When is it time to adapt a name to local needs?
English is often considered “the language of business”—but should it always be your first choice when taking your name to another market?
Or, if your names are all in another language, should you localize them all when you enter markets that speak other languages/have different cultural contexts?
There’s no one right answer. But there’s a lot to consider.
What does it mean to localize a name?
I’m using the broad term “localizing” rather than “translating,” because it includes considering the cultural and regional nuances, even within a single language, that can impact how a name is understood.
Sometimes, to localize a name, you might just need a literal translation. You offer Artificial Intelligence in the U.S., you offer Inteligencia Artificial in Mexico.
But you might also need to consider that sometimes a translated name, while literally correct, isn’t going to work. Maybe it doubles as offensive slang, or sounds awkward. Your path forward might include modifying the translated name, or creating a new one altogether that gets the same idea across. A respectful solution usually considers both literal and creative options.
Company names: Try to keep it consistent
Consistency matters most at the top.
Having a single company name that’s recognizable in more places than it isn’t will serve you well. The rare exception here is when—due to a major linguistic disaster or trademark hurdle—you simply cannot use your name everywhere you want to. But if you’ve read all the other booklets in the Truth in Branding series, you’ve already taken steps to get ahead of those issues…
McDonald’s is McDonald’s all over the world. But Burger King? It was too late to secure its name in Australia—there was already a shop there using it—so it went to market there as Hungry Jack’s.
Product brands: Pick a strategy that suits your audiences
Consider things like your target audience’s familiarity with English (or your language of origin) and what job your product brands are supposed to do.
If the names are meant to educate or describe a function or benefit, you might translate to make sure they can do that same job everywhere. But if they’re meant to differentiate, or stand for something beyond their literal meaning, you might get away with not translating.
Microsoft (mostly) goes to market with the same English names of its major product brands: Teams, Copilot, Windows, Surface, etc. Salesforce blends tactics, using Customer 360 in most places, while translating descriptive offerings like Sales into local languages.
Product names: Pick a strategy that you can operationalize, especially as your portfolio grows
Product names don’t always play a major role in a consumer’s life after purchase, so consider what you can manage and implement most successfully.
You might find that localizing helps consumers choose your products more easily, and that you’re ok if the unique qualities of your original names get a little lost.
Or you might find that keeping all your product names in a single language tells a better story about the culture from which your products originated.
Ikea uses Swedish product names all over the world. Most of its shoppers don’t know what they mean, or how to say them, but they distinguish one product from the next. Most won’t remember the name of the desk chair they bought, they will remember that it’s from Ikea.
Content, documentation, features, add-ons, ingredients: Localize as much as possible
Names help people choose you. But when you’re upstream of that choice, your marketing materials should frame those names in a way that makes the case for why they should choose you—in a way that reflects your target audience’s language and culture.
Same is true once you’re downstream. You’ve been chosen: It’s time to make sure your audiences feel like they made the right choice, with language throughout interfaces and documentation that helps them have the best possible experience.
Learn more about this, and other ways to set your next naming project up for success, at an upcoming Naming for Everyone class!
Happy naming!
Caitlin
P.S. The summer class schedule is live!
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