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Brands Lost In Translation: NOVA Means “Does Not Work”
© Cheryl Hodgson 2008 | Posted on November 5, 2008
By Ryan Blaney – Associate with Hodgson Law Group
Many companies have visions of creating a global empire, yet create brands that cater largely to the American market. However, it is paramount for companies to consider how their brand will translate on a global level. A lack of foresight can seriously impair the value of a brand when the time to enter the international arena arrives. The following article, “Going Global with your brand, part 1: lost in translation,” reprinted with permission of our Canadian associates Smart & Biggar, underscores the importance of the issue.
Before launching a brand abroad, invest some time and money into researching cultural traits of your target markets. Large companies devote huge percentages of their marketing campaigns to do market research regarding how a brand will be perceived in a new market. These studies are conducted before any marketing material hits the target consumer base.
An example cited in the article is that of the Vauxhall NOVA automobile. NOVA in Spanish translates to “does not work”. As a Spanish and American citizen, I was a young boy when the NOVA was released in Spain. I remember vividly the jokes that were made about the car and how nobody wanted to buy one. The company failed to consider the meaning before selling the product. The disastrous results served as a reminder to large corporations that understanding local markets is vital as to the successful launch and effectiveness of a brand.
A more recent example in the Spanish market is the appetite suppressant pill “Fat Away.” When the product first launched in Spain, everyone pronounced it with a Spanish accent, i.e. “phutuwey”. Consumers believed the product was related to a Thai restaurant or Thai cuisine. Though I am a native English speaker, I had no idea what friends were telling me, until they actually wrote the brand on paper, and I could read the meaning in English. Confusion of this nature can result in thousands of dollars in lost revenue, simply because a more specific brand was not chosen for a particular market.
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1 Comment »
November 11th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Funny, I thought the Vauxhall NOVA, while assembled in Spain, was sold on the continent under the Opel Corsa name. Moreover, that smacks of the old Marketing 101 tale (untrue, of course) about the Chevy Nova supposedly receiving a cruel welcome in Mexico.
Whatever the case may be, it doesn’t take away from the truths mentioned in the article. One has to do one’s homework before launching abroad.