When Coca-Cola first entered China way back in the 1920s, they made the same mistake a lot of companies still make today. Instead of taking the time to come up with the right brand name, they quickly translated Coca-Cola into Mandarin without much thought. The result was 蝌蝌啃蜡, meaning tadpoles eating wax candles! Needless to say, consumers were not thrilled.
Believe it or not, the biggest thing that can make or break your brand in China is its name. Over and over, we see companies simply translate their name into Mandarin. Sometimes that works. Most of the time it ends up with non-sensical, weird, or even perverse naming.
TSI’s extensive work in product naming, from Tim Tams to Beyond Meat, has shown three critical elements a good name must possess to drive consumer conversion and success in the market. This month’s TSI Navigator™ Compass explores those elements in detail so you can avoid the same embarrassing mistakes your competitors are making.
Read the report here.
