International Marketing Case Study Blunders & Tips to Prevent Them
If you follow marketing then you likely have seen brands make the sometimes fatal mistakes of branding an entirely wrong message. It happens more often than not, and even the most established brands have made a few blunders when it comes to branded messages in another language. If you are considering global expansion, then consider the following case studies before making that leap of fate.
Language & Cultural Differences:
Coca-Cola a brand that is recognized by many cross-cultural consumers, which ran into trouble with their brand name in its initial debut in China. Coca-Cola was rendered as ‘Ke-kou-ke-la.’ Unfortunately, this company didn’t make this discovery until thousands of signs has been printed, with the phrase “bite the wax tadpole” or “female horse stuffed with wax”, depending on the Chinese dialect. Coca-Cola then went on to research over 40,000 Chinese characters and found the closest phonetic equivalent “ko-kou-ko-le”, which can be translated loosely to mean “happiness in the mouth.”
Going along with the lines of carbonated soft drinks, in Taiwan, the Pepsi slogan “Come alive with the Pepsi Generation” was written as “Pepsi will bring your ancestors from the dead.” (Yikes!)
The most infamous of case studies, is when GM introduced the Chevy Nova in South America, they were clearly unaware that “no va” really means “it won’t go.” After GM figured out why they were not selling any of their vehicles, they went on to rename the car ‘Caribe’ in the various Spanish markets.
Ford also had a similiar problem in Brazil when the Pinto flopped. The company discovered that Pinto was the Brazilian form of slang for “tiny male genitals.” Ford pried all of the nameplates off the cards, and substituted Corcel, which means ‘horse.’
Branding
Whether you are a large brand or a start-up when you are going to take the leap for global markets consider the translation and its meanings. Here are a few tips to help you as you grow your business:
1. Make sure that you research every market and possible language translation meanings. You want to ensure that your market will give you a positive response versus a negative one. These types of mistakes can be really costly, and for a smaller enterprise it can be crippling.
2. Test your ‘slogan’ or ‘branded message’ in a focus group if possible in the proposed markets. When you come up with the messages consider testing them in markets that speak the same language, or in that particular country. Don’t just go in blindly.
3. Don’t just consider your slogan think about imagery, and the over all branded message. The simple asthetics such as color, the people in the background, or even the spokesperson should be taken into consideration. There are rules of engagements for each international country, the last thing you want to do is offend someone with a creative color scheme that works in the United States, but would offend others in another market.
These tips are simple and straight-forward, but there is more than what meets the eye. We take measures in working with our clients especially as it relates to marketing and branding. Before you begin your expansion into the global market, consider what we have outlined above. Happy Marketing!!
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How To Effectively Market Your Business Online
Why Advertising Should No Longer Be Called ‘Advertising’
Advertising, at one time once was defined as the embodiment of mass media that reaches a market through communication forms of outdoor, radio, print, and television. Advertising grew as organizations found creative ways to reach their core audience, influencing their market to make a purchase for an intended product or service. Advertising became a science where brands increased marketing budgets to reach top of mind awareness with their core market.
Certainly, advertisers were happy and media companies were equally content with high billings for the media expenditure (Think Superbowl commercials). As for the brands, everyone knew about the large brands. Who didn’t? They seemed to be everywhere with a consistent message across all verticals. Whether you turned on the radio, driving down the freeway glancing at billboards, or even watching your favorite television programming, advertising was everywhere. If you happened to be reading a newspaper, or magazine, advertisers were able to get your attention there too.
For example, The McDonalds’ ‘Baa ra pum pum pum’ signature tune Is inherently recognizable, but you see it on TV and can listen to the ads on radio. The Nike commercials were created to increase product demand with athlete endorsements.
You knew it was McDonalds just from the ‘Ba ra pum pum pum’ tune they play on both TV and radio or just by the placement of their logo. You saw Nike commercials and they created product demand with a super star athletes’ endorsement. If Michael Jordan wears Nike’s, they must be great shoes.
Nothing has really changed has it? Other than brands cutting budgets with mediums such as: TV, radio, print, and billboards, they have shifted their spending on the World Wide Web. Marketing budgets are focused towards social media and mobile enabled devices so that consumers can interact with a brand. In today’s digital age, consumers are interacting with products and services; it is not about pushing the marketing messages. It is about listening and interacting with the consumers, and allowing for both negative and positive feedback. Consumers consume messages at their will; all it takes is motivation from the brand.
How is that not advertising?
Some call it interactive advertising, others say digital engagements, all of which boils down to fancy terms for on demand consumer interactions. We cannot call it advertising, as we are not ‘pushing’ our communication channels. We are now in the digital age where consumers provide us permission to ‘feed’ them our marketing messages. Content rich environments are forcing brands to re-think how their brands are being perceived. Consumers have been given the power of voice and opinion, and if the sentiments are positive then consider your brand on a consistent growth curve.
We may feed messages to the intended audience through the following mediums: video, blogs, podcasts, social media sites, and more importantly remain connected through rich Internet and and mobile applications. Consumers can interact with brands on an non-intrusive level, and for the first time in history brands must continuously innovate to remain relevant in the eyes of their audience.
If you are still advertising, think again. Shift to the digital landscape and your return on investment will be that your business is still in the market. That is what we do at Creative Intellects. We ‘feed’ branded messaging to core audiences, generate buzz and positive sentiments about the product or service. We maintain and manage web presence and keep organizations relevant in the market. If you want your business to exist in five years, contact us. We would love to hear from you and see how we may partner for growth.
The Concept of Inbound Marketing – The New Way of Doing Business
Inbound marketing is a marketing strategy that focuses on the ability of customers to find an intended brand, respective to its product and/or service.
Traditional avenues of marketing and advertising is considered outbound marketing. The traditional forms of media are utilized to target an audience. These include but are not not limited to the following mediums: TV advertising, print advertising, direct mail, trade shows, and cold calling.
Technology has allowed for replacement within outbound avenues, such as an inward approach to marketing. These avenues tend to be far more cost effective, and allow for businesses to capture an audience through non-intrusive means. These mediums include: blogs, social media,search engine optimization, webinars, and viral videos to name a few.
Why Inbound Marketing Makes Sense During a Recession
Today, many businesses are making solid efforts towards obtaining market share, with the understanding that it can be difficult during trying times. However, it is really never too late as long as you have a strategy and patience, both will allow for results over time.
As the economy has progressively slowed down, organizations have turned to Inbound marketing because not only is it an efficient means to target specific core target markets, but it is also about building relationships on multiple levels that were not possible through outbound marketing. You may not realize this, but inbound marketing costs less, which allows for you to naturally focus on your target market, and an investment that is not always going to be an ongoing expense.
For example, consider this scenario: You are a business on the precipice of growing, but you want to wait for additional operating income. You are afraid that if you take the capital and invest in inbound marketing strategies, your ROI may never see the light of day. The largest loss that many businesses do not take into account is the loss of time that could have been utilized to build a customer base, and create opportunities to market your product/service. Some of the methods or strategies can easily be managed by you, by creating an efficient yet effective turn-key process, which is virtually the best thing you can do for yourself.
Eleven years ago when the dot.com bubble burst, the notion of enterprise companies being able to build sustainable businesses was far and few between. However, as social enterprises have sprouted with combinations of both search engines and tools to help you monetize your investment. Many businesses have turned this into lucrative opportunities to succeed in business. Now more than ever, Internet Marketing is critical to your business and its success. It is an essential component to the survival and growth of any enterprise. Take the time to read through our Internet Marketing E-Book and consider avenues how these practical approaches can help position your business for success.
