What is the local competitor set, customer profile, regulatory framework, channel structure?

2. Set global and local objectives. Global objectives might be brand awareness and market share; local objectives might be customer acquisition cost and local profitability. 3.

What is standardisation?

Same product, same brand, same campaign everywhere. Economies of scale; consistent identity. Best for products where customer needs are similar globally (software, business consulting, premium consumer electronics, B2B technology).

What is customisation?

Tailor product, packaging, pricing and promotion to each local market. Better local fit; higher revenue per market. Best for products where culture, taste, regulation or reimbursement systems vary materially (food and beverage, retail banking, healthcare, regulated industries).

What is the glocal hybrid?

Most large global businesses combine both. McDonald's runs the same brand globally (golden arches, "I'm lovin' it") with a standardised core menu (Big Mac, fries) plus customised local items (McSpicy Paneer in India, Maccas Brekkie Wrap in Australia, McAloo Tikki in India).

Global brand built over four decades. Largely standardised product (the same implant works in any patient). Highly customised go-to-market (local regulatory submissions, local reimbursement-system engagement, local clinician and audiologist relationships).

Standardised software product. Largely standardised global brand. Mostly self-serve and channel-driven go-to-market across about 200 countries.

Rigorously consistent global brand identity. Largely standardised product range. Localised store curation (each store is designed for its specific street and city).

Standardised brand and basic product range (T-shirts, denim, basics). Customised seasonal range and store assortment for each region. Price points adjusted to each market's purchasing power.

Acquired Homebase in 2016, rebranded as Bunnings, attempted to import the Australian model. Divested for around 1 pound in 2018-2019 after roughly half a billion pound loss. The case is widely studied as an example of insufficient customisation - the Australian model (large warehouse, weekend-DIY focus, cafe and playground for kids) did not match UK customer preferences or shopping behaviour.

NSWBusiness StudiesSyllabus dot point

How do businesses adapt marketing strategies for global markets?

Marketing strategies - global marketing - global branding, standardisation, customisation, global pricing, competitive positioning

A focused answer to the HSC Business Studies dot point on global marketing strategies. Global branding, standardisation versus customisation, global pricing methods, and competitive positioning, with worked Australian examples from Cochlear, Atlassian, Bunnings, Aesop and Cotton On.

Generated by Claude Opus 4.710 min answerUpdated 2026-05-27

Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed

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Quick answer

Global marketing strategies combine global branding (consistent global identity - Aesop's apothecary aesthetic, Cochlear's gold-standard brand, Atlassian's developer-productivity positioning), standardisation versus customisation (same product everywhere v tailored to local market; most businesses run a "glocal" hybrid), global pricing (standardised USD pricing, market-based local pricing, or cost-based plus local margin), and competitive positioning (consistent global position with locally-tailored execution). Australian examples include Cochlear's customised go-to-market within a standardised product strategy, Atlassian's largely-standardised software model, Aesop's rigorously consistent global brand, and the Bunnings UK failure case as a cautionary example of insufficient customisation.

What this dot point is asking

NESA wants you to understand how Australian businesses (and global businesses operating in Australia) make global marketing decisions: how much to standardise versus customise, how to build a global brand, how to set global prices, and how to position competitively across markets. Section II questions on global marketing are usually 4 to 6 marks; Section III often asks you to design a global marketing plan for a hypothetical Australian business expanding overseas.

The answer

Why go global?

Australian businesses go global for several reasons.

Market size. Australia has approximately 26 million people; global markets are far larger. A business with a fixed-cost R&D or brand investment recovers it faster across larger markets.
Growth. Once the domestic market is mature (Bunnings is in every regional centre; Cochlear's Australian penetration is high), growth has to come from offshore.
Risk diversification. Multiple markets reduces exposure to any single economy.
Scale economics. Production, R&D and brand investment costs spread over larger global volumes.

Examples of Australian businesses that derive most of their revenue from offshore: Cochlear (around 95 percent), CSL (around 90 percent), BHP (most), Atlassian (around 90 percent), Aesop (most).

Global branding

A global brand uses the same name, logo, visual identity, brand personality and core positioning across every country. Strong global brands have:

Recognition. Consumers recognise the brand on sight.
Trust. A purchase from the brand is predictable.
Pricing power. Customers will pay a premium for the brand.
Defensible position. Competitors find it hard to displace an established global brand.

Building a global brand is expensive and slow. Coca-Cola, Apple and Nike spent decades and billions of dollars on global brand building. Australian businesses are unlikely to match that scale of marketing investment but can build strong global brands in narrower niches.

Australian examples of global brand building.

Aesop. Distinctive minimalist apothecary identity rigorously maintained across approximately 400 stores worldwide. The brand identity itself is the product.
Cochlear. The "Cochlear" brand among audiologists, ENT surgeons and hearing-impaired patients globally is the gold standard. The brand commands a premium price and is the basis of around 80 percent global market share in hearing implants.
Atlassian. "Atlassian" plus the product brands (Jira, Confluence, Trello, Bitbucket) are well-known among software developers globally.
Lululemon. Originally a Canadian yoga-wear brand, now widely available in Australia. Demonstrates how a focused brand identity can spread globally.
Cotton On. Geelong-headquartered apparel retailer with stores across approximately 18 countries. The Cotton On brand is well-known among teenage and young-adult customers in those markets.

Standardisation versus customisation

The classic global-marketing tension.

Standardisation: Same product, same brand, same campaign everywhere. Economies of scale; consistent identity. Best for products where customer needs are similar globally (software, business consulting, premium consumer electronics, B2B technology).
Customisation (adaptation): Tailor product, packaging, pricing and promotion to each local market. Better local fit; higher revenue per market. Best for products where culture, taste, regulation or reimbursement systems vary materially (food and beverage, retail banking, healthcare, regulated industries).
The glocal hybrid: Most large global businesses combine both. McDonald's runs the same brand globally (golden arches, "I'm lovin' it") with a standardised core menu (Big Mac, fries) plus customised local items (McSpicy Paneer in India, Maccas Brekkie Wrap in Australia, McAloo Tikki in India).
Australian examples of the hybrid

BHP. Standardised global brand (used in B2B and ESG communications); customised local stakeholder engagement (community relations programmes tailored to Pilbara communities, Chilean communities, Saskatchewan communities).
Telstra International. Australian brand for the consumer business; customised B2B telecoms brand and product set for the Asia-Pacific enterprise market.
Bunnings. Largely standardised brand and store format across Australia and New Zealand; the UK Bunnings experiment (2016-2018, acquired Homebase, divested at loss) failed partly because the Australian model did not customise to UK preferences.

Global pricing

Global pricing requires choosing between three approaches.

1. Standardised global price

A single price in every country (often denominated in USD). Common in B2B technology (software per-seat licences) and luxury (a Rolex watch costs broadly similar in every country before tax).

Pros: simple, consistent, prevents grey-market arbitrage (where customers in expensive countries buy from cheap-country resellers).

Cons: leaves money on the table in high-willingness-to-pay markets; prices out customers in low-income markets.

2. Market-based local pricing

Price set in each country based on local willingness to pay, local competition and local cost. Apple iPhones, for example, sell at different local-currency prices in Australia, the US, the UK and India.

Pros: maximises revenue in each market.

Cons: enables grey-market arbitrage; can attract complaints about price discrimination (the Australian Productivity Commission has examined "Australia tax" pricing on software and consumer electronics).

3. Cost-based plus local margin

Set price based on local cost-to-serve (which varies with freight, duty, distribution cost, local salesforce cost) plus a target margin. Common in industrial products and services.

Worked example. Cochlear's implant systems sell at country-specific prices reflecting local reimbursement regimes (NHS in the UK, public insurance in EU countries, private insurance and self-pay in the US, Medicare in Australia). The cost base is similar across markets but the price varies materially with the local payer mix.

Competitive positioning globally

Global positioning is the choice of where in the competitive landscape to compete - and how to communicate that position to customers in each market.

The positioning frameworks from Topic 2 (in marketing-strategies-product-and-price) apply globally. The added complexity is that competitors and customer expectations vary across markets.

Worked example: Aesop. Globally positioned as premium niche skincare with a literary intellectual personality. In each market, the local competitors are different:

In Australia, against MECCA-distributed premium brands.
In the US, against Le Labo, Glossier, Aesop's L'Oreal sister brands.
In Japan, against the deep local premium skincare market (Shiseido, SK-II).
In Europe, against L'Occitane, Diptyque, Ouai.

The global positioning is constant; the local competitive context varies, and so does the in-store curation, the partnership choices (which independent boutiques to be sold alongside) and the local PR strategy.

Worked example: Atlassian. Globally positioned as the developer-team productivity platform. In each market, the competitive context varies - in the US, against Microsoft (GitHub, Azure DevOps), GitLab and Salesforce; in Europe, against the same plus regional vendors; in Asia, against an emerging set of regional and Chinese-vendor alternatives. Atlassian's global brand and product are largely standardised; what differs is the regional go-to-market intensity and the channel-partner network.

Worked Australian global marketing examples

Cochlear: Global brand built over four decades. Largely standardised product (the same implant works in any patient). Highly customised go-to-market (local regulatory submissions, local reimbursement-system engagement, local clinician and audiologist relationships). Country-by-country pricing reflecting local payer mix. Premium global positioning as the gold standard.
Atlassian: Standardised software product. Largely standardised global brand. Mostly self-serve and channel-driven go-to-market across about 200 countries. Pricing in USD with some local-currency adjustment. Positioning as the developer-team productivity company.
Aesop: Rigorously consistent global brand identity. Largely standardised product range. Localised store curation (each store is designed for its specific street and city). Premium positioning globally.
Cotton On: Standardised brand and basic product range (T-shirts, denim, basics). Customised seasonal range and store assortment for each region. Price points adjusted to each market's purchasing power. Positioned as accessible fashion for teenage and young-adult customers.
Bunnings (UK failure case): Acquired Homebase in 2016, rebranded as Bunnings, attempted to import the Australian model. Divested for around 1 pound in 2018-2019 after roughly half a billion pound loss. The case is widely studied as an example of insufficient customisation - the Australian model (large warehouse, weekend-DIY focus, cafe and playground for kids) did not match UK customer preferences or shopping behaviour. UK customers wanted smaller stores and more home-decor focus.

The global marketing process

Putting the elements together.

Situational analysis. SWOT in each target market. What is the local competitor set, customer profile, regulatory framework, channel structure?
Set global and local objectives. Global objectives might be brand awareness and market share; local objectives might be customer acquisition cost and local profitability.
Choose target markets. Sequence the country roll-out (developed markets first; lighthouse customers; channel readiness).
Decide standardise v customise across the marketing mix. Product, price, promotion, place, people, process, physical evidence.
Implement and monitor. Localised execution with global reporting and feedback loops.

Worked example

"Evaluate the global marketing strategy of a contemporary Australian business. (8 marks)"

Plan. Pick Cochlear; cover branding, standardise v customise, pricing, positioning, and an evaluation.

Sample response (extract).

"Cochlear is a Macquarie Park-headquartered medical-device manufacturer with approximately 80 percent share of the global hearing-implant market. About 95 percent of revenue comes from offshore. Its global marketing strategy combines standardisation and customisation in a way that fits its product and regulatory context.

For global branding, the 'Cochlear' brand is the gold standard among audiologists, ENT surgeons and hearing-impaired patients. The brand has been built over four decades of clinical evidence, post-implantation outcomes data, and engineering reputation. It commands a premium price.

For standardisation versus customisation, the implant itself is largely standardised - the same engineering serves any patient anywhere. Marketing communications and clinical-education programmes are also largely consistent. What is customised is go-to-market - reimbursement systems are country-specific (NHS in the UK, public insurance in the EU, private insurance and self-pay in the US, Medicare and private health insurance in Australia). The sales motion, pricing and account management are tailored to the local payer mix.

For global pricing, Cochlear sets country-specific prices reflecting local reimbursement regimes. A device system might be priced at one level for an NHS contract and another for a US private-insurance customer, reflecting the negotiating dynamic in each market.

For competitive positioning, Cochlear is the premium-quality, gold-standard player globally, competing against MED-EL (Austria) and Advanced Bionics (US-based, owned by Sonova). Cochlear's positioning relies on the strongest clinical evidence base and the longest post-implant follow-up data.

Evaluation: the global marketing strategy is highly effective. The standardised brand and product capture scale economies in R&D and manufacturing; the customised local go-to-market captures local revenue at the highest possible price. The strategic risk is that any major recall or quality issue would damage the brand globally, which is why the quality strategy in operations is so investment-heavy. On balance, Cochlear's global marketing is a textbook example of how a focused Australian business can build and defend a leading global position."

Exam-style practice questions

Practice questions written in the style of NESA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.

2023 HSC-style6 marksDistinguish between standardisation and customisation as global marketing strategies. Use examples of Australian businesses operating globally.

Show worked answer →

A 6-mark distinction needs both strategies defined, the contrast, and worked examples for each.

Standardisation: The same product, brand, positioning and (often) marketing campaign is used in every country. Pros: economies of scale in production, advertising and brand building; consistent global brand identity. Cons: ignores local taste and regulatory differences; may not maximise revenue in any single market.
Customisation (sometimes "adaptation"): The product, packaging, pricing or positioning is tailored to each local market. Pros: better fit with local preferences and laws; higher local revenue. Cons: higher cost (multiple SKUs, multiple campaigns); fragmented brand identity.
Standardisation example: Atlassian: Jira, Confluence and Trello are the same software product everywhere - same features, same user interface, same brand identity. Marketing language is translated but the positioning is consistent globally (the developer-team productivity company). Atlassian's go-to-market is largely standardised because software does not need local product adaptation.
Customisation example: Cochlear: Implant design is largely standardised (a hearing implant is the same human anatomy in any country) but Cochlear's go-to-market is significantly customised. Reimbursement systems are country-specific (NHS in the UK, public insurance in the EU, private insurance in the US, Medicare in Australia), so the sales motion, pricing and account management are tailored. Local regulatory submissions are required in each country.

Most large global businesses use a "glocal" hybrid - standardise where it pays (brand identity, core product platform) and customise where it must (regulatory, language, payment).

Markers reward (1) clear distinction, (2) the pros and cons of each, (3) a worked example showing each in operation.

2022 HSC-style5 marksExplain the role of global branding and competitive positioning in successful global marketing.