Product brand culturalization_notes

1. Product Brand I18N:
Transforming cultural challenges
into communal channels
Talia Baruch. Founder, Glocalization Strategist
Copyous: Localization program development & management
@TaliaBaruch
talia@copyous.com
www.copyous.com
415.722.6744
Background intro:
My name is Talia Baruch. I’m an independent localization and culturalization consultant;
have been working in the industry for over 2 decades now. Founder of Copyous, providing
sustainable localization program development and management, as well as global strategy
for product acceptance in new market entry.

2. This is a roller coaster ride through
pains & gains in pre-natal product
dev. for new market entry:
• Climb up contextual, functional & visual hurdles.
• Dive into locale-tailored branding.
• Resurface for a quick peek into glocal strategy.
In the past decade in our industry, companies have increased awareness of the
fundamental importance to internationalize, both on the system level and on the global
content readiness in the pre‐translation phase.
The reason for that is simple: There’s a high price tag hovering over an un‐internationalized
system and source content:
System: It costs 30 times more to fix sw i18n bugs during testing than upfront. Multiply
that by the # of target languages, and you’re looking at a serious cost creep. Globalyser
is one of the automated tools designed to flag and debug i18n issues at the product
dev phase before l10n.
Content: By maintaining a controlled, concise and consistent source text, we can
dramatically reduce translation cost and increase translation quality. We optimize TM
leveraging (increasing high fuzzy matches & ICE matches), we reduce word counts and
avoid ambiguity in translation (particularly relevant in simultaneous multi‐lingual
projects).
But in this presentation I’m not going to talk about all that. My goal today is to address a
neglected area in i18n: on the product/brand level.
We’ll go on a bumpy roller coaster ride, taking some sharp turns.

3. Product Internationalization = feels native
Comprised of 2 main categories: 1. design/functionality elements and 2. marketing
elements (that promote the product). Both need to be culturally fitted and natively integrated in the
target markets.

4. Weave I18N into your brand fabric
Cause | Brand identity & creative teams are typically
US-centric & isolated from the i18n/l10n planning.
Effect | Brand messaging hits (local) target,
But loses impact overseas.
Misses target (market).
Typically, in today’s corporate scene, large budgets are invested in brand identity &
creative teams. These teams are, often, isolated from the i18n/l10n planning.
As a result, we get brilliant product branding campaigns that conquer a local market, but
lose the message, miss the target, when the same campaign is transported overseas. We
get negative feedback from the regional in‐country representatives (ICRs,
users/consumers) that the brand messaging is meaningless, not fitted to local regional
users.
The isolation between a company’s Brand identity/Marketing team and their Localization
team bears a heavy toll on impactful on‐target campaigns launched in international
markets.
Part of this separation between the 2 units‐‐Marketing & Localization—is because
they’re falsely viewed in 2 very different perceptions:
Marketing is regarded as an investment, generating value and revenue.
Localization, however, is viewed as a production line cost (focused on word rates, etc.),
rather than perceived for its real value as a long‐term gain in international market‐share
& revenue.
While recreating/transcreating campaigns locally, it’s key to maintain consistent global
brand messaging (look & feel). Marketing will be implemented differently to appeal to local
users, but core company culture, values and messaging need to stay the same.
For example, one of my clients faced an issue with inconsistent corporate messaging btw
their US and UK offices. They realized, too late, that the look & feel of their UK online pop
t d i f l d t i li ith th i lt & i

5. We’ll explore 4 key questions:
1. Why localize products and campaigns?
2. How do we reconcile Global vs. Local models?
3. What are the ingredients baking a winner brand?
4. How do we strategize glocally?

6. 1. Why localize products and campaigns?
2. How do we reconcile Global vs. Local models?
3. What are the ingredients baking a winner brand?
4. How do we strategize glocally?

7. What’s your objective?
• Expand your brand’s footprint worldwide.
• Increase global users.
• Reap ROI.
I’ll answer this question with another question: What is your objective?
1.Expand visibility and use of your product.
2.Increase revenue generated in international markets.
ROI: When we strategize globally we look at revenue threshold from international
markets and measure what percentage of total sale derives from our target international
markets. For big player companies, like Merck, HP, IBM, J & J, Motorola, P & G, etc.,
foreign sales yield way over 50% of annual revenue (which makes us question if there
really is such a thing as a purely “American” company nowadays). In the gaming
industry, localized games gain up to 400% ROI.
In 2010 US president announced the National Export Initiative, who’s goal is to double
U.S. exports by 2015. $Billions were pumped into support staff trained to help
businesses (namely small businesses) start or expand their export efforts. This is already
boosting localization enterprises of EN source into multiple targets.

8. No, really, what’s your objective?
CONNECTION.
CROSS-CULTURAL.
Make a meaningful & memorable connection between
product/brand and user/consumer. Worldwide.
Creating cross‐cultural ties. Localization, on the deepest level, is about connection.
Bonding. Reestablishing our sense of interdependency between product and user, across
cultures.

9. People are wired differently.
More so people from different cultures.
We’re triggered by different
association paths,
collective memories,
stories & histories.

10. Tell to Sell: How you get there depends on how
well you tell your brand story, make it relevant.
Your message needs to
Click & Connect Hit home Fit in
Sure, quality of your product offerings
But just as important
How well you tell your brand story. When consumers make the long‐lasting connection
between your brand’s name, logo and tagline, you’ve added a meaningful and
memorable bonding to your value package.

11. 1. Why localize products and campaigns?
2. How do we reconcile Global vs. Local models?
3. What are the ingredients baking a winner brand?
4. How do we strategize glocally?
We’ll talk about “glocal” soon; stay tuned!

12. Global vs. Local considerations
• Regional vs. HQ authoring, budget, marketing and
management.
• Corporate identity and messaging.
• Principals: central One message/One voice/One world
vs. decentral/regional.
The 2 principal models are determined by the company culture, messaging and global set
up: is it important for your company to maintain a mono global corporate messaging &
brand identity? Does your company run independent budgets and production out of
regional (off‐shore) sites?
Central VS. Decentral (affects business considerations of time/cost efficiencies)
One‐size‐fits‐all VS. cinderella‐slipper‐fitted (affects corporal brand identity principal)

13. Global
• One size fits all.
• Globe-trotter concept, one that travels well.
• HQ-centralized budget, content authoring, management
and workflow: cost/time-to-market efficiency.
Two central models for designing & launching a brand:
‐[One size fits all]: Brand messaging and campaign that speak to the common
denominator. Design a universal‐applicable brand identity campaign that draws on
emotional similarities below the surface of people’s memories and stimulates.
‐[Globetrotter]: Establish ties that bind and bridge cultural differences.

14. Every company wants its brand to get bigger.
The tricky part is balancing what the brand is with a vision
of what it would like to be.
Starbucks: Starbuck’s corporate messaging is ONE global identity. What you get in SF is
the same as what you get in Beijing or in Timbuktu (Mali).
In 2001 I managed the localization of Starbucks’ training material into 7 Arab markets.
We localized into standard Arabic, based in Egypt. The linguists demanded that we omit
all text referring to the siren, which was considered too sensitive for the local culture
(blasphemous reference of the beautiful, seductive siren, luring sailors to ship‐wreck).
Corporate decision at the time was to maintain universally applied global branding
(Starbucks jargon, cup sizes, coffee type servings, messaging) vs. adapting/tailoring to
regional target markets.
You can see the changed logo in Saudi Arabia, where siren is deemed morally
inappropriate and is replaced with a crown swimming in the sea.
In 2003 Starbucks closed all its stores in Israel; didn’t capture local culture.
In a country like China there are currently ~ 400 Starbucks sites. Traditionally speaking,
the Chinese are not a coffee‐drinking nation; many of the older generation won’t touch
the stuff. But coffee consumption, since the opening of the first Starbucks in China in
1999, has become a popular (and expensive: roughly $4.40, as opposed to about 75 cents
for local milk tea) pastime among younger Chinese people and businessmen, who are
buying a slice of the West, along with their coffee order.

15. Local
• The secret hand shake, the private joke, understood and
appreciated only regionally.
• Cinderella-slipper-fitted campaigns specifically
addressed to target market audience.
• Decentralized (regional) production, budgets &
management: cost/time inefficiencies.
Cinderella‐slipper fitted.
Create a locale‐specific relevant brand campaign.
Separate, regional site budgets and production management per local needs.

16. Hybrid solution: Think local, act global
Reconciling business principles & product quality standards
Global management: Centralized process to monitor & streamline regional differences
Local production, delivery & marketing: Culturally adapted to markets
Glocal strategy: Hybrid tailored solution.
So you see, there are advantages & disadvantages in each model: central vs. de‐central
(relates to the business efficiency of time/cost consideration); one‐size‐fits‐all vs.
Cinderella‐slipper‐fitted (relates to the corporal brand identity messaging). What do we
do? We hybrid. Take the best of each model and build a hybrid solution.
Maintaining the cost/time/quality pyramid, gaining the best of each model: cost/time
effectiveness of global management coupled with quality edge of local production.

17. Glocal
Procter & Gamble
Operation sites spread out across the globe.
Strategy is to centralize company overhead
management globally (for cost-efficiency) and handle
product delivery and marketing locally.
Example for Glocal strategy: With annual sales of close to $80 billion in 2010, P&G has
operation sites spread out across the globe. Strategy is to centralize company overhead
management globally (for cost/time‐efficiency) and handle product delivery and
marketing locally.

18. 1. Why internationalize products and campaigns?
2. How do we reconcile Global vs. Local models?
3. What are the ingredients baking a winner brand?
4. How do we strategize glocally?
We’ll talk about “glocal” soon; stay tuned!

19. Form follows function: Design product features
& functionality relevant for local need.
Hooked on hand-helds
Designing a mobile device for Japan?
Don’t forget to add on a hook-up for gadgets!
This is an example of a physical aspect of product design‐its form and functionality.
Gadgets are very popular in Japan. By adding a simple little detail, such as a hook‐up for
gadgets, you are “internationalizing” your product’s functionality design for this market.
Accidentally, the pink gadget in this image actually produces the sound of toilet flushing to
subdue the sound of embarrassing bathroom noises. It was invented to save water wasted
by multiple flushing.

20. Mobile UI/UX localization hurdles
Remember: your strings are your ground agent, interfacing directly with the user!
Avoid stop-ship bugs!
Content visibility today: everything is everywhere. Remember, it’s the strings that
interface with the user. If they aren’t localized properly, your l10n enterprise
investment and effort will have been in vain! Our objective is to avoid stop‐ship bugs
during testing. Therefore, we need to include the UI designers, authors and marketers
in the frontline I18N planning during product dev. stage.
No need to reinvent the wheel; use existing libraries and coding.
Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) quote: "Design is a funny word. Some people think design means
how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it's really how it works." This is why we
need to engage UI designers in the mobile localization planning!
These are some core examples of usability considerations for localizing mobile UI context
& layout.
User vs. system command (e.g., “open”, “close”, “clear”—as in “clear record”): for langs.
(like Hebrew) where verbs conjugate differently for feminine & masculine, if it’s for
system—command will always be in masculine form (easy). However, if it’s for user, it’s
company decision when to include both forms (masculine/+feminine suffix “yud”).
Apple decided to follow this back slash format: politically correct for UX, but causes
bugs that need to be fixed during testing. Also, losing the “personal touch” between
user and hand held!
R to L for AR, HE, Farsi, Urdu and Vertical text for Asian script will require different UI
layout (inverted layout of image/text; vertical text will require more character space).
Mobile apps with Arabic UI is increasing rapidly as use of smart phones in the Arabic
market is vastly growing (projected at 50% market‐share by 2015) Most popular

21. Product shape shifts sale
The feminine contour of Coca Cola glass bottles disturbs
Orthodox consumers in Israel.
‐This is an appealing flagship product here in the US and in many other regions. However,
the ultra Orthodox community feels uncomfortable clutching the feminine contour of the
ice bottle.

22. Barbie shuts shop in Shanghai
Was product culturally catered for locale?
This is an example of the need to perform product acceptance market research before
introducing a product to a new market to establish cultural acceptance in new market. Two
years ago, during Barbie's 50th anniversary, Mattel opened up a flagship Shanghai store
(Barbie Palace). Barbie was living large in Shanghai, until March 7, 2011. Some analysts
believe that the product concept wasn’t well catered to the local audience, which prefers
Hello Kitty cute. Mattel spokesperson states that the closure is mainly due to a strategy
change in China.

23. Adapt product portfolio to please local palate
• Bistrone in Japan | Cola’s soup in a can on the go.
• Kuat in Brazil | captures local love of guarana fruit.
• Spritea in China | Green tea flavored sprite.
Coca‐Cola® Beverages & Products—is a pioneer investor in localization and cultural
adaptation of product offerings to target markets, tapping to local taste.
Coca‐Cola® was born in Atlanta in 1886. It wasn't until 1955 (170 yrs later) that the brand
adopted the principal to adapt its product offerings to locale consumers’ culture (and
palate!). From that point on, the Company began adding a wider variety of beverage
selections and portion sizes for consumers: an assortment of beverages for every lifestyle,
life stage and life occasion. Today, over 500 beverage brands are sold in 200 countries.
At the “World of Coca‐Cola” museum in Atlanta, visitors can sample an assortment at the
beverage lounge: Diet Coke with Lemon, Diet Vanilla Coke, Diet Cherry Coke, Diet Coke
with Lime, Coca‐Cola Zero, etc.
Kuat (pronounced Kwatch) is a popular Amazon fruit soft drink in Brazil.
Spritea: coupling 2 local popular flavors: green tea + sprite.
McDonald's and KFC have tweaked menus to munch in China for years to please local
palates with items such as congee (Chinese‐style rice porridge) and you tiao (dough
fritters). Serve Kosher meat in Israel and tailor for local favorite items, like falafel.

24. Culturalize product name to fit locale
“Royale with Cheese”
Pulp Fiction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLtwFugudZE
Vincent: It's the little differences. I mean, they got the same shit over there that we
got here, but it's just...it's just there it's a little different.
Jules: Example?
Vincent: All right. Well, you can walk into a movie theater in Amsterdam and buy a
beer. And I don't mean just like in no paper cup, I'm talking about a glass of
beer. And in Paris, you can buy a beer at McDonald's. And you know what they
call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?
Jules: They don't call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese?
Vincent: Nah, man, they got the metric system. They wouldn't know what the fuck
a Quarter Pounder is.
Jules: What do they call it?
Vincent: They call it a "Royale with Cheese".
Jules: "Royale with Cheese".
Vincent: That's right.
Jules: What do they call a Big Mac?
Vincent: A Big Mac's a Big Mac, but they call it "Le Big Mac".

25. Adapt product to locale wants & needs
Launch in China: affordable to fit
• Levi Strauss & Co. launches dENiZEN
• General Motors Corp launches Baojun
Western companies are now paying a great deal of attention to the growing “critical
mass” with expendable income in China, India, and other emerged & emerging regions
where the cultures are very different from those in the West. China is an intellectual
property leader, increasingly producing more patents. It is also the highest consumer of
BMW, perfumes, fashion bags, etc.
Global marketers are developing brands for China, which overtook Japan in 2010 as the
world's second‐largest economy. China will become the world's largest buyer of luxury
goods by 2015.
Economic growth and changing exchange rates mean that more Chinese can afford goods
made by multinationals. In addition, multinationals' traditional markets are suffering the
effects of tightened consumer credit and falling consumption. U.S. and other multinational
marketers are going a step further creating new brands tailored specifically for the needs
and desires of Chinese consumers.
dENiZEN™ is a blend of "denim" and "zen," a word with Japanese and Chinese roots that
means "meditative state" or an "escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life . This
product was designed as an affordable Levi’s version for teens and young adults, launched
in China, Korea and Singapore Aug. 2010.
General Motors Corp. and other automakers are designing entry‐level affordable cars such
as GM's Baojun, going on sale later this year. The name "Baojun" contains two Chinese
characters: "Bao" means "treasured," "precious;" "Jun" means "fine horse" or "steed."

26. Game Culturalization: Culturally adapt images and
design look & feel elements to fit local familiar references
1. Forza Motorsports (car racing video game for Xbox)
Customized automobile model to gamer familiar local make
JP: GT Championship-winner Nissan GT-R GT500
And Suzuka, Twin Ring Motegi, Tsukuba.
DE: R2 Opel Astra (DTM Custom Livery)
JP: Forza 3 will include plenty of race cars from Japan’s very popular Super GT
Championship, including the championship‐winning Nissan GT‐R GT500.
DE: R2 Opel Astra (DTM Custom Livery)
*EA revamped one of their older car racing games and localized into RU. Their ROI was
600% over the EN!
An example for revenue loss due to mis‐culturalization: When “Age of Empire” was
localized into Greek, it was banned by the Greek government because of the name
“Macedonian” (game displays the 2 armies: Greek & Macedonian).

27. Go Global logos: what makes ‘em great?
• We are bombarded by 6,000 logos daily, all trying to
communicate their unique, enticing story.
• A brand essence exists only in consumers’ memory.
The logo is the constant reminder.
• Use creative magic to turn humdrum into visual
messages that cut through the clutter.
We are bombarded by 6,000 logos daily (computer screen pop‐ups, TV, radio, email
signatures, letter heads, sky advertising, stores) all trying to communicate their unique,
enticing story.
Therefore, logos need to work harder to stand out.
Effective across all media (road signs, annual reports, underground/subway maps, product
manuals, online, in print…)

28. No-Name | Text-less logos
A picture’s worth a thousand words.
Simple, text‐less logos are better adapted to international markets. Maintain the golden
trio: 1. Quality | avoid mis‐translation/transliteration (and avoid a “foreign” look), 2. Cost
| reduce translation and DTP cost of recreating localized graphic, 3. Time | Faster to
absorb—recognizable at a glance. Their messaging is instantly communicated. No words
necessary.
These look fairly familiar? Speechless.

29. Chalk the change up to the
company’s Go Global campaign
In early Jan., 2011 Starbucks announced it
would be removing the words "Starbucks
Coffee" from its 2-decade old logo and leave
its iconic twin-tailed, long-haired mermaid to
fend for herself.
In March 2011, on its 40th anniversary, Starbucks is dropping its name from the two‐
decade‐old logo. This decision led to a swarm of negative reaction online, but the no‐
name logo is a better fit for international markets. Starbucks is currently planning to
increase its expansion into international, non‐English speaking markets, with its
number of stores set to more than triple (from about 400 to 1,500) in China alone.
Below is a humoristic projection posted on the NYT online (Jan. 2011) about the evolution
of the Starbucks logo, moving fwd, as it becomes more and more minimalistic.
Its official reasoning for the logo redesign is that Starbucks is now moving beyond coffee &
spices to other products.
But the new logo design also achieves 2 underlying goals:
1. Name Removal: Less localizable graphic text (avoiding mistranslation/transliteration
and character space limitations during recreation of localized graphic). Make the logo
seem more international, less American‐specific.
2. Rounder shape: Adapting to Asian interdependent collectivist culture, which prefers
round logos (symbol of harmony).

30. à la mod(ular)!
As simple as possible. But not simpler.
• Simple, classic, modular logos are easy to remember,
playfully impressive and soothing.
• Maintain right proportions
and scalable graphics.
It cost $1Million to redesign the Pepsi logo. And millions to replace logos from trucks, sign
posters etc.

31. Gist it: Connect to universal principals
• TOYOTA: Trust
• NIKE: Victorious, Fluid & Fast
• BMW: Spinning Classic Elegance
• Playboy: Frisky & Mischievous
Gist it: In the past we retained 2‐10% of exposed content. Today we retain only a micro‐
fraction of this amount.
With the multitude of high‐speed stimulation &n constant distractions, our brain best
absorbs visual images at a glance.
These are examples of some time‐less gist logos that, at a quick glance, effectively
communicate brand identity.
Toyota’s logo is tied to the Japanese tradition and culture: The parallel ovals represent to
its customers the company’s trust and quality service.
Nike: It was created in 1997 by an outstanding graphic design student at Portland State
University, namely Carolyn Davidson. The logo represents the wing in the renowned statue
of the Greek Goddess of victory, Nike (pronounced Nikee in Greek), who served as the
cause of motivation for the distinguished and audacious warriors. Initially, the mark was
regarded as “the strip” but was later named as “Swoosh,” which describes the fiber used
for the Nike shoes.
BMW: A thick black ring, bordered by the sleek silver lining, showcases the BMW logo in an
elegant fashion. The gap in the ring of BMW logo is further divided into four quadrants
with alternating shades of blue and white (Bavarian national colors). The quarters of the
BMW logo also reflect the spinning propeller of the aircraft, designed with a stylish
conduct.
The playboy logo is said to be one of the best trademark in the world. It reflects the
magazine’s playful, frisky and mischievous nature.

32. Fond of font
NUDE
Simple. Clean.
Transforming letters into visual concepts.
• Minimal, readable text.
• No more than 2 font types.
• Avoid overlapping or intertwining with logo.
• Keep tagline separate.
Once again, here is an example of an at‐a‐glance capture of meaning through design
elements.
Nude (United NUDE = online fashion shoe brand): Skin tone font shade. Compass
orientation: N, S, E, W.
Reminds me of Appolinaire’s Calligrammes: visual poetry‐typography and layout add
content. (Paraplui poem: text conveys content about the “umbrella” and the words
construe the physical shape of an umbrella, conveying the message through form’).

33. Color-choice:
Ensure your brand paints the right picture
• Color is the first impression a
package or brand makes.
• Color sets the tone for your
thinly sliced expectations in
the marketplace.
• You don't get a second chance to make a first impression.
Generally, avoid using more than 3 color combinations in a brand identity.
We want to ensure our use of color doesn’t trigger any negative association/connotation in
our target markets.

34. Color connotations
Positive/ Negative/
RED Neutral Sensitive
Europe/Nort Love, desire, bold, attention Alert, danger,
h America stop, blood.
Soviet Communism
China Good fortune, luck, bridal color
Korea Written name
of deceased
Japan life
India purity
Egypt/Iran Luck, good fortune
South Africa Mourning
Be sensitive to color associations in different cultures. No color has consistent meanings
across every culture. Nonetheless, many generally consider blue to be “the safest global
color” because it has positive or at least neutral connotations in most countries and
cultures. This is fortunate for the many global brands on the web that feature blue as
the dominant color.
Red: Mainly positive association with Red globally across most worldwide cultures.
Polynesia: Sacred, relates to rare bird red feathers worn by the chiefs.
Korea: write in red the name of the dead (don’t use red pen to write the name of a living
person).
Taiwan: never write msg. in red ink.
Asia: wrap gifts in red paper.

35. Color connotations
GREEN Positive/ Negative/
Neutral Sensitive
Europe/North Environmental, Military, catholic church,
America nature, spring, Avoid in France &
birth, GO, $$ Ireland
China, Taiwan Infidelity. Avoid.
Japan Life, high-tech
Egypt National color. Avoid.
North Africa Corruption.
Indonesia, Forbidden. Danger.
Malaysia
Green is a sensitive color that should be avoided for packaging in many cultures.
Relevant: today (March 17) is St. Patrick’s!
Avoid green for packaging in France and Ireland (Catholic church, national color). Military
(olive green).
China/Taiwan: avoid for packaging. A woman gives her husband a green hat if she catches
him cheating on her.
Egypt: avoid for packaging.

36. Color connotations
WHITE Positive/ Negative/
Neutral Sensitive
Europe/North Wedding, purity, Italy: death, funeral.
America holiness, peace.
China Trust. High quality.
Japan, Peru, Death. Mourning.
India, Iran, Italy (white Chrysanthemum)
Egypt, Nigeria Rebirth. Ominous.
Ethiopia Impure.
Australia Aboriginals: color of the
people.
The world is split on its White color connotation. In some cultures it stands for classic,
noble, even pure principles. Associated with rebirth. In others it’s associated with death.
A blunt generalization split would be: funerals in the East and weddings in the West.

37. Color conflict
France Telecom mobile & Internet subsidiaries
“The Future’s Bright – the Future’s Orange.”
Or is it “The Future’s Protestant Loyalist”?
Orange, the brand name of France Telecom's mobile and Internet subsidiaries, ran an
amazingly successful ad campaign in the 1990s using the slogan “The Future’s Bright –
the Future’s Orange.” However, the company had to alter its slogan for politically
divided Northern Ireland, where people strongly associate the color orange with
the Orange Order. Without a modification to the campaign, the unintended implication
might have been “the Future’s Protestant Loyalist,” an assertion that would have
unintentionally irked the Catholic half of the population. As interreligious violence
continued, the mobile operator even considered changing its brand name entirely in the
region.
Israel: 2005—evacuation of settlers from the west bank. Orange was the color the
settlers used for their fight (tied orange ribbons around their arms). Orange Telecom in
Israel during that time lowered profile.
However, In the Netherland Orange is the national color and has a very positive
connotation.

38. Brand name evaluation
A. Available name
B. Positive/neutral association
C. Easily pronounceable
D. Name safe
Conduct a "name safe" test to make sure that an anti-
depressive doesn’t sound like a strong tranquilizer.
A name bearing a negative connotation will drown the brand.
Likewise, a icons/images associated with the brand name and identity/messaging need
to avoid negative connotations. E.g., Twitter’s “egg” icons bear a sensitive/offensive
association in the Arab culture (tactical).
A localized product should have a name free from negative associations (nor doesn’t
rhyme with a negative word) and a name that can easily be pronounced by a non‐native
English speaker in the target market.
Also, choose a name that isn’t confused with another similar word in the local lang., in
which case the name will carry the association path of that other similar word.
Name Evaluators generally develop a "name safe" test to make sure that an anti‐
depressive does not sound too similar to a strong tranquilizer, or that the name does not
get lost in the doctor's handwriting.
In the pharmaceutical industry naming a product is literally a matter of life and death.
According to the FDA, 13 percent of medication errors stem from name confusion.
Name evaluation Process: survey by 3 diff. in‐country linguists on brand names
neutral/positive/negative connotation + suggest alternatives.

39. Available name
This lady is called for
Corona becomes Coronita
This lady is called for: Corona, the Mexican beer producer, had to negotiate in different
countries to secure its name, which means crown in Spanish. Corona eventually adapted its
name to Coronita in Spain, as a compromise.

40. Negative connotation
• “Oness” for security … ?
• “Dreck” → “Dreft”
• “Barf” for soap …. ?
• “Sweat” for drink … ?
Negative connotation: “Oness” security door lock: Company launched this product into 14
langs. with the name Oness. Its sound, visual and connotation worked perfectly in all 13
markets. However, they had to drop it, because in Israel Oness means “rape.”
70 yrs. ago, when Procter & Gamble wanted to launch their soap product “Dreck” to US
consumers they discovered that it sounded like the German and Yiddish words for dirt,
garbage, body waste (and another four‐letter pejorative word). Since P&G was proactively
researching their name branding acceptance, they managed to change the name to
“Dreft.”
Paxan Corp., an Iranian company, produces a line of soaps and detergents under the
name Barf. This word has a positive and clean meaning of “snow” in Persian, but what
English speaker would ever choose to use a cleaning product with this brand name?
Likewise, the Japanese sports drink Pocari Sweat would lose appeal among English
speaking consumers.

41. Negative connotation
Turkish beer: “Efes” in Turkish = “loser” in Hebrew

42. Easily pronounceable
Brand name landmines: Pronunciation trap
• Coca-Cola = "bite the wax tadpole“ in China
• Google = Gu Ge in China
Pronunciation issues: Applied transliteration for global brand names: When Coca‐Cola
decided to launch in China (1927), it faced the problem that Chinese written script is not
phonetic. To find the nearest phonetic equivalent to “Coca‐Cola" required a separate
Chinese character for each of the four syllables. Out of the 40,000 characters, only about
200 were close enough in pronunciation, and many of these had negative connotations.
The company finally chose a sequence of characters that would sound similar to Coca‐Cola
when pronounced and mean "to allow the mouth to rejoice." However, when read, These
characters could also mean "bite the wax tadpole" in Mandarin.
•Google resorted to re‐brand its search engine “Gu Ge” in China, because it is difficult to
pronounce “google” in Mandarine.
•Google registered the “Gu Ge” brand name in China only 7 days before another company,
Gu Ge Technology, did.
•Gu Ge Technology tried to sue Google over ownership of the brand name, but lost to
Google.

43. Memorable taglines: Clear & Compact
• Nike: JUST DO IT
• IBM: THINK
• Yahoo!: It’s You!
• Sony: make. believe.
• Heinz: Grown Not Made
The power of taglines: This one short phrase can define your company and set you apart
from the competition. Brand name, tagline and logo (image) bolt to make your brand sing.
When consumers makes a lasting link between the tagline and your brand, you’ve added a
new verbal and emotional ‘hook’ to your value proposition.
L'Oréal: Because I’m worth it Nurture self‐esteem, reward for using the product.
Nike: Just Do It Energize, inspire to buy into a slice of sportal glory.
These taglines, for example, get lost in translation:
Yahoo!: It’s You! –loses its alliteration in translation
Sony: make. believe.
Dell: Easy as Dell (one of the slogans).
Cola: Open Happiness (2009).
An example of a strong translatable tagline is IBM’s “Think”. THINK was a one‐word
slogan developed by IBM founder Thomas J. Watson, Sr. It appeared in IBM offices, plants
and company publications in the 1920s and in the early 1930s began to take precedence
over other slogans in IBM. Later evolved into I think, therefore IBM (which gets lost in
translation).
Likewise, Cola’s 2000 1‐word slogan: “Enjoy.” And 2003 slogan “Real.”
Local jargon references:
When your source EN tagline refers to local culture, you’re losing that whole layer of
context when translating to another language/locale that doesn’t share this collective
cultural nuance.

44. Culturally catered icons
Is iT “Twit” in other cultures too?
Make sure your brand identity & visual messaging are
culturally understood & non-offensive in other locales.
In the multi‐culturalization effort, we need to also make sure our brand icons/symbols are
non offensive in other cultures. In Arab markets the “egg” icon bears an offensive
association (testicles).

45. Get into it. Intuitively.
Use of metaphor to trigger subconscious
emotional thought that guides our action
A 2002 report from “Cultural Studies & Analysis” in Philadelphia states that people can’t
articulate what they want. But they can intuitively recognize what they want when they
see it. Over 90% of our decisions are made at an intuitive level.
The development of computer imaging helped us understand the cognitive unconscious.
Peek into the black box of the human brain to learn how we sense, process, learn, ignore,
remember, forget, feel, value and decide.
Gerald Zeltman, in “How Customers Think,” notes that buying decisions stem from
emotional and subconscious thought process.

46. Ties that bind
Produce emotional branding that bridges cultural gaps.
Key concepts that impact 70% of customers’ sale choices:
• Connection
• Transformation
• Balance
• Pleasure
Your brand is a critical part of your small business marketing strategy. It is shaped by the
experience you provide your customers through their connections with you. These
experiences create emotional bonding, allowing you to build trust. Often it is these
emotional connections that propel a small business ahead of larger corporations.

47. So…, what’s the moral of the story?
CONNECT
• Trigger mutual understanding between brand & consumer.
• Signal the secret handshake, the collective connector.
• Tell the brand’s compelling story.
• Make it relevant and bring it to life.
It’s a bi‐lateral path: A brand campaign needs to be understood by the consumers. And
the consumers need to also be understood by the brand.
It’s signaling the secret handshake.
Confirming: we share a collective connector; we communicate on the same vibes.
Unveil the brand’s unique personality.

48. 1. Why internationalize products and campaigns?
2. How do we reconcile Global vs. Local models?
3. What are the ingredients baking a winner brand?
4. How do we strategize glocally?
We’ll talk about “glocal” soon; stay tuned!

49. 5. How do we strategize glocally?
• Define specs
• Modify product/services to attract segmented groups
in local market
• Synchronize implementation (all media)
• Foster cross-cultural awareness
• Make local alliances, mergers
• Spread regional sites across target locales
Define specs:
•Product/services’ core attributes, company’s unique assets.
•Target languages and geo locales
•Target audience: socio‐economic, cultural, ethnic, industry vertical group, expertise
knowledge level
•Corporate identity positioning: messaging, users’ expectations
•Pipe‐line growth objectives: expansion to new markets, adding new products/services
•Status in relation to competitors: what makes us stand out?
•E‐Commerce: Setting up local bank accounts and shipping/priority delivery methods.
Companies want to ensure that their International market users enjoy the same quality
experience as their US‐based users. However shipping & delivery methods have diff.
standards in diff. locales. E.g., “Priority” shipping method in the US is NOT the same as mail
priorité in France.
Also, US companies get very competitive rates for domestic shipping with UPS. Likewise in
Europe. But this isn’t necessarily the case in other markets.
I’ve recently helped one of my clients setup their shipping strategy in international locales.
In Canada Fedex and Canada Post made sense. In France, however, Fedex operations run
through 3rd party contractors and was not sufficiently reliable.
•Modify product/services to attract segmented groups in local market:
An example of huge revenue loss in market share, due to a false global strategy in new

50. Localize. Globally.
This slide is the bottom‐line take‐home message.
Global management: centralized process to monitor locale differences
Local production: culturally adapted to target markets
Glocal strategy: hybrid fitted solution

51. Q&A
Talia Baruch/Copyous
Localization setup & support
@TaliaBaruch
talia@copyous.com
www.copyous.com