While reading about redesigns of known logos I found some curious examples of brands that had to change their names depending on the country in which they were situated.
At first it may seem odd. Why a renowned brand does not do a good market research to reach a name that works in all countries? But this is not that simple. No matter how good expectations of a brand can be, you can always find some problems not initially imagined.
For example, we must bear in mind that the language leads attached in each country a different linguistic connotation that may make it difficult to work. A word can have two meanings (and one of them can be not good) or a difficult syllable to pronounce.
Another problem may be that in principle the brand was supposed to only extend in a market that has gradually expanded internationally so they were not taken into account criteria that otherwise should have been taken.
In any case, the important thing is to keep something of the logo that reminds us of the earlier brand, either the anagram or colours. But if we change completely, it will be very difficult to be recognized.
So here are some examples of brands that had to change their name when sold in other countries with different reasons that led to it. Just in case it happens to you soon 😉
1. One of the word brand was already recorded
We just said it, when we start with a brand we must study the influence of our name in every country. That’s what happened to Dunkin Donuts when it expanded by all countries and found that in Spain, it could not keep its name because the word Donut was already registered by Panrico. So, they decided to change the name Dunkin Coffee and keep the logo as it was clearly recognizable.
2. Competition ahead
Mmm … it is perhaps one of the best examples for these dates, because who does not fancy a Magnum? But if you go to Greece do not forget to ask for a Magic, because they had to change the name to already be registered by a competing brand … In this way the logo was maintained and a name that included the M was sought, not to lose part of the essence.
3. Renaming by a merger
This is really unpredictable, because when you design a logo and choose the name you cannot foresee that the company will be merging and that the final name will be a merger of the two. This is the case of Vodafone, known worldwide by that name, except in Africa. It merged with Telecom so it changed its name to Vodacom. Like the earlier brands, it also maintained its anagram to be recognizable.
4. Words with a double meaning in the original language
One of the issues for which the languages are difficult to learn (to perfection) is because the words even if in the strict sense mean the same, sometimes they can acquire a double meaning, which only can be appreciate studying society. In addition sometimes we can choose words of a different language from ours because we like as sound, but in the original translation does not mean what we want.
Thus Axe, a French brand, had to think about changing its name in English-speaking countries since the word means ax and it could be too violent.
5. The expansion means acquiring local brands
If you live in Spain you know exactly what Frigo is, but what if you’re French? or Swedish? … This brand has a different name depending on the country where it is since it was buying the brands of local ice cream and so staying with the names of these to make them easily recognizable.
They kept the same anagram to give an overall brand image being recognizable no matter where you live and prioritizing what is common.
thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaankkkkkkkkksssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!