MAM
Lost in Translation: Corporate Branding
Is your corporate image sending messages of love, hate, profanity or sobriety? No matter how and where you travel, with or without your products or your corporate image, the chances are that a lot of your marketing messages are getting lost in translation as they make their way around the globe.
Business names are being hit the hardest as the world becomes smaller and companies go global. Each one of us is now spinning in a mix of international alphabet soup of strange names and terminologies. You invent something new, send out a release, the media talks about it and, within seconds, it becomes an international item. Your business name image might end up as a great universal message or emulate some strange and confusing messages with insults or profanity. But why?
A Trunk Call to Britannia
Like it or not, from the Greeks to the Koreans or from the quiet Zen masters to the chanting Buddhists, all will try to figure out the meaning of your great message and the name of your new gizmo as you push for an international audience.
Thanks to several historical factors, including colonisation, the largest global population is increasingly tied to a string of 26 alpha characters in English. Today, even in the oldest and remotest jungles, some form of English is spoken. Thank you Britannia, we are amused. For that and for many other reasons, English-based naming has been the norm for corporate business nomenclature, because, it always has provided some measure of sobriety and universal understanding.
It is true that the other half of the global populace is still non-English speakers, but the process of corporate naming can seriously risk the future of a company by picking an exotic non-English word as a corporate name to gain quick attention or to cure a lingering corporate image problem.
Emotional Break-Dance
For example, a press release announcing a new company, KumangaTeq, would struggle to explain the meaning of the name in the first paragraph. “Kuman” means “mighty leader” in Serbio-Latin? and “manga” means “a very sweet mango with firm body” in Sanskrit?. “Therefore,” the press release might say, “this fits our very unique branding tagline — curved for power and technology — and it matches our curvy logo design.”
At times, this holistic, homeopathically driven and overly emotional strategy is like going from the frying pan into the fire. Talk about an emotional break-dance. KumangaTeq would be a good name if its customers were all located in northern Calcutta around some Sanskrit temples, or in Croatia where there are still a few villages with traces of Serbian-Latin dialects. In Delhi, Karachi or Manhattan, and in most major cities around the world, KumangaTeq would be considered not so sweet, at best.
Business Naming Trajectory
This type of naming problem is repeated just about every day around the globe. Of the hundreds of new names of various businesses — including product and service announcements — many strange names emerge every single day. True, such names fade away after the initial funding stops the branding fireworks.
They then go out deeper into other jungles, searching for new words, hoping to combine those words with other marketing pushes. During the last few years, thousands of such foreign corporate names were adopted with the weirdest stories of their cute origins. Surly this corporate branding technique will eventually exhaust itself. Now you know why corporations change their names so many times.
The false rumor that all names in English are gone is just a branding cop-out. There are millions of great English language names available with global trademark potential, but what is missing is the knowledge to develop them as clear global corporate name identities. Focus groups and randomly pooled exotic name lists is not the way.
No Mai Mai
“Nay” is yes to Greeks. The American “yeah” means “no” to the Japanese. To the British, long distance is a “trunk,” sister a “nurse” and elevator a “lift.” A simple laugh — “ha, ha, ha” — means “mother” in Japanese, while “Ohio” means good morning. In Russia, “looks” means “opinion” and “socks” means “juice.” In France, a simple sign of “sale” means “dirty.” The Chinese word “mai” said in a certain style means to “buy” and in another style to “sell.” When enunciated together, “mai mai” means “business.”
To appreciate this issue further, I should point out that despite the seeming dominance of English, there are some 2,700 different languages with 8,000 dialects around the world. Altogether, there are 12 important language families with 50 lesser ones. Indo-European is the largest family in which English is the most important category.
Based on usage by population, the following is a list of major languages in descending order: Chinese, English, Hindustani, Russian, Spanish, Indonesian, Portuguese, French, Arabic, Bengali, Mali and Italian.
The globalisation of e-commerce and the use of digital branding for domain names point to a serious need for special sets of skills when it comes to corporate name branding.
We all better be wary of language issues. After all, the customers are no longer just on our streets, they are now all over the globe. Better learn to name correctly or pick up Chinese so at least you can properly enunciate “no mai mai” — meaning there is no more business left.
Naseem Javed author Naming for Power and also Domain Wars, recognized as world authority on global Name Identities and Domain Issues, introduced The Laws of Corporate Naming in the eighties and also founded ABC Namebank, a consultancy he established in New York & Toronto a quarter century ago. Naseem conducts exclusive executive workshops on global naming issues and cyber-branding, via web conferences …www.abcnamebank.com
Brands
Malaika Arora launches Maejoy accessories brand with Myntra partnership
New label debuts with 250 plus handbags and lab grown diamond jewellery.
MUMBAI: When style meets sparkle, a new brand is ready to take centre stage. Actor and entrepreneur Malaika Arora has launched a lifestyle accessories label called Maejoy, developed in collaboration with Exceed Entertainment and Myntra Jabong India Private Limited (MJIPL), the B2B wholesale arm of Myntra. The brand enters the market with a debut collection of more than 250 styles spanning handbags and lab grown diamond jewellery, two categories that continue to define everyday personal style for modern consumers.
The handbag lineup includes crossbody bags, structured shoulder bags, bucket bags, totes, backpacks, clutches and workwear inspired designs. The pieces are crafted using materials such as synthetic leather, raffia, braids, satin, rhinestones and metallic finishes.
Alongside the bags, Maejoy has introduced a jewellery range featuring lab grown diamond rings, earrings, pendants, bracelets and tennis bracelets. The pieces are set in 925 sterling silver bases with gold, silver and rose gold tones, and include diamonds certified by IGI and GCI.
Positioned as a premium yet accessible accessories label, Maejoy is built around the philosophy “The Joy of Being Me”, aiming to blend aspirational fashion with everyday usability. The brand’s positioning centres on three pillars: authenticity, empowerment and accessibility.
Arora described the venture as a natural extension of her long association with fashion and personal style.
“Maejoy is a labour of love. Throughout my career, whether on screen, in business or through personal style, I have always believed fashion should feel empowering yet effortless. The Joy of Being Me celebrates individuality while making global fashion trends more accessible,” she said.
MJIPL, CXO and head of house of brands Suman Saha said the brand brings together Arora’s style perspective with a strong opportunity in the accessible premium accessories segment.
“Maejoy combines Malaika Arora’s distinctive style sensibility with fashion forward designs that we believe will resonate strongly with consumers looking for elevated yet wearable accessories,” he said.
Exceed Entertainment CEO Afsar Zaidi added that building celebrity led brands requires balancing authenticity with market viability.
“Malaika commands respect both as a fashion icon and a businesswoman. Bringing her creative vision together with Myntra’s brand building expertise creates a strong foundation for Maejoy,” he said.
The collection is available exclusively on Myntra through its website and mobile app, making the brand accessible to millions of shoppers across India as it steps into the competitive lifestyle accessories space.
