Oban International

05/10/2026

ICYMI: Customer service can mean very different things in London, Tokyo, Mumbai and São Paulo 🌍

The tricky bit for international brands is knowing what “helpful” looks like in each market.

We’ve taken a look at what that means for customer experience, search and the information people need.

Read it here:

Explore how customer expectations and search behaviours vary across international markets, and what this means for global brands.

30/09/2026

⚠️ A delayed delivery in London...
📷️ A faulty camera in Tokyo...
😱 An unfamiliar bank charge in Mumbai...
📦️ A parcel held up in São Paulo...
..might all look like different customer service problems. But underneath them is the same question: what does the customer need to know, and how easily can they find it?

Customer expectations, search behaviour and the information people need can vary considerably between markets. And as AI increasingly becomes part of how people research, buy and resolve problems, the information brands provide has an even bigger role to play.

Our latest article looks at what this means for international customer service, SEO and the wider customer journey 💡

Read the article →

Explore how customer expectations and search behaviours vary across international markets, and what this means for global brands.

23/09/2026

Search has been getting more conversational for years. But what happens when that conversation becomes part of the advertising environment? 💬

ChatGPT Ads give advertisers a richer picture of what someone is trying to do, including their circumstances, priorities and concerns, rather than simply the words they typed into a search box.

That could have interesting implications for international paid media 🌍

The same need can look very different from one country to another. People use different language, have different expectations and respond to different reasons to buy.

So if AI is getting better at understanding context, how good are we at understanding the context behind it? 🤔

In our latest article, we take a look at what ChatGPT Ads could mean for search intent, localisation and international paid media:

Keywords aren't going anywhere, but context is changing the game. Find out what ChatGPT Ads mean for search intent and international paid media.

18/09/2026

ICYMI: Thinking about expanding into another country? 🌎

The obvious questions tend to get most of the attention: How big is the market? How fast is it growing? Who are the competitors?

But some of the things that can make or break an expansion are less obvious.

How much will returns cost? Do customers trust a business they’ve never heard of? Who controls distribution? How much localisation is really needed? And what happens when AI starts changing how people find and compare products?

We’ve pulled together nine of the hidden costs worth looking at before committing to a new market: https://buff.ly/VXJjrS6

Expanding into a new market involves more than finding demand. Discover nine hidden costs businesses need to consider before entering a new market.

16/09/2026

🎤🌎 With all-star global tours abound, which countries are buying concert tickets the most? (via Statista) https://buff.ly/n6cOVkJ

14/09/2026

ICYMI: Our article looks at a slightly uncomfortable question for digital marketing: what if we're getting better at optimisation while making the internet worse to use? 🤔

Based on the next instalment of Viewpoints, Oban’s forthcoming booklet, it brings together perspectives from across our team on AI, creativity, personalisation, measurement, and the changing nature of online discovery.

Worth a read if you missed it first time around: https://buff.ly/j1rz5hf

The internet has never been more powerful. We explore how AI and optimisation are changing online experiences, and what brands can do better.

11/09/2026

ICYMI: Google has changed how Target CPA and Target ROAS campaigns behave when they're limited by budget 🎯

If you've got campaigns consistently beating their targets, you may see performance move closer to the number you've set.

That sounds simple, but it does raise a less obvious question: does that number still represent what you want the campaign to achieve?

We’re looking at what the change means in practice, particularly for international campaigns, where the same CPA or ROAS can mean very different things in different markets.

Read our take here: https://buff.ly/wXKBVvU

Our take on the latest Google Ads bidding update: what it means for Target CPA and ROAS, and why advertisers should rethink their targets.

09/09/2026

What’s keeping people on social media these days? 📲 (via Statista) https://buff.ly/fMmpgu9

07/09/2026

ICYMI: there’s a global AI race under way, but the gap between the US and China and everyone else is enormous 🤯

So who comes next? And where does Britain fit in?

Our recent article looks at the different strengths countries are building, from British AI research and investment to French nuclear power, Asian semiconductor expertise and the Gulf’s huge infrastructure ambitions.

Read it here: https://buff.ly/CLMiLyE

The US and China dominate AI, but countries including Britain, France, Singapore, India and South Korea are building different advantages.

03/09/2026

Sometimes, expanding into a new market can look deceptively simple 🌍 There’s a large population, a growing category, manageable competition and a product that’s already working well elsewhere, so the opportunity can seem fairly obvious.

It’s only when you get into the detail that some of the complications start to emerge. Customers may be more price-sensitive than expected, local competitors may have distribution well covered, marketplaces may be more important than anticipated, and returns and fulfilment can make a noticeable difference to the economics 💸

AI brings another complication. It can make research and localisation much faster, but it can also make it easier to move ahead with assumptions that haven’t been properly tested.

Our latest article looks at the less obvious costs of expanding internationally, from local competition and customer trust to localisation, AI-shaped search, operational readiness and the practical realities of selling abroad.

Read more here 👉 https://buff.ly/VXJjrS6

Expanding into a new market involves more than finding demand. Discover nine hidden costs businesses need to consider before entering a new market.