By Juan Lucia
When the strength of your company reaches a certain point, it’s natural to consider expanding your operation beyond the borders of your home country. Marketing internationally is meant to be an exciting new chapter in your firm’s story, but this can be marred when proper research isn’t done.
All marketing strategies are useless unless they are targeted and based on effective strategies. One of the most crucial of which is understanding how the laws of different countries affect your campaign. Here’s what you might have overlooked in your excitement.
The Legality of International Marketing
Certain laws are common from country to country, but the specifics might be modified to fit the region. This seemingly arbitrary change in trade laws can be nearly impossible to track without the proper legal backing.
You need a solid legal team in your corner, preferably litigation and arbitration leaders. They’ll help ensure that your campaign goes smoothly and stays on the right side of the law. That being said, here are some legal factors you need to consider when marketing internationally.
How Countries Protect User Data
Chances are you are operating blind when working your way into a new country. This holds especially when you have no background in international marketing. In this delicate stage of your campaign, information is king. It helps to know user and consumer habits in the region so you can tailor your marketing strategies to meet the demand.
However, while gathering this information, you might run into your first legal wall in the form of user and consumer data privacy laws. These laws are in place to restrict how organizations gather and utilize user information. For context, the United States Operates under the California Consumer Privacy Act, and most of Europe falls under the General Data Protection Regulation.
Do not make the mistake of assuming one Act or Regulation is the same as another. The contents of these agreements could vary significantly, and you do not want to be caught breaking them. This could lead to the end of your operation in specific regions or even lead to serious legal ramifications.
Regional Advertising Restrictions
Advertising is a core part of any campaign, and a lot of work and forethought goes into the general theme of each ad. All that work would mean nothing if it doesn’t adhere to regional advertising laws.
Believe it or not, regions restrict not just advertising content but also the work done in the background. Watch out for how you structure the testimonials included in your ads and who you choose to endorse your product or brand. It will be too late when regulators in charge of enforcing advertising laws in a region come knocking on your door.
Laws on Content
Some designs, visuals, or sounds may work in your home region and be unacceptable in a different country, town, or island. Countries are tense about the content their citizens consume and the laws guiding content apply to every campaign.
The visual aspect is just one side of the dice. A country reserves the right to restrict the message and language of a campaign. You might end up structuring an ad that is offensive in the region you choose to advertise in without knowing it.
Product Quality and Restriction Laws
These laws concern the product you choose to market itself. You must do thorough research and ensure your product can be marketed in a region before assigning resources to marketing it. If the appropriate bodies catch wind of you selling illegal products, your company will suffer the brunt of their fury.
You might jeopardize your operation because you failed to do the right thing and research restrictions beforehand. A good example is the change the European Union enforced on iPhone products. As a brand, you have two options when your product faces scrutiny. You could either adhere to the laws set in place or pull out of the regions protected by said laws.
Conclusion
A strong company has established formulas for its operations designed to improve efficiency. Sadly, these formulas and routines might not apply to every country or region you visit when going international. With the right legal team backing you and proper knowledge of international marketing laws, your campaign will surely succeed. Finally, make sure you consult an international marketing agency with knowledge about the regions you intend to penetrate.
