Using linguistics for creating better international brand names |
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Authors: | Jean-Claude Usunier Janet Shaner |
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Institution: | 1. Graduate School of Commerce (HEC), University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne-Dorigny, Switzerland;2. IMD, Chemin de Bellerive 23, CH-1007 Lausanne, Switzerland |
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Abstract: | International product sales are increasingly important for most companies. As a result, cross-border brand naming is becoming a significant marketing issue. This article describes linguistic assets such as phonetics (sounds), etymology (roots of words) and rhetoric (persuasive discourse) and proposes a comprehensive framework for analysing how these linguistic assets transfer (or do not transfer) to a number of target linguistic contexts. Using this analysis, managers should follow the ‘Joyce principle’ and attempt to build meaningful brand names across languages, thus adding value to their global brand names. |
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Keywords: | Brand name language phonetics cross-border semiotics international marketing |
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