Localize This Part 2 – Beyond the Brand Strategy

For any China marketing strategy, the challenge of localization needs to look beyond the brand. There are operational elements that marketers need to focus on as well.

A couple of weeks ago we discussed some of the challenges overseas brands face in China, highlighting the luxury brand market and some of the recent missteps and mistakes brands in this space have experienced in the region. This week, another international brand has appeared to meet a new challenge for its China strategy, and although it’s more mundane than the senior leadership insulting an entire nation (Hi D&G), it does throw up an interesting point of discussion.


China-based users of the video conferencing service provider Zoom found access to the platform blocked last week, which led to a great deal of speculation as to why that might be. It’s not unusual for foreign websites to face issues in China but the reasons are typically not as dramatic as some of the reports would have you believe.


For example, any overseas business that wants to have a fully functioning online presence in China needs to have an Internet Content Provider (ICP) Certificate, also known as the ICP BeiAn. Having one of these means that the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has reviewed and approved your website and you now have access to Chinese web hosting services, which will dramatically improve the speed and customer experience of your site in China. It also gives you access to Baidu PPC, the China equivalent of Google AdWords.


There are plenty of other technical tricks that can make a huge difference to your China digital marketing strategy and enhance your in-market business performance. These range from having a specific landing page or micro-site for Chinese web users, getting to grips with the China social media landscape, or simply having the option to change languages on your home page. All sound fairly simple but you would be surprised to hear how often these things can be neglected and how much of a positive impact these can have on brand experience.


Another interesting trend in localization for China marketing strategies is the increasing prevalence of experiential marketing, something the Brandigo Shanghai team recognized with our award-winning campaign for the UK Government when we created the British Gin Garden.


China was an early adopter when it came to e-commerce and leads the world in mobile technology and payment platforms to this day. And as Surekha Ragavan pointed out in Campaign Asia earlier this week, even though so much of the brand/consumer relationship now takes place online, brands are increasingly searching for a localized brand experience as part of their China marketing strategy that gives customers a real-world connection to the brand. You customers might want to browse your products, learn your values, and make the final transaction of purchasing your products on their phone, tablet or laptop, but smart brands are also using innovative and creative experience marketing to underpin their strategy. In China we have seen B2C brands like Hennessy  and cosmetics giant MAC do this to great effect, localized to have impact in-market but true to their brand identity and values.


For B2B marketers and their China marketing strategy, the impact that smart localization has, not only on strategy but how that strategy is executed is clear. If your online functionality isn’t functioning in China, if your customers are missing out on the opportunity to ‘feel’ what your brand is all about, then you run the risk of a failing China marketing strategy. Encourage your agency partner to get creative, be innovative and ensure that all your localized brand communications are having the required impact


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Chris Pereira - iMpact

By Steven Proud • October 12, 2026
Chris Pereira joins The Radical Global Marketing Podcast to explore how trust, localization and branding are shaping the next era of Chinese global expansion.
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Casey Cheshire - Ringmaster

By Steven Proud • September 7, 2026
In this episode... Steven and Casey discuss: Why genuine connection can be more powerful than transactional B2B marketing How podcasts can build brand, create demand and strengthen customer relationships Why marketing technology and automation should never replace understanding your customer How AI is increasing content noise – and making human connection even more valuable Why global marketers need to keep challenging what they think they know about their customers Do you really know your customer? Technology gives marketers more opportunities than ever to automate, measure and optimise what they do. Casey experienced that transformation first-hand through marketing automation, gaining the ability to demonstrate how marketing activity contributed to leads, customers and revenue. But more technology doesn't automatically mean better marketing. Casey found that many companies were using only a fraction of the capabilities of the technology they had purchased. Worse, marketers could become so focused on platforms, features and automation that they lost sight of the person they were actually trying to reach. The same problem applies to content. Whether a 17-page report has been painstakingly written by an expensive expert or generated in seconds using AI, the fundamental question remains the same: What question does this answer for your buyer? From go to market to connect to market This becomes particularly important for global marketers. Pain and intent may be universal, but the people experiencing them – and the way they choose to solve their problems – can be very different across markets, cultures and generations. A buyer persona created ten years ago may bear little resemblance to the person making the same purchasing decision today. And a persona developed for one market can't simply be assumed to work everywhere else. Casey's answer is deceptively simple: keep talking to people. For him, this is another reason podcasting has become such a powerful marketing tool. It creates a consistent reason for marketers and business leaders to have meaningful conversations with the people they want to understand. It also sits behind his latest concept, Connect to Market . Rather than simply taking a product to a market, Casey argues that businesses should think more deliberately about how they connect with the people within it – through podcasts, communities, partnerships and other human-first approaches. As AI makes it easier to create more content, more quickly, those genuine human connections may become more important rather than less. Because amid all the automation, algorithms and AI-generated noise, great marketing still begins with understanding another person. Resources mentioned in this episode: Casey Cheshire on LinkedIn Ringmaster Ringmaster on LinkedIn Marketing Automation Unleashed The Hard Corps Marketing Show Sponsor for this episode... This episode is brought to you by Brandigo China . We are an independent marketing and communications agency based in Shanghai, China with 20 years of on-the-ground experience in China. At Brandigo China , we work with multinational clients to support their marketing and business growth efforts in China. We are experts in insight strategy, content marketing, marketing-led business growth campaigns and all things China-based marketing. Go to Brandigo China to learn more and contact us with questions at [email protected] .
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Marc Rust – Consequently Creative

By Steven Proud • August 17, 2026
Marc Rust of Consequently Creative joins the Radical Global Marketing Podcast to explore brand-led growth, business transformation, creativity and AI.