Cultural understanding is essential to successful communicators. Global PR companies cover a range of local issues to produce campaigns. What works in one country will be not accepted in another. For example, for Americans and most Europeans the color white means purity but for Asians it means death; red is used by brides in China where it means luck and happiness while it means love and passion in Latin America .
Awareness of such details is crucial on campaigns. But also local practices need to be known. Practices such as the Russian zakazukhi (bought articles) can be surprising even to IPRA past President Alasdair Sutherland who has been calling for ethical behavior in media relations on different countries.
Culture goes beyond national way of life. Corporate culture is also relevant for communications especially within internal stakeholders. Strong corporate culture can make a Swedish model of power distance work well in Brazil
“The company calls its employees ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentleman. Their goal is to give their guest the best hotel experience of their lives, and their employees’ job is to provide that experience. […] If a cleaning person encounters a guest with a problem and the guest complains to her, that cleaning person has the power to improve his experience by giving him a free meal or even a free night in a room. This gives the cleaning person a strong sense of motivation, the belief that she is part of the corporate mission.”
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