Lacking Language

Bonjour, Halo, Hola, Hello. Another major aspect of culture is of course the symbols and verbal communication we use to translate information to one another, or simply put, language. Obviously the language barrier has been an interesting one to experience--although it hasn't been a major issue for me (my major issue is the lack of WIFi.) I have noticed, however, that many Germans speak English so it's not so bad. Additionally, even though their English may be broken, I don't find it annoying to understand them since so many people in Miami have broken English anyway. It truly doesn't bother me, and I guess that's because I'm from Miami as opposed to some other area of the United States. Yet, there have been times where I had to really slow down or use another term to describe an idea or object. The funniest expression to explain was “corny”. I didn't realize how much I used it. I used the term “corny” to refer to a sappy love song, and all I got in return were blank stares. How can a love song be full of corn? To explain myself, I used the next logical expression – “cheesy.” So the love song is full of corn AND cheese? I had to force myself to find another expression altogether. From now on, I'm using “overused,” “lame” and “cliche.” They still don't have the same meaning to me as good 'ole “corny,” but it will have to suffice.

From an international Marketing point of view, language should always be something taken into consideration when launching a campaign. Slang and dialects can affect the way the receiver understands or deciphers the message via the Message Channel. Ironically, large companies neglect to test their campaigns for language compatibility.



For example, American Airlines wanted to pitch their new leather seats in first class and translated the slogan "Fly in leather" to "Vuela en cuero" as seen above. They also launched an ad in Brazil featuring a stewardess making the “OK” sign with her fingers – which in Brazil is understood as a “fuck-off” or something of that nature. Living in this region of Germany has given me a deeper understanding of the slight differences between language, a cultures overall personality and word choice and pronunciation. It seems Bavarian German is not quite the exemplary regional language. This was a common theme that I heard from various German students (not only from IMK but from the south of Germany as well.)

This topic in turn, raises the question should campaigns be standardized or localized. The recurring “right” answers seems to dictate that messages should be tailored to a local audience while maintaining the same brand image and overall message in the rest of the world. But then this leads to another question, how localized can once get? Should and international brand, such as T-Mobile, tailor their campaign for the northern region of Germany, just one state of Germany, a smaller region of Germany, just Berlin or just the native German speaking people of Berlin. Even within Berlin, one finds diverse populations ranging from Germans, to Eastern Europeans to Turks and Russians. So how much should you take language into consideration. As always, it depends. It depends on the target market, your audience, your message etc. A campaign which is always perceived as being the pinnacle of success would be the Apple campaigns. I think the reason the Apple campaigns have been so successful is because they don't say anything with words. They say it with body language, symbols, and pictures etc. This eliminates the possibility of a Turk misreading a slogan and interpreting it as silly or insulting. Then again, as discussed in the McCann Erickson agency visit, Asian communities really read into color and gestures so there also has to be some significant thought invested in such a plain and simple campaign.

Overall, language can put up barriers between people and messages. Our job is to overcome those language barriers and use all forms of communication to get a message across.