What's in a Name? (a lesson in going global).

Lately, I've been learning how culturally wise marketers need to become--including yours truly--now that the world is our marketing oyster. Just because we can market to the world doesn't mean that we should--at least not without minding some cultural differences...like names.

Certainly you guys read about the snafu by Chevrolet eons ago in marketing its Nova car in Mexico. If you didn't, "No Va" in Spanish means "doesn't go" so the name hampered sales on a product which, being an automobile, holds the value proposition of transporting people...and thusly go-ing.

So that's the case of trying to use the same branding tactics with a different audience. The result? The brand doesn't move. So now we've learned to adjust our branding when marketing to new audiences and foreign constituencies.

But what happens when we're not in charge of the brand name and make assumptions about it? What if the brand name happens to be that of a person? Take a recent sales inquiry sent to fellow marketing blogger Gianandrea Facchini's in-box:

Hello from Amazon.com,
Thanks to the recent purchase(s) you made in the Beauty, Apparel, or Shoes stores at Amazon, you are eligible to receive a one-year subscription to the special Amazon edition of "Lucky" magazine, a $12 value. This special edition is available only to Amazon customers, and includes a special supplement, "Lucky SHOPS Amazon," which features every month a set of must-have products at Amazon as selected by the editors at "Lucky."

But Gianandrea is not a target of this magazine. Nowhere near. Why?

• Gianandrea (or "G") is male. I know, the name is confusing because it has the "Andrea" and the "Gia" in it. In fact, in my first correspondence to him in response to a great comment he left at The Daily Fix Blog, I opened with "Ciao Bella!" instead of "Ciao Bello!" and he politely corrected me by telling me he is a boy with a beard and quite bald. And here I was so proud of myself for opening with some cute Italian language. Duh. We had a chuckle as I, with the nickname "CK", have been addressed as "Dear Sir" on several occasions--and I'm all girl (and not bald).
• "G" is a straight male...so it's unlikely he dons heels and cute sundresses. Not that there's anything wrong with it. Heck, living in NYC, I see cross-dressing all the time.
• But G doesn't live in NYC, he lives in Italy (in Roma) so the $12 offer doesn't apply. Plus, America has nothing on Italy insofar as high-fashion or fashion magazines. I would hope the Italians would scoff at low-rent magazines such as Lucky anyhow.
• But here is where it gets really good...G is not an Amazon customer nor has he ever been. He has shopped their competitor, Barnes & Noble, but not for beauty products or shoes, just books (G, like CK, is a bookworm).

Now Gianandrea could be the victim of identity theft wherein some American woman--or male cross-dresser--is sporting some way cute shoes. But in that case the culprit would be giving out Gianandrea's e-mail so that is highly unlikely (or way dumb). Seems more likely that Amazon got a hold of his e-mail and let the computer, or a person, make assumptions on his name and didn't cross-reference e-mail address with country codes or purchasing history.

But Amazon is just one little tree in this BIG global forest. The lesson is that as our markets grow so too our learning curves: going global is not only an opportunity it's a responsibility. We're responsible for learning such details as different names in differing cultures. If marketers don't accept this responsibility than our brands, much like the NoVa car, won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

P.S.: The Nova incident is actually one of urban legend. That's right, it didn't happen. But it's been cited in textbooks and is so widespread that it does provide a great cautionary tale. But only a tale it is, at Chevy's expense. So I hope you don't mind that I cited it in this post.

Comments

[Tim Jackson]

Yes, it is true- we have to be very intelligent and careful in our marketing, especially with global brands. The same is true for our "local" marketing though. I can't count the number of times I've received sales offers (many times in the form of spam) that are completely wrong. For the record, I am not a 5' tall woman who shops at Petite Sophisticates. If you've seen my picture before, you'll understand how wrong that is...

Excellent post CK.

Oh yeah... and have a wonderful holiday and blessed New Year.

[gianandrea facchini]

ck, i'm proud i did in someway inspire you to write this post. this story of the language mismatch is a real issue for multinational companies and for individuals traveling.
just to make a little history of the name, andrea does come from ancient greek and its root is "aner": it means "the man", the ancient virile hero. (i do not pretend anything, by the way!!) so it's rather funny to meet a woman with this name.
and let me comment about petite sophisticates: tim, do you plan to launch the female lycra version of the sockdujour?

[Lewis Green]

Great post CK: Here's my two cents.

First cent: When Gianandrea first started posting, I, too, thought he was a woman. And a very beautiful one at that. So when he invited me to visit him on our next trip to Italy, I was reluctant to tell my wife.

Second cent: Because of cultural differences, Starbucks does not directly run its foreign stores. Instead, it brings in local partners who hire local people. And it varies its menu boards and merchandise to suit the locale.

[gianandrea facchini]

lewis, you are great.
anyway, that's why i put a picture of myself in the blog homepage ;-)

[Susan Jones]

There are few gifts one can give that last a lifetime, the inspiration you’ve so willingly and unselfishly shared with the world through your talent is one. I’ve been a fortunate benefactor, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and the very best of the new year to you and yours.

[Katia]

CK,

It's funny how I've been reading so many things about transcultural marketing lately. For some reason, this subject has picked up again. It's really nothing out of this world that we need to be sensitive to other cultures... we don't think nor act alike. And language is a big part of our culture and mindset, and that's one of the main reasons transcultural marketing needs to be practiced wisely. I'm writing very lightly about that on my blog, just observing things around me. You might be interested in one of my postings "Lost in translation makes for better adaptation".

Happy Holidays!