Getting Ready for Pret

(http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/sectors/food-and-drink/pret%E2%80%99s-brand-promise-lost-in-translation/3028165.article)

Last week MarketingWeek was raising the difficult question of the launch of Pret a Manger in Paris and of whether or not the chain should change its name on the French market . As a French person working in the naming industry I thought that I would chime in with my opinion.

First I have to stress the fact that in French if the name is not great and sounds a bit clumsy – I would say that it sounds like foreign people tried to (and in this case did) create a name in French – it is not a major problem (Pret a Manger can be understood in two different ways in French: “Ready to Eat Food” or “You Are Ready to Eat”). Indeed, apart from sounding a bit cheap or “fast food”, it doesn’t trigger any negative connotations straight away (as it was the case in the example given by the magazine of the Mitsubishi car – Pajero – that had to be renamed Montero for the Spanish market).

Furthermore, if we take into account the number of brands that we live with every day despite the fact that they sound a bit silly or cheap, I would say that Pret a Manger is probably fine. Some of my favourite examples are Cillit Bang (not the most beautiful name that the French language has known), Fepalcon (an antidepressant meaning literally “Don’t act like a twat”), Monoprix (a supermarket chain which name sounds cheap – “One Price” – but that really isn’t!) and Le Bon Marché (a well-known department store in Paris which name sounds (and means) cheap – and that is actually not very different from Pret a Manger on a naming point of view[*] – and that happens to be a French equivalent of Harrods).

Then I would back Mark Ritson who wrote the article in MarketingWeek: the brand is about to be launched in Paris and many Parisians have travelled or travel to the UK (and especially to London) on a regular basis and are likely to be familiar with the brand already. Thus, Pret a Manger is more likely to be associated with the UK there than with France.

And if I may introduce a personal opinion here, I would tend to say that changing the current name to a new one that would sound “more French” or “better quality” would make the Pret a Manger brand lose its identity and consistency. If you take a closer look at the type of products that are sold in Pret a Manger restaurants, they are definitely more British than French so it doesn’t really matter that the name sounds slightly odd in French. In addition to that, I can easily imagine that with a different name sounding better in French the customers would become much more demanding and that their expectations would be higher as for the type of products available. I think that in that case Pret a Manger would even have to adapt some of their products to the French tastes (fresh baguette, French cheese, charcuterie, etc.) because the risk, with a French name, is disappointment and progressive disinterest for the brand if the products don’t stick to the French standards.

On the other hand, the fact that Pret a Manger is a British company is probably a great competitive advantage for the brand. The reason is simple: one of the stereotypes that French people have about British culture is that it is strange (to us obviously) and unusual, slightly crazy at times so by definition “original” and “brilliant”. There, Pret a Manger probably has the advantage of differentiation. Because it is British – and therefore different – the restaurant chain might attract people who will get curious or nostalgic about the UK without regards to its name.

Mark Ritson proposed a possible compromise in his article: to shorten the name to “Pret”. I agree to say that if the chain wants to change its name it is one possible alternative. Another alternative could be to add “London” at the end of Pret a Manger. Indeed, by doing this the reason why the name can sound a bit odd to French ears would be explained (it comes from London, so it’s not French, so “aaah, mais oui! tout est clair!”). The other advantage of that second possibility is that the name, sounding good quality (because French) in the UK, will lose this slightly premium feel once on the other side of the Channel; however, by saying Pret a Manger – London, you put this premium feel back in the name (one of the best examples I can think of would be Burberry, often presented as Burberry – London in France).

To put it simply, a bad name in French doesn’t necessarily mean a bad name in France.

Bon appétit!

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[*] The name Le Bon Marché, even if French, sounds a bit odd and old fashioned, probably due to the fact that the department store was founded in 1838. In the meantime, the French language has changed and this type of name has become quite rare in France and therefore unusual.