember, too, that in many cases you will be asking for favors of international industry contacts in reviewing the material. With travel and work schedules, it may take considerable time before the person is available to review the materials for you. Time needs to be allotted for this in any schedules that are created. Mail In scheduling mail dates for promotional campaigns, an organization should also consider competing international shows. It is important to time the mailing of your marketing pieces, as well as your advertising placements, so that you get a jump on your competition. Sometimes this will mean starting a promotional campaign much earlier than you might do otherwise. Many potential attendees will decide to attend a show far in advance of the actual date, especially if they are traveling to another country. In one instance, we began promoting a conference two years in advance in order to effectively compete with a biannual show held abroad. International Attendees It is important to make it easy for international attendees to come to your show. The sponsoring association should make an effort to make these attendees feel welcome and valued. Naturally, you want to highlight any international services offered at the conference in your international marketing materials. Features such as an international lounge or translation services should be mentioned, but you also want to facilitate the registration and information processes that these prospects must go through in order to attend the event. Fax Because these promotions are done so early, the program information on the conference is often not complete at the time of the mailing. Several things are possible to keep your international audience informed. A popular, low-cost, follow-up promotion for these prospects is an international fax. These generally include an announcement of the event plus program content and features of the show. There are generally few graphics on the faxes, if any; however, they do reinforce the mailed promotions very well. If you are just getting into promoting your event internationally, these suggestions should help ease you through the transitional period. Try to keep your efforts small initially. Remember that even though you might spend a good deal of money the first year, you won't necessarily see an automatic payback. Don't expect the world to come to your doorstep on your first try. Not to stick solely to automobile analogies, but remember, even large corporations like Chevrolet have had problems with international marketing. You have probably heard the marketing story of the Chevy Nova. The story goes ... Nova in Spanish (No Va) means doesn't go -- not too good for an automobile promotion. Don't make the same mistake with your conference.