In a marketing stroke of genius, the Dallas Mavericks are asking their Chinese fans to choose a new (Chinese) name for the team. Here’s why having a good Chinese name for your brand, product or even sport can be the crucial difference between standing out in the world’s largest market or going unnoticed.
The NBA‘s Dallas Mavericks are searching for a new Chinese name after deciding that their previous one “xiao niu” – literally “little cows” – has nothing to do with the team. Owner Mark Cuban announced the decision on September 11th via the team’s official Weibo account and asked for fans to send in their suggestions for a new name. But the Mavs have been so overwhelmed – reportedly receiving “tens of thousands” of new names – that they said on September 25 they would need more time to evaluate the suggestions and will announce the three finalists at a later date.
It’s a fantastic PR move that engages fans twice – 1) collecting name suggestions and 2) asking fans to vote on the final choices – over an extended period of time, especially since some fans say they think it’s not even really necessary because they like the current moniker. Moreover, it’s something that engages all NBA fans in China, not just Dallas fans, even if fans of other teams send in some less-than-serious suggestions.
But it’s also a smart move, because countless teams, brands and stars before them have been stuck with Chinese names not of their own choosing – and the ones that stick are not always the most complimentary. Let’s take a look at some of the ones that went wrong…
The problem with transliteration