For certain types of products and services, national identity is a fundamental element of the brand - even when it has little or nothing to do with their true place of origin. Understanding how this factor can affect company fortunes is vital when entering overseas markets. 
Take Lipton for instance, without doubt the world's number one brand of tea. In America, Lipton outsells all other tea brands three-to-one. Tea and Britain are almost synonymous and Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch owner of Lipton, proudly boasts its British heritage. Indeed, founder Sir Thomas Lipton, knighted by Queen Victoria in 1889, still features on its packaging. It's perhaps surprising then that you can't buy it anywhere in Britain. In fact, most people in the UK have never heard of it. (Recently Lipton iced-teas have been introduced to the UK, but have yet to make much impact on the market.)
There are other examples. Matsui is a brand of electrical goods produced by the UK's largest retailer of such products, Dixons Group plc. Intentionally Japanese in style, the name enables the British firm to benefit from the stereotype of that nation's electronics offering good quality at reasonable prices. Ask for it in Japan however, and you'll be met with blank expressions. 
The UK's second biggest selling brand of cars, Vauxhall, are merely badge-engineered versions of what's known throughout continental Europe as Opel. The Vauxhall name has a long history in the UK and it's important for General Motors, the parent of both makes, to maintain a sense of this heritage and identity for success in the British market.
True brand translation then, is clearly about more than taking something that's well established in one country and making it acceptable to another. Shaping brand identity and messaging for new markets requires understanding and experience of both the home and overseas cultures. It could be effective to buy a local competitor and take on its brand heritage, or perhaps it makes sense to assume a different national identity altogether. To help its clients in this process, ALG utilises locally experienced consultants and practicioners who work together to unpick and recontruct brands as their owners seek to expand across the Atlantic.
