Burger King’s Mexican Mistake

Ah, nothing like a good marketing blunder to spice up U.S. and Mexican relations. Burger King recently unveiled a new advertisement for its "Texican" Whopper that portrays a Texas-style cowboy next to what seems to be a small Mexican wrestler wearing a cape resembling the Mexican flag. I guess the svelte, archetypical American juxtaposed with the shorter Mexican-inspired character is intended to represent the cross-border flavors in its newest product.

Well, regardless of its design intention, the advertisement isn't going unnoticed. Mexican officials are now urging Burger King to retract the spot, claiming the advertisement damages Mexico's image and its flag. Is Burger King saying that Americans perceive Mexicans as lesser than they? I hope not, but I believe this is the reaction Mexicans are having to this advertisement, seeing the spot as a threat to their cultural identity.

International marketing "whoppers" like Burger King's can and do happen. And, it is those organizations that understand how much culture and language differences affect profitability in international markets that are most likely to succeed in penetrating new or growing existing markets than their competitors. So what are some basics to consider when going international?

Research Your Market: Understand what motivates your audience, and realize that those motivations may differ, and even contradict motivations in your country.
Build Cultural Awareness: Hire bilingual marketers who are deeply familiar with your target audience and who can immediately identify potential issues and roadblocks before they escalate into a transnational culture war.

Use Qualified Translators: Use native or near-native translators in the target language to ensure that nuances are caught before they go global. Remember Chevy's Nova launch in Latin America? "Nova" translates to "no go" in Spanish, a name that sort of defeats the purpose of what an automobile is suppose to do - go.

Conduct Cross Cultural Training: Train market leadership on cultural differences including management styles and message variances between countries. Develop internal ambassadors who deeply understand the product or service and are able to effectively communicate those key messages to stakeholders, audiences and customers.

Test Messages: Organize focus groups. They are a great way to ensure you understand how your message will be received before a major roll-out. Consider testing not only the copy but also images and color usage as variances in meaning and connotation may exist.