Branding

To brand or not to brand...is that the question?

Branding can be a cost intensive undertaking – which means that you definitely want to stick to the strategic essentials.

To grow a new brand you need to be an expert, so as to avoid embarrassing missteps when launching a product in foreign markets. For example, if you name your SUV Pajero – which in German, English and French has no particular meaning and at most has a somewhat exotic ring to it but in Spanish means “masturbator” – you may upset hispanophones. This actually happened to Mitsubishi, which was forced to rename the car Montero in all Spanish speaking countries – but alas, only after they began marketing the car. The whiskey known as Irish Mist has encountered problems on the German market for similar reasons, since in German “Mist” means “excrement.” And the German detergent name Persil is not optimally suited for France, as “persil” means “parsley” in French.

The rights of other trademark owners should be rigorously respected. Brands need to be clearly differentiated rather than sounding like imitations of existing brands, lest legal action be taken. TRANACOM's brand development team is acutely aware of these various pitfalls. At TRANACOM, robust and successful branding is assured by painstaking research concerning territorial validity, as well as the product or service category that the brand will be classified under. In our view, branding should be creative – but not so creative that it infringes the rights of other trademark owners. Similar sounding syllables or unduly close resemblances not only undermine the impact of a specific brand name, but also evoke competing products or services – which is of course the worst case scenario in such a context and can give rise to litigation and costly damage awards. Hence the money you invest in brand development is money well spent, and is only a pittance compared to the risk of possible trademark infringement.

Thus the path from a new product or innovative service to a distinctive brand name that sounds good and is above all beyond reproach from a legal standpoint can be a long one.

1. Don’t leave your new brand name to chance.
2. Conduct thorough research concerning the relevant international markets.
3. Your brand name should work well and be evocative in foreign cultures as well.
4. Make sure your brand name is devoid of undesirable connotations in your target markets.
5. A brand name that sounds like an existing name can be the kiss of death.

It’s advisable to have the viability of your brand in all target foreign markets assessed. A brand that gives the wrong impression from a linguistic standpoint can derail the most carefully planned market launch.