The trend of Glocalization, a combination of word globalization and localization, is the new strategy opted by almost all media industries and had made a significant impact on multiculturalism in India. Glocalization is a combination of the word globalization and localization and it allows media industries to expand their business but what makes it different from globalization, and different strategies used by media industries specifically, to disseminate their content into the different cultural spheres.

If we talk about the origin of the word Glocalization, it came into the limelight when a sociologist name Roland Robertson explained the word as the simultaneity of both universalizing and particularizing tendencies.  I like to think about this in a slightly different approach, we know that Glocalization was proven as an effective and successful marketing strategy for many famous companies, but I think that the concept of Glocalization can be seen beyond the world of product marketing. For instance, Buddha dharma was originated in India initially but eventually became one of the major religions practiced in the East Asian region. Some people claimed that Buddha dharma was flexible and easy to adapt but the real question is what made it so appealing that it gained so much popularity in such a short period? And how it gained great significance in the East Asian region only? The answer to these questions is Glocalization; the Buddha dharma that we created was very different from what is being practiced in East Asia today. They modified the religion according to their culture.

The journey of Glocalization from marketing strategy to cultural integrity is very interesting. Despite being an economical concept, Glocalization surely impacts social and cultural aspects of human relations around the globe. The economic policy of 1991 opened up opportunities for local consumers in the form of global exposure but also threatens their existence in the form of global competition. Some people saw this policy as an opportunity but some people criticized the policy claiming that it will taint the prevailing cultural practices and soon India will also become a victim of Westernization. But the outcome was rather mixed, On one hand, India did fall as a victim of Westernization that promoted some very typical western ideologies such as individualism, prom, fast food, etc, but it made India familiar with cultures that were impossible to get familiar with. All thanks to the media companies that made a huge amount of global content available just a click away.

The example of McDonald’s is very prominent in understanding the concept of Glocalization. The term standardization means that you create a standard about your product and setting a trademark for their brand but McDonald’s does not have the same menu in every country the quantity is not the same everywhere, it doesn’t say much about standardization now does it? McDonald’s became the ambassador for America and came out as the benchmark for the fast-food chain. The best strategy used by McDonald’s is that they modified the menu and beverage according to a culture’s taste. The beef burger is one the best seller in the USA but in India eating beef- cow’s meat is considered offensive as the cow is practically worshiped. They replaced the beef burger with Aloo Tikki burger, and are now one of the best sellers in India, and also introduced burgers like Mc Maharaja, specially customized for Indian consumers. Similarly replacing Ronald McDonald’s mascot with Asterix (a famous French cartoon) to create a sense of belonging for McDonald’s in France. This classic mix of standardization along with localization gave McDonald’s green signal in every economy it went. Glocalization is no doubt a sustainable business model but has also received a great deal of criticism. Some feared that it is will attack local industries and producers because now consumers have access to global content that is customized to cater to the local consumer demands. It gets very difficult for the audience to differentiate between what is local and what is global. Every global product is disguised as a local brand, which implies that Glocalization is a more serious and powerful threat to local industries and producers. Another criticism that follows for Glocalization is that the process might seem successful but is very time-consuming and requires a lot of energy and money because in order to localize your product you must have good and complete knowledge of that particular local culture and market. The problem with Glocalization is that compels industries to take a huge risk, as they now have to represent local culture and if they misrepresent a certain culture they might face some very serious consequences. For example, Netflix is criticized many times for misinterpreting Indians as dusky-skinned with an over enunciated accent, similarly, every bad guy in the movie is either a Russian or a native of Islamic countries. It can be offensive to certain cultures if you represent them incorrectly. Glocalization also widens the gap between developing and developed countries. A pattern is observed in the practice of Glocalization that most developed countries are the producer and developing countries are the consumers because of their ability to provide a potential market for both raw material and final product.

Glocalization is the present and future of marketing for many industries. It can benefit both parties (producers and consumers) and can promote multiculturalism. It has given a new direction to the different industries as they market their product across the globe. It is a very sustainable business model with elements of both globalization and localization. In the coming future, Glocalization will be the only model that’ll help industries to expand. Tailored industries are the ultimate outcome of Glocalization because in a world with growing consumerism, the only way to survive is by adapting local environment. Glocalization empowers consumers and offers them tailored product that’ll preserve their sense of cultural belonging.