Brand Beckham: Five Lessons on International Marketing From David and Victoria Beckham

Brand Beckham —the husband-and-wife partnership of former England soccer captain David Beckham and former Spice Girl Victoria, aka Posh Spice—is worth an estimated £145 million ($226 million).

How can this team of "formers" be more famous and worth so much years after their prime, you ask?

The answer, quite simply, is brilliant international marketing. The fame of "Posh and Becks" straddles five continents. Beckham is the second most-recognizable foreign word in Japan (Coca-Cola is first).

So what can David and Victoria Beckham teach us about international marketing?

1. Set up base abroad

It's not enough to regularly travel to a new market. If you want to really succeed in that market, somebody has to live there. You never really understand a culture until you've lived it. Someone in your company has to be living and breathing the culture, getting to know the people: how they speak, what they like, and how they respond to marketing.

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