Mistakes in International Marketing

There are many mistakes that have been made in the past when companies try to translate their names or slogans into a different language. Without proper research there were many companies that have suffered due to these mistakes. Even though some sound funny this is no laughing matter. Products were not bought due to what the slogans or names meant in other countries.

When a United States company produced telephone directories in Turkey, one Turkish man by the name of Tarak was ridiculed for many years (Tevfik & Ruud, 1996). The reason for his ridicule was the United States company had misspelled his name as Yarak which is a slang term for a male genital organ (Tevfik & Ruud, 1996). As you can see if the books were produced there in Turkey, they might have caught the error, but the United States had no clue. In part as a result of the above mishap, the company is no longer in the yellow pages business in Turkey” (Tevfik & Ruud, 1996).

In the 1960s the General Mills turned to Japan to market cakes from the Betty Crocker brands, but there was one problem, there were no ovens in the homes (Knight, 1995). General Mills then started to look for a way for the Japanese housewives to make the cakes using the rice cooker, which is in every Japanese household (Knight, 1995). They were successful in the cake trials, and the product was launched with the name Cakeron (Knight, 1995). The new product was not getting repeat sales for two reasons: rice is eaten in Japan with every meal, and rice is also considered sacred (Knight, 1995). Soon after its launch, General Mills withdrew Cakeron from Japan (Knight, 1995).

Avon, one of the largest manufacturers of cosmetics entered Japan in 1969 (Knight, 1995). Avon tried to do business as it always had in America for the first four years they occupied Japan, but could not turn a profit. There were many reasons why the same door to door selling initiative did not work. First of all, Japanese housewives are did not feel comfortable selling products to people they did not even know (Knight, 1995). “Second, Japan is a crowded place and the home is considered a private refuge-it is unusual for Japanese to accept strangers into their homes in the same way Avon ladies are welcomed in the West” (Knight, 1995). The third reason is that Japanese are timid when it comes to strangers because they are afraid that someone, with them or the stranger, will suffer some kind of embarrassment (Knight, 1995). Avon suffered much loss in the first four years, but quickly learned from their mistakes and assigned each Avon Representative to a specific area in which they already knew their customers, or could get to know them easily (Knight, 1995).

Now let’s discuss translation problems that have occurred many times. Braniff’s slogan “Fly in Leather” translated to “Fly Naked” in Spanish (Helin, 1992). Eastern Airlines used the slogan “We Earn Our Wings Daily” and the “Spanish translation of the Eastern slogan evoked a final destination in heaven, following death” (Helin, 1992). The Coors slogan “Turn it Loose” translated to Spanish, “Suffer from Diarrhea” (Helin, 1992). Budweiser’s ‘King of Beers’ became ‘Queen of Beers’ in Spanish because the Spanish word for beer, ‘cerveza,’ has a feminine ending” (Helin, 1992). Frank Perdue was ridiculed when his “It Takes a Tough Man to Make a Tender Chicken” slogan was translated into Spanish to say “It Takes a Sexually Stimulated Man to Make a Chicken Affectionate” (Helin, 1992).

Toyota changed there slogan from “Who Could Ask for Anything More?” to “Toyota Gives You More” because they were paying attention to what the Hispanic culture needs (Helin, 1992). McDonalds also pays attention to the Hispanic culture (Helin, 1992). They received Hispanic followers by specifically targeting an ad campaign that showed three generations of a family that were bilingual in English and Spanish (Helin, 1992). As you can see there are many types of mistakes that can be made when marketing American products in other countries.

Tevfik and Ruud (1996) give some tips on how to avoid costs that can be incurred when preparing an international marketing campaign:

-“Don’t Be Over-Confident or Over Optimistic About the Potential of Your Product.”

-“Don’t Overlook the Importance of Learning in International Markets.”

-“Avoid Ethnocentrism.”

-“Avoid the Self-Reference Criterion.”

-“Do Your Homework Properly.”

-“Seek Relationships, Not Transactions, in International Marketing.”

-“Avoid the Pushy Businessman Approach.”

Each of these tips will help any business overcome and prevent the marketing mishaps that have occurred in the past. It is imperative to understand that every country and ethnic background have different beliefs, cultures, and meanings for words.

References

Helin, D.W. (1992, February). When slogans go wrong. American Demographics, 14(2), 14. Retrieved February 26, 2007, from Business Source Elite.

Knight, G.A. (1995). Educator insights: International marketing blunders by American firms in japan: Some lessons for management. Journal of International Marketing, 3(4), 107-129). Retrieved February 26, 2007, from Business Source Elite.

Tevfik, D. & Ruud, H. (1996). Educator insights: International marketing blunders revisited: Some lessons for managers. Journal of International Marketing, 4(1), 81. Retrieved February 26, 2007, from Business Source Elite database.