When KFC opened its first restaurant in China, their world-famous slogan “It’s finger lickin’ good” was transformed into the cannibalistic motto “Eat your fingers!” PepsiCo’s slogan “Come alive! You’re in the Pepsi generation” received the equally terrifying translation “Drink Pepsi, and your dead ancestors will come back to life.” The icing on the cake was the Chinese translation of “Coca-Cola” as “Bite the wax tadpole.” The marketing experts at The Coca-Cola Company had to sift through 40,000 pronunciations of the company’s name before stumbling upon the similar-sounding phrase “Kekou-Kele,” which means “taste good fortune.” It was a win.
Sinofying a brand might be one of the most challenging steps in the process of localizing a product for China. Promoting a product there is a real crap shoot otherwise. There are laws in place designed to preserve the purity of the Chinese language. Even massive companies have to adapt to these requirements. Apple may have lucked out — an apple is still an apple in China — but the major electronics chain Best Buy doomed itself to failure by registering itself as “Think a hundred times before you buy” in China. It was an accident — they just transliterated the name into an unfortunate combination of Chinese characters. So before you set out to conquer the Chinese market, we recommend consulting native speakers first.
Ideally, your brand’s Chinese name will match the original in terms of both sound and meaning, like with Kekou-Kele. But sometimes you’ll have to make a sacrifice. Especially if you want your brand to sound equally good in various Chinese dialects. There are a lot of them, but we usually focus on three main variants:
A high-quality localization requires an understanding of the mentality, culture, and history of the target country. Otherwise a few harmless freckles can turn into a major headache.
Dialects are a tricky business, so if you need to localize a text or voice over, we recommend contacting Logrus IT. Our branch in Chengdu handles translation into Chinese. Our translators are native speakers who know how to meet deadlines.
This is a true story that happened to the company Zara when the famous Chinese model Jing Wen became the face of its brand. Everything would have been great if not for her freckles. As a rule, they were always concealed by a layer of makeup during photo shoots, but Zara’s marketing experts decided not to hide this charming aspect of the young woman’s appearance. But they didn’t stop to consider that, in China, snow-white skin is considered the height of beauty. As a result, Chinese people considered the fact that Zara put Jing Wen’s freckles on display to be insulting to Chinese women everywhere, and this blunder had an impact on the company’s reputation and sales.
For China, traditional values are a subject of national pride, and they go well beyond standards of beauty. A respectful attitude to customers and clients is also part of the accepted etiquette there. Ostentatious phrases like “we’ve got the lowest prices” and sneaky lines in fine print such as “only for annual subscribers” are unlikely to win over local censors. In China, ads need to be clear, concise, and as honest as possible.
Also prohibited are scenes of violence and cruelty, disrespect to one’s elders, advocacy of gambling, use of national symbolism, tattoos, etc. There are many examples of companies that have ended up getting either blacklisted (Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) or blocked by certain online platforms because they failed to follow cultural and legal norms.
The same fate befell Dolce & Gabbana. In Fall 2018 the famous fashion company launched a new commercial on the eve of a Shanghai fashion show. In the ad, a Chinese model was invited to eat various Italian dishes with chopsticks as her only utensils. The announcer continually mocked the young woman’s failed attempts to hang onto slices of pizza, spaghetti noodles, and massive cannoli. Chinese people were furious. Dolce & Gabbana was accused of racism and disrespect for China. The fashion show was canceled, and some stores refused to sell the brand’s clothing. The aftermath of this incident can still be felt today.
In China, a brand’s reputation is of prime importance, and its popularity depends directly on the approval of its audience. The Chinese principle of “guanxi” — facilitating communication and maintaining good relationships — is the foundation of business and marketing.
In order to increase the popularity of their resource, a number of online platforms such as Taobao allow users to share their opinions with them via instant message. Major companies often turn to so-called key opinion leaders (KOL) for support. In China, this strategy works great — Chinese people are used to trusting the views of famous streamers and bloggers. Many companies also publish topical posts, images, and videos on local social media platforms such as Weibo, WeChat, Tencent QQ, Meipai, Bilibili, and Douyin to attract new users.
McCafé’s marketing experts took a creative approach to this by launching the “Wake the sleeping person” ad campaign on social media. They posted cute photos of dozing people who were clearly in need of a cup of coffee. And since Chinese people often work late, this topic appealed to them and ended up going viral.
In China, a company’s background is far more important than the fleeting impression it makes at a given moment. This is why Chinese people tend to go to websites first in order to make sure a company is trustworthy and its services are reliable. They want to get as much information as possible, and local websites are designed to meet their needs — the abundance of text and links would be shocking to most Western users. By the same token, a minimalist aesthetic can make a brand seem second rate to Chinese users.
And this isn’t the only difference between Chinese and Western websites. Generally speaking, the Chinese internet is bursting with color, full of gleaming headlines, flashing ads, and lots of links and navigation panels around the edges of the page. So if you’re localizing a website for China, be ready to adapt to its design sensibility.
And, needless to say, don’t forget the color red. It symbolizes good luck and a festive atmosphere, so it’s often used to draw attention to discounts and sales.
Localization can absolutely help you develop a trusting relationship with your customers. But sometimes a brand’s unique personality can be more important. In 2017 Norwegian Cruise Line launched a new cruise ship called the Joy in China. Everything about it was adapted to the local market, from the Chinese interior to the restaurants with traditional cuisine, tea shops, mahjong, etc. But Chinese customers ended up being disappointed by it. They were hoping for new experiences — Western luxury and an exotic foreign atmosphere — not a familiar Chinese setting. So the company had to completely redo the concept, rejecting total sinofication.
Completely adapting to Chinese norms might not be the right approach if your brand is aimed at modern Chinese young people, who are independent, curious, and eager to experiment. Unlike the older generation, Chinese young people are open to Western influence, and a departure from tradition could actually get them more interested in your brand.
But, be this as it may, there’s one thing Chinese people of all generations share: they can’t live without their smartphones. Their smartphone is their primary window into the world — they use it to communicate, order services, make purchases, play, learn, and work. So if you want to localize a website, making sure it displays well on a smartphone should be your first priority.
But even with the best strategy, winning over the Chinese internet won’t be easy. China launched a cybersecurity project in 2003 called the Great Chinese Firewall. It oversees adherence to content requirements and handles the registration of businesses in China. On top of that, there are certain essential documents and permits that can only be obtained by Chinese residents, so you won’t get far without a Chinese partner or branch.
There are also a number of issues that require specific knowledge. For example, when it comes to promoting a website in China, an important role is played by the Chinese hosting service and the acquisition of an SSL certificate. This can be a real stumbling block for a specialist who’s unfamiliar with the technical characteristics of the Chinese internet. Moreover, you absolutely need to localize your company’s name, or your website simply won’t be indexed by search engines, and finding it online will become problematic.
And there are lots of other similar factors to consider. Nevertheless, China is still the Mt. Everest of the international market. It creates incredible opportunities for those who manage to scale it. Of course, without professional assistance, this task can be nearly insurmountable. But Logrus IT is always there to help.
With Logrus IT in your corner, you can rest assured your brand won’t try to eat your customers’ fingers or feed them wax tadpoles. We’ll provide you with an excellent localization and adapt your product to meet the needs of modern China. On top of that, our specialists will help you deal with all the finer points of breaking into the Chinese market.
