COMPANIES DOING IT RIGHT A GLOBAL DIGITAL APPROACH WITH A LOCAL FLAVOUR
Scotiabank www.scotiabank.com
As Canada’s most international bank, Scotiabank has a digital presence in 28 countries (Canada plus 27 others in Latin America and the Caribbean). As noted by Ian Deverteuil from BMO Capital Markets in his 2007 Analyst report, Scotiabank’s international websites look “eerily similar.” This is no coincidence. Scotiabank manages the majority of its global sites through a centrally hosted content management system that preserves brand equity across markets by strictly enforcing brand guidelines such as colour, fonts & logos. While some elements of the sites are centrally deployed, the system encourages localization at a country level. According to Chris MacDonald, Scotiabank’s Director & Head of Digital Marketing: “Each website is run as an entity onto itself so there’s no cookie cutter content. Every country has content customized for the local market. For example, Jamaica imagery is different to Dominican Republic which is different to Canada.” The Scotiabank global digital approach doesn’t stop at websites. They run a complex digital marketing strategy that leverages learnings from North America across developing markets. A large focus for international markets is on Google’s search and content network and is centrally managed out of Canada. Larysa Rodriguez, Director of Digital Marketing for Scotiabank’s International Banking division notes that “Digital used to be a luxury but now it’s a requirement. Our customers are online so we need to be there.” She also advises other Canadian businesses looking to use digital to go global to focus on metrics and results. “There has to be a strategy behind digital and a measurable approach. A plan needs to line up to the wider marketing objective, be integrated across channels and demonstrate results.”
Canadian Marketing Association December 2009 • 17