Many global brands focus on German digital marketing—and for good reason. Germany’s strong economy, large population and high salaries make it an attractive market. However, entering this market comes with localization challenges.
While we recommend translating and localizing your content, these efforts can be costly. Considering Germans’ proficiency in English, could using English alone be effective?
To answer that question, understanding the market’s nuances is critical. In this article, you’ll learn about German English proficiency and specific nuances to help you sell to German customers.
Here’s our recap:
Is it okay to use English in German digital marketing?
Germany is an important market for many international businesses. It’s the most populated country in the EU, with 83.3 million people as of 2024. It’s also the largest economy in the EU, making up almost 25% of the EU’s GDP. Its “.de” country domain is the second most-used worldwide, after China’s “.cn.” And, in general, Germans are well-educated and hold well-paying jobs.
Germans are also known for their high level of English. Since 1945, English has been the main foreign language taught in secondary schools. Since 2003, students have started to learn it in primary schools. According to research from Eurobarometer from the European Commission, 65% of Germans can hold a conversation in English.
In the EF EPI, a measure of English proficiency of non-native countries, Germany ranks tenth overall and eighth out of the 34 European countries measured. It scores similarly to countries like Portugal, Sweden and South Africa.
Looking deeper into the EPI, we can see that proficiency reached a peak in 2020 and has declined slightly since then. However, the average level is still very high. Bavaria is the most proficient area in the country, and Munich, its capital, is the second highest-scoring city. Saarland and Brandenburg are the lowest-scoring regions, and Essen is the lowest-scoring city. Higher age groups have lower English levels, but they’re still high overall.
So, what does this all mean? It’s more than likely that if you use English in your German digital marketing, many of your German customers will understand it. Using English in advertising in Germany is extremely common. Many companies use English slogans in their advertising or incorporate English phrases into their messaging.
Plus, many English words and key terms are much more commonly searched and used by native speakers than their German counterparts. While some of those searches are looking for what that word means, SEMrush has discovered that words like supply chain, e-commerce and content are both understood and used by Germans.
Bottom line: if you rely solely on English for your digital marketing, you’ll still see results. But if you can use German, you’ll get even better results.
The pitfalls of using English when marketing to a German audience
There are some potential pitfalls or other issues to consider if you’re going for an English-only approach to break into the German market.
For one, Germans are used to everything being in German. It’s a language spoken by more than 130 million people and the most widely spoken language in the EU. Contrary to a country like Norway, Germans have everything dubbed or translated into German, and they have come to expect that. Many Germans wouldn’t click an English ad or buy from an English website if they knew a German alternative existed.
In general, Germans value security and safety over taking risks. Although many Germans are proficient in English, they are most comfortable using their native language. Using only English in marketing, especially for purchases, may cause discomfort and mistrust due to fears of misunderstanding important information.
Additionally, Germans have a strong cultural identity tied to their language. There is a significant movement promoting the use of German, with concerns that English advertisements may undermine this cultural identity.
When do German consumers prefer English content?
When selling to German customers in English, it’s important to know how that affects Germans’ perception of your product and the most acceptable instances to use it. Germans, on average, have a positive view of the English language and large English-speaking nations like Great Britain and the USA.
To many locals, using English in German advertising can create an image of a brand that’s modern, progressive, innovative, successful and cosmopolitan. And, since Germans have to study to understand English, it can even represent having a certain level of education and striving for more than the average.
Typically, companies using English are trying to address German markets that are young, affluent and well-educated
Certain sectors or industries are more likely to use English than others, particularly global brands. For example, luxury car and chocolate companies market their products to be associated with “high-class” British quality and to differentiate themselves from German car brands, which almost exclusively use German in their advertising because of their perceived German quality. Clothing brands aimed at young people use English to associate their brands with rebellion and American youth cultures.
A 2017 paper analyzing German advertisements found that the food, drink and fashion sectors had the highest rates of English slogans, with 60% of their ads using them. It’s important to note that German food and drink brands also have one of the lowest rates of English slogan usage. Like in the luxury car industry, this is because of the perceived quality inherent in German food and drink products.
“In the German market, if you have a strictly local product, that’s locally produced and made, and you only want to talk to people around you who want to buy that product, you’re probably only going to see German in their campaigns. But when you’re talking to a broader audience, you have more freedom to use German and English.”
– Paula Uccelli, Project Manager at VeraContent
In other sectors analyzed, the beauty sector had the lowest rate of English slogan usage, at only 30%. 40% of advertisements in the automobile sector and 35% of advertisements in the television broadcasters sector used English slogans.
As you might expect, German preference for English in marketing depends on what kind of products you’re advertising and to whom. Typically, the younger, more well-educated and affluent your target audience is, the more receptive they’ll be to English in your advertising.
Why you need to be careful when integrating English into your German marketing
The way you use English in your German digital marketing is important. To ensure your message gets across the way you want it to, it’s essential to use straightforward and clear messaging. In particular, avoid most idioms and phrasal verbs, particularly if they aren’t commonly known.
Of course, most Germans speak good English, but slogans and copy that include lots of wordplay, idioms and other more advanced language elements are much more likely to be misinterpreted. At the end of the day, they’re not native speakers and have to think more to understand your text.
In a 2017 study analyzing Germans’ analysis and comprehension of English-language slogans, Bayer’s slogan, “Science for a better life,” was correctly translated by almost every participant because it’s a phrase that can be translated directly into German.
However, Samsung’s slogan, “Turn on tomorrow,” wasn’t correctly translated by any participant. This was believed to be because “turn on” is a phrasal verb with multiple meanings. Participants might be aware of other meanings of “turn on,” but not the one that Samsung intended.
Other slogans that were almost always incorrectly translated by participants were Renault’s “Drive the change” because of the wordplay associated with the multiple meanings of the verb drive, and Adidas’s “Original is never finished” because it uses an adjective as a noun that is a stand-in for Adidas’s “original collection.” On the flip side, almost all participants correctly translated Nissan’s “Innovation that excites” because it can be directly translated into German.
In addition, in a large-scale 2016 study of 6,000 participants from all socioeconomic classes, only 28% of people were able to translate given slogans correctly. 81% couldn’t associate each slogan with its correct product, either. However, 90% of participants had a positive attitude towards English-language slogans.
While this research focuses on slogans, not digital marketing copy, it still shows what kind of English is most effective in your marketing and which isn’t. It’s not about “dumbing down” your copy but being conscious that you’re presenting things to your audience in their non-native language.
German cultural nuances influencing language preference
As previously mentioned, different German audiences will be more receptive to English in digital marketing than others. Typically, English is seen as progressive and cosmopolitan.
Ads targeting cool or hip young people are more likely to mix English words into their copy or intentionally use English slogans and phrases. Typically, product names don’t get translated, but make sure they don’t mean something else in German.
While most Germans have a high level of English, according to the EF EPI, those aged 18-30 have the strongest English of all. Due to social media, the greater ease of international travel and more subtitled media, younger people are surrounded by English in their daily lives and often speak in a mix of German and English, using terms they’ve picked up online.
It’s important to note that mixing the languages feels very familiar and informal to Germans. However, while it’s fine when you’re trying to seem relaxed and easygoing to young people, but it can be trickier in other areas.
In general, Germany has a formal culture, and German people like to get straight to the point, which is reflected in much of their advertising.
A good rule of thumb is if you’re a B2C business whose demographic is young or creative, you can be more informal and use more English. On the other hand, Germans are used to B2B selling in a formal tone and respond better to more German. So, if you’re a B2C business with older customers or a B2B business, it might be better to use German in your marketing if you can.
Geographic location and income level play a key role in English preferences
Another cultural nuance that can affect language preference is where your customers live in Germany. Typically, the larger the city, the more eager people there are to speak other languages, such as English. For example, while Brandenburg has one of the lowest levels of English in the country, in Berlin (which is surrounded by Brandenburg), English is spoken pretty much everywhere daily. Some even complain they can’t practice their German there at all because citizens switch to English so effortlessly.
“With PopSockets, we were working in the Berlin scene. We were talking to Germans, of course, but we were also talking to foreign people living in Germany. I think it depends a lot on how global your audience is. The more it is, the more you’ll be able to play with both languages.”
– Paula Uccelli, Project Manager at VeraContent
In general, the eastern part of the country has lower levels of English, but their levels are still high, and they may still respond positively to its use in advertising. On the other hand, Bavaria has the highest level of English comprehension of all the German states, but it has a more conservative culture than most other parts of the country, and many people there prefer to use German. Other major cities like Hamburg, Bonn, Stuttgart and Munich, regardless of their state, tend to have higher rates of English-speaking Germans.
Finally, your audiences’ income and jobs may influence their language preference. Typically, people with higher spending power tend to have a higher level of English. However, like in Bavaria, this may not influence their actual preference for one language over the other. People in management positions, those working in sales or project management, or people working in start-ups tend to be more receptive to English as they often have foreign colleagues and work in English throughout their day.
As you can see, it’s important to have a clear grasp of who your German audience is made up of.
Practical tips for balancing English and German in marketing
Another option to consider when trying to sell to German customers is digital marketing that mixes English and German.
“Germany is a market where it’s really common to see a mix of the two languages, particularly among the younger generation. If your product is global, and you’re talking to a global audience, you have the freedom to play with both languages.”
– Paula Uccelli, Project Manager at VeraContent
As with advertising only in English or only in German, this approach comes with its own set of considerations. Namely, how exactly you can successfully mix the two languages.
Here are some tips that will help you nail your blend:
- Know your audience: The number one way to ensure success in your mixed-language campaign is to get to know your audience. Are they young? International? Rural? What kinds of jobs do they have? Getting a good picture of your average customer before creating your copy can help inform you as to what kind of English you can successfully use in your campaign without the risk of misunderstanding.
“You should decide beforehand how you’re going to use the two languages. That decision comes after you analyze your audience and get to know them, which is why it’s important to work with a native community manager who understands how far you can stretch your language mix.”
– Paula Uccelli, Project Manager at VeraContent
- Keep some stuff separate: Typically, it’s best to assign different parts of your copy to different languages. For example, maybe the text in an image is in German, but the photo caption is in English. For example, it’s unusual to have both English and German in the caption, as it might confuse your audience.
Keep in mind that while many companies use slogans in English, and others in German, only one in the 2017 study used both languages. Why? As the different languages tend to convey different characteristics about the brand, mixing both may make it difficult for brands to establish a concrete tone and aspirational image with the product.
- Important information: As we said before, Germans are risk-averse and like to know as much about a product they’re interested in as possible. If your digital marketing copy includes specific or pertinent information about the product, it’s better to translate that into German and keep more fun or simple text in English. This can put German customers at ease, as they won’t feel like they’re potentially missing any important information.
VeraContent case study: PopSockets
PopSockets partnered with VeraContent to develop their social media marketing in Germany—among other European markets.
As a global brand, PopSockets wanted to maintain its fun, young and happy brand image in Germany. After conducting market research, their marketing team determined that its primary audience in Germany was very young and had a high level of English. They were used to reading things in English, particularly online, and most of them lived in big, international cities like Berlin.
In PopSockets’s social posts in German, we incorporated a mix of German and English to maintain a youthful, short and sweet tone of voice. In posts featuring content creators, the creator would speak in German, and the caption would be in English. We used simple, friendly captions like “Happy Friday” to appeal to PopSocket’s audience without overwhelming them with English.
Overall, our goal was to translate PopSockets’s brand image to its German customers using a mix of English and German.
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Find the right strategy for your German audience
As you can see, the extent to which you need to localize your German digital marketing depends on several factors. While it’s always best to localize as far as possible, some brands can get away with incorporating some English in their marketing.
If you’re unsure which strategy is best for your brand, get in touch with our team at VeraContent. Our marketing experts, together with locally based, native-speaking linguists and community managers, will put together a German marketing strategy that is sure to engage your local audience.
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