COMPANY SUCCESS IS ALL IN A NAME

A STRONG corporate identity is a company's greatest asset. A statement which the late Malcolm Forbes, influential United States publisher and founder of the world-renowned business title Forbes magazine, would no doubt have endorsed.

He once said: "There is no way management cannot recognise the value of a corporate image. It is the best, single investment that a company can make.''

A company's name should be a reflection of its marketing strategy, inextricably linking the company and corporate culture to its products, brand image and position in the market place.

And corporate identity is particularly important if that company is aiming to capture an international market or is expanding its portfolio to include sectors for which it is not known, as demonstrated recently by several United Kingdom firms.

The average consumer is bombarded by hundreds of adverts featuring corporate names every day, ranging from those seen on TV, in newspapers and on advertising hoardings to those heard on the radio and placed on the Internet. Names reach the public consciousness only if they are unique, distinctive and memorable.

According to Naseem Javed, author of a book called Naming For Power - Creating Successful Names For The Business World, most corporate names fit into the following four categories:

• Surnames: using family names as corporate identifiers
• Geographic names: using municipal, regional or other general geographic denominators
• Descriptive/dictionary names: using words plucked from a dictionary or using a descriptive phrase
• Coined names: using an amalgamation of the names of two merging companies or a made-up name.

Global management and technology consulting organisation Andersen Consulting is one UK company which recently changed its corporate identity. On 1 January this year it became Accenture.

Joe W Forehand, managing partner and chief executive officer of Accenture, explained: "We are a very different organisation today than we were when we formed Andersen Consulting in 1989, so adopting a new brand and identity is a logical next step in our growth strategy.''

Accenture is a coined name, combining the words accent with future, aiming to convey the message that the company will focus on helping its clients create their future. The name was submitted by Kim Petersen, a business consultant working for Andersen Consulting in Norway.

Accenture was selected after an intensive three-month research and analysis process involving thousands of candidate names. A short-list of 50 names was evaluated globally for trademark and website availability, possible cultural sensitivities and local market pronunciation.

The entire naming process - from conception, analysis and research to final name selection - was completed in what is believed to be a record time of fewer than three months. Typically, a project of this size and global scope would usually take far longer.

The initiative was led by Andersen Consulting's global marketing team and supported by the international branding and identity firm, Landor Associates, as well as law firms in more than 49 countries who conducted the 3,000 required trademark searches.

In choosing the name, every effort was made to tap into the creativity of the people who knew the firm best - its 65,000 employees. Under a company-wide initiative called BrandStorming, employees from 42 countries submitted 2,677 names for consideration.

Mr Forehand added: "Not only was Accenture created by one of our people, it turned out to be the name our 2,500 partners preferred more than two to one over any other candidate.''

So when should a company consider changing its name?

According to Holly Roff, an expert in corporate identity development: ''For an established firm, your identity depends on factors such as age. For example if your company looks like something left over from the 1980s, now's the time to change.

''Benchmark your identity with that of your competitors or new entrants into your marketplace. A good rule of thumb is to refresh your look every five years. If a company has recently merged or acquired another, it is important to go with the company that has the stronger brand name and presence in the market.''

British Gas is the trading name still shared by two companies demerged in 1997. The commercial activities of British Gas were spun off as a separate business named Centrica (created from the word centric: having a specific centre or core), and the British Gas Corporation renamed itself BG plc, retaining responsibility for technical production, exploration and international development of the UK gas industry.

Quick to exploit its commercial freedom, Centrica has added many services to its portfolio, most recently the UK's Automobile Association acquired for 1.1 billion pounds sterling in 1999.

Another firm, Corus (thought to be from coruscate: to throw off flashes of light), came into existence in October 1999, and is the result of a merger between British Steel and Koninklijke Hoogovens of the Netherlands, creating a metals company which combines international expertise with local service.

The headquarters are in London, with 23 business units located across the globe. At the end of June 2000, there were 63,900 employees worldwide.

A Corus spokesman said: "It was not easy to leave behind our former names as we are, and we remain, proud of our heritage. Both British Steel and Koninklijke Hoogovens have distinguished pasts.''

Diageo, a made-up word, is the revised company name of one of the world's foremost drinks business. It was formed in 1997 through the merger of Grand Metropolitan and Guinness that spawned a global giant with annual sales of 12 billion pounds sterling.

The group has an outstanding portfolio of well-known drinks brands including Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, J&B, Gordon's and the world-famous Guinness stout.

Paul Walsh, group chief executive for Diageo, said: "No company has a better platform for growth. No company has better brands. We will seize the opportunity to grow the world's leading beverage alcohol business. Diageo's future is based on three key words: focus, innovation and growth.''

The latest corporate name change in the UK will take place on 26 March when the Post Office becomes a public company and changes its name to Consignia.

The recognised names of Royal Mail, Parcelforce Worldwide and Post Office branches will stay the same but these names, according to the Post Office, "were not felt to reflect our customer's unique global distribution needs.''

Chief executive John Roberts said: "The new name describes the full scope of what the Post Office does in a way that the words 'post' and 'office' cannot. 'To consign' means 'to entrust to the care of' - which is what each of our customers does every day, no matter which of our services they use.''

Accenture, 2 Arundel Street, London, United Kingdom, WC2R 3LT.
Telephone: +44 20 7844 4000.
Website: http://www.accenture.com/