Meet Mona Souli, our Community and Strategy Director at STRAT7 Researchbods, heading up the global division within our dedicated Community Management and Strategy team. This team isn’t just about fostering engagement within our clients’ communities; it’s about championing their brand and audience at every level. Each team member acts as both the primary point of contact for community members and as a brand representative, deeply understanding client needs and audiences to ensure they become effective advocates of the brand.
In this role, our team members are brand custodians, technical experts, and strategists, translating complex client needs into tailored, impactful solutions that resonate across global markets. This combination of brand understanding and strategic expertise is what makes the team essential, and it’s what sets us apart in the world of Community Management.
In this blog, Mona explores how her team brings this unique balance of cultural insight and strategic thinking to the world of community management, guiding global brands to not only resonate within diverse local markets but also uphold a global presence. She shares the team’s approach to immersing in brand identities, navigating cultural nuances, and creating tailored strategies that drive success worldwide.
Let me start by calling out one big trait about STRAT7 Researchbods that I absolutely pride myself on as a Community and Strategy Director: we thrive on blending cultural awareness with community strategy. This culture and business identity fusion is central to everything we do, from expert-driven research and community management to nurturing global brand partnerships. Our team of bilingual and multilingual experts, along with our offices in the UK, US, and Bulgaria, enables us to expertly guide global brands through the complexities of diverse markets. As part of STRAT7, an agency network spanning 12 countries, we’re exceptionally positioned to provide insights and support across multiple regions, helping our clients achieve impactful, market-specific strategies on a global scale. Our ability to operate across cultural spheres is not just an asset – it’s central to our approach. And as we already service clients worldwide, I’m excited to share with you all how determined we are to take our blueprint for global expansion even further in 2025!
At the core of our approach is the understanding that global relevance isn’t just about connecting with people everywhere; it’s about connecting deeply with people in specific places. To be globally relevant, brands need to resonate with diverse audiences while maintaining a consistent identity. For us in community management and strategy, this balance is absolutely crucial.
Our team doesn’t just know about cultural nuances – we live them! We understand that in each market, different cultural factors shape consumer behaviour, from social norms and values to language and even how products are perceived. Whether we’re talking about adapting content to fit local customs or tailoring how we manage communities to meet regional preferences, our multilingual team ensures that our clients’ communities feel genuinely local, even within a global context.
While cultural adaptation is key for us, so is maintaining global relevance. For brands to succeed, they need to walk that fine line between embracing and adapting to local markets and maintaining a consistent core message. This is where we come in. Our expertise feeds into helping businesses understand diverse markets without compromising their broader, international appeal.
I’d like to emphasise though, that for us, community strategy isn’t just about meeting the needs of individual markets – it’s about aligning those strategies with a brand’s global identity. By addressing local demands while keeping a universal appeal, we always aim to help brands sustain their global success. Our ability to personalise a strategy for each market while maintaining the overall brand identity ensures that our clients remain both relevant and resonant, no matter where they operate.
When we begin working with global clients, one of the first steps is our joint onboarding immersion session. This isn’t just a formality – it’s the foundation of everything that follows. Before we get into the technical build of a new community, we immerse ourselves in the brand’s true essence. My team and I take this time to deeply understand each client’s values, goals, and aspirations, ensuring we know exactly what success looks like to them.
These immersion sessions, where we engage directly with our client’s team, help us to ultimately align our strategies with their vision. We conduct in-depth research to gain insight into their market, target audience, and competitive landscape, which allows us to make informed recommendations from the very beginning. This phase is especially crucial for global brands, as our cultural and linguistic understanding not only helps us deepen our relationships with them further, but also enables us to benchmark cultural nuances across different markets.
By the time we’re ready to launch the community, we’re fully attuned to our client’s journey and know exactly how to make their community successful based on their definition of success. It is precisely this level of immersion and understanding what sets us apart – and it’s a key reason why our partnerships are so strong.
With our multilingual talent and offices in key global markets, we’re perfectly positioned to continue expanding our global reach. We already serve clients in various regions around the world, but our sights are set on going even further. Our blueprint for global growth is grounded in our team’s expertise and the deep, trust-based relationships we’ve built with our clients.
I’m confident that with the right people on the ground and our culturally attuned approach, there’s nothing stopping us from taking our global expansion to the next level. We’ve shown time and time again that we can help brands unlock insights that are not only myth-busters but also drive success, no matter where they are in the world. And the best part? We’re only just getting started.
In summary, we proudly bridge the gap between our clients’ brands and their audiences, wherever they are. Our ability to manage communities with both localised strategies and a global perspective makes us a valuable partner to global brands looking to grow their presence and engage more meaningfully with their customers.
With our strategy in place and a team ready to expand, I say bring on the next chapter!
Mona Souli
Community and Strategy Director
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