Lost in Translation

Three of the most profound weeks of my life were spent in the mid 90’s in Itu, a small town not far from Sao Paulo.  I fell in love with a country and a people that were vastly different from what I had expected or presumed. 

It was fascinating to see how European immigrants had settled in areas of Brazil that most reminded them of their birthplace - Italians had chosen the rolling hills outside Sao Paulo that closely resemble Tuscany; Germans, the mountainous regions of the south, complete with snow and chalets.  It was wild to meet young teens with pure Japanese heritage who’d grown up speaking only Portuguese.  The best and most precious in each of these cultures have fused to create all things Brazilian.  Brazilians are on their own time schedule, have finely tuned beliefs about what is important in life, and love each other (and their country) intensely.

It’s no surprise, then, to read that AOL Latin America has filed for bankruptcy protection.  In six years, the company has lost $1 billion, enrolled a microscopic number of members, and alienated multitudes of Brazilians.  Some blame is attributed to AOL’s late entry into the internet boom and underestimation of the competition.  By not doing their homework in advance, AOL launched in Brazil before realizing they had to negotiate major contracts with phone and cable companies to provide access - companies that had their own ISPs and weren’t about to let the competition in. 

But a recent article in the Associated Press quotes an analyst on the real reason why AOL failed so miserably:

“AOL was basically trying to transport their business model intact into Latin America.  A lot of what differentiated AOL in the U.S. particularly, really didn't relate well in Latin America."

Brazilians were not about to buy into a company that deluged them with useless start-up CDs and whose motto translated as “ the best because we’re the biggest.”  Even if they’d wanted to, they couldn’t sign-up because of the requirement of a credit card number - only 18% of Brazilian households carry credit cards.

When you have the arrogance to toss the grenade of an American business model into the center of a completely different culture and believe it will capture hearts and minds, you must surely be shocked when instead, it explodes in your own face.

Comments

[Holly Buchanan]

LOL - "the best because we're the biggest". That's a grenade all right.

Michele - I know you and I have the same number one motto "understand your customers". How often do advertisers miss the mark because they are not speaking their customers' language?

I wonder how many times "lost in translation" ends up "lost in sales".

How many women out there are shouting "I'm not a soccer mom!" How many advertisers are listening?

hmmm - go with me here - What can corporate america and high level marketing managers learn from the UN? What if they all used interpreters - someone who spoke corparate speak AND customer speak......I think there's a book here, Michele :)

[Michael Martine]

What always chapped my ass was that they still called themselves America Online when doing biz in other countries! Wouldn't it be Brazil Onlin? Japan Online? Wouldn't you ensure that your localization team was top-notch?

[Michael Martine]

Meant to say "Brazil Online". Typo.

[Steve Mertz]

Dell Computer almost did not start selling their computers on line in the hugely profitable China market-they didn't think Chinese had any dough or credit cards-they were wrong!

[Abi]

Great post. It is astounding that a company so large could make such significant mistakes. The things that they missed are basics in business - or at least they should be. It's rather scary that a business like AOL would make such generalized American assumptions about a completely different culture. I wonder how many generalized assumptions they make about American women?

[Michael]

Maybe AOL needs to rethink its motto. Perhaps something like, "we're not the brightest, but we are the biggest".

[Mary Schmidt]

Personally, I think AOL should rename itself, "Big, Stupid, and Pushy!" Ever tried to use AOL on a dial-up connection? THey're so busy trying to sell you something - pushin' and shovin' and yellin' - it takes forever to actually get online.

And, excellent point re "Japan Online" etc. Helloooo, Corporate America!