A brief snapshot into some key differences in marketing in the USA vs the UK. When you work in marketing, you’re conscious of the marketing all around you, no less the differences in global marketing channels, approaches and styles.

Here are some of the consciously unconscious things I noticed while away in the United States for two weeks:

• Billboards in San Francisco are dominated by B2B. The well documented crazy working hours and “never switch off” culture are reflected in the fact every single billboard on the way from SFO international airport (which also happens to be just further along the 101 towards the city from Palo Alto) into the city is about a SaaS product, platform or dashboard for your business. I can’t name many of them, but what really stood out to me was one in particular that had a call to action to say “ask your developer”. Pretty insightful. Comparing that to London and the UK, apart from on the tube and business airport lounges, B2B brand ads are very much few and far between. Are we too stuck in our consideration of ATL for B2C only?

• Direct to consumer TV ads are much more prevalent. Many of the newer brands - 30 day trial mattresses to period underwear to clothing subscription boxes. The nature of TV ads in the US are much more location driven - we’ve all seen the local “mattress king” ads in Sitcoms over the years. This remains true still, and so you can get away with more localised ads which have a lower cost per TVR equivalent. If you run a business with a local focus, TV is much more accessible.

• Sticking with TV, ads also use a phone number much more than ads in the UK as their call to action. Interesting in the context of the very online and digital based UK TV advertising market. Could this be more inclusive for the majority of viewers, where calling is more comfortable? Are the US audience less online (research suggests that they are), is it food for thought for us hyper digitalised marketers that maybe think that the traditional methods of advertising are “dead”, but actually still work pretty well? Even better, a catchy jingle that you don’t change for 30 years (or longer). Being of 50% American stock lots of family holidays growing up were to visit grandparents and extended family. With the TV on in the background of most catchups, these jingles have stayed with me, embedded in my subconscious for years. Such as “Save Big Money At Menards” (if you know it, you know it, if you don’t, here it is. It’ll be stuck in your head all day. You’re welcome.).
   

• The focus is on the personal. Lawyers and estate agents. It’s not the brand you’re buying, it’s the person, so they’re front and centre on billboards (even lawyers that specialise in fighting for medical insurance claims…), for sale boards. Personal branding is much more of a thing there, and in some professions, I think worth looking at (any service business would stand to benefit from this).

• Portal by Facebook is coming. Claiming to turn your whole TV into a video calling device (and with claims that you can see more, so you can video chat with your family while they get on with cooking dinner). In fact since I’ve written this article I’ve been targeted by Portal ads.

• Discounts and free shipping are the norm. More than sign up offers, regular discounts are much more of a thing in the US.
  
  

• The framing of an “upgrade” is everywhere. Make no mistake, the largest economy in the world didn’t get there by accident, and it’s much more blatant that cold hard cash greases the wheels. Tell people you’re on your honeymoon? You’ll get an upgrade. Fancy making your life 5% easier at the airport? Pay $28 a head to get bumped up the group boarding queue on an internal flight. You can even pay to have a slightly easier experience through airport security.
  
  

• Digital marketing is pretty much the same. After two weeks I didn’t fall into categories enough to see anything other than live location based ads. Consultants targeting my professional Instagram page were the same amount of 'The REAL secret to EXPLOSIVE Instagram growth’ which is seemingly market agnostic and the same amount of shrouded in unknowable secrecy (but you definitely have to stump up c. $399 to find out…no thank you).

A short overview but some hopefully interesting points!