Mirela
You know how certain companies keep the name of their products in their native language? Best example is IKEA. Unless you’re a native Swede, you’ll have a hard time pronouncing some of their product names. And even when you think you nailed it, you can’t be sure you’ve pronounced it correctly. Some say this naming system is genius, other that it’s kind of weird, and others call it difficult. So the question arises: Should I localize product names or not? Here are a few reasons why customers would appreciate it more if you used their native language.
Cultural relevance
This is obviously the main reason. We can’t assume that a name will feel native in every market. If you choose not to localize your product names, that product will likely feel imported. This isn’t all bad, but if you offer products that would benefit from sounding more personal, then you might want to consider localization.
Higher memorability
Naturally, names that are easy to say, spell, and remember are more shareable. Since one of the most powerful marketing channels is word-of-mouth, if one has to struggle to pronounce a name or they’re afraid they got it wrong, your products might not reach that many consumers. When the name flows naturally in speech, people repeat it more often and recall it more easily.
Avoiding negative connotations
A name can create some very interesting unintended associations when introduced to another culture. Words that are harmless in one language can sound humorous, awkward, or offensive in another language. If you don’t want to be associated with something negative and risk damaging your brand, there’s no other option than to localize. Always make sure you check to see if there’s any product name in your portfolio that might not be suitable for your other target markets.
Better SEO
Since we’re living in a world where we’re discovering new products mostly through a search query, you want your product’s name to be easy to search for, to align with the local language patterns. Most consumers look for products using their own vocabulary and grammar, and if your product doesn’t match that, it might not appear in the search results.
Competitive differentiation
You should always take a peek at what your competitors are doing. If they’re localizing their names and you aren’t, maybe they’re on to something and you should adapt too. There’s also the fact that some product names sound inexpensive and loud, and you could use the opportunity to reframe them in another language to convey quality and sophistication.
Brands that localized their product names
We can find the best examples in the automotive world. Car manufacturers find themselves quite frequently having to rename specific models because the original name sounds like a slang word or an insult in another language.
Take Mitsubishi Pajero, a well-known SUV model. The car manufacturer had to change the name “Pajero” for North and South America and replace it with “Montero” because pajero is a vulgar slang term in Spanish-speaking countries. They also decided to rename the same model to Mitsubishi Shogun in the UK.
The horror game series Resident Evil is actually called Biozahard in its native Japan. The name Resident Evil was used for the Western markets because of trademark issues with the Biohazard name. Also, the Rockstar game Bully was renamed Canis Canem Edit (Latin for “dog eat dog”) in Europe and Australia due to concerns that the original title promoted school bullying.
Name changes occur even in the world of Pharmaceuticas due to different naming conventions between the FDA (USA) and the WHO. Tylenol, for example, calls their medication Acetaminophen in the U.S. and Japan, but in almost the rest of the world (UK, Australia, Europe), people know it as Paracetamol.
When to keep the name in the original language
If you, however, decide to keep the name of your product in your original language, make sure that name:
- Is easy to read and pronounce in the target language.
- Doesn’t sound awkward.
- Isn’t offensive.
- Isn’t trademarked.
When the name is the brand, you definitely should keep the name, especially if you already have fan communities across languages. All in all, you keep your product name as-is when the global value outweighs local friction.
Wrapping up
The question of whether to localize product names or keep them as they are is debatable. It depends on many aspects, as you’ve seen. But you need to remember that names set the tone for how a product will be welcomed and remembered. It’s a matter of serious brainstorming and research into how your product name would land in a new market with a completely different language.