Over 10 million Poles live outside Poland and over 38 million in Poland. Understanding demographics and the psychological profile of Poles are the keys for a successful communication strategy for any digital marketing Polish agency in the UK.
Most Polish citizens are productive employees, aged 18-55, very often with children. They belong to the most preferred by employers groups: generation X and Y, born between 1966 and 1994. According to OEC statistics, over 91% of Poles completed upper secondary education, and many are educated to bachelors or masters level, or higher. The transformation of the political and economic system of Poland is clearly impacting individual consumers, households, and businesses, and Polish people appear to be making a rapid transition in many ways. However, at least some attitudes and behaviors appear to be somewhat resistant to change. Polish consumers use Facebook slightly differently than the Brits or Americans, for example. According to surveys and reports prepared by several agencies such as Wave or Paw, Facebook seem to be our first choice when it comes to social media. While Instagram or Snapchat are almost as popular as Facebook in the West, Poles prefer Facebook for various different reasons. If you take into account a representative group of 16 to 54 year olds, main social media users, it has been revealed that almost 70% of them use Facebook daily. They treat this social channel as good fun, an escape from daily life issues. Almost as important for Poles, appears to be their contact with family members and friends, and sharing knowledge or emotions.
So, what Polish people in the UK are the most interested in, and what to avoid when communicating with them:
1. Avoid being too fixed on your problem solving idea. Polish people like commenting, picking on little things that might not be consistent in your brand messaging. For example, if you offer a great business solution for any entrepreneur, some might analyze what is hidden behind your message, and how rich you actually are to advise them on how to do something. As a nation we tend to be suspicious and too analytical sometimes. Trust is not the greatest national asset for Poles. Avoid confrontation with Poles and try to solve any negative comment with smile on your face. Preferably, choose some relevant influencers who can show their appreciation for your product or idea by involving their supporting crowd to spread your message.
2. Stay as informative as you can. Poles value a good piece of advice, especially when it is scientifically backed. We are also very emotional so if you don’t recognize this particular difference and you hit the Polish soft spot, your brand might be smashed by negative comments in no time. Poles are taught to a very high standard, with extensive knowledge of geography, biology, history, even with subjects like psychology or physics. Not to mention that almost 50% of Poles hold a master’s degree. We are opinionative even about subjects like medicines, or vaccines. If your brand has a particular impact on the environment or kids, for example, it is worth knowing your science behind any offered solutions in order to back them up when confronting Poles.
3. Avoid sensitive subjects such as kids’ immunization or politics. Poles are a health sensitive nation and there is a lot of negativity with regards to the poisonous influence of vaccines. When you speak to Poles about them, make sure that your information is up to date and you are capable of answering sometimes very difficult, medical question to back your point of view. Anything related to health issues or politics will be a very challenging topic with Poles. We were raised with a lack of trust for both, politicians and the pharmaceutical industry.
4. Use humor. Polish people value good, humorous, content, especially when it is used in an unusual context, such as financial or insurance industry messages. Polish people are very creative, so traditional content based on numbers or statistics is less attractive to them.
5. Use principals of emotional branding. This is still a relatively new type of interaction to Poles and works very well. With such a difficult history on their shoulders, Poles seem to be a very sensitive nation and react proactively to any sort of sad or scary content, especially when we can relate to their current or historical situation, while praising their achievements in world history.
6. Forget about involving your brand in any sort of discussion about “Polish concentration camps”. We are very sensitive to this particular message. Knowing our history well, there is probably no Pole on Earth who can agree that Poles killed any Jews. It is an extremely sensitive subject, and in fact, wiser to praise Poles for their historical achievements and their involvement in making the world a better place to live in.
7. Avoid any discussions related to religion. This is a very fragile, yet not safe topic. Most Poles are Catholics and they might not follow the Ten Commandments on a daily basis, but they are quite likely to take part in a discussion about anything related to religion, either by defending it or fighting against it.
8. Don’t talk about money too much. It is our mindset, traditionally to not like money at all. We like luxurious, stylish products, but we tend to think that most brands want to cheat, make money on us; we are price sensitive, and believe that you cannot make money lawfully. At the same time, Poles are less trustful of financial organizations, such as banks, investment companies, crypto currency, and less open to new financial solutions. Poor people are perceived as more spiritual, but success as an opposite of spiritual life is usually measured by material goods, and therefore it is important for Poles to have branded, luxurious items.
9. Health and family are the main values indicating happiness for Poles. It is worth remembering this when communicating with them. We will spend almost any money to improve our kid’s life, spending money for stylish clothes, best quality cosmetics, eco vegetables, and ballet or football lessons.
10. Poles love their food. It is rather difficult to convince Poles that any other cuisine in the world is better than Polish. Food is almost as important to us, as family and happiness and quite frankly when you visit a Polish housewife you won’t leave hungry or thirsty. Good hosting skills are very important to us and perceived as a great Polish value. Try not to complain about Polish sauerkraut stew or pierogis too much as most Poles simply love them. Our cuisine of course is not too fat or boring. When you market food to Poles, the safest way to go is to find some links to Polish tradition. Second best for Poles is Italian cuisine, so something along the pasta and pierogi line would be relevant for the Polish audience.
If you feel slightly lost in translation or Polish communication, do not hesitate to contact our inspired team of content creators. E-mail us now for a non-obligation quote: info@all4comms.com