Communicating within a culture or Communicating with a culture

Over the past 25 years, I've worked on local, national, and international brands.

And if there's one lesson I've learned time and time again, it's this: culture cannot be translated. It has to be understood.

That may sound obvious. Yet I still see organizations approach certain markets as little more than a language exercise. A slogan gets translated. A few visuals are adapted. A local reference is added. Then everyone wonders why the campaign failed to connect.

Because there is a fundamental difference between communicating within a culture and communicating with a culture.

The first is about delivering a message into a market.

The second is about understanding how people interpret that message, what resonates with them, what earns their trust, and what ultimately makes them care.

It may seem like a subtle distinction.

In reality, it changes everything.

Québec is probably one of the best examples of this reality.

For years, many Canadian organizations viewed Québec primarily as a French-speaking market. Language certainly matters. But language is only part of the equation.

The real challenge is cultural. And that's often where success or failure is determined.

Two markets. Two ways of telling stories.

One of the things I've always found fascinating is the difference between Québec advertising and English Canadian advertising.

The boundaries are certainly less rigid than they were thirty years ago. We consume many of the same platforms, the same content, and increasingly the same brands.

Yet when you look at the campaigns that leave a lasting impression, some differences remain remarkably consistent.

English Canada often favours a more direct style of storytelling. Messages tend to be more explicit. The narrative is usually clear and linear. A problem is identified, a solution is presented, and the benefit is explained.

Québec tends to take a different route. We are drawn to metaphor.

• We appreciate imagery that suggests rather than explains.

• We often prefer to feel something before we fully understand it.

• We like to interpret.

Québec advertising has traditionally borrowed as much from cinema, theatre, literature, and popular culture as it has from marketing itself. The objective was not simply to persuade. It was to create an emotional connection.

Of course, these are broad observations rather than hard rules. But after working on both sides of the country for many years, certain cultural patterns become difficult to ignore.

Where English Canada often asks: "What does it do?"

Québec is more likely to ask: "What does it mean?"

Here, advertising has long been part of the culture

Perhaps that is what makes Québec unique.

For decades, advertising played a role that extended beyond commerce.

Campaigns became shared references. Conversation starters. Cultural touchpoints.

They found their way into kitchens, offices, classrooms, and family gatherings.

Some advertising lines are still quoted today long after the campaigns themselves have disappeared.

Few markets in North America have maintained such an emotional relationship with advertising.

That legacy still influences how people respond to brands.

It helps explain why Québec audiences quickly recognize when a campaign has simply been adapted rather than genuinely conceived with them in mind.

People can tell when a brand is speaking to them.

They can also tell when it is merely trying to sell to them.

Cultural proximity goes beyond language

One of the most common mistakes brands make is assuming that cultural adaptation begins and ends with translation.

Language matters.

But it is rarely enough.

Understanding a culture means understanding its references.

• Its humour.

• Its contradictions.

• Its sensitivities.

• Its aspirations.

• Its history.

It means understanding what brings people into the same conversation.

The brands that succeed most consistently in Québec are not necessarily those that speak the best French.

They are the ones that demonstrate a genuine understanding of the environment in which they operate.

They do not behave like visitors. They behave like neighbours. The difference is significant.

What brands can learn from this

The lesson extends far beyond Québec.

The same principle applies whenever a brand enters a new generation, a new community, a new professional environment, or a new market.

The organizations that succeed are rarely the ones that speak the loudest.

They are usually the ones that listen most carefully.

They take the time to understand the codes, values, expectations, and conversations that already exist.

They arrive with curiosity rather than certainty.

With humility rather than dominance.

With a desire to participate in the conversation rather than control it.

Because ultimately, consumers do not embrace brands simply because those brands speak to them.

They embrace brands that demonstrate an understanding of who they are.

That is the difference between communicating within a culture and communicating with a culture.

And in a world where attention is increasingly difficult to earn, that difference often determines whether a brand is merely noticed or genuinely chosen.