To wrap up our 2026 Q4 Ready webinar series, we were joined by Lara Rice from BBC Studios for our fourth and final session: Navigating Local Nuances in Multi-Market Research.
As a senior research lead within BBC Studios’ global channels and streaming business, Lara operates across an exceptionally broad international remit – spanning EMEA, APAC, and expanding markets across the Nordics, Poland, the Netherlands, and Turkey.
In an increasingly globalised industry, it is easy for research briefs to treat international markets as identical rows on a spreadsheet. However, as Lara highlighted, consumer habits, brand perceptions, and even the emotional interpretation of standard survey questions vary dramatically from one culture to another.
Here is a recap of Lara’s key principles for designing multi-market studies that capture true local nuance without losing global consistency.
1. Local Nuance Goes Way Beyond Translation
When teams talk about “localising” international research, the conversation often stops at translating a questionnaire into the local language. For Lara and the BBC Studios team, language is only a fraction of the equation.
True local nuance requires understanding several layers of local context before fieldwork even begins; for BBC Studios, it’s all about:
- Internal Commercial Structures: Understanding how the business monetises, generates revenue, and distributes content in that specific territory.
- Macroeconomics and Geopolitics: Recognising the broader socio-economic conditions shaping consumer confidence and spending power.
- The Local Media Ecosystem: Mapping local competitor platforms, device usage, and viewing habits.
- Cultural Attitudes and Subcultures: Decoding how different demographic groups and subcultures perceive specific genres or concepts.
“Local nuance really is at the heart of everything that we try to do. It covers so much more than taking a standard questionnaire and translating it.”
2. The Danger of Copy-Pasting Success: A Tale of Two Markets
One of the most compelling case studies shared during the session illustrated why researchers and teams can never assume that a successful strategy in one country will automatically work in another.
In the Netherlands, BBC Studios identified confusion between their drama channel (BBC First) and linear BBC channels available locally. Following extensive qualitative and quantitative research, they successfully launched BBC NL – a localised channel with Dutch subtitles, local promos, a tailored colour palette, and a fresh tone of voice. It was a resounding commercial and audience success.
Building on that victory, the team tested applying the exact same rebrand model in Poland under the name BBC Polska. However, in Polish focus groups, the concept was overwhelmingly rejected.
Polish viewers explained that “BBC Polska” sounded like a local Polish channel broadcasting domestic news and local content, whereas they loved the BBC precisely because of its authentic British heritage and international perspective.
“It was quite a good learning for us because it just goes to show: you cannot take something that is successful in one region and simply transfer it to another.”
3. Reaching Authentic Audiences in Fragmented Landscapes
Designing effective international research requires tailored recruitment and methods that account for local infrastructure and demographic realities:
- Partnering with Local Agencies: Global agencies must collaborate directly with specialists on the ground who understand regional recruitment nuances.
- Challenging Panel Cut-Offs: Standard online panels often cut off sample recruitment at age 60, inadvertently excluding core older demographics in key markets.
- Reaching Non-Digital and Rural Populations: In markets like South Africa, online-only surveys can miss the part of the population who are not active internet users. Conversely, in markets like Poland, online qualitative tools now allow researchers to connect with rural participants – such as farmers in remote villages – who were historically expensive to reach via traditional focus groups.
4. The AI Paradox: Speed vs. Cultural Understanding
While BBC Studios has fully embraced AI for data synthesis, performance tracking, financial modelling, and creating digital personas from segmentation data, Lara highlighted a clear boundary when it comes to cultural nuance.
AI excels at identifying top-line surface patterns – such as tagging content as “British” or “high quality”. However, AI consistently struggles with the ‘why’ behind the ‘what’.
What does “quality” actually mean to different audiences?
- To some viewers, for example, “quality” may signal aspirational, educational, or premium content.
- To younger audiences or in markets with complex post-colonial histories, “quality” can sometimes feel alienating, condescending, or simply boring.
“AI is good at recognising patterns… but what does ‘quality’ mean to different audiences? The word ‘quality’ doesn’t tell you what’s underneath, and it will take a long time for AI to really get to the heart of that – if it ever will.”
To prevent “AI slop” and generic outputs, human quality control and thoughtful prompt engineering remain absolutely essential.
5. The Golden Rule of Multi-Market Research
Lara concluded with a vital piece of advice for anyone stepping into multi-market research: never assume a business initiative will succeed globally simply because the numbers look great on paper.
A scoping model or algorithm might spit out impressive figures regarding scale and market potential, but on-the-ground success is ultimately shaped by real people, local culture, and regional nuances.
Summary
Managing multi-market qualitative and quantitative studies is a balancing act between global scale and local context. By involving local agency partners early, respecting cultural differences, and using AI for efficiency while keeping human judgment at the wheel, research teams can deliver insights that drive genuine commercial impact.
A massive thank you to Lara Rice for sharing with us her time, expertise, and candid reflections to close out our 2026 Q4 Ready webinar series!
Interested in finding out how we run multi-market projects at Field Notes? Get in touch! hello@fieldnotes.space
