speaking globally

The Global Performance Scorecard

It’s a small world. And lots of its inhabitants don’t speak English. To choose a name with global appeal, a linguistic assessment is indispensable.

For every product naming and company naming project, Catchword conducts an informal linguistic review to weed out names with obvious pronunciation issues or problematic meanings. For truly informed name selection, however, we recommend our Global Performance Scorecard, or GPS. This proprietary and highly structured analytic system taps into our worldwide network of language experts to steer you towards the most promising name candidates for your global audiences.

We can’t tell you how often this comprehensive evaluation saves the day. From the kids’ game almost named Reego (’til we learned that in Mexico “regó” means “he screwed up”)—to the global brand nearly dubbed Cozm (which sounds like the German verb “to vomit” when pronounced with a German accent)—the cautionary tales abound.

So it’s absolutely critical to submit names headed for markets outside the U.S. to a rigorous linguistic evaluation. And it’s not a bad idea for North American audiences either (given how many people speak languages like Spanish, Mandarin, Tagalog, Hindi, Cantonese, and Canadian French). The last thing you want is to fall in love with a product name or company name that has inappropriate or negative connotations for some of your target audiences. Or to favor a name that’s meaningless in a key market over a name that communicates your brand’s essence.

Far more than a simple disaster check, the GPS assesses the strengths and weaknesses of name candidates across a variety of criteria. Besides probing for undesirable associations, we research whether a name is hard to say, sounds funny in a particular language—or resembles a competitor’s. We also consider whether a name is appropriate for both the brand and the culture it must live in. And we assess how well a product name or company name transmits desired messages.

The GPS evaluation includes a comprehensive written report analyzing our findings and guiding you towards the names that stand the best chance of distinguishing your brand in the global marketplace. We think you’ll find it well worth the comparatively small investment of time and resources.

Our Specialists

An evaluation is only as good as the evaluators. Catchword’s global linguistic team is the best in the industry.

We have immediate access to language experts who speak virtually every language and dialect in the world. And unlike typical translation services, our network of specialists is comprised of native speakers who actually live in the countries in question. So they’re aware of cultural nuances other translation services might miss. They’re also sophisticated in the ways of advertising and branding, so they can evaluate names (as well as logos and taglines) from a marketing perspective. And they can conduct probing interviews that go well beyond “person-in-the-street” reactions, to identify potential branding issues and cultural concerns.

Of course no single linguistic expert can be expected to identify all of the potential snags and strengths of a name candidate. So in each language explored, we use a team of specialists to assess each name: to ensure the broadest spectrum of independent input and opinion.

Our Methodology

For each of our linguistic reviews, we customize our methodology to the project at hand. We start by pinpointing your target audiences, the countries they live in, and the languages they speak. (This can be more complicated than it sounds, as a language can vary from region to region, even within the same country.) We then develop a comprehensive questionnaire tailored to your chosen name candidates, your strategic goals and concerns, the competitive and cultural terrain of each country explored, and any special linguistic factors. In addition, typical questions in almost any linguistic analysis would include:

• Is this name easy to pronounce? If not, why?
• Does this name remind you of any existing products, services, or companies?
• Are there similar words in your language?
• What are the associations or connotations of this name?
• Is this name appropriate for your language and culture? Why or why not?

Our Standard Languages List

We’ve listed below the languages in which we most commonly evaluate name candidates. But the list goes on and on. So if you don’t see a language of interest here, don’t worry. We can (and do) conduct linguistic testing in just about every spoken language in the world.

Europe

South America

East Asia

Africa

Australasia

Middle East

South Asia