Linguistic Prefiltering: Brand Naming Case Study

Established over two decades ago by linguists and project managers who recognized the need for a high-quality language services provider, PoliLingua has become a leading company, offering comprehensive solutions to businesses, individuals, and government entities worldwide.

Our team consists of over 10,000 native linguists specializing in various fields such as legal, medical, technical, IT, and more. This specialization ensures that each project is executed with precision and tailored industry expertise. Our offerings include translation, interpreting, localization, subtitling, captioning, transcription, desktop publishing, and typesetting services.

At PoliLingua, our mission is to support the success of our clients' businesses through high-quality, dependable language services. With proficiency in more than 200 languages, we are equipped to handle the complex needs of a wide-ranging client base.

Our Client

Our client is a naming agency that specializes in creating brand names. Its main activity consists in creating brand names that match the quality of the product, the degree of innovation of the product from a technological point of view, and above all, the communication strategy of the final client. This agency serves product and service manufacturing companies in various countries in Europe, Asia and the United States. Their clients include companies in the technical, cosmetic, food, automotive, travel, financial, insurance, pharmaceutical, etc.

The client has expressed a need for our assistance in verifying the brand names they develop for their various clients. This task involves checking each name for aspects like appropriate meaning, potential connotations in the target market, and its ease of pronunciation and memorability for the intended audience.

Client's Objectives

The client's main requirement was that the brand names be verified by native speakers of the target languages who live in the country corresponding to the target languages. The verification process involves two critical levels:

Pronunciation Assessment: Evaluating each brand name for the ease of pronunciation by native speakers. This involves checking how naturally the brand name can be spoken and understood without prior exposure.
Connotation Analysis: Assessing the spontaneous connotations associated with each brand name. This includes identifying any positive or negative associations that may arise naturally when the brand name is heard.
Memorability and Meaning Evaluation: Analyzing how easily the brand name can be remembered by the target audience and ensuring its meaning aligns with the brand's identity and values.

This whole process had to be done fairly quickly because the client's standard deadline was 24 hours.

Our Strategy

After thorough discussions with the client, we gained a clear understanding of their requirements. To address these needs, we assembled a team of native linguists from countries corresponding to the target languages, such as British English, American English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, Modern Standard Arabic, Portuguese (Portugal), North European languages, Japanese, Chinese, Hebrew, various Arabic dialects, and regional languages like Basque, Flemish, and Alsatian.

We gave all the instructions from the client to the linguists from the start and trained them so that later, once the client asked us to carry out a project, the linguists could go straight to the task. Furthermore, we established efficient communication channels to facilitate prompt updates and feedback between the linguists and our project management team. This arrangement helps in making swift adjustments when necessary and ensures that all projects adhere to the client's 24-hour turnaround time, while maintaining high standards of quality.

Work Process

The work process for the project coming from this client had the following steps:

Linguist Selection: We have carefully selected linguists who specialize in linguistics, particularly semantics and phonetics, and have over 5 years of experience in the language industry. These linguists are native speakers residing in the relevant countries and are available to undertake projects promptly.
Linguist Training: The linguists have been trained in line with the client’s detailed requirements and instructions, ensuring they are well-prepared to handle the specific tasks required.
Evaluation of Brand Names: Our team has conducted detailed evaluations of the brand names, recording their assessments and any pertinent comments in an analysis table specifically designed according to the client's format.
Final Review: We performed a final review of all brand names to ensure consistency and thoroughness in our evaluations.
Quality Control: Quality control was executed by our project manager to ensure that all aspects of the work meet our high standards of quality and precision.

Results Achieved

PoliLingua has consistently met the client's expectations with precision and dedication, leading to an expanded collaboration over 4 years. During this time, we have successfully completed over 150 brand name verification projects and continue to deliver reliable, expert services to support our client's international growth.

The collaboration has delivered significant benefits. By utilizing native speakers of the target languages, effective communication was established between our client, their end customers, and the target audience, ensuring new products were favorably received and trusted by the market. Additionally, our linguists' feedback on non-compliant brand names provided essential insights and guidance, helping the client refine their process for creating future brand names.

The efficiency of our linguistic resources has enabled the client to launch brand names that are culturally resonant, carrying positive connotations and impacts aligned with the norms, principles, traditions, and beliefs of the countries where the products are sold. This strategic alignment has significantly enhanced the sales of the client’s final products.

Feedback from the Client and Conclusions

“Outstanding service! Your team is an invaluable partner for our company!”

Over four years, we have successfully completed more than 150 brand name verification projects, showcasing our proficiency in language services. Thanks to PoliLingua, our clients have enhanced their international presence by successfully navigating cultural nuances in brand naming across Europe, Asia, and USA. Our accurate brand name evaluations have boosted their market competitiveness and brand recognition, supporting their international expansion and aligning with our mission to deliver high-quality, dependable language services.

The consistent and reliable results of this partnership reflect positively on our ability to adhere to stringent quality standards and tight deadlines. As we continue this relationship, PoliLingua is committed to sustaining the level of service that meets our client's expectations for future projects.