Hey everyone, Alex the Agency Head here. We recently worked with a client who wanted to replicate their viral Russian Instagram campaign in Germany. Even though the core idea was solid, we realized humor and visual references needed complete overhaul. I’d love to hear from others - how do you approach cultural transcreation versus direct translation? What specific elements (visuals, influencers, timing) required the most adaptation in your cross-market campaigns?
Alex, your timing question is spot-on! We organized a collab where a Russian beverage brand shifted their New Year’s campaign to Germany. Turns out their ‘Дед Мороз’ mascot confused audiences who expected Weinachtsmann. Ended up creating hybrid visuals that worked across markets. Maybe we should connect your client with our localization designer?
Data point: In our e-commerce A/B tests, campaigns keeping original Russian voiceovers saw 23% lower CTR compared to localized narrations. But product demonstration sequences required minimal changes. Curious if others see similar patterns between functional vs emotional content?
Struggling with this right now - our SaaS onboarding video uses Russian workplace humor that falls flat with US viewers. How critical is it to completely re-shoot versus adding subtitles/context? Budget’s tight but don’t want to damage first impressions.
Key lesson from our beauty collab: Russian influencers prioritized product craftsmanship stories, while US creators focused on personal transformation. Had to adjust both creator briefs and KPI frameworks. Alex, how did you balance performance metrics between markets?