The Best Brand Names in Chinese
I recently came across this piece of interesting news on Mothership.sg that MacDonald's changed its name in China. We know MacDonald's as 麦当劳 mài dāng láo, a direct phonetic translation of the brand name. Heck, some of us may even recall the classic commercials & tagline 我的麦当劳 (it goes to show how successful the branding has been).
Gosh, MacDonald's TV advertisement from 1996! Stay tuned after the English portion for the Chinese version.
In any case, China MacDonald's is now called 金拱门 jīn gǒng mén, meaning "golden arches", a reference to its iconic logo.
The article goes on to report that the Chinese netizens got into the spirit of renaming brands based on their logos, and this was the results:
If companies were honest, they would brand themselves based on what they design as their logos. From here.
Needless to say, branding is big business. Picking the right logo or the right colours in order to convey the right message. Choosing the right names or the right translations in order to reach out to foreign lands and languages.
Take for example Mercedes. The first Chinese translation for Mercedes-Benz was Bensi. Which sounded like 奔死 bēn sǐ, giving the impression that one is rushing to his death. Simply NOT the kind of image you want for an automobile company. Hence the car was rebranded to be 奔驰 bēn chí, conjuring up associations of speed and elegance.
Or think about Microsoft's search engine Bing. Its Chinese name is 必应 bì yìng which means "must respond" (quite an nifty name for a search engine). Its Chinese URL unfortunately still uses “Bing” and this reads like 病 bìng. Again, not at all confidence-inspiring or auspicious.
Clearly, finding the right translation (and its context) is both an art and a science. So this got me thinking. What are some of the best Chinese brand names? Who are the 1st in class when it comes to creativity and advertising?
Presenting the recipients of the unofficial Kan Tang award on
Best Chinese Brand Names (cue drum roll)
1. Nike
Translated Brand Name: 耐克 nài kè
As compared to: Adidas 阿迪达斯 Ā dí dá sī
Nike wins the Award hands down and this is why: its brand name in Chinese is 耐克 (耐 = able to endure or resist & 克 = able to overcome or restrain). The translated name sounds close enough to "Nike" and the individual words (耐 & 克) associate the customer with the ideals of endurance and strength. Images that Nike wants to portray and sell through its products. Compare this to its competitor Adidas whose Chinese name is just a phonetic translation and you can tell who is the clear winner. The Greek goddess herself would nod in agreement.
2. Coke Cola
Translated Brand Name: 可口可乐 kě kǒu kě lè
As compared to: Starbucks 星巴克 xīng bā kè
When Coca-Cola first arrived in China, local businesses advertised it phonetically as ke ke ken la which led to the strange meaning of “tadpoles chew wax” in Chinese. It rebranded itself successfully and now 可口可乐 is a stellar example of a creative and clever brand name.
可口 = taste good & 可乐 = like-able or delight-able. Contrast against Starbucks or 星巴克.
星 is translated from "star" but the rest of it (巴克) is just phonetic with no semantic meaning.
3. IKEA
Translated Brand Name: 宜家 yí jiā
As compared to: Toys 'R' Us 玩具反斗城 wán jù fǎn dòu chéng
IKEA is known in Chinese as 宜家 (宜 = suitable or fitting & 家 = home). Want to find Something that is fitting for your home? That's what IKEA is trying to tell you!
It is on this winner's list as it ticks both boxes (phonetic and semantic elements are taken care of).
Compared to toys retailer Toys 'R' Us, whose Chinese name is rather lengthy, 宜家 is elegant and drives the message home.
4. Twitter
Translated Brand Name: 推特 tuī tè
As compared to: Facebook
推 = push & 特 = special. Have something extraordinary that you want to push into people's media diet? Tweet it!
In this case, Twitter edges Facebook. FB does not even have an official name in Chinese.
Some folks use a direct translation (脸书) but the joke on the internet is that it is called 非死不可 fēi sǐ bù kě (which works out to be: no other choice, you must die).
5. Google
Translated Brand Name: 谷歌 gǔ gē
As compared to: Yahoo 雅虎 yǎ hǔ
When it was known that Google's brand name in Chinese is 谷歌, there were negative feedback.
谷 = valley & 歌 = song. Folks felt that the name has nothing to do with a technology company.
However, I thought the name was special in the sense that it pays homage to the company's roots. Google's home is in Silicon Valley. To incorporate the word 谷 is quite a nice and classy touch. On the other hand, Yahoo or 雅虎 ("graceful tiger") leaves me clueless as to how the company is related to gracefulness or tigers or graceful tigers.
Hope you like this list. Share in the Comments section if you can think of other positive examples.