A linguist by training, I joined the language industry in 2007 as a translator from Sanskrit. Since 2012 I have been developing and implementing culture-proof brand and marketing communication strategies for global brands.
My international marketing journey has seen me as an advertising copywriter, a marketing translation editor, a creative director, a transcreation project manager, a localisation programme manager and a functional manager of multilingual content strategy and operations.
For the better part of a decade, I have been shaping and localising strategies and campaigns, designing and optimising processes, leading and building multilingual teams of content creators, and training those who manage creative talent behind the world's most successful brands.
This experience serves as a background for the management and strategy consulting I do today.
global advertising campaigns
For over three years, I have led the adaptation of the world-famous advertising campaigns of a global photography brand across digital, print, TVC and OOH. As a project team lead and creative director to 100 in-market copywriters, I was ensuring that each of the multiple product headlines and body copies reflected the creative intent and global brand voice across 35 markets and languages while considering cultural nuances and customer preferences in each market. The extra challenge stemmed from the layout and grammar constraints—each line had to start with "I am", sit nicely within the visual and be no longer than 5 words to be easily read and understood within 2 seconds.
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competitive analysis & brand audit
For a $300+ billion consumer electronics brand, I have conducted a comparative global brand website audit to help the company assess its localisation effectiveness and local brand image, and benchmark the quality of its native-language content and global digital customer journey.​
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brand name validation & origination
On several occasions, I have assisted an Emirati luxury hotel chain with assessing the cultural resonance of its property names and the strength of their appeal to the target customers. I also led the teams who created the names of two of the chain's hotels.
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brand positioning
I have helped a Vietnamese menswear franchise increase its brand's competitiveness against international players. I assessed the firm’s business, marketing and brand strategy, and conducted industry and market research, competitive analysis and interviews with management, staff and customers.
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global campaign launch
I have helped one of the world's biggest brands launch a global campaign aiming at increasing the brand value in 52 markets across Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. The campaign reached 60 million people in 5 weeks. To localise the campaign's inspirational videos, I recruited and provided creative direction to in-market copywriters and translators coordinating the efforts of a team of 100 across 15 time zones.
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market & industry research
To support the accelerated global expansion of the world's largest fitness and wellness aggregator, I have conducted a feasibility study of the Russian market entry opportunity based on an in-depth market and industry research, competitive analysis and in-market interviews with potential partners and customers.
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global brand voice
For a​ global fashion brand, I recruited and led a team of over 60 transcreation specialists to translate into 15 languages the brand's voice and style artfully crafted to reflect the brand identity and the aesthetics of its garments. My task was to ensure that the brand voice was recognisable and consistent across all brand communications including weekly newsletters, in-store signage, editorials, mood films, training materials and corporate website in Europe, Asia and Canada.
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For a global chain of aquatic attractions promoting marine conservation, I have built and managed a team that shaped the brand voice in 13 European and Asian languages. As a global brand guardian, I ensured that the voice, style and tone in each language appealed to both adults and children, and that brand comms packed with scientific content and created to educate and entertain were easy to understand for a 7-year-old.
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local consumer insights
I have enabled an American multinational food company to successfully launch its new breakfast cereals brand in Europe and the Middle East by helping it understand the local markets through insights into the target customers' preferences, their breakfast-related habits and local cultural norms.
On an unhealthy note, following the introduction of new cigarette packaging rules, I have helped a major tobacco producer assess the changes in tobacco brand perceptions and the impact on purchasing behaviours across twenty countries to support a global guerrilla marketing campaign.
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strategy adaptation & creative
As a brand strategist and copywriter, I have assisted two brands of one of the world's leading brewery groups with new market launches by providing guidance on development of locally relevant brand and content strategies. I have also developed content in Russian retaining the award-winning prohibition-inspired masculine brand identity by Williams Murray Hamm and the genius light-hearted creative spirit by Duval Guillaume.
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cross-cultural validation
I have assisted one of the world's most innovative consumer electronics brands with choosing the name for its new imaging technology. I conducted a cross-market assessment of concept understanding and interviewed photographers from 10 different countries.
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For a multinational consumer goods company that owns over 400 brands, I have assessed the cultural relevance of its new eco-friendly detergent brand across several European markets by validating the attractiveness of its value proposition and brand communications with potential customers and local culture experts based in target markets.
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