South Africa, Oct. 28 -- Earlier in my career, I worked in marketing for a large global FMCG company. I eventually left, and looking back, one of my biggest frustrations was the single story that drove decision-making. Strategy for our brands was decided elsewhere and imposed on us. Variants that had done well in Brazil were assumed to work in South Africa because "it's also an emerging market." New products, tested in a central innovation hub, were launched and simply expected to succeed in Africa. The local story rarely got a seat at the table.

Marketing has become more sensitive to local nuance since then. But I've been in boardrooms recently where the efficiency of a global insight still wins out over what would work in hyperlocal co...