Korean Branding Issues

I found this article on Kia and LG branding very interested. In fact, I've known many Koreans who are learning English and comment on Kia's name. As I tell my Korean friends most Americans see no connection between the K.I.A. term and Kia Motors.


Korea Times
In its endeavor to retaliate against a band of Muslim fundamentalists holing up in Afghanistan following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington in 2001, the U.S. government launched military action in early 2002 under the operation code name Infinite Justice. For some reason, however, the code name was swiftly changed to “Enduring Freedom.”

The rationale behind the renaming decision was the inappropriate use of the expression, Infinite Justice, since according to the Islamic belief, only Allah can give infinite justice. Also, the expression runs the risk of insulting the entire Muslim world due to its implications that the U.S. is right and that the Islamic world is wrong.

The political implications of the U.S.-led war on terrorism aside, the decision to rename the war effort serves to offer some insight into global branding efforts. The lesson is clear: be sensitive to the sentiment and culture of the target market with proper brand names.

Otherwise, the branding strategy will backfire and in fact inflict greater harm in the long run. In other words, a brand name, be it a company name or a product name, should safely be extended to other countries or cultures without generating negative connotations. Often touted as a classic example of this type of branding failure is GMC’s Chevy sedan, Nova. The Nova was an utter failure in the Latin American markets because the model name translates into won’t go in Spanish. Nova means new star in English and French.

This naming principle and even developments in the war in Iraq offer strong lessons in proper global branding for two Korean multinational firms _ LG and KIA. Just think of Cindy Sheehan who has attracted worldwide attention after staging an almost month-long one-man rally in August in front of President George W. Bush’s Crawford Ranch demanding a nobler explanation for the war in Iraq.

Noteworthy is that the anti-war activist is commonly referred to as a “Gold Star mom” since her son, Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, was killed in April 2004. In the U.S., a Gold Star refers to a fallen soldier based on the nearly century-old tradition in which families of the soldiers deployed abroad hang on a window of their homes a red bar-framed flag with a large blue star emblazoned in the center. The blue star symbolizes the family’s dearest wish for the safe return of their siblings and offspring. Unfortunately, if he or she dies in the battlefield, their family would replace the blue star with a golden star symbol.

Hence, the Gold Star concept borders on ``death’’ or ``fall’’ in the minds of many American consumers.

Kudos to the LG Group! Its trade name used to be Lucky-Goldstar for many years until 1995 when they adopted the new name, LG, as part of its strategy to project a more modern and friendlier image. On the heels of their successful handling of the corporate brand identity in the domestic market, its flagship LG Electronics is now aggressively pitching its brand name in overseas markets, including the U.S., though their transitional policy allows for Goldstar to make its way into some consumer electronics goods at present.

Unlike LG, KIA Motors may just have to sit idle and wait for the Iraqi War to come to an end. Almost at around the same time when Goldstar was going through a major facelift for LG, KIA Motors was making its inroad into the North American market with its original Sportage SUV and was facing a tricky name game; KIA or K.I.A. is an acronym for killed in action, in the same spirit of M.I.A for “missing in action. K.I.A. refers to those who died in battle. But KIA took a different path from LG’s and decided to stand pat with its current trade name.

Though a military jargon it may be, the term referring to the war dead is hardly contained within the barracks. Some war-themed movies or espionage films often include scenes flashing K.I.A. and M.I.A. stamps in dark reddish ink from the files of secret agents. Lately, activist Gold Star mothers identify themselves in such a way as ‘Proud mom of Lt. Ken Ballad: KIA 5.30.04’ which also appears in media outlets.

Moreover, KIA Motors discarded its blue circle emblem with a wing pattern shape after the letter ‘k’ in August 2004 and brought back the red-colored logo displaying KIA in an oval, which was used some years before. But the decision may not have been such a wise move in the U.S. market, especially during a time when the country is embroiled in deadly warfare.

(I'm told they dropped the blue, since it was adopted when Kia was linked to Ford/ Mazda in the late 80s and 90s).

(The article concludes with some hints on Korean marketing..)
People say a good name brings good luck. A good trade name should be one of the most important assets to any company as well as a starting point for success. This principle is based as much on common sense as it is on the Guide to Names and Fortune-Telling.