Some Brand Names Don't Translate Well

Many global companies, like Coca-Cola, Nike, Google, Intel and Microsoft, choose to use the same brand name in multiple countries.

This is not possible for every brand, but it can often be an advantage. Think of the degree to which a single brand name simplifies marketing and increases return on advertising investment. By comparison, how much more would one of these companies need to spend to achieve the same results with a different localized brand name in every market?

Proctor and Gamble likely understood the benefits of a single global brand nearly 70 years ago when it considered launching a new soap named "Dreck" in the United States. According to the book New Products Management by Charles Crawford, shortly before the company introduced the soap to U.S. consumers, it discovered "Dreck" sounded like German and Yiddish words for dirt, garbage, body waste and a four-letter expletive that can not be published here. Fortunately, because Proctor and Gamble did its homework, it had time to change the detergent name to "Dreft" and has since sold it successfully in the U.S. and many other countries....

Read the rest at "Some brand names don't translate well" by Adam Wooten in his International Business column on DeseretNews.com