Sympathieträger

English translation: celebrity endorser/spokesperson/spokesmodel

14:35 Nov 11, 2003

German to English translations [PRO]
Marketing

German term or phrase: Sympathieträger

This has already been asked once but I just can't see using any of the suggestions here:
Parallel dazu läuft weiterhin die Imagekampagne für Firma XY mit dem Sympathieträger Harald Schmidt

The term chosen in the glossary was "mascot" - but I just don't see that working here....

I was contemplating something along the lines of "appealing advertising figure" but there most be something better out there, surely.

Rebecca Holmes KudoZ activity Questions: 508 (none open) (1 without valid answers) Answers: 375 United States
Local time: 06:40

English translation:celebrity endorser/spokesperson/spokesmodel

Explanation:
Although the German hss slightly different connotations and can be used in a wider context, in your particular text "celebrity endorser/spokesperson" would capture the essence. If you compare English and German sources, you see that these terms are used in very much the same context.
(Spokesperson in more commonly used for non-profit organizations, though, and spokesmodel sounds rather glamourous, so my favorite is endorser.)

Another option is re-phrasing: endorsed/with endorsement by the popular H.S.

cf:
It's important to remember that when a company signs a celebrity
endorser, they're signing an image.
advertising.about.com/library/weekly/aa081203a.htm

A widely used and very popular type of spokesperson
is the celebrity endorser (Tom et al. 1992)
www.globalbrands.org/research/working/ Celebrity_Branding.pdf

It's the biggest partnership this year in the music world Panasonic and Tata Young. Tata will become the spokesmodel for Panasonic during 1999 appearing on the famous audio-visual brand's television commercials as well as in radio and print advertising. ... Panasonic's big boss Mr. Yoshimasa Tamura says Panasonic selected Tata Young as its celebrity spokesmodel because "Tata has the same vitality as Panasonic. Panasonic's leadership in next-generation digital technology is a perfect match with Tata's dynamism, her youthful spirit of innovation, and her commitment to being the best at what she does".
http://www.tatayoung.com/home/news.html

Prior to her Beach Party appearances, Donna had already spun a moderately successful career as a teen singer into a lucrative role as the "celebrity spokesmodel" for Dr. Pepper, and continued in those roles even after she started appearing in the AIP movies.
http://music.mainseek.com/65720R793P28669K8_Donna-Loren-Beac...

Celebrity endorsement can be key to marketing success
"High-profile endorsements from athletes and celebrities will set you apart from your competitors, and you can become a contender in the playing field —a celebrity spokesperson can work for companies of all sizes."
http://www.worldchiropracticalliance.org/tcj/2003/mar/mar200...

Mark Janicello, derzeit wichtigster Werbe- und Sympathieträger für Scientology in Österreich
http://www.awadalla.at/content/janicelloflugi.html

Prominente in der Werbung
Schwimmstar Franziska van Almsick "taucht" mit dem Opel Tigra unter
einem Stau hindurch, Verona Feldbusch kocht unermüdlich
Iglo-Rahmspinat mit "Blubb" und Thomas Gottschalk beteuert seine
Vorliebe für Haribo-Goldbären. Wie wird wer und aus welchem Grund
als Prominenter in der Werbung eingesetzt? ....
Wie schon in den 20er Jahren treten nach 1945 vor allem
Filmschauspieler als Sympathieträger und neue Konsumleitbilder auf Anzeigen
und Plakaten in den Vordergrund.
http://www.hdg.de/Final/deu/page2748.htm

Selected response from:

Heike Behl, Ph.D.
Ireland
Local time: 11:40

Grading comment

Oh my goodness, what an amazing variety of suggestions to choose from - I was positively overwhelmed! Thank you all very, very much for your help and input. In my specific case I decided to go with "..featuring the popular entertainer Harald Schmidt as an endorser for the products" - many of your suggestions would work equally well, however, so I have not selected just one entry for the glossary.
Thank you all gain,
Rebecca
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +3

popular comedian

IanW (X)

4 +3

crowd pleaser

Olaf Reibedanz

5 +2

brand personality

Gareth McMillan

5 +2

More discussion...again not for grading...re "mascot"

Hilary Davies Shelby

3 +2

popular

NGK

4 +1

affinity builder (personality)

invguy

mascot (your original word)

Gareth McMillan

4 +1

sympathy figure / empathiser /

Gareth McMillan

4 +1

Reply to invguy- also not for grading.

Gareth McMillan

sympathetic public figure

Cilian O'Tuama

with everybody's favorite, Harold Schmidt

gangels (X)

well-known entertainer

Renate FitzRoy

celebrity endorser/spokesperson/spokesmodel

Heike Behl, Ph.D.

brand ambassador

Anil Kelkar

5 -1

figurehead

Hilary Davies Shelby

5 -1

sympathy centre / attention centre

szilard

re: mascot (not for grading)

invguy

Discussion entries: 2

Answers

6 mins confidence:

sympathetic public figure

Explanation:
check Kim's question for Identifikationsfigur at

http://www.proz.com/kudoz/480136

Maybe some help

Reference: http://www.proz.com/kudoz/480136

Cilian O'Tuama
Germany
Local time: 12:40
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in pair: 7294

17 mins confidence:

with everybody's favorite, Harold Schmidt

Explanation:
xxx

gangels (X)
Local time: 04:40
Native speaker of:

English,

German
PRO pts in pair: 5559

18 mins confidence:

Sympathieträger well-known entertainer

Explanation:
You could, of course, also choose Norbert's 'popular', but I think you need to give some kind of explanation. The English-speaking reader won't know German TV stars.

Renate FitzRoy
Local time: 11:40
Native speaker of: German
PRO pts in pair: 283

20 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

Sympathieträger popular comedian

Explanation:
I wouldn't approach this literally - if you say "popular comedian" , you're covering the "Sympathieträger" part ("popular"), giving a little extra info to English-speaking readers ("comedian"), and have a natural-sounding phrase.

Do I hear any bids?

IanW (X)
Local time: 12:40
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in pair: 2468

2 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

Sympathieträger popular

Explanation:
use an adjective

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 23 mins (2003-11-11 14:59:06 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

or: likeable

or: well-liked

or: likeable / well-liked celebrity

NGK
United States
Local time: 05:40
Native speaker of:

English,

German
PRO pts in pair: 2954

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

crowd pleaser

Explanation:
Here the definition of the term according to the The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

"A person, spectacle, work, or idea that appeals to popular taste"

Would fit well here, wouldn't it?

Reference: http://www.bartleby.com/61/6/C0770600.html

Olaf Reibedanz
Colombia
Local time: 05:40
Native speaker of:

German
PRO pts in pair: 902

3 hrs confidence:

Sympathieträger

celebrity endorser/spokesperson/spokesmodel

Heike Behl, Ph.D.
Ireland
Local time: 11:40
Native speaker of:

German
PRO pts in pair: 904

Grading comment

4 hrs confidence:

brand ambassador

Explanation:
Perhaps this is what you're looking for?

Anil Kelkar
Local time: 16:10
Native speaker of:

Marathi,

English
PRO pts in pair: 70

5 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): -1

figurehead

Explanation:
lots of Google hits too!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2003-11-12 11:27:33 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Some examples of the 18,000 hits for \"campaign figurehead\" ;-)

The Guardian Searches For UK\'s Most Family Friendly Museum - 24 ...
... to become more family friendly,\" explained Dea Birkett, Guardian columnist and campaign figurehead. ...
www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_txo_en/ART18187.html - 12k

- The Spinnaker
... As the campaign\'s figurehead, most people would have expected Ray to file a report with the University Police Department after some of the group\'s signs and ...
www.unf.edu/groups/spinnaker/archives/ 2002/feb27/editorial2.html

:: Buckmasters Online ::
... Amazingly, in taking the liberty of using Jesus as a campaign figurehead against the killing of animals and billboarding Him as a vegetarian, they missed one ...
www.buckmasters.com/Buckmasters_Links/Classic_Buckmasters/ articles/Petacampaign.html

ManchesterOnline - Mancunian - Expats
... Restoration. Sarah Hughes talks to campaign figurehead Sunny Lowry about how she became the first English woman to swim the Channel. Full ...

Maricopa Community Colleges: Community Awareness Campaign
... president is the college and must be the figurehead within the ... years, and an advertising, outreach and image enhancement campaign will be ...
www.dist.maricopa.edu/marketing/ campaign/activities.htm

On Line Opinion 15/7/00 - George Sumner wonders whether Americans ...
... Or do they seek a manager, a figurehead who will ... made an effort to change this image and broaden ... This has included moving the campaign headquarters to Tennessee ...
www.onlineopinion.com.au/July00/Sumner.htm

Norm Dixon, World trade union network against Rio Tinto launched
... They are mining our resources and undermining our trade union movement\", he said.
The selection of Hawke as the campaign\'s figurehead surprised some delegates. ...
www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/26/098.html

no euro
... Take the No campaign\'s figurehead, Lord Owen. His claim that he was the true progenitor of New Labour shows that he has lost none of his capacity to outrage. ...
www.no-euro.com/mediacentre/dossiers/ display.asp?IDNO=23

Beer Necessities Online Issues
... Branch Diary & Beer Festival Notice Board; Pub News; Hale Ninkasi! CAMRA\'s latest campaign figurehead. The Newport Ship: Could it have been a brewery dray? ...
homepage.ntlworld.com/neilwarnock/ gwentcamra/contents.htm

Hilary Davies Shelby
United States
Local time: 05:40
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in pair: 641

7 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): -1

sympathy centre / attention centre

Explanation:
This is about the person who is expected to draw the attention of the public. I would remain with this/these.

szilard
Local time: 12:40
Native speaker of:

Hungarian
PRO pts in pair: 36

7 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

Sympathietrдger affinity builder (personality)

Explanation:
I think 'Sympathieträger' (here) needs to be translated as a descriptor phrase of certain properties of H.S. *from a marketing point of view*.

Presumably, the text is about the building of a brand, or a related/similar activity. The basic things that are being *built* for a brand through carefully targeted campaigns are (in sequence) awareness, affinity, trust, and loyalty. Obviously H.S. fits well as an affinity builder personality (i.e. transfers some of the affinity people have for him onto the brand he speaks in favour of - actually, this rule is the ground of 'celebrity usage' in advertising).

----------------

On the linguistic side:

"Main Entry: sym·pa·thy
.......
Etymology: Latin sympathia, from Greek sympatheia, from sympathEs having common feelings, sympathetic, from syn- + pathos feelings, emotion, experience
.......
1 a : an AFFINITY (caps mine), association, or relationship between persons or things wherein whatever affects one similarly affects the other b : mutual or parallel susceptibility or a condition brought about by it c : unity or harmony in action or effect
2 a : inclination to think or feel alike : emotional or intellectual accord b : feeling of loyalty : tendency to favor or support <republican sympathies>
.......
4 : the correlation existing between bodies capable of communicating their vibrational energy to one another through some medium"
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=sym...

"Entry: sympathy
Function: noun
Definition: shared feeling
Synonyms: accord, AFFINITY (id.), agreement, alliance, attraction, benignancy, close relation, commiseration, compassion, concord, congeniality, connection, correspondence, empathy, feelings, fellow feeling, grandstand play, harmony, heart, kindliness, kindness, mutual attraction, mutual fondness, rapport, responsiveness, sensitivity, tenderness, understanding, union, unity, warmheartedness, warmth
Concept: kindness
Source: Roget's Interactive Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.0.0)
Copyright © 2003 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved"
http://thesaurus.reference.com/search?r=2&q=sympathy

Of course, the intended meaning does not focus on the other meaning of 'sympathy', although it does not contradict to it either:

"Entry: sympathy
Function: noun
Definition: pity
Synonyms: aid, cheer, comfort, commiseration, compassion, condolence, consolation, empathy, encouragement, reassurance, rue, ruth, solace, tenderness, thoughtfulness, understanding
Concept: sadness
Source: Roget's Interactive Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.0.0)
Copyright © 2003 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved."

One could aslo say 'sympathy builder' (and it might fit some of the possible contexts in a better way); still, IMHO:

1) 'affinity' (or even 'affection') *is* a thing you can 'build', while 'sympathy' is something you typically only 'get'; and
2) 'build' seems to be a verb well matching the branding context.

Some similar usage examples:

"Attaching life-size fake grannies to the 'nozzle' of its new vacuum cleaner poster to show off their suction powers attracted huge publicity and a raft of. How could anyone not feel affection for the brand after seeing this ad? "
http://www.csquared.cc/database.asp

"It’s a classic sympathy builder, because the reader on the other end can do no more than yell ‘Don’t take that from her! Stand up for yourself! You’re doing everything you possibly can do!’"
http://www.inferiority.com/spillindex.asp?pagenum=25

"Your marketplace solution can be as easy as a link to our proprietary marketplace, spree.com. The marketplace is a proven affinity builder, with more than 3 million members, a 31% repeat buyer rate and average order values in excess of $130."
http://www.evalueplus.com/solutions_loyalty.asp

invguy
Bulgaria
Local time: 13:40
Native speaker of:

Bulgarian
PRO pts in pair: 151

22 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

brand personality

Explanation:
"Personality" is a well known person (usually from sport or TV etc.) but not as big as a celebrity (UK).

Suggested sentence:
"....with the brand personality Harald Schmidt, a popular German TV entertainer."

I still think you need to explain Harald a bit to non-Germans, that's why the sentence is so long, but I think it's OK.

Are we allowed two attempts on these question answer things?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2003-11-12 19:55:16 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Improved version-
\".....with OUR brand personality Harald Schmidt...\"
a small word but makes a huge difference.

Gareth McMillan
Local time: 12:40
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in pair: 793

1 day 16 hrs confidence:

mascot (your original word)

Explanation:
Combine "brand" with your original word "mascot"-
".....with our brand macsot Harald Schmidt (the popular German TV personality)"

or
".....with our product mascot Harald Schmidt (the popular German TV personality)"
Think "brand mascot" flows better.

However, "mascot" is more usually a small child or a big teddy bear or some other inanimate object (as in this case?).

Gareth McMillan
Local time: 12:40
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in pair: 793

1 day 19 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

sympathy figure / empathiser /

Explanation:
Your added note about MEDICINES could put a completely different slant on things.

The German concept of health/illness has always been a bit of a mystery to me:
Krankenhaus- illness house (pessimistic)
Krankenwagen- illness wagon
Krankenversicherung- (illness insurance- in case you get healthy?)

This all sounds a bit negative to the Anglo-Saxon mind-- we would never think National Illness Service (NHS) for example (although these days it might be more appropriaite!).

So if your ill, you need medicine and sympathy, commiserations, condolences and Harald is just the man to provide it!!!

Perhaps they do in fact mean exactly that.... SYMPATHY.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2003-11-13 16:15:47 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Where is everybody?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2003-11-13 22:19:12 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

\"Sympathy\" was a serious suggestion.
Rebecca still needs an answer.
And I haven\'t even had a supercilious comment.

Gareth McMillan
Local time: 12:40
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in pair: 793

2 days 9 hrs confidence:

Sympathieträger re: mascot (not for grading)

Explanation:
Apologies, everyone, for adding length to the discussion... but it seems a new answer was the only way to give my explanation to Gareth (don't know if you've noticed, but we're urged to spare bandwidth by some new restrictions...) So:

-----------

A mascot personality is diferent from a celebrity endorser/spokesperson in that it (he/she) is - or is perceived as - *dedicated* to a brand. Back to Joe Camel: he had no other public emploi but being the mascot of Camel cigarettes - and he was it, and only it, 24/7/365, for years on end.

Normally, celebrities would not be trapped into this kind of deal, as the inevitable severe restrictions could deprive them of market flexibility in selling their public image; of course, they would also avoid the other extreme (being the face of too many different brands), lest the potential of their image gets dissipated. Of recent deals, you could say that Kylie Minogue was signed as British Airways' new mascot, given: 1) the vast publicity - in which, BTW, the word 'mascot' was consistently used, and 2) the fact that she has no comparable contracts with any other brand. I'd leave it to Rebecca to judge whether Kylie's case could be parallelled to that of H.S. (I am inclined to doubt it).

What I meant by my comment is that it would be (IMHO) very unlikely for Harald Schmidt to let his public image be *dedicated* to (or unequivocally identified with) a brand to the extent of becoming *a mascot*. He has also a more important branding to take care of: his own. Since the strength of the Harald Schmidt personal brand in the field of entertainment is evidently the primary reason of his personality's attractiveness to advertisers, he could hardly afford to let it (the hen who lays golden eggs) step back in favour of any single advertising contract (regardless of the size of the payment 'packet').

Note: a tempting contract *could* make a celebrity 'go the mascot way' when they are nearing their decline, and selling out what they can, in terms of personal image. I have the impression that H.S. is - on the contrary - still alive and well on the TV screen... and maybe even going up in rating... so it seems that 'mascot time' has not yet come for him... um... sorry, Kylie... ;)

invguy
Bulgaria
Local time: 13:40
Native speaker of:

Bulgarian
PRO pts in pair: 151

2 days 18 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

Reply to invguy- also not for grading.

Explanation:
I first have to say that for a non-native speaker your academic command of English is truly remarkable.
I also understand your argument but cannot agree with the comparison bet. Minogue and Schmidt.

1. Kylie M. is by no means on the way out. She is BIG STUFF in the UK and internationally. British Airways (still world's biggest airline?) wouldn't use her if she wasn't.

2. Harald Schmidt on the other hand is internationally unheard of and even in Germany he's not BIG. The company he's allying himself with doesn't even sell brand name products!

So if the term "mascot" is good enough for Kylie, then it's good enough for Harald!

But I'm still not sure about the original intended meaning which is why I'd hped for some feedback on my "sympathy" suggestion.
Should we apologise for our discussion? If it helps the asker and we learn from it too, then it's worth it.

p.s. In English folklore it's a goose not a hen. (Just a wee jibe)

Gareth McMillan
Local time: 12:40
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in pair: 793

2 days 20 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

More discussion...again not for grading...re "mascot"

Explanation:
I know it *has* been used by the media, etc, but to me the term "mascot" refers to an animal (i.e. regimental mascot - usually a dog or a pony) or someone dressed up as something silly (giant squirrel, Mr Peanut, whatever). It seems somewhat demeaning to me to use it for a person or a public figure - its almost as if they can't speak for themselves and have become a sort of "puppet" to be manipulated by the company, not someone liked or respected by the public who is using their image in a positive way to endorse a product.

Hilary Davies Shelby
United States
Local time: 05:40
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in pair: 641

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