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In 1987, Braniff Airlines ran ads on television, on radio and in newspapers flaunting the fact that its jets were equipped with all-leather seats. Spanish-language radio ads in the Florida market were the first to reveal an unintended double entendre. Braniff had translated its "fly in leather" slogan as fly "en cuero," which sounds like Spanish slang for "fly naked."
Some speculated the gaffe was an intentional move by marketing to attract attention, but the executive who developed the ad confirmed that the double meaning was accidental.
The airline industry is international by nature, and airlines must adapt their business and language to thrive in other countries. Companies like Braniff have seen many successes, but they have also occasionally failed to anticipate the connotations of a foreign idiom or figurative regional expression in marketing.
Marketing messages often contain colloquial or idiomatic language to evoke an emotional response in the target audience. However, some of this language can unintentionally carry undesirable meanings in translation and may even harm marketing efforts...
Read the rest at "In global airline marketing, idioms must be handled carefully" by Adam Wooten in his International Business column on DeseretNews.com
Each country has its own gift-giving etiquette. If you do business internationally, you may benefit from understanding the gift-giving customs of your international clients and partners.
In March 2009, when U.S. President Barack Obama had been in office less than two months, then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an official visit from the United Kingdom and the two heads-of-state had the opportunity to exchange gifts.
Brown offered some very thoughtful gifts, including a penholder made of wood from the Victorian anti-slave ship HMS Gannet. Making this present more meaningful is the fact that wood from the Gannet's sister ship, the HMS Resolute, was used to make the Resolute Desk that has resided in the Oval Office for more than 100 years.
Obama's gifts to Brown included DVDs of 25 classic American movies including "The Wizard of Oz," "Psycho" and "The Godfather." Particularly in light of the fact that the DVDs were in the wrong format and would not play in European DVD players, many U.K. citizens and publications felt a little slighted by the U.S. president.
The exchange between Brown and Obama illustrates several lessons everyone can learn about gift-giving in other cultures. We can extract lessons both from Brown's gracious actions and from Obama's less-than-impressive example...
Read the rest at "Prevent international gift gaffes: Lessons learned from President Obama's 'giftgate'" by Adam Wooten in his International Business column on DeseretNews.com
In business, we give gifts to strengthen relationships and to thank those who keep us in business. However, without intercultural understanding and due diligence, the wrong gift can unintentionally offend international clients, partners and employees.
A gift as simple as $4 can be dangerous to an international company if it is culturally misunderstood. Philip Graham, an international executive who graduated from Thunderbird's School of Global Management, recounted the time he saw such an intended gesture of goodwill go awry and seriously damage the morale of 100 employees in Singapore....
Read the rest at "Give international gifts without giving offense" by Adam Wooten in his International Business column on DeseretNews.com
Bridges are incredibly useful and help many people reach important destinations quickly and easily. However, bridges can also be dangerous when misused, and exceeding a bridge's maximum load capacity can obviously result in disaster.
Similarly, bilingual workers can be incredibly beneficial and can help bridge the gaps many organizations must cross to expand internationally. In fact, some have partially credited the success of Utah's export sector, as highlighted in a recent report by the Brookings Institution, to the language skills many Utahns gain while serving two-year religious missions abroad. However, like use of physical bridges with maximum load capacities, use of bilingual workers as cultural bridges can also be dangerous if their capacities are not properly assessed and respected.
Like Utah, the U.S. State Department also has a remarkably high concentration of workers with second-language skills. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton experienced significant embarrassment in 2009 when the State Department did not understand and respect the limitations of some bilingual employees....
Read the rest at "Multilingual workers can be an asset only if used properly" by Adam Wooten in his International Business column on DeseretNews.com
Are you planning to start your next international business presentation with a little joke to break the ice? Well, you might want to reconsider or, at least, share a joke that will not fall flat in the other culture. The story is told of a businessman who gave a speech in a foreign country through an interpreter. Without warning the interpreter beforehand, he inserted a joke into the presentation. The interpreter knew the joke would not translate and knew of no equivalent to substitute in its place, so she said, "This man just told a joke that he thinks is funny, but it does not translate well, and you will not find it funny at all. So, when I stop talking, everyone please just laugh." The audience did indeed roar with laughter, but not for the reason the speaker supposed. Unaware of what really invoked such a positive reaction, the businessman was so pleased with the first result that he proceeded to tell another joke....
Read the rest at "I don't get it: Humor lost in translation" by Adam Wooten in his International Business column on DeseretNews.com
