For the past five years, Red Bull’s been setting up an urban ice track in Old Quebec City for aggressive (read crazy) skaters to brave each year. It’s described as a combination of downhill skiing, hockey and boardercross. They call it the Crashed Ice event, but members of the Mouvement Montreal Français say it’s time for that to change.

Since Red Bull’s event was held this past weekend in a predominantly French-speaking city, the Mouvement feels that the event’s name should have been translated into French also. Red Bull refused to do so, explaining that they are building a brand and that brand names aren’t translated.

Even the director of communications for Quebec City agreed with Red Bull, saying “We still shop at Canadian Tire and not Canadian Pneu.”

But regardless of what side of the fence you’re on when it comes to English / French language issues in Canada, this debate raises an interesting question for marketing communications professionals: at what point do a brand names end and communications begin?

The Mouvement wasn’t asking Red Bull to change their name to “Taureau Rouge”; they were asking Red bull to change their event name to “patinage extreme” or “patinage casse-cou” so that local residents could feel an affiliation, a connection, with the brand. Isn’t their event a tactic they are using to build profile with consumers? For tactics to resonate, shouldn’t they be accessible?

Were I to issue a press release in Italy, I would do so in Italian. If I conducted a media tour in Germany, I’d use a German-speaking spokesperson. Is this really any different?

Do you build consumer brand loyalty via consistency or via respect?