I was in Austin, Texas, for the PRSA Counselors Academy Spring Conference and came across a great example of localizing a global firm’s marketing.
Austin refers to itself as the “Food Truck Capital of the World”. Here in Los Angeles, food trucks are typically mobile. Down there, they’re stationary and usually clustered in small “parks”. There are lots like these all over the city, and among the food trucks virtually every conceivable cuisine is represented.
The conference I was attending was at the Austin Four Seasons. The hotel offered a regular room-service menu, of course—but they also offered a “food-truck express” menu. This menu was smaller, but guaranteed your food would be delivered to your room at food-truck speed: in 15 minutes or less. I tried it one morning for breakfast and indeed had my meal within 15 minutes.
The food-truck menu was convenient, but I also found it to be a smart way to take the Four Seasons’ global marketing and make it local. The hotel’s nod to Austin’s food trucks imbues it with a bit of local character. It’s a small gesture with an outsized impact, making their guests’ stay—including my own—that much more different and fun.
