Glocalization

If we go to McDonald’s in Spain, we can order a cup of gazpacho. If we go to McDonald’s in India, we can sink our teeth into a McAloo Tikki, a burger made out of potatoes and veggies. Or if we head to a Macca’s in Australia (that’s what they call them in the land down under), we can start our day with a Big Brekkie Burger, which is basically a combination of a McMuffin, a hashbrown, a burger, and all of our wildest breakfast dreams.

These items aren’t on the menu here in the US of A, and there’s a reason: stuff like that just doesn’t sell as well here. (We have a feeling the Big Brekkie might do okay.) But they sell like hotcakes—or Happy Meals, as the case may be—elsewhere in the world, which is why those brainiacs over at McDonald’s sell them in other countries.

This is what we call “glocalization.” An international company tailors its products to the demands of particular markets while still maintaining a global brand identity. It’s like the business version of “Think globally, act locally.”

Let’s head back to Mickey D’s for a sec. The chain’s whole shtick is that it’s a recognizable place people can go for fast, cheap, convenient, reliable-tasting food. That image, or brand identity, is the same whether we’re in New Orleans or New Delhi. The only thing that’s different is the menu; it’s been glocalized.

Fast food isn’t the only industry where this happens. Cars sold in England, for example, have to be made with the steering wheel on the other (wrong) side. Glocalization can add to an organization’s expenses—it’s not cheap to develop or modify new or existing products that appeal to different markets—but it can also add to their bottom line, because they’re actually selling what people in that market want…or need, in the case of that breakfast burger.