It’s not unlikely that you have been mispronouncing some well-known company and brand names like IKEA, Hyundai, Porsche, Bayer, and Adidas. Some brands use common mispronunciations as the foundation for a marketing campaign, as Hyundai has undertaken in the UK. Neville and Shel explore some of these campaigns and examine the broader issue of hard-to-pronounce brand names in this short midweek episode of the “For Immediate Release” podcast.


The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, December 26.

We host a Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly, request the credentials in our Facebook group, or email fircomments@gmail.com.

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Shel has started a metaverse-focused Flipboard magazine. Neville’s Asides blog is also available.

Links from this report:

  • Hyundai changes UK pronunciation of its name to follow global norm
  • Mispronunciation of brands – does it matter?
  • Hyundai | The Dawn of a New Hyundai. (YouTube video)
  • How To Pronounce Popular Brand Names
  • 20 Mispronounced Brand Names and How to Actually Say Them
  • 30 Famous Brand Names You’re Probably Pronouncing Wrong
  • Krispy Kreme reminds Brits how to properly pronounce name in UK
  • You’ve been schooled: L’Occitane teaches US shoppers how to pronounce its name
  • Name Your Brand with a Global Audience in Mind

The post FIR #306: Brand Name Pronunciation As A Marketing Ploy appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.