Brand names: translate or keep

Localisation is more than words: date formats, currency, faces in images, legal requirements. Without them the text reads foreign.

Task: Whether to translate the brand name for a new market.

[Before you start, do three things]
1. Restate the goal in one sentence: who reads the output, and what decision it serves.
2. If I have not given you the following, ask me. Do not assume:
   - meaning and pronunciation
   - target language
   - trademark availability
   - media budget
3. Say how you plan to do it (at most 5 steps) and wait for my go-ahead.

[Go through each of these]
- three options: keep, transliterate, local name
- check negative connotations
- trademark search first
- compare communication cost

[Process]
1. List every localisable element: text, formats, images, law
2. One rule set per market
3. Check for hard-coded strings
4. Design a verification
5. Say what should stay untranslated

[Output]
Element list, market rules, gap check, verification.

[Do not]
- Never translate only the UI strings
- Do not ignore plurals and gender
- One format never fits all markets
- Never force-translate a brand name