What are the main obstacles to building a global brand?
Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2025 10:23 am
Global branding brings a number of benefits, but only for those who manage to overcome the obstacles to its implementation. It is not a simple process and not every brand can achieve it.
Next we will see what the main difficulties are.
Local culture
The first obstacle a brand faces when trying to expand globally is local cultures.
When you are already accustomed to your domestic market and you know the consumers, you already have people's trust and you know how to be helpful to them. But you just have to cross the border and everything becomes different. Habits, expectations, demands and problems are different.
In this new scenario, how can we achieve the receptiveness of the population?
This is the challenge that large fast food chains faced in Vietnam. McDonald's and Burger King have restaurants in almost every country, but they failed to thrive in Vietnam. There are various reasons for this, but some of them have to do with local culture:
Vietnamese people were already accustomed to fast food services.
The brands could not beat the local options, which were very cheap and well served.
Brands failed to adapt to the local food-sharing culture.
The conflicts between the United States and Vietnam created political resistance.
In the following video (in English) you will be able to better understand the situation.
Local legislation
Local legislation is also one of the biggest challenges in new markets. As well as culture, internal rules also vary from one country to another. Will your company be able to reach a certain region and act as they do in your own country?
Airbnb, for example, faces this obstacle. The platform's singapore mobile database global growth was so great that it disrupted local housing dynamics and in some places caused a process of gentrification .
The map below shows the concentration of Airbnb-related accommodations in central and upmarket areas of Berlin, driving local residents to the outskirts of the city.
In response, Berlin has banned short-term rentals via platforms such as Airbnb. Paris and Amsterdam have instituted limits of 120 days and 30 days respectively. Barcelona requires hosts to have a license to advertise their properties on the platform.
Public power and Airbnb remain in dispute in several places. But it is clear that local legislation can become an obstacle to global expansion in some cases.
Next we will see what the main difficulties are.
Local culture
The first obstacle a brand faces when trying to expand globally is local cultures.
When you are already accustomed to your domestic market and you know the consumers, you already have people's trust and you know how to be helpful to them. But you just have to cross the border and everything becomes different. Habits, expectations, demands and problems are different.
In this new scenario, how can we achieve the receptiveness of the population?
This is the challenge that large fast food chains faced in Vietnam. McDonald's and Burger King have restaurants in almost every country, but they failed to thrive in Vietnam. There are various reasons for this, but some of them have to do with local culture:
Vietnamese people were already accustomed to fast food services.
The brands could not beat the local options, which were very cheap and well served.
Brands failed to adapt to the local food-sharing culture.
The conflicts between the United States and Vietnam created political resistance.
In the following video (in English) you will be able to better understand the situation.
Local legislation
Local legislation is also one of the biggest challenges in new markets. As well as culture, internal rules also vary from one country to another. Will your company be able to reach a certain region and act as they do in your own country?
Airbnb, for example, faces this obstacle. The platform's singapore mobile database global growth was so great that it disrupted local housing dynamics and in some places caused a process of gentrification .
The map below shows the concentration of Airbnb-related accommodations in central and upmarket areas of Berlin, driving local residents to the outskirts of the city.
In response, Berlin has banned short-term rentals via platforms such as Airbnb. Paris and Amsterdam have instituted limits of 120 days and 30 days respectively. Barcelona requires hosts to have a license to advertise their properties on the platform.
Public power and Airbnb remain in dispute in several places. But it is clear that local legislation can become an obstacle to global expansion in some cases.