[AccessD] International marketing becarefuls

The French soft drink Pschitt springs to mind. Not a big market in
English-speaking countries for that. And even within the broad
English-speaking world we all know of words and phrases that don't cross
borders well.

On the serious side of this it just shows if anyone is thinking of marketing
products outside of their country it just proves it's essential to involve
locals. It's not just naming, but customs too. I've never tried it but I'm
quite sure marketing of a product in, say, Japan is a very different
exercise. I'm sure those with products, like Rocky, would have some tales to
tell.

--
Andy Lacey
http://www.minstersystems.co.uk




--------- Original Message --------
From: "Access Developers discussion and problem solving"
<accessd at databaseadvisors.com>
To: "'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'"
<accessd at databaseadvisors.com>
Subject: [AccessD] International marketing becarefuls
Date: 01/09/05 08:02


This is perhaps a day early, since it's humourous, but it is also on point
for those of use who attempt to market internationally.



1. 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. Coors put its slogan, "Turn It Loose," into Spanish, where it
was read as "Suffer From Diarrhea."

3. Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following
in an American campaign: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux."

4. 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."

5. 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 depicting the contents, since many
people can't read.

6. Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name
of a notorious porno magazine.

7. 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).

8. Pepsi's "Come Alive With the Pepsi Generation" translated into
"Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back From the Grave" in Chinese.

9. 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 "kokou kole",
translating into "happiness in the mouth."

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