We all know them. The brands where the name has sounded one way as long as you can remember until one day, you are blindsided by the suggestion of a different pronunciation of the same brand.
In the below infographic from Made by Oomph! examines some of these famous brand names who wear the mark of commonly mispronounced. Whether it be the incorrect dropping of a vowel or the addition of an extra syllable, these brands have been fighting the pronunciation battle for years, which varying levels of success.
For some brands, the difficultly or ambiguity of their name stands as a quasi-badge of honor for their status as “luxury” or “exclusive” brands. This mindset is driven by the notion that if someone can’t pronounce the name correctly, then they are seemingly out of the loop and aren’t the target market for that brand. While this may seem like an over-confident point of view, it has driven many in their quest to join the upper echelon of perceived brands.
This list also goes to show how important multi-lingual research can be when developing a brand name. These brands possess names that fit ideally in their native language, but when they want to take their branding efforts global they run into a world of issues with their name pronunciation in the various local cultures.
It is one of the most prominent issues when local brands expand either unexpectedly or too suddenly, and they face a catch-22 with their name. On one hand, their brand equity is such that a total rebrand would be impractical. But on the other hand, when they look to enter markets where their established name is unknown and unusual, they run the risk of establishing their brand under a mispronounced moniker.
Additionally, one key takeaway here is the importance of a well-rounded brand. A strong, easily-recognized logo can offset much of the expected damage that comes with a difficult name. Additionally, a brand strategy that is built upon aspects that lie outside of the name strength are also more capable of establishing a strong brand while still correcting people on how to say their name.
