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September 23, 2006

Brand Naming: My Confusion With Fusion

There are 63 federal trademarks for the name "Fusion". Many of the Fusion brand names, it seems, are for innovative products that blend various features: Flavia Fusion drink maker, Maxtor Fusion drive, Ford Fusion, and Gillette Fusion razor are examples. Fusion can also communicate a neat "2-in-1" feature, like in the tagline of a restaurant nearby, "The fusion of Asian and Latin cuisine."

The Gizmodo blog, which reports on new techie gadgets and gizmos, created a special website showing all of the "Fusions" it has covered.

I suppose if a company was about to launch a new product, and the brand needed to convey innovation and a combination of features, in a segment not already over-crowded by other "Fusions", then I could understand Fusion as a product name candidate. But, in many cases, I don't think Fusion communicates the benefit to the consumer, nor does the name reflect a unique and ownable brand strategy.

Frankly, I can't help but feel like the Fusion name is a bit overused...and lazy.

P&G and Ford will have spent several million dollars on "packaging" their Fusion razor and Fusion car brands this year, and thereby successfully creating memorable brand names. But, I don't understand what fusion really means in those instances.

Unless there's a TV infomercial playing in the razor aisle at Target, I'm never going to remember what the Fusion razor does, and I don't have time to read the package. I'm into speed. Maybe that's why I've stuck with the Mach 3 Turbo. I'm always in a rush in the morning, and nothing says getting out the door fast like "Mach 3 Turbo".

In my opionion, Fusion is a better name for a juicer, since it "fuses" several veggies and fruits together to make one delicious drink.

I also think Fusion would be a great name for super glue. It "fuses" two different materials (like wood and metal, or plastic and fabric) together.

Elmer's Fusion - Now that's a name that sticks.

For some more thoughts on the Ford Fusion and the Gillette Fusion brands, check out Ford's "Bold Moves", courtesy of the Global Giants blog and this analysis of the Gillette Fusion, courtesy of the ThirdWay Advertising Blog.

Technorati Tags: Ford Fusion, Gillette Fusion

Posted by at September 23, 2006 10:22 AM
Posted to Automotive | Brand Naming | Branding | Health and Beauty | Marketing | Product Naming | Trademarking

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