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One of the most powerful
competitive tools that any business
has is its brand – the way the
consumer sees the business or thinks
about its products
1.
Brand name
2.
Logo (trademark)
3.
Slogan
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A group of words that a business uses to
distinguish its products from its competitors’
products
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Requires less effort and money to introduce
new product
Easy to distinguish from other products
When in another country, you know the
product & quality
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Customers keep buying your
product even when offered deals by
competitors
Gives an idea of the product’s
use or benefit
Staples
Mr Clean
Beauty Rest
Jiffy Lube
Shoulders
Named after the founder/owner
of the company
Tim Hortons
Ford
Gretzky’s
Created by combining words of
names
Pin sol
Dentyne (Dental & Hygiene)
Aqua Fresh
Timberland
Nyquil (Night & tranquil)
Creative and daring use of words
Kodak
Mustang
Poison
Office Depot
Post it
Sleep Country
Head &
Schneider
Bombordier
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Easy to pronounce and free of
negative connotations. Ex. New
Balance
Translates well
Short and easy to remember and
recognize Ex. Nike
It is important for companies to do adequate preparation
and research before introducing a product into the
international marketplace. How easily even "experts" can
sometimes fall victim when their in-house marketing
department is not fully aware of the local culture.
Sometimes hiring a professional marketer in the country is
probably the best option. Otherwise, slogan translations
might end up being a total fiasco!
13. When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in
Mexico, its ads were supposed to have read, "It won't
leak in your pocket and embarrass you." The
company thought that the word "embarazar" (to
impregnate) meant to embarrass, so the ad read: "It
won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant."
12. Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux
used the following in an American campaign:
"Nothing Sucks like an Electrolux."
11. Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick," a curling iron,
into Germany only to find out that "mist" is slang for
manure. Not too many people had use for the
"Manure Stick."
10. Coors put its slogan, "Turn It Loose," into Spanish,
where it was read as "Suffer From Diarrhea."
9. Pepsi's "Come Alive With the Pepsi Generation" translated into
"Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back From the Grave" in Chinese.
8. When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the
same packaging as in the US, with the smiling baby on the label. Later
they learned that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the
labels of what's inside, since many people can't read.
7. Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a
notorious porno magazine.
6. Frank Perdue's chicken slogan, "It takes a strong man to make a
tender chicken," was translated into Spanish as "it takes an aroused
man to make a chicken affectionate.“
5. When American Airlines wanted to advertise its new leather first
class seats in the Mexican market, it translated its "Fly In Leather"
campaign literally, which meant "Fly Naked" (vuela en cuero.) in
Spanish.
4. An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for
the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit.
Instead of "I saw the Pope" (el Papa), the shirts read "I Saw
the Potato" (la papa).
3. The Dairy Association's huge success with the campaign
"Got Milk?" prompted them to expand advertising to
Mexico. It was soon brought to their attention the Spanish
translation read "Are You Lactating?"
2. General Motors had a very famous fiasco in trying to
market the Nova car in Central and South America. "No
va" in Spanish means, "It Doesn't Go".
1. The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as
"Kekoukela", meaning "Bite the Wax Tadpole" or "Female
Horse Stuffed with Wax", depending on the dialect. Coke
then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic
equivalent "kokoukole", translating into "Happiness in the
Mouth."
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Name a “BRAND of…” for each
example you will only earn a point
for each correct answer that is
different from all others given
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A graphic symbol or letters that
represent the business name
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Helps people remember the business
Increases the company images
Represents the business’ name
Helps people who can’t read
Helps when travelling abroad
Can show the use of the product
Ties together
packaging/advertising/promotions
Monogram – stylized
writing of the company’s
name
Visual symbols – drawings
of people, animals, or
things
Abstract Symbol – shapes
that carry a visual message
but aren’t actual things
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A catchy phrase
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Helps you remember the product
name
Helps you know the use of the
product
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