We’ve been working on a campaign for a CPG brand where the core message is about sustainability, but the environmental priorities in LATAM and the US are genuinely different. In the US, consumers are thinking carbon footprint and packaging waste. In LATAM, the conversation is more about water conservation and ingredient sourcing.
So the question became: do we give creators the same brief and let them localize, or do we create region-specific briefs that might feel fragmented?
We tried the first approach with one creator, and the end result was that the US and LATAM posts barely looked like they were from the same campaign. Different tone, different focus, different visual language. Technically on-brand, but you wouldn’t know they were connected.
The second approach felt safer but more complicated to execute. Writing two full briefs, managing two different creative directions, trying to make sure they still feel like the same company.
What I’m really struggling with is: at what point does localization become dilution? How much can you adapt before the campaign loses its coherence?
I think the answer is probably “it depends on the brand,” but I’d love to know how you’re actually thinking about this. Are you building briefs with a modular structure? Are you flagging certain elements as non-negotiable? Do you have frameworks for deciding what can flex and what can’t?
I approach this by identifying what the brand is actually trying to measure. If the KPI is brand awareness and tone consistency, localization is a liability—keep the message locked. If the KPI is engagement and conversion, localization is an asset—let it flex. We then reverse-engineer the brief from the KPI. For your sustainability example, if you’re measuring sales lift, region-specific environmental messaging will probably outperform a uniform message. If you’re building brand equity, the uniform approach wins. We document this at the top of every brief: “This message can flex on: [list]. This message cannot flex on: [list].” It takes the guesswork out of it. How are you currently tracking what’s actually driving performance for this brand?
I think the answer is: create a core insight that doesn’t change, then let creators interpret how that insight shows up locally. For your brand, maybe the core is “we care about environmental impact” and that’s locked. But the specific impact that matters to each region? That’s flexible. Give creators the framework (“here’s our commitment to sustainability”) and the local insight (“in your market, this matters most”), and they’ll figure out how to make it cohesive because they understand their audience. The brief doesn’t have to look identical for it to feel like the same campaign. It’s like… the DNA is the same, but the expression is regional. Does that framework work for how your creative team thinks about this?
We use a “north star statement” approach. One sentence that can never change. Everything else can be interpreted. For your sustainability campaign, maybe it’s: “We make products that don’t compromise our planet.” That’s locked. Then regional teams build out what “don’t compromise” means locally. US might say packaging. LATAM might say water. Both serving the same north star, but regionally resonant. We’ve found that this keeps campaigns coherent at the concept level while allowing creative freedom at the execution level. And honestly, creators appreciate it because they get guardrails but aren’t micromanaged.
The framework we use is: what percentage of the message is emotion/value vs. fact/claim? The emotional core should be consistent across regions. The factual support should be locally relevant. For sustainability, “we care about the planet” (emotion) is global. “Here’s how this product [specifically] isn’t damaging [local environmental priority]” (fact) is regional. This usually gives creators enough structure that the campaign feels unified while still feeling locally authentic. We also require that at least 30% of the creative assets be visually identical across regions—creates recognizable throughline. Does your brand have a clear emotional positioning that transcends regional differences?
From my side, this is actually easier than you’d think if the brief is clear. Tell me what the brand value is (sustainability, whatever), tell me what my audience cares about, and I can make it work. What’s frustrating is when I get a brief that’s confused about this already—like, the brand doesn’t know if they’re talking to my US audience or my LATAM audience, so I have to guess. If you lock down the core message and genuinely localize the supporting details, I can make it feel cohesive without forcing it. Like, I can talk about sustainability in ways that speak to my US followers AND my LATAM followers—I just need you to tell me which environmental angle matters most for this campaign.