
Insights
The regional marketer's playbook

HOME OR AWAY GAME?
Working with global and local teams
“As a regional marketer, you simply can’t do your job without autonomy,” says Ryan Bonnici. “If that’s something which your global marketing level won’t afford you, then you should probably start considering a change of job.”
All of the coaches we spoke to for this playbook said the same thing: regional marketers need autonomy to do their jobs well. Regional teams can only deliver valuable business results if they develop and roll out campaigns that resonate with the specifics of their region, rather than being beholden to initiatives devised at a global level. This, of course, also involves an element of risk – particularly if the regional lead’s decisions don’t result in what they hoped for.
“Simply following global blueprints is a lot safer than going off-script,” says Edward Bray. “If you go out on a limb and your idea doesn’t deliver what you said it would, you’ve got to shoulder the responsibility. But in order to drive business growth and really influence decisions, you have to base everything you do on a deep and broad understanding of your local customers and trends across your region. This is something that global teams can’t provide, but it’s not their responsibility to. It’s yours.”