Going Global With A Local

By David Landis, President, LCI

I just returned from my first-ever trip to Argentina: we visited Buenos Aires, Salta and Bariloche. Besides the sheer beauty, the delicious food, top-quality wines and the friendliness of the residents, one important aspect impressed me as a professional communicator.

How a local can make all the difference. 

If, like me, you love to travel, you often visit a place but don’t really get to know it because you’re experiencing it as a tourist. This trip was different. We started in Buenos Aires, where our PR affiliate, the indomitable Dominique Biquard, Agustin Stellatelli and Santiago Peixoto from Identia PR, welcomed us with open arms. We visited Dominique’s beautiful home in the Retiro district and it was like being transported to either a pre-War apartment on New York’s upper East Side or the 7^th arondissement in Paris. Besides the eye-popping floor-to-ceiling Argentinian art, there was so much more to make it special: the food, the company and the conversations made us all feel as if we were invited to an intimate soiree. Here’s the funniest thing for a (North) American: Argentinians start eating around 9 pm; at 11 pm, we thought we’d overstayed our welcome – but for the locals, the party was just getting started!

From Buenos Aires, we flew to Salta, a colonial city in the North where we met up with Gareth and Ian, our consummate tour guides from Five Senses Traveller. These accomplished professionals showed us a side to Argentina we had no idea existed: colonial architecture in Salta, five-star wineries in Cafayate that rival the Napa Valley, canyons that can hold their own with the American Southwest and phenomenal Inca ruins. Throughout our five-day tour, Gareth and Ian again made us feel like a local and imparted wisdom that a visitor would never know. For instance, who could have predicted that Argentinian roads are – shall we say – a bit challenging to navigate? Or that police stops along those roads are ubiquitous and you have to know what to do when stopped and how to show deference to the officials?

What I learned is this: locals communicate something special that makes you understand and appreciate the place you’re visiting more.

It also helps you conduct business more effectively. That’s why LCI is a member of the worldwide Public Relations Global Network. This network has more than 50 agency affiliates globally. As a result, LCI is able to provide on-the-ground communications service and local knowledge with agencies that not only are rooted in their communities, but that also understand the local business market.

It gives new meaning to the words “going global with a local.”

What’s your favorite local tip in your community? Please comment below or tweet me @david_landis.

David Landis is President/CEO of Landis Communications Inc. (LCI). He’s proud to have visited six continents and at last count, 27 countries worldwide.