This is an excerpt of the full interview published in the Brand Quarterly & Brand2Global ‘Global Marketing’ Special Edition.
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We recently had the opportunity to have a ‘virtual’ sit-down with Ulrich Henes, the founder of the Brand2Global conference.
Read on to discover what makes him tick; and of course, find answers to the all important questions:
- What is Brand2Global?
- Why is it here?
- Is it for you?
BQ
In addition to founding the Brand2Global Conference, you’re also involved in the Localization World Conference and The Localization Institute. It’s clear you’ve got a real passion for all things ‘Glocal’. When did you first catch that bug?
Ulrich
All the way back in high school, or gymnasium as we call it in Germany, I was always fascinated with international affairs, international business affairs. So this has really been a lifelong passion.
BQ
And that passion has also seen you become involved in not-for-profit work.
Ulrich
Yes, about four years ago I was approached by and joined a small organization called Translators Without Borders, which is following the same principles as the other ‘Without Borders’ organizations such as Doctors Without Borders.
We offer free translations by qualified translators, to non-profit organizations around the globe. We have been able to really scale up the organization recently – translating tens of thousands of free words a month.
We have also become involved in a very exciting new project, where we are the language link between various international help organizations. There are people who are experts in building relief shelters; there are people who provide medical care. What has been missing all these years, is people who know how to professionally manage the language needs that come with these efforts.
BQ
That’s definitely something that will make a real difference.
Something else you must be really proud of is the recently completed 25th Localization World Conference, with a record-setting 650 attendees. What would you say is the main reason for it’s long-term success?
Ulrich
I think the need for localization expertise, which is the adaptation of products and services for global or international markets – is growing.
It’s become an accepted standard practice that new companies need to look at the global opportunities right away, and we have been providing a place to do that. It helps also that we hold it in Europe, Asia and North America, so we can tailor the needs to those continents.
It’s been a rewarding journey since we launched the event. What I find fascinating is that we used to attract mainly an IT crowd; the Google’s, the Microsoft’s, the Apple’s, the Oracle’s – it is now becoming very diverse with global hotel chains, airlines, car-manufacturers, motorcycle manufacturers like Harley Davidson attending to learn the ins and outs of cultural diversity, language diversity, legal differences, cultural differences and so on.
BQ
That really shows how industries are changing in order to succeed through
global expansion.
Speaking of success – How do you go about ‘translating’ Localization World’s success through to the Brand2Global Conference?
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You can continue to read the full interview inside the Brand Quarterly & Brand2Global ‘Global Marketing’ Special Edition.
