November 30, 2001
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November 30, 2001 |
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Views O what a branding mistake
Special to the Tribune Published November 30, 2001 Let’s take a look at the letter ‘O,’ the circular, 15th letter of the alphabet and the name of a magazine owned by the first lady of television, Oprah Winfrey. Ronald Brockmeyer, the publisher since 1988 of a German erotica publication titled O Magazine, aggressively challenged the name of Winfrey’s O, The Oprah Magazine. Both are commonly known as O – but it’s safe to assume that his stands for something very different than hers. Brockmeyer filed suit in August against publisher Hearst Corp., Winfrey’s company Harpo Print LLC and several unidentified individuals and corporations. "O is my trademark. I built it up and protected it for years,” Brockmeyer said. “The defendants knew about my rights but went ahead anyway and they refused to stop when I asked them to.” O, boy. So, what does all of this have to do with the Web? Think branding. Let’s face it, when it comes to naming a company, a product or a Web site, O is just a hole, a zero, zilch, nil, a no-nothing. On its own, O has very little weight or much to offer – unless Placido Domingo is singing that romantic vowel in the midst of an opera. But in commerce, O is little more than a bridge that builds goofy names for low-tech products such as the Roll-O-Matic or Bun-O-Matic. Whoever advised Oprah to go with a one-letter name for her magazine was oh so wrong. Naming anything in the corporate world is one of the most important issues of business today. Given the global economy that’s emerging, names require far more sophisticated thinking and planning. They even require careful consideration of different cultures. Watch out for focus groups and handholding brainstorming sessions where simplicity wins over strategy. A letter on its own cannot be a major brand. Think about it. In English, there are only 26 letters to go around. That isn’t stopping Compaq from going for “Q,” Zeller’s from angling for dibs on “Z,” Microsoft’s fascination with ‘X,’ and Kmart, well, that’s obvious. But it should. If people got more creative, their businesses would be more effective, and I’m sure that would be OK with Mr. Brockmeyer. Nasseem Javed, an authority on corporate nomenclature, is chief executive officer of ABC Namebank International and author of ‘Naming for Power.’ Copyright © 2001, Chicago Tribune |
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At ABC Namebank, what we have done so far:
Firstly, we have created names like TELUS,
CELESTICA, INTRIA,
GENNUM, VINCOR,
DUPLIUM, AGRICORE,
POLLARA
and recently ZARLINK.
We have also helped clients like IBM, General Motors, Texaco, Honeywell,
Bell Canada, KPMG, Bell South, RBH, GENTRA, CENTERPOST, OMNI-TV, Royal
Bank, Sasktel, Johnson & Johnson, Air Canada, Radio Shack, Merck,
BBDO, Petro Canada, ROGERS and COMPORIUM.
Here, It is very systematic, very methodical and very tactical. It's all about applying The Master Rules of Naming with full knowledge, confidence, and a successful track record. We open dialogue, which covers every aspects of global naming under the sun, all in the same boardroom, all at the same time. It is live and not sub-contracted out for later dates. It is about opening the doors to knowledge and leading a game plan guided by solid experience. This ensures smooth transition with names to win, names to last with proper global ownership. Everyone is happy. We handle global projects or even small naming projects all with the same care and efficiency. We routinely charge 10k to 100k for complete turnkey solutions...satisfaction is always guaranteed.
2004 Forecasts and Naming Trends
Forecasts on new naming trends in 2004 would also include the role of new terminologies which erupt every now and then like LASER, DIGITAL, CELLULAR or ELECTROKINETIC. Among other things, Naming Rules, demand a comprehensive understanding of such big issues when naming new identities. There is a major research document in the works on 2004 which forecasts on styles and trends of corporate naming, product name identity and global branding.
Call us for a confidential discussion on any corporate or a
product name issue of any type or size…
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