CREATING A BRAND

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

Three things can be part of the brand:

1. Brand name

2. Logo (trademark)

3. Slogan

Brand Name

A group of words that a business uses to distinguish its products from its competitors’ products

Why do companies use them?

Requires less effort and money to introduce new product

Easy to distinguish from other products

When in another country, you know the product & quality

Brand Loyalty

Customers keep buying your product even when offered deals by competitors

Where do brand names come from?

Gives an idea of the product’s use or benefit

Staples Office DepotMr Clean Post itBeauty Rest Sleep CountryJiffy Lube Head & Shoulders

Named after the founder/owner of the company

Tim Hortons SchneiderFord BombordierGretzky’s

Created by combining words of names

Pin solDentyne (Dental & Hygiene)Aqua FreshTimberlandNyquil (Night & tranquil)

Creative and daring use of words

KodakMustangPoison

Elements of a successful brand name:

Easy to pronounce and free of negative connotations. Ex. New Balance

Translates well

Short and easy to remember and recognize Ex. Nike

13 Unfortunate Translations That Harmed Brand Reputations

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."

Scattegories

Name a “BRAND of…” for each example you will only earn a point for each correct answer that is different from all others given

Logo

A graphic symbol or letters that represent the business name

Why do companies use them?

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

Different forms of logos:

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

 

Slogan

A catchy phrase

Why do companies use them?

Helps you remember the product name

Helps you know the use of the product

Example of slogans: