What's so different about marketing to Quebec?
Find out what Quebec wants!
If you are a business owner here in Canada, chances are, you are also marketing your products and services to Quebec. How often do you come across phrases like "That won't work for Quebec" or "You'll need to do that differently for the Quebec market" when discussing marketing and sales strategies with your team?
The biggest difference between Quebec and the rest of Canada is obviously the language.
Québécois predominantly speak, read and write in Quebec French, which means that they also prefer to consume products and services that are marketed in their native language. Interestingly enough though, this does not apply to the consumption of online content. Studies found that
Québécois consume as much English content as they do French content.
Does it surprise you to know, that 24% of Canada's online audience consists of people from Quebec? Did you know that Canada continues to lead the world in online engagement, with visitors spending an average of 45 hours per month online? These kinds of numbers are a great opportunity for digital marketers and advertisers!
Headspace Marketing Inc. surveyed 3,000 people in order to identify consumer sentiment in Quebec versus the rest of Canada. It found that brand loyalty, coupled with a rather intense resistance to switching brands, is far more pronounced in Quebec than anywhere else. Québécois are also far less welcoming of things that are considered foreign. This makes Quebec a somewhat difficult market for companies to expand into from elsewhere.
Companies that had to specifically adapt their marketing while entering the Quebec market are such well-known names as Target, Home Depot and Cara Operations with its Kelsey's chain. In 2008 Cara Operations ultimately failed to bring the well-known neighbourhood bar and grill into Quebec. However, Target seems to have done its homework and has concentrated on ensuring that their marketing campaign comes across in a genuine and appropriate way. Target also found out that consumers in Quebec appreciate a simple approach. Their survey found that “taking measures to simplify my life” was rated far higher by francophone Quebec respondents than by anglophones in the rest of Canada. In essence, Target has decided to keep their marketing messages simple and straight forward, which has brought their brand awareness into the high 70s in Quebec.
Headspace Marketing also found out that brand loyalty is very prominent in Quebec. But most importantly to note, is that Québécois prefer to buy from companies that make an effort to cater to the specific preferences and needs of people in their locality. 67.4% of francophone Québécois find this to be a sticking point, which is an important message for all of us! Make the effort to understand your customer's wishes, wants, desires and fears and most importantly: talk to them in their language! We'd be happy to help you with that...
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To view the breakdown of Canada's online audience, visit comScore Datamine by clicking here.
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Watch a video that discussed how Target's is using Canadian cultural icons and regional locales in an attempt to connect with Canadians.
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Watch Target's first Canadian ad on YouTube.
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To obtain a quote for your English to Quebec French translation, simply send us your document in an email. We'll take care of the rest!
On the funny side:
"When English teachers snap..."
