291–300 of 342 posts
> Every possible product name is carefully checked to avoid undesirable meanings in other languages This procedure does not always work: https://adland.tv/whats-name-case-2351-ikeas-gutvik-bunk-bed
I'm German, and I'd pronounce "-vik" the same as the beginning of "Victor". With a soft "w".
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With a side of tasty meatballs.
I've had tasty meatballs. It was the lingonberry sauce that I was introduced from Ikea.
As a Swede in London, it's annoying that IKEA staff don't understand you when you pronounce the names correctly. You have to change letters (e.g. å is not a with an accent. It's a different letter) and read it like you don't know the language.
Do you find ABBA's English pronunciation/phrasing annoying?
In this case you would understand me if I pronounced "ABBA" the Swedish way, so the IKEA scenario doesn't happen.
Not that I do say it that way when speaking English, just like I don't say my own name in the Swedish way.
But if "ABBA" had been named "ÄBBA"[1] (to be clear, that's not "A with an accent", that's a completely different letter) then I would pronounce it "ÄBBA". And it would be annoying. But at least other music fans are not employed by ABBA, so shrug, Mötley Crüe.
I would imagine that a Chinese person would be annoyed if they had to refer to their president as "Eks Eye" when speaking English.
Or do you mean the accents in the ABBA songs?
[1] which would be confusing, all else equal, because it would be pronounced like Ebba in Ebba Grön, another band.
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> you can always go back to the basic international language of gesturing, Doesn't really work for the kind of products they sell. E.g. going to the spare parts place and asking for a replacement part for Mörbylånga or Nackanäs. And I don't know the international gesture for a table. Besides, they have many tables. I don't think saying "Bläddra", and signing that you're flipping through a book, helps at all either. >…
> But it feels like if you were to go to Russia and slowly and loudly say "I-ski want-ski a-ski table-ski". As much as it may feel that way sometimes, I don't think IKEAs in foreign countries are sovereign Swedish territory.
For a Swede it must seem kind of strange to understand the product names. You see an ACORN toy, a NIGEL bookshelf, and the CROYDON sofa... which sounds like it belongs in a council estate flat. Definately more fun would be the Polish version. How many people can pronounce the BYDGOSZCZ sofa, the PRZEMYSŁAW bookcase and the PSZCZOŁA soft toy?
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Do you find ABBA's English pronunciation/phrasing annoying?
Not quite what I said. In this case you would understand me if I pronounced "ABBA" the Swedish way, so the IKEA scenario doesn't happen. Not that I do say it that way when speaking English, just like I don't say my own name in the Swedish way. But if "ABBA" had been named "ÄBBA"[1] (to be clear, that's not "A with an accent", that's a completely different letter) then I would pronounce it "ÄBBA". And it would be anno…
> Every possible product name is carefully checked to avoid undesirable meanings in other languages, political or religious affiliations and fit into our global profile. I love the JERKER desk that I bought 26 years ago, so I assume this rule must be younger than that.
I'm a Swede and I knew a guy named Jerker growing up. I always wondered if his parents gave him that name to mess with him. In Swedish "j" is pronounced as the English "y", so I think they could have at least spelled it as Yerker.
Introducing yourself to English speakers can be interesting... often times people won't catch the name when pronounced the Swedish way, so you end up quickly clarifying it by using the English pronunciation. Sometimes a hand gesture is needed.
Clear and interesting names is extremely good customer experience. Most companies name their products straight from the ERP system, creating incomprehensible codes that sounds like they come from Star Trek. Ikea has pioneered so much within service design (design beyond the actual product). The in-store journey, the self-assembly, the assembly instructions, clear naming, clear product display, in-store restaurant exp…
You can fully expect them to release a high end phone called
Xperia one II 10
Xperia one III
Xperia II 10 Ultra
Clear and interesting names is extremely good customer experience. Most companies name their products straight from the ERP system, creating incomprehensible codes that sounds like they come from Star Trek. Ikea has pioneered so much within service design (design beyond the actual product). The in-store journey, the self-assembly, the assembly instructions, clear naming, clear product display, in-store restaurant exp…
At the opposite end of the spectrum we have Sony Mobile, where product names are probably assigned by their worst enemy. You can fully expect them to release a high end phone called Xperia one II 10 as successor to last year's Xperia one III And also a low-end phone called Xperia II 10 Ultra Making it impossible for buyers to know which phone to buy this year.