renaming Tag

December 1, 2017 In Blog, Consumer, Corporate, Marshall News, Media, Names and Naming Systems, Naming, New Work By Marshall Strategy

Ten Principles for Renaming

We’re pleased to be included in the fifth edition of Designing Brand Identity, by Alina Wheeler. This comprehensive guide to brand identity is a valuable resource for designers, marketers, CEOs, brand builders and internal teams. For the new edition, we contributed a list of key principles of brand naming to consider when renaming your product or a company.

Ten Principles for Renaming

by Marshall Strategy

Be clear about why change is needed. You should have a compelling reason, and clear business benefits, for going through the name change process. Making a strong case for change – whether legal, market-based or other, will help rise above emotional issues and enable a more successful and meaningful effort.
Assess the impact of change. A name change is more complicated than creating a new name because it affects established brand equity and all existing brand communications. You should conduct a thorough audit of equity and communication assets, to fully understand how a name change will affect your investments and operations.
Know what your choices are. Depending on your reason for change, it can be very difficult to consider change in the abstract. It is much easier to commit to a change when you have alternative names to consider that solve your communication issues.
Know what you are trying to say before you name it. Naming is a highly emotional issue that can be hard to judge objectively. By first agreeing on what your new name should say, you concentrate your efforts on choosing the name that says it best.
Avoid trendy names – By definition, these are names that will lose their appeal over time. Choosing a new name simply because it sounds “hip” or “cool” generally results in names that wear quickly.
“Empty Vessel Names” require filling. Made-up or meaningless names will require more investment to build understanding, memorability and proper spelling than names that have some inherent meaning. Compare the immediate meaning and relevance of names like Google and Amazon to empty vessels like Kijiji and Zoosk.
Avoid names that are too specific. This may be the reason you needed to change in the first place. Names that identify a specific geography, technology or trend might be relevant for a period of time, but in the long run they could restrict your ability to grow.
Understand that a new name can’t do everything. Names are powerful tools, but they do not tell the whole story. A name change alone – without rethinking of all brand communications – could risk being seen as superficial. Consider how new taglines, design, communications and other context-building tools should work with the new name to build a rich new story that you can own.
Ensure you can own it. Check patent and trademark offices, common law usages, URL’s, Twitter handles and regional/cultural sensitivities before you decide, and make the investment to protect your name. This is best done by an experienced intellectual property attorney.
Transition with confidence. Make sure you introduce your new name as part of a value-oriented story that conveys clear benefits to your employees, customers and shareholders. The message “we’ve changed our name” on its own generally falls flat. Commit to the change with confidence and implement as quickly and efficiently as possible. Having two names in the market at the same time is confusing to both internal and external audiences.

If you wish to make a meaningful statement, a name change is not enough. The name should represent a unique, beneficial, and sustainable story that resonates with customers, investors, and employees.

Philip Durbrow, Chairman & CEO, Marshall Strategy

Companies change their names for many reasons, but in every case, a clear rationale for change with strong business and brand benefits is critical.

Ken Pasternak, Managing Director, Marshall Strategy

Notable Renaming

Old Name	New Name
Anderson Consulting	Accenture
Apple Computer	Apple
Backrub	Google
The Banker’s Life Company	Principal Financial Group
Brad’s Drink	Pepsi Cola
Ciba Geigy + Sandoz	Novartis
Clear Channel	iHeartRadio
Comcast (Consumer Services)	Xfinity
International Business Machines	IBM
Datsun	Nissan
Diet Deluxe	Healthy Choice
Federal Express	FedEx
GMAC Financial Services	Ally Financial
Graphics Group	Pixar
Justin.tv	twitch
Kentucky Fried Chicken	KFC
Kraft Snacks Division	Mondelez
Lucky Goldstar	LG
Malt-O-Meal	MOM Brands
Marufuku Company	Nintendo
Mastercharge	Mastercard
Mountain Shade	Optic Nerve
MyFamily.com	Ancestry
Philip Morris	Altria
Service Games	SEGA
ShoeSite.com	Zappos
TMP Worldwide	Monster Worldwide
United Telephone Company	Sprint

Ask Marshall About Renaming for Your Business

January 19, 2016 In Cultural, Identity and Brand Strategy, Messaging and Communications, Names and Naming Systems, Naming By @MarshallStrategy

Yosemite Has Lost Its Brand

Although we understand the critical importance of trademarks in preventing others from profiting from your intellectual property, we are disappointed in the move by Delaware North to try to extract $51 million from the National Park Service for a shortlist of iconic location brand names in Yosemite Park. To us, Delaware North is holding these properties for ransom from the American people, for a few historic names that will have little to no value anywhere else.

Let’s back up a minute – last year, Delaware North lost the contract to run hotels and concessions at Yosemite National Park. Shortly thereafter Delaware filed suit, claiming that the Park Service (or its new contracted vendor) no longer has the right to use the familiar and iconic names of historic park facilities (Ahwahnee Hotel, Curry Park, Badger Pass, the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, and Wawona Hotel). It turns out the Park service had never trademarked the names, so Delaware North took advantage of the situation and trademarked them themselves. Rather than pay a ransom to use the names, The Park Service has agreed to create new names for the facilities.

October 16, 2013 In Blog, Naming By Philip Durbrow

When Naming or Renaming, Go Short

Is there a correlation between the length of a brand name and success? It is human nature to shorten words to make communication easier and more efficient. People will eliminate the unnecessary part of the word, while keeping the meaningful part:

Omnibus becomes bus
Motion picture becomes movie
Television becomes TV
Gasoline becomes gas
Coca-Cola becomes Coke

Since companies don’t want to put obstacles in the way of communicating their names, short communicative names of one or two syllables are generally more successful. For example:

Apple
Target
Chevron
Dell
Nike
Visa

Short and Successful

This human tendency to shorten names can have a direct impact on your organization’s value. A recent story in The Harvard Business Review noted new research demonstrating that companies with short, easy-to-process names were more likely to attract investors, generate more stock trading and have higher valuations.

According to the study “Company Name Fluency, Investor Recognition, and Firm Value,” corporate renaming generally increased a name’s “fluency” and as a result translated into more value. Shortening name length by one word could result in a $3.75 million increase in value for a mid-size company.

Renaming

If your organization doesn’t have a short, simple name, what can you do?

Sometimes the public renames your organization for you. The San Francisco 49ers become the Niners. Nicknames like this convey fondness and familiarity. Sometimes they can be prompted. One of my favorite billboards in New York read: Our name is The Irving National Bank and Trust Corporation (You can call us Irving.)

We often see a long, cumbersome name as the result of a merger or acquisition. The investment bankers and lawyers who are involved aren’t thinking about corporate identity strategy. They’re thinking about closing the deal, and they don’t want the name to get in the way.

Yet this creates problems down the road in ways that end up costing the organization. If a company name is long and difficult to shorten, often the only hope is to go to initials. For example, PricewaterhouseCoopers goes by PwC. But initials make weak names. They are difficult to remember, easily confused and hard to relate to—unless billions of dollars are spent over decades to make them familiar (e.g., IBM, NBC, GE).

The better course? Even in the case of a merger or acquisition, it’s usually better to look forward to the opportunity of a shorter, more fluent name instead of backward. When in doubt, go short.

Learn about Marshall’s work in naming and naming systems.

August 29, 2013 In Blog, Naming By Ken Pasternak

Renaming 101: When Is a Name Change a Good Idea?

Naming When we’re brought on to help rename an organization, we often encounter two lines of thinking: Some people see a brand name as simply a handle, while others see it as a strategic tool to communicate what makes them different.

As naming strategists, we’re firmly in the latter camp. We recently presented to a client (a large consulting organization with major government and commercial clients) whose three-initial name did not convey the boldness of their vision, nor do justice to what they’ve accomplished. This organization had grown through acquisition and now had a name that didn’t resonate with anyone—it didn’t convey what they do, inspire employees or connect with clients. Our recommendation was that they change their name to reflect a new vision for the future. We argued they’d see significant benefits from adopting a more meaningful name, vs. simply investing in building awareness for three initials. But renaming is a big decision, often involving considerable tradeoffs. How can you make sure that renaming is the right choice for you?

3 Considerations for Changing Your Name

There are several considerations you should take before you set out to rename your company or brand. Going through each step carefully can help you find more strength in how you feel about your name and your brand.

1. Do you have alternatives to your existing name that convey your message and vision more clearly? If not just to say, “We can do better than this,” creating a list of possible new names can help broaden your perspective.

2. What obstacles are there to changing your name? Do you have significant real estate holdings? Do you put your name on products around the world? Do your employees use costly branded equipment? High costs may be associated with a name change, and the earlier you figure that out, the better.

3. What opportunities could arise? This name change could open up a variety of opportunities for internal engagement and enthusiasm, even better alignment with the business you’re in. It also has the capability of enhancing how existing and new customers perceive your brand.

Our client, Westin Hotels, was originally known as Western International. Each property of theirs was branded under its own name—the corporate brand was absent. As a result, the hotel chain made nowhere near the collective impact of competitive brands like Hilton and Hyatt. A new corporate name was recommended to make Western’s holdings fall under one name with differentiating qualities. However, when it came time to move forward with a decision, the chairman—who began his career as a bellhop—did not want to erase the legacy that he had helped to create. Instead, “Western International” became Westin—a combination of old and new—and a new brand with the same legacy was born.

When do you NOT change your name?

In our experience, there are times when we’ve realized that it is not in our client’s best interest to change their name. Oftentimes it comes down to history, logistics, cost and even politics. While a completely new name may at first seem like a wise decision, it may not be necessary.

renaming Tag

Ten Principles for Renaming

Notable Renaming

Old Name

New Name

Yosemite Has Lost Its Brand

When Naming or Renaming, Go Short

Renaming 101: When Is a Name Change a Good Idea?

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