Q: For a Western product or service not known to Chinese, what the company should do first about branding when they launch into the China market?
A: They shall first not be in a hurry to create their products’ Chinese name. Generally there are three ways to make a Chinese name for a western brand, the conceptual way, the phonetic way, and the combination of the two. You can not tell in a short while which way is better to make the new name more appealing to Chinese consumers. So you just launch the product into the vast Chinese market with its original Western name intact. Then it’s up to customers to decide whether the original name can be easily memorized and appreciated as they are. If so, you don’t need a Chinese one. In that case, the Western name in itself is enough for customers to relate it to the product or service it represents, like Nike, LV, LG does. You only need to choose a literal Chinese translation which though meaningless has an exotic and high-end flavour to Chinese customers. If not, you shall consult a local naming company about how to reinvent the product name to make it more attractive to Chinese.

Q: What is the best proven way for the foreign brand owners to create their Chinese name?
A: Principally, they recruit a naming company to provide solutions, but there is still a great amount of homework for them to do at first. They should conduct a thorough survey on their potential customers. They will find out the age, income, place of residence of them. This is called brand positioning, by which they understand more about their customers and can adjust their Chinese name to appeal to these certain customer base. For example, if the product or service is aimed at teens or people in their twenties, avant-garde and stylish Chinese characters shall be employed, while if the product is for the older generation, some more classical and traditional Chinese characters shall be adopted.

Q: There are such good and well-named brands like Coca Cola, Carrefour and Starbucks. Why they are so successful in China? What can we learn from them?
A: The Chinese names of the three brands you named are all mixed translations, that is to say they sound like the original and have a meaning in Chinese at the same time. It’s not by chance but a somewhat certainty, because the mixed method is most often used in the brand renaming business.

They also reflect three of the most important factors which shall be considered in building a brand’s foreign name. Take Coca Cola for example, its Chinese name 可口可乐(in pin yin: Kekou Kele) which means palatable and enjoyable, instantly conveys the product’s benefits to consumers, and its sound is very similar to its original pronunciation. As to Carrefour, its Chinese name 家乐福 ( in pin yin: JiaLeFu) meaning Family, Happiness and Fortune in Chinese, which tells customer what it offers, is a good example of brand positioning through foreign renaming, and it’s easy to remember and pleasing to the ear. In the instance of Starbucks, its Chinese name星巴克, is also a very successful foreign renaming. 星means star in Chinese, while 巴克(in pin yin: BaKe) is a simple direct translation of bucks, which gives the name a certain foreign and western flair, just as the coffee itself is an exotic goods introduced to China not long ago.

So when you are renaming a brand in a foreign market, you’d better mull over these factors: embodying product benefits or industry characteristics, brand positioning, integration with logo or packaging, foreign origin or exotic air, traditional value assets, etc. Although there is no template to guarantee a good name, consideration about these factors will keep you from tremendous costs resulting from bad name.