Hi, Mark here. I’m a strategist working with a Russian-founded brand that’s prepping for a US expansion, and I’m thinking hard about how to test our UGC and influencer messaging before we go all-in.
Right now, the risk is that we build out our entire campaign strategy based on what works back home, then launch in the US and find out it completely misses the mark culturally. I’ve seen this happen too many times.
I’ve been exploring the idea of using the bilingual hub’s cross-border expert sessions to work directly with US-based marketers and creators upfront. The idea would be to co-create UGC that’s actually tailored to US audiences, not just translated or adapted from our Russian playbook.
But I’m struggling with the practical side: How do you actually structure those sessions? What should you bring to the table? How do you iterate quickly without losing velocity? And how do you make sure the insights you get actually stick when you move into full production?
For those of you who’ve done this—how did you approach it, and what surprised you about the process?