How do you ensure your marketing messages aren’t lost in translation? Patrick Eve, managing director of TranslateMedia, looks at examples of brand names that have rather unfortunate meanings in different countries, and how to avoid a similar fate.
Many brands have tried, and failed, to travel across languages and cultures. Clairol had to change the name of its ‘Mist Stick’ curling tongs in Germany, after finding out – sadly, after it launched – that ‘mist’ means ‘manure’ in German. Some brand names will never do well outside their home market (I don’t imagine the Iranian ‘Barf’ washing power would fly off UK shelves).
It’s an incredibly common mistake to make. Even when you employ a translator, unless they’re a native speaker, it’s easy to miss a colloquialism (an American once asked me to explain why ‘the dog’s bollocks’ is a good thing in the UK), or a regional slang meaning of a word. When American Airlines launched business class flights to Mexico and wanted to promote its smart new leather seats, it used the phrase ‘Fly in leather’, translated at ‘Vuela en Cuero’. (Unfortunately ‘en cuero’ is a slang word for ‘naked’ in Spanish.) Even when the word itself is fine, there might be a hidden meaning that only a native speaker will spot. The French pronunciation of GPT, created from the past merger of General Electric and Plessey, sounds a lot like ‘J’ai pété, or ‘I’ve farted’. Not disastrous, but you could imagine some embarrassing introductions in French business meetings.
Direct translation of brand materials often isn’t enough to take your brand to international markets. It takes ‘transcreation’: the art of conveying the sense of the brand, rather than the literal meaning, so that it resonates with a local market, and takes into account linguistic quirks, regional tastes and cultural sensitivities. The result is a global brand that has local appeal.
Spotting these nuances ahead of launch can save time, money and embarrassment. European hardware store chain, Götzen, spotted that in Turkish, göt is a (rather more vulgar) word for buttocks. The company rebranded as ‘Tekzen’ (Tek means single in Turkish) for this market.
Avoiding cultural insensitivity is important, and easy to overlook. CNN’s Middle East blog reports that to celebrate the UAE’s 40th birthday, Puma launched a pair of new trainers in the colours of the UAE flag: something that angered UAE residents, who saw it as insulting. The shoes were pulled and Puma apologised.
Transcreation should be applied to all aspects of a company’s collateral: its logo, strapline, advertising, design, packaging, product brochures and website layout. Even colour can carry hidden meaning: in China, red symbolises happiness. In Egypt, however, it symbolises death. White stands for death in Japan, but purity in the US (in China it can mean either).
In summary, effective transcreation will:
• Convey the spirit of the brand by applying local understanding of language and culture
• Elicit the desired response (buy, click, register etc) from consumers, irrespective of location
• Take into account all aspects of the brand’s collateral, including images, video, audio, colour, and cultural identity, not just translated text.
By Patrick Eve
Managing director
TranslateMedia
www.translatemedia.com
