Posted on 05/30/2015 1:16:44 PM PDT by freedumb2003
Ein Dumbkoff.
I don’t speak Spanish much, but from what I can tell, nova in Spanish means exactly what it means in English, an exploding or “new” star.
“Welcome to the Website for Your Marketing Sucks, the new book by Mark Stevens that shows you how to distinguish between marketing that works and marketing that sucks. What’s the difference? Marketing that sucks is anything that doesn’t lead to a sale. It should be easy to see, right? It’s not. There are so many layers of decision-making and creative grandstanding in marketing that most businesses forget the people who rely on the campaign in the first place, and the only people who are really in a position to tell whether your marketing sucks or not — your sales force.
Take the Your Marketing Sucks diagnostic
Before you get all lathered up and start ranting, “How the hell does he know,” ask yourself a few telltale questions:
Do sales really rise every time you advertise? If so, why don’t you advertise every day? In more media?
Have you ever performed a cost benefit analysis to see if your marketing generates more revenue than it costs to produce?
Do people read your brochure? When was the last time someone commented on it favorably? And more important, when was the last time they were moved to buy something because of it? Can you track one single sale back to your brochure? Why not?
Do people visit your web site? How many? Do these visits lead to sales? Do you have a web strategy (or just an expensive site with all those pretty animations that make you feel soooooo proud every time you visit your own URL?)
How does your marketing rate?
Have a look at this Q and A with author Mark Stevens and read excerpts from the book to see what we’re talking about.
And then ask yourself, does my marketing suck?”
http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/yourmarketing/index.html
In Spanish, "NOVA" actually means "No go".
Well, no. No va means no go.
Here’s a site to back me up.
http://spanish.about.com/od/wordlists/a/astronomy.htm
Nova is not a commonly used word in English either. But when Spanish speakers talk about astronomy, they use the term.
Snopes clarifies the “NOVA”, “No Go” thing... They claim it’s false. You decide.
FALSE:
Origins: It’s the classic cautionary tale about the pitfalls of doing business in foreign countries that can be found in hundreds (if not thousands) of books about marketing: General Motors introduced their Chevrolet Nova model of automobile into a Spanish-speaking market, then scratched their heads in puzzlement when it sold poorly. GM executives were baffled until someone finally pointed out to them that “nova” translates as “doesn’t go” in Spanish. The embarrassed automobile giant changed the model name to the Caribe, and sales of the car took off.
No va. No va. anecdote is frequently used to illustrate the perils of failing to do adequate preparation and research before introducing a product into the international marketplace. It’s a wicked irony, then, that the people who use this example are engaging in the very thing they’re decrying, because a little preparation and research would have informed them that it isn’t true. (The sources that repeat this little tale can’t even agree on where the Nova supposedly sold poorly, variously listing locales such as Puerto Rico, Mexico, South America, or simply “Spanish-speaking countries.”) This is another one of those tales that makes its point so well — just like the apocryphal one about George Washington and the cherry tree — that nobody wants to ruin it with a bunch of facts. Nonetheless, we’re here to ruin it.
The original Chevrolet Nova (initially the Chevy II) hit the U.S. market in 1962. (This car should not be confused with the smaller, front wheel drive vehicle which was produced in 1985 as a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota and also assigned the Nova name.) Between 1972 and 1978 the Chevrolet Nova was also sold in Mexico and several other Spanish-speaking countries, primarily Venezuela. Shortly afterwards the great “Nova” legend arose, a legend which a little linguistic analysis shows it to be improbable:
First of all, the phrase “no va” (literally “doesn’t go”) and the word “nova” are distinct entities with different pronunciations in Spanish: the former is two words and is pronounced with the accent on the second word; the latter is one word with the accent on the first syllable. Assuming that Spanish speakers would naturally see the word “nova” as equivalent to the phrase “no va” and think “Hey, this car doesn’t go!” is akin to assuming that English speakers would spurn a dinette set sold under the name Notable because nobody wants a dinette set that doesn’t include a table.
Read more at http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp#Z6FCUaMaSyb6g3o5.99";
Also.
http://www.dicts.info/terminology/dict.php?l1=english&l2=spanish&field=astronomy
You see, the word nova actually has a meaning in Spanish, so why they would split it in two and assume it means something that doesn’t make any sense is beyond me.
That this urban legend has been repeated many times does not make it true.
But, still, "no va" sounds an awful lot like "nova".
Yup. Since Spanish is closer to Latin than English, I assume the implication of “new” comes across even more clearly.
English: new.
Spanish: nuevo. Somewhat closer to nova.
“WINDOWS” - Possibly the shoddiest software product ever produced.
This is silly.
If 1/2 of 1% of Americans got this connection I'd be shocked.
If 1/2 of 1% of Americans got this connection I'd be shocked.
Do you mean before or AFTER anti-MS media and numerous others start getting it out to the public? Apple, and other rivals, could have people doing this.
The car was an ugly duckling with that "horse-collar" front end which failed to excite anyone, even after their largest and most expensive ad campaign up to that point.
Perhaps there is a curse on naming a product after a family member. Steve Job's failed "Lisa" comes to mind. Although the "Oh Henry" candy bar is still around.
lol!
There are some very good points raised in your article!
And...it reminds me of a preacher who asked a 3500 member evangelical congregation some questions.
It went like this: (True Story!)
The preacher asked “How many of you came to faith in Jesus because of a Gospel Tract?
ONE person raised his hand.
Then the preacher asked:
“How many of you came to faith in Jesus because of a loving friend or relative who made a difference in your life?”
3499 people raised their hands.
It makes one wonder about the value of print advertising.
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