Think Globally - Act Locally

Chapter 1 Case Study: “MTV Goes Global with a Local Beat” (page 33)

QUESTION #1: Some say globalization is homogenizing the attitudes and spending habits of young consumers worldwide. As one journalist puts it, “It may still be conventional wisdom to ‘think globally and act locally,’ but in the youth market, it is increasingly a case of one size fits all.” Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not?

"Think globally and act locally" is a very well-known idea for those who act at international markets. The more thought-out the company's strategy - the more favorable outcome may be expected from its operations. It's important to understand that each particular market/country/generation needs to be profoundly explored before taking further actions. Though nowadays young generation seems to have a lot of similarities across the countries, due to broad globalization process, the cultural differences (aesthetics, religion, values and attitudes, education, social structure etc.) are still the core of consumption habits. Even our case study reveals information that MTV, nevertheless it’s initial success on international arena, actually had to make changes (along national orientation) to be able to “compete with a new crop of upstart rivals that tailored content to language, culture, and current events” (Wild, 2010). At the same time companies should understand that localization does not mean that everything should be localized, it indicates that a company should be more flexible/adaptive to the local environment. Maybe in future to some markets the “one size fits all” strategy may be implied but so far the world business rules are more complicated.

Examples of successful implementation “think globally - act locally” idea list such huge companies as McDonald’s (changes ingredients to the popular in the area), Starbucks (trying out locally designed franchises in stores), KFC (changes design to be consistent with local cultures, introduces flavors familiar to locals),...