Translating Across Cultures
Marketing is about connection. It’s about saying the right thing to the right people at the right moment, and making it mean something. But when you’re marketing across cultures, languages, and continents, “meaning” gets complicated.
Over the years, I’ve worked in (and across) more time zones than I can count. I’ve launched campaigns in seven languages. I’ve lived in Italy, Australia, the U.S., and collaborated with teams from even more countries than that.
When The Message Misses
Every marketer has a highlight reel: the campaign that converted, the launch that killed it, the perfect subject line that got a 68% open rate. We talk about these a lot.
What we don’t talk about as much? The ones that didn’t land. The messages that fell flat, got misinterpreted, or just made everyone say “eh”.
Find Your Voice
One of the most common things I hear from clients, teams, and orgs alike is some version of:
“We just want our brand to sound… more human.”
It sounds simple enough. But what does “sounding human” actually mean in the world of marketing, where buzzwords and templated copy run rampant? Where brands often either sound like overly chipper AI bots or the corporate equivalent of a blank stare?
Make The Numbers Work For You
We love data in marketing. Honestly, who doesn’t enjoy a clean chart with that sweet, upward-sloping line? Data tells us what worked, what didn’t, and where to focus next. It helps justify budgets, track ROI, and build strategies that don’t just feel good, they perform.
But here’s the catch: numbers don’t move people. Feelings do.
Leading With Language
We talk a lot about leadership in terms of vision and execution. But so much of good leadership actually happens in the in-between; on Slack threads, in check-in meetings, in how you deliver hard news, give feedback, or ask for help. Communication that shapes a team’s culture more than any value statement ever could.