This text is the English translation of the official Turkish version of the applicable press release. It has been prepared solely as a reference and ease of use. Please refer to the original Turkish text for details and/or attributes. In case of any incongruity, original Turkish version shall prevail

22 March 2019

Striving to improve the quality of life for societies with its advanced technology, Mitsubishi Electric and the brand's communications consultancy agency Inomist got together with the students of the Faculty of Communication in Istanbul Aydin University. Taking part as a speaker in the seminar organized by PR Workshop incorporated within Public Relations and Publicity Department of the faculty, Mitsubishi Electric Turkey Advertisement and Public Relations Team Leader Savaş Ceneviz and the President of Inomist Communications Consultancy Agency Sibel Selvi Arslantürk told their experiences on localization strategies of global brands.

Striving to increase societies' quality of life globally with its advanced technology since over 95 years in numerous fields such as air conditioners, industrial automation, elevators, escalators, visual data, transportation, energy, automotive equipments, semi-conductors, public systems and satellite technologies, Mitsubishi Electric, together with Inomist, who have been providing communications consultancy for world's and Turkey's leading brands, came together with future communicators. Under the leadership of Istanbul Aydin University Faculty of Communication Vice Dean Dr. Prof. Deniz Akbulut and Dr. Prof. Gonca YIldırım and organized by PR Workshop incorporated within Public Relations and Publicity Department, in the seminar themed "Public Relations and Publicity Students Meet the Industry", Mitsubishi Electric Turkey Advertisement and Public Relations Team Leader Savaş Ceneviz and the President of Inomist Communications Consultancy Agency Sibel Selvi Arslantürk took their places as speakers. Explaining experiences using examples while giving information on operations of corporate communication departments and communications consultancy agencies regarding "localization strategies of global brands in communication", Ceneviz and Arslantürk relayed priceless information to students regarding studies of global brands to adapt to local markets.

Societies and countries came closer

Reminding that the Silk Road, leading from China to Europe through Anatolia and Mediterranean region which began to be used as a concept in 1870s is a major global trade route, Mitsubishi Electric Turkey Advertisement and Public Relations Team Leader Savaş Ceneviz stated that we fell into a new world order with the effect of different cultures from different continents and continued; "We can say that major inventions such as paper production, printing and distillation techniques made their ways to Europe thanks to the Silk Road. Thus, it is possible to think that the first steps towards globalization began with the Silk Road. Developments in trade routes, transportation technologies and transportation systems for air, sea and land rapidly brought societies and countries together. As a result, countries started to meet with new brands and products."

Brands must adapt to the dynamics of societies

Emphasizing that it is critical for brands to integrate into cultures of different societies, Savaş Ceneviz said; "If you are a global brand, it is vital that you adapt to the dynamics of the society you are a part of. Otherwise, you might have to manage serious brand crisis situations. For example, Mitsubishi Electric with direct operations in 43 countries is a global giant operating in numerous fields ranging from air conditioners to elevators, industrial automation systems to space systems. We pay great importance to locallization studies within the light of our brand's global strategies. We are sensitive when it comes to synchronizing with local richness, whether it be our product-based communication studies or our global approach in corporate communication. Turkey is a precious country with various colors and variety in it and as a global brand it is one of the most important items in our agenda to incorporate this variety into our communication strategies."

Brands that most efficiently use global and local varieties will create a difference

Emphasizing for young communicators that it is of great importance to develop strategies specific to the brands they are managing by thoroughly analyzing global and local dynamics, Ceneviz said, "Brands that efficiently use global and local varieties can breakthrough in their own categories", ending his words.

Think global, act local

Emphasizing that "paths to follow while relaying messages to target groups" lies in the center of discussions regarding global communication strategies which began as a result of accelerating globalization in 1950s, President of Inomist Communications Consultancy Agency Sibel Selvi Arslantürk, informed us on standarditazion and adaptation approaches in communication. Stating that some global brands apply uniform communication strategy in all countries they operate in, stemming from the approach where they consider the whole world--as Marshall McLuhan puts it--as a global town, Sibel Selvi Arslantürk also emphasized that there are also companies that apply adaptation strategies while taking numerous factors such as legal regulations into consideration. Stating that it is also possible to talk about unified communication strategies where both approaches are used in unison, Arslantürk informed us on the concept of "glocalization" which was first thought of in 1980s within the understanding of "think global, act local" and brought into the literature by the British sociologist Roland Robertson in 1992.

Deep analysis of local society is a must in order to prevent communication crisis

Stating that the term glocalization, also used in Turkish as "Glokalizasyon", can be summarized as products, services and communication of brands having their own unique origins as well as adapting to the local cultures of the markets they take place in, Arslantürk continued; "While some global brands create products completely specific to local markets, they also develop strategies based on local dynamics when it comes to communication. However, they indeed preserve the global power and main brand statement of the brand in local markets. In our country, we see examples of numerous successful global brands that develop products aligned with Turkish culture and values while also adapting their communication messages in this respect. We also witness brands that ignore worldwide localization applications or fail at them having to deal with major communication crisis in local markets and losing reputation as a result, sometimes even having to pull out of markets entirely. The way to prevent such financial losses which are hard to recover from is by carefully analyzing all elements of target groups in local markets such as their needs, behaviors, purchasing habits, requirements, incomes and culture in all communication studies for brand names, product contents, colors, packaging design, images in advertisements, brand positioning and all media from conventional to digital. Total of all these observations make up a brand's communication strategy."

Local agencies are important for local communication strategies of global brands

Emphasizing that global brands' strategies to adapt to local markets is more in-depth and critical than just translating their global communication message into the local language, Arslantürk said such studies can only be healthily managed by local communication agencies that understand the country's dynamics and gave examples on the studies they performed for global markets.

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