Lost in translation: preserving brand strength in foreign markets.

• Author: Wooten, Adam
• Position: Lessons Learned

Marketing managers often laughingly relate how Coca-Cola allegedly committed a huge blunder when entering the Chinese market. Reportedly, its brand name was translated to mean "bite the wax tadpole." Imagine the implications! Did Chinese consumers wonder if the beverage tasted like wax, tadpoles or pond water? Fortunately for Coca-Cola, this gaffe is merely urban legend. The online myth debunker Snopes.com explains that before Coca-Cola's official entry into China, some shopkeepers independently created signs with Chinese characters that sounded like "Coca-Cola" but had nonsensical meanings such as "bite the wax tadpole" and "female horse stuffed with wax."

However, Coca-Cola understood the importance of preserving its brand value in international markets. Before entering China in 1928, the beverage icon took great pains to ensure its brand would not be proverbially "lost in translation." Ultimately, the company chose the characters pronounced "K'o K'ou K'o Le," which literally mean, "let the mouth rejoice" or "happiness in the mouth." This more thoughtful translation definitely helps to preserve the Coca-Cola brand, especially in light of the company's more contemporary "Open Happiness" campaign.

Successful companies work hard to differentiate and position their brands. Coca-Cola preserved its brand strength in China by understanding its brand message, working with skilled professional linguists, conveying that message effectively to the linguists and then maintaining some flexibility when a perfect brand translation was not immediately apparent.

When taking brands global, companies--and specifically marketing managers--must know how to effectively convey their brand messages and any preferences to their language service providers. Otherwise, the translated message could cause significant embarrassment.

Building a Global Brand

Aribex is a Utah-based company that understands the importance of preserving its brand message in translation. Aribex's efforts in multiple market segments are geared toward being "the worldwide leader in handheld X-ray." The latest models in the company's NOMAD product line are sleek, lightweight and uniquely positioned in the market. Marc Burrows, product manager, realizes that a handheld device such as the NOMAD can be a terminology challenge when localizing marketing materials.

"Some languages have words in X-ray diagnostics that mean 'mobile,' cordless' or 'portable,' but not 'handheld,'" explains Burrows. "The...