Western companies choosing a brand name in China now rely on consultants and linguistic analyses to ensure that consumers are attracted rather than amused or even repelled
After a hard day’s labour, your average upscale Beijinger likes nothing more than to shuck his dress shoes for a pair of Enduring and Persevering, rev up his Precious Horse and head to the pub for a tall, frosty glass of Happiness Power.
Or, if he’s a teetotaler, a bottle of Tasty Fun.
To Westerners, that’s Nike, BMW, Heineken and Coca-Cola, respectively. And those who wish to snicker should feel free: The companies behind these names are laughing too – all the way to the bank.
More than many nations, China is a place where names are imbued with deep significance. Western companies looking to bring their products to China face a problem not unlike that of Chinese parents naming a baby boy: little Gang (“strong”) may be regarded quite differently than little Yun (“cloud”). Given that China’s market for consumer goods is growing by better than 13% annually – and luxury-goods sales by 25% – an off-key name could have serious financial consequences.
And so the art of picking a brand name that resonates with Chinese consumers is no longer an art. It has become a sort of science, with consultants, computer programmes and linguistic analyses to ensure that what tickles a Mandarin ear does not grate on a Cantonese one.
Art “is only a very, very tiny piece of it,” said Vladimir Djurovic, President of Labbrand Consulting Co. in Shanghai, which has made a business of finding names for Western companies entering the Chinese market.
Maybe. But there is a lot of artistry in the best of the West.
The paradigm probably is the Chinese name for Coca-Cola, Kekoukele, which not only sounds like Coke’s English name, but conveys its essence of taste and fun in a way that the original name could not hope to match.
There are many others. Consider Tide detergent, Taizi, whose Chinese characters literally mean “gets rid of dirt.” (Characters are important: the same sound written differently could mean “too purple.”)
There is also Reebok, or Rui bu, which means “quick steps.” And Colgate – Gao lu jie – which translates into “revealing superior cleanliness.” And Lay’s snack foods – Le shi – whose name means “happy things.” Nike (Nai ke) and BMW (Bao Ma, echoing the first two sounds of its English and German names) also have worn well on Chinese ears.
Still, finding a good name involves more than coming up with clever homonyms to the original English.
“Do you want to translate your name, or come up with a Chinese brand?” said Monica Lee, the Managing Director of The Brand Union, a Beijing consultant. “If you go for phonetic sounds, everyone knows where you are from – you’re immediately identified as a foreign brand.” For some products, having a foreign-sounding name lends a cachet that a true Chinese name would lack. Many upscale brands like Cadillac (Ka di la ke), or Hilton (Xi er dun), employ phonetic translations that mean nothing in Chinese Rolls-Royce (Laosi-Laisi) includes two Chinese characters for “labour” and “plants” that more or less have become standard usage in foreign names – all to achieve a distinct foreign look and sound.
But on the other hand, a genuine Chinese name can say things about a product that a mere collection of homonyms never could. Take Citibank, Hua qi yinhang, which literally means “star-spangled banner bank,” or Marriott, Wan hao, or “10,000 wealthy elites.” Or Pentium, Ben teng, which means “galloping.” Asked to introduce Marvel comics to China, the Labbrand consultants came up not long ago with “Man wei” – roughly phonetic, foreign-sounding and eminently suited to superheroes with the meaning “comic power.”
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
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After a hard day’s labour, your average upscale Beijinger likes nothing more than to shuck his dress shoes for a pair of Enduring and Persevering, rev up his Precious Horse and head to the pub for a tall, frosty glass of Happiness Power.
Or, if he’s a teetotaler, a bottle of Tasty Fun.
To Westerners, that’s Nike, BMW, Heineken and Coca-Cola, respectively. And those who wish to snicker should feel free: The companies behind these names are laughing too – all the way to the bank.
More than many nations, China is a place where names are imbued with deep significance. Western companies looking to bring their products to China face a problem not unlike that of Chinese parents naming a baby boy: little Gang (“strong”) may be regarded quite differently than little Yun (“cloud”). Given that China’s market for consumer goods is growing by better than 13% annually – and luxury-goods sales by 25% – an off-key name could have serious financial consequences.
And so the art of picking a brand name that resonates with Chinese consumers is no longer an art. It has become a sort of science, with consultants, computer programmes and linguistic analyses to ensure that what tickles a Mandarin ear does not grate on a Cantonese one.
Art “is only a very, very tiny piece of it,” said Vladimir Djurovic, President of Labbrand Consulting Co. in Shanghai, which has made a business of finding names for Western companies entering the Chinese market.
Maybe. But there is a lot of artistry in the best of the West.
The paradigm probably is the Chinese name for Coca-Cola, Kekoukele, which not only sounds like Coke’s English name, but conveys its essence of taste and fun in a way that the original name could not hope to match.
There are many others. Consider Tide detergent, Taizi, whose Chinese characters literally mean “gets rid of dirt.” (Characters are important: the same sound written differently could mean “too purple.”)
There is also Reebok, or Rui bu, which means “quick steps.” And Colgate – Gao lu jie – which translates into “revealing superior cleanliness.” And Lay’s snack foods – Le shi – whose name means “happy things.” Nike (Nai ke) and BMW (Bao Ma, echoing the first two sounds of its English and German names) also have worn well on Chinese ears.
Still, finding a good name involves more than coming up with clever homonyms to the original English.
“Do you want to translate your name, or come up with a Chinese brand?” said Monica Lee, the Managing Director of The Brand Union, a Beijing consultant. “If you go for phonetic sounds, everyone knows where you are from – you’re immediately identified as a foreign brand.” For some products, having a foreign-sounding name lends a cachet that a true Chinese name would lack. Many upscale brands like Cadillac (Ka di la ke), or Hilton (Xi er dun), employ phonetic translations that mean nothing in Chinese Rolls-Royce (Laosi-Laisi) includes two Chinese characters for “labour” and “plants” that more or less have become standard usage in foreign names – all to achieve a distinct foreign look and sound.
But on the other hand, a genuine Chinese name can say things about a product that a mere collection of homonyms never could. Take Citibank, Hua qi yinhang, which literally means “star-spangled banner bank,” or Marriott, Wan hao, or “10,000 wealthy elites.” Or Pentium, Ben teng, which means “galloping.” Asked to introduce Marvel comics to China, the Labbrand consultants came up not long ago with “Man wei” – roughly phonetic, foreign-sounding and eminently suited to superheroes with the meaning “comic power.”
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
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