Branding in China: Global Product Strategy Alternatives

Ilan Alon, Romie F. Littrell, Allan K.k. Chan

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

This article reviews and discusses issues in the translation of international brand names to Chinese, and provides a framework for international brand managers who want to expand into China. Linguistic differences between Chinese and English are wide and deep, making translation of brand names difficult. Cultural context, pronunciation, written vs. oral language, and the meaning of characters are just a few examples of such difficulties. We discuss four global product-naming strategic alternatives available to country/brand managers, along with their usage. The four approaches include (1) dual extension, (2) brand meaning extension, (3) brand feeling extension, and (4) dual adaptation. We also provide examples of brands utilizing the different approaches.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)123-142
Number of pages20
JournalMultinational Business Review
Volume17
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 11 Nov 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Brand feeling extension
  • Brand meaning extension
  • Branding
  • Branding in China
  • Dual adaptation
  • Dual extension
  • Global product strategy

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