Chinese Brand Makeover

Chinese followers of the popular Netflix drama House of Cards Season 2 know one thing the producers don’t: the correct pronunciation of “Qian,” which is supposed to sound like chee-an as opposed to kee-an. Some have wondered if the actors are mispronouncing it on purpose. If not, then why couldn’t they just ask a native Mandarin speaker?

If the latter is the case, then it confirms the adage that some names simply don’t travel well. Chinese names are particularly tricky because of its nature of four tones and the individual sounds of pinyin, a Romanization system of Chinese characters, are not always the same as in English.

The same goes for your brand name. As more Chinese companies go global, some of them might have to give their Chinese name a complete makeover.

Take Chinese drink producer Jianlibao for example, which failed to enter international market in the 1990s. According to Jack Shea, a beverage industry veteran, Jianlibao’s brand name prevented it from being able to connect with the average American consumers. Chinese phonetics may also have negative connotations in other cultures or trigger pronunciation problems to Western audience.

When thinking of a brand name, Chinese companies need to ask questions such as “How does the brand make me feel?” and “What kind of desires can the brand fulfill for me?” And the most important of all is that they can’t think solely from a Chinese person’s perspective. Jan-Benedict Steenkamp, co-author of the book titled Brand Breakout—How Emerging Market Brands Will Go Global, said that Chinese business leaders think a lot about logic, but too little about magic when it comes to brands. Some even go so far as to say that logic is the enemy of a successful brand name.

Choosing a brand name is actually a very creative process, which means there’s no easy way to say “apply this set of rules”  in order to create a good one. It’s a very subjective process because everybody views a name and its meaning differently. That’s why companies sometimes pay millions of dollars to develop one.

And whichever region they choose, they also need to work in close collaboration with the local people who understand the challenges unique to each market. Beijing-based telecom security company NQ Mobile, for example, has created a separate headquarters in Texas which is entirely comprised of American employees. In a nutshell, understanding the local situation is vital for Chinese companies to succeed overseas.

But ultimately, a good brand is all about uniting people together and making them feel that they are part of a collective experience. Patrick Hanlon, a Forbes contributor, used the following words to explain the importance of brands:

“Brands are powerful things. When they work correctly, brands create trust, empathy, advocacy, zealotry. They create community and people feel they belong within that community. And there’s nothing like someone from the other side telling you you’re wrong to harden your beliefs. Best of all, your advocates stick with you through bad times.”

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