A few years ago, International Systems Research (ISR) released a softphone in Japan called the PPPhone (pronounced “pee pee phone”). Unfortunately, that name does not pass what some people call “the snicker test” in English and many other languages where “pee pee” is understood to mean something else. ISR had some good reasoning for using the PP acronym – they already had a product called PPPush (pronounced “pee pee push”) and the two P’s referred to other relevant acronyms that began with P and described the function of the product. If they had stayed exclusively in Japan, they might have continued to develop additional pee pee products. However, you will see that ISR has an office in the US and a website in English.

Could ISR ever see success with the PPPhone in English speaking countries? It is possible, but this branding error does create an unnecessary hurdle. Before learning the hard way, GGI’s simple international brand survey and global marketing consulting (available in more than 20 languages and dialects) would have been a cost-effective way to evaluate whether a product name might encounter unnecessary resistance in other languages and cultures.