Naming brands
by Eric Reiss - 21 March 2004 / 10 August 2004
What's in a name...and what isn't
Service and quality management were hot buttons a decade ago. Today, "branding" is the flavor-of-the-month in business circles. Basically, a brand represents a unique collection of ideas, values, and emotions. By using colors, symbols, and words, we create tangible containers for these intangible elements. The better people understand the individual elements and associate them with our company, the stronger our brand.
But is the actual brand name important? After all, a lot of companies spend a lot of time and a lot of money analyzing these magical groups of vowels and consonants. Well, yes and no - an established brand name may be worth a fortune. But remember, even the world's most valuable brands weren't born valuable. They only became so through years of hard work. That means if the name is brand new (pun intended), it's going to be far less important.
Still in doubt? Did you know the BMW brand is now so strong, over half of those who purchase one don't even bother with the test drive? Wow! Now ask yourself what made BMW a stronger name than, say, NSU?
Tracking time
What's the best wristwatch in the world? Many folks will say "Rolex" - well, men at any rate. Women have a tendency to say "Cartier."
But why?
Is Rolex the most accurate? No, that honor probably belongs to Casio's quartz-driven "G-Force." Is it the most expensive? No, Patek Phillipe and Breguet have that covered. Well then, isn't it because Rolex is exclusive and hand-made? Forget it! The Rolex factories churn out over a million watches a year whereas the ultra-traditional Blancpain releases but a few hundred.
Never heard of Patek, Breguet, or Blancpain? If so, you now understand the secret of Rolex?s success ? most consumers have heard of Rolex. And most consumers have also formed an opinion of the watches, even if they?ve never been closer than an ad in a magazine.
The "brand" is a culmination of all the associations consumers make when they come in contact with it - so called "brand touchpoints." The wider the recognition of the brand and the more positive the values associated with it, the greater the brand equity. Rolex has carefully built an aura of quality and luxury around their products and it's paying off big-time. The fact that Rolex watches actually keep good time helps considerably - successful brands are rarely built on lies.
Product recognition creates equity
Brand equity can come from every imaginable source. For example, when the Rolex DateJust came out back in 1950, it was called a "turnip." This is watch industry slang for a really big, ugly watch. It stands out in a crowd - and Rolex built this into a brand advantage by ensuring that owners can signal, "Hey, I'm important. I own expensive things," to anyone within a 20 foot radius - more than enough to get you the time of day in most conference- and salesrooms.
Sad but true, ostentatious wristwatches pass for "class" in some circles. And Rolex plays this card with the skill of a Las Vegas sharpie.
Fins on old Cadillacs? White computers from Apple? Slim-waisted Coca-Cola bottles? There are hundreds of products that have been made identifiable without the need to check the name or logo.
Brand visibility creates equity
The Rolex brand maintains an incredibly high profile, sponsoring major sporting events like Wimbledon, and the PGA Masters. And this visibility does more than just sell watches - the price of a Rolex DateJust has increased 10-fold since sports agent par excellence, Mark H. McCormick, talked Rolex into these sponsorships back in the 1970s. During 2003 alone, the company confidently raised its prices by 10-12%, even though the price of gold was steady and there was virtually no inflation.
Associations create equity
So, if the name itself isn't important, why spend time worrying about it at all? Because it can sometimes jump-start your quest for brand equity even if the benefits are short-lived.
When the local New York ice-cream brand, Häagen-Daz, went national back in 1973, they printed a map of Scandinavia on the lid of each carton. And since this crudely drawn chart was unlikely to be recognized by anyone (including Scandinavians), the three capitols, Stockholm, Oslo, and Copenhagen were named next to appropriately placed stars.
Why? Well, in addition to curvey coffee tables and curvey blonds, Scandinavia had become associated with high-quality ice cream. So Häagen-Daz decided to bask in the reflected glory by inventing a made-up name that suggested something Scandinavian. (Of course, the Scandinavians think Häagen-Daz looks like something written in Turkish - but who cares?).
Was the phony Scandinavian name the secret to their success? Only in the short term. Other brands followed suit, such as Frusen Glädje (which actually meant "Frozen Happiness" in Swedish). Although it was an excellent product and backed by Kraft Foods in the U.S., Frusen Glädje melted into oblivion after just a few years. Häagen-Daz's long-term success is due to its effective advertising, excellent brand visibility, easy product availability, good variety, and consistent quality.
Today, the Scandinavian connection is no longer particularly important as the ice-cream market shifts its emphasis from foreign to folksy, led by brands like Ben and Jerry's. The point is, the brand equity is what's in the name, not the name itself. ?Ben and Jerry?s? could just as easily have been "Hank and Betty's."
Associations can also be negative
Two chemistry students in Texas came up with an interesting blend of aromatic esthers. And their nose for business told them they had a great chance to create a new after-shave for men. Although everyone loved the fragrance, the name "Tiger Sweat" stank. Later Fabergé bought the formula, which is now sold as "Brut."
Not all names travel well
Of course, with increased emphasis on internationalization, some brands run into trouble when presented to new markets. Here are a few of the names I find particularly interesting simply because they are all successful in their home markets. Yet they also illustrate how nonsensical - or even catastrophic - a brand name can seem elsewhere in the world.
Ultra Nørsk is a hanging air freshener sold in the U.S. The name is supposed to suggest the pine forests of Scandinavia. "Norsk" means "Norwegian" but the gratuitous "ø" makes the word meaningless. (Remember the fake subtitles for Monty Python and the Holy Grail - the bit about the møøse?). Scandinavians are appalled that the Americans can be so daft. Here?s another example:
Dr. Oetker doesn't sound like someone you'd want to buy a pizza from. But in Northern Europe, Dr. Oetker is one of the leading brands in the food industry, specializing in cake mixes and frozen pastry. The pizza business represents a shift from sweet to savory foods, but the name is trusted so the pizzas are selling - well - like Dr. Oetker's hotcakes.
Cheasy is a brand of dairy goods from one of the world's largest cooperative dairies, Arla. The idea is clearly to create an association with cheese. Some years ago, I was asked why this brand wasn't selling well in the United Kingdom. I explained that "cheesy" means "cheap." Worse still, "cheesy" is also used as an adjective to describe skin lesions, wound effluents (pus), and the deposits that form around unwashed male genitalia. Arla ignored this advice and has since plowed millions into building the brand. As far as I know, it's still a flop in the U.K. even though it sells well in Scandinavia.
Great Wall Brand is the property of the Tianjin Drug Manufactory in Tianjin, China. They make all kinds of herbal remedies and are one of the largest such companies in the Far East. It's safe to assume that the red logo is where the brand equity is located - the actual name represents the only English words on the package.
Celis Pale Bock is advertised as "Austin Texas Beer." However, the colorful label depicts a Grand Canyon-like landscape. This has as little to do with the scenery around Austin as the beer does with Texas - it's brewed and bottled in Belgium. Although Celis' Texas heritage is pretty weak, the brand is creating a good buzz in the Benelux region, which is really all that counts.
Darkie Toothpaste had been marketed throughout Asia by Hong Kong-based Hawley & Hazel since the 1920s. When the company was purchased by Colgate in 1985, the new owners started to feel pressure to scrap the politically incorrect name and appalling racial stereotype on the label. Within two years, Colgate had changed the name to "Darlie" and introduced an ethnically ambiguous logo. However, it's safe to assume these changes were merely to placate Westerners - the Chinese characters on the label still read "Black Man Tooth Paste."
Spunk candies are made here in Denmark and presumably there is little or no distribution outside the borders of our little Scandinavian kingdom. But visitors from the U.K. find the name highly amusing - "spunk" is a slang term for semen.
The real brand questions are?
What is the unique DNA that makes your brand stand out from the crowd? What are the acknowledged qualities that contribute to its equity? What are the latent qualities you need to highlight? What are the missing qualities you need to develop? What does your brand symbolize? What is the true essence of your brand?
Naming a brand isn't the end of the story - it's merely the beginning. Your brand is what you put into it - by creating good products, by providing good service, and by communicating your story.
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