Language: What Marketers Can Learn from Vacation

As the world is opening back up, people all over the world are craving a vacation. In the grand scheme of things, I am sure we would all rather lose out on a few vacations for a year than risk the quality of everyone’s health and the potential loss of life. With that said, as people are getting fully vaccinated, many parts of the world are opening back up for business with a few conditions, of course. Travel is one of the most inspiring things any human can do to connect with our fellow human beings and explore other cultures. So what can marketers learn from travel and the international population as a whole?

Before we dive into the answer, I must preface with an observation I have made as an American born to multicultural parents. I have noticed that language is viewed differently in America than it is in the rest of the world. Take the Central American from El Salvador that speaks Spanish and is holding on to their own Native language and dialect. Take the Azerbaijani Muslim who now resides in Moscow that speaks Azeri Turkish, modern Turkish, Arabic and Russian. Take the Italian that studied in Paris and now works in Barcelona and is able to speak in each region’s respective languages. Take for example the Korean born that was raised in and works in Melbourne, Australia and is able to confidently move through both cultures. Perhaps, because the USA is so huge, some may not be able to fathom the movement with which other people move throughout their lives and careers and the languages they are able to master. For these people (whom I know personally,) language is as fluid as the Euphrates river. 

Though, the great United States does not have an official language and has over 350 languages spoken here at home—traveling can be an avenue with which people’s eyes can be opened on the appreciation and exploration of language. 

So, even though you may be marketing from an American perspective, there is room for you to evolve into marketing on the international stage. I have heard to keep it simple and to refrain from doing anything too fancy. I, as a multilingual person, respectfully disagree with this “advice.” I’d propose your company and its leaders do a few things. Firstly, if you speak one language, the least you could do is master it’s syntax and grammatical intricacies. Secondly, you should join the 21st century, or take a look at any century for that matter, and accept that people and their understanding of language are not as simple as you may want them to be. Marketing in more than one language is inevitable. 

When traveling, speaking the home language in any country will go a long way with locals. Seriously, Italian grandmothers will invite you over for a meal, cooked from scratch for being an absolute doll and saying buonasera. Greeting someone with Shalom or As-salamu alaikum will go a long way in showing respect and connecting with others. 

Instead of being scared of doing anything too fancy when it comes to marketing and languages, I urge you to have your marketing be as complex as the people you are speaking to! Your marketing could be the point where someone googled a word or asked someone what a certain phrase means. If you choose to keep it simple, your marketing is limited in its potential to reach customers internationally. Contact Heritage Writing Co. for marketing with a focus on connecting with an array of communities and cultures. Heritage Writing Co. creates copy in English and original copy in Spanish for connecting with your audience without the awkwardness of ill-fitting words in your marketing materials.