This post continues from my previous post AOL - why not India Online or France Online?. When businesses try to go global, a lot of time and money is spent on Branding. Brand Names are checked in different languages to ensure that the Brand does not translate into something ridiculous, offensive or plain stupid in different parts of the world.
Beyond the superficial level of just naming a company "right" in international languages what is more important is how would consumers associate with the brand. If AOL is trying to hire employees in India, France, Spain and Middle East -- how comfortable would these employees feel with America Online?
Companies like Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo! and Google from the start got their name right. But AOL can surely just throw away the "America" and simply be called AOL. Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited I.T.C. , first threw away the Imperial, Tobacco and India and then the dots to to call itself just ITC. ITC brand name spans diverse businesses -- InfoTech, FMCG, Agri-Business and Hotels.
Becoming a global Software brand is high on the agenda of Infosys. It is taking the right pains to hire graduates from universities in US and UK and immersing them in experiences in its Indian Offices.
Becoming a global brand is more than just setting up offices in different companies and even doing business there. It is about setting up an internationally sensitive culture and walking that extra mile to ensure that employees and customers are able to associate with your brand.
