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December 29, 2006

Brand Naming New Year's Resolutions

happy-new-year.jpgHere are some brand naming New Year's resolutions:

If you have a brand naming New Year's resolution to suggest, please leave a comment below. Have a happy New Year, and we'll see you on Monday, January 1st, 2007!

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Posted by William Lozito at 4:21 PM

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Steve Jobs, Trust and the Apple Brand Name

The recent news that has seen Steve Jobs embroiled in a stock options scandal is a potential disaster for the Apple brand name.

It could not come at a worst time: just before Macworld Expo and before the launch of Apple's seemingly inevitable and much anticipated mobile phone, which Paul Colligan claims will be named the iPod Phone.

trustbrands.jpgNoah Brier has a very timely article up about "trust, brands and transparency" that addresses the problem. Super brands like Apple have a burden of trust placed on them that simply demands absolute transparency and honesty in all their dealings.

In Apple's case, the burden is doubled because Steve Jobs is a tremendous part of Apple's brand equity. Crudely put, Jobs is to Apple what Richard Branson is to Virgin. His name is indelibly associated with Apple and anything that brings that name into disrepute lessens the Apple brand.

Steve Jobs is the anti-hero to the arrogant greedy executive, the kind of CEO teenagers can relate to: casual, honest, hip and cool. He stands for everything the Enron and WorldCom execs did not. This is why the recent SEC investigation into the possibility that Jobs grabbed 7.5 million Apple shares from the company's coffers without board consent has raised an undercurrent of fury on the Internet.

As an Apple user, I like the fact that their stores are award-winning and their products "just work." Thomas Fitzgerald has declared Apple the "Brand of the Year" despite the recent fiasco.

steve_jobs.jpgBut I am loyal to the brand because I'm a fan of Steve Jobs and believe he is "conducting" a brilliant team of engineers, as the Independent puts it. If Apple were the Grateful Dead, he's its Jerry Garcia and there ain't no tunes from Cupertino if Jobs ain't on the job.

But the day they prove that Jobs is a crook, well, that's the day Apple becomes just another grubby, overpriced tech shop fronted by a greedy ex-hippie with a slick shtick. That's the day I walk as a consumer. Note well, Mr. Jobs: Like Caesar's wife, brands that are personality cults to the CEO need that CEO to be above suspicion.

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Posted by William Lozito at 8:18 AM

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December 28, 2006

Pixie Dust to Gold Dust: Princesses, Tinker Bell, and The Fairies

princesses.jpgA brand name saga is unfolding for Disney that seems to be a continuation of my September post about The Princesses brand collection.

First, just before Christmas, feminist writer Peggy Orenstein wrote an article in the New York Times entitled "What's Wrong With Cinderella" bemoaning the rise of the Princesses brand name from $300 million in 2001 to a very pretty $3 billion today.

It's on its way to becoming "the largest girls' franchise on the planet", dwarfing Mattel's "world of girl" and Saks' purchase and expansion of Club Libby Lu, with its offering of things like "Princess Phones" and "Princess-Makeover Birthday Parties."

fairies-products.jpgPrincesses are in, leading Orenstein to ask some hard questions about what, exactly, being a princess swathed in layers of pink frill awaiting a handsome prince is teaching little girls in the age of "third wave feminism."

Paris Hilton has latched on to the idea of being a "princess," referring to herself as an American princess fantasy and even astrologers have gotten into the act, explaining via the stars why princesses rule popular culture.

There's a lot of debate with many parents saying that it's all no big deal, pointing out that girls seem to "choose" the frilly colors, as if being a princess is a natural desire for any four year old girl. No matter how we look at it, the Princesses brand name rules the day.

tinkerbell.jpgEnter the new Tinker Bell, who is poised to make the Princesses look babyish.

The Tinker Bell brand name is meant to be the logical next step to the Princesses: once the girl has outgrown Cinderella, she can move towards this newly revamped, much naughtier brand name.

Already Disney sells merchandise at its theme parks, like t-shirts that say "Spoiled to Perfection" and magnets and light switch plates reading "Dark Tink: the bad girl side of Miss Bell that Walt never saw."

fairies.jpgThink of what an eleven year old girl will look like in a Tink t-shirt reading “Mood Subject to Change Without Notice" and you get the picture. Tinker Bell merchandise racks up a whopping $400 million in sales right now, and the new movie, where Tink speaks, is set to be the launch pad for the edgier Tinker Bell and Fairies brand names.

Or not.

The Tinker Bell movie's fall 2007 release has been pushed back - it may not even see daylight until 2008 or even 2009. This must be bad news to Disney, who has already been building the Tinker Bell and Fairies names on the release of the movie.

tink.pngA delay that long could see toy makers and clothing makers under serious pressure...especially those who have already begun merchandising Fairies products. We're talking $500 million of lost revenue. The problem? The movie as it is lacks appeal to older girls.

Another problem? American princess Paris Hilton's dog is named Tinker Bell, too.

It’s enough to make Captain Hook jump ship.

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Posted by William Lozito at 1:19 PM

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December 27, 2006

The Skinny on a Company Name Change

skinnywater.gifIn the U.S. alone, there are over 1,000 company name changes per year. One caught my eye today.

Creative Enterprises International is changing its name to Skinny Nutritional Corporation. This name change represents three examples of rationale for a company name change.

  • First, in effect, a product name, Skinny Water, has become the company name.
  • Second, the company name is descriptive and I happen to think it's a good example of a descriptive name. It's cute and light-hearted, while effective.
  • Third, the company clarifies to the investment community that its current and upcoming products compete in the weight loss management market.

And who wouldn't benefit from being a little skinnier, especially during this over-indulgent holiday season?

It's also interesting to note that Skinny Nutritional Corporation also possesses the exclusive right to bottle, distribute, and license the trademarks for "Skinny Products," including "Skinny Water," "Skinny Juice," "Skinny Shake," and "Skinny Tea." The latter of which reminds me of Enviga, another similar product.

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Posted by William Lozito at 12:13 PM

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December 26, 2006

Happy Boxing Day and Re-gifting Day

boxingdaytitle.gifIt's the 26th today and there are two things on my mind: Boxing Day and re-gifting. Most Americans do not celebrate or observe Boxing Day, but Canadians do, as well as everyone in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and many Southern African countries.

It's also known as "St. Stephen's Day" in Ireland named after the first saint to be martyred for his death. St. Stephen is the patron saint of horses, so there are often horse races and hunting trips planned for the day.

One blogger calls Boxing Day "the holiday for which nobody knows the origins." Another says the origins of Boxing Day are a bit vague, but stems from the fact that the alms boxes of the church were opened for the poor, or for servants. They were given gift boxes of dry goods or food from their employers.

In most countries that observe Boxing Day, yearly seasonal gifts to public service people like refuse collectors and postmen, and to domestic employees are called "Christmas Boxes." These gifts were traditionally received on the day after Christmas because they would be expected to work on Christmas day.

Boxing Day does not refer to "throwing out boxes" or fighting.

Across the pond, most Americans will be setting aside certain presents received from Santa for re-gifting. Yes, I said “most” of us will be doing this. The numbers don't lie: if you are an American you are probably a re-gifter, according to a recent poll, making Christmas one big swap meet.

Americans re-gift with such vehemence that I wonder if we shouldn't drop all pretense and name this day "Re-gifting Day." Re-gifting is giving an unwanted gift to somebody else for another occasion. It's like giving that yogurt maker you got as a birthday present from a family member to your co-worker as a housewarming gift. Re-gifting was a term made popular as Seinlanguage (words and phrases invented on the TV show Seinfeld that have become common language).

Beware, though. There are strict re-gifting rules for you to follow as you squirrel away that fondue set.

bow.jpgThere's there's even a web site called Regiftable.com where you can get the low down on quick, easy, efficient re-gifting (first rule: do not re-gift to the original giver and, second, make sure all traces of the original gift wrap have been removed).

Even The Emily Post Institute has thoughts on re-gifting, and the bottom line is that it's OK if done properly and discreetly.

So, Happy Boxing Day and Re-gifting Day, world.

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Posted by William Lozito at 8:21 AM

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December 24, 2006

The Many Sides of the Santa Brand

Santa ClausThe Santa name is on my mind as ever today as he prepares for his yearly world tour, dominating in traditional and completely new ways.

On the traditional (and crazy) side of things, AdPulp has some showing Santa taking a much needed break.

Nowadays, the Santa Brand has been revamped by Pentagram via iPilot with the creation of the x.mas domain: .mas sites would be all about philanthropy.

Twenty Steps notes that Santa is "secretly an internet marketer", using an "affiliate sales force" of parents and enjoying massive global distribution networks.

At the same time, Lands’ End has provided the "milk, cookies and studio" to produce shows available on the Hi Santa web site.

Forbes has run a great article entitled For a Better Brand, Think Like Santa, which is summarized and built upon by CB Whittemore on Flooring the Consumer, where she also leads us to John Winsor’s post “Have a Viral Christmas.”

From all of us here at Strategic Name Development, have a great holiday tomorrow and we’ll see you on the 26th!

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Posted by William Lozito at 12:20 PM

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December 23, 2006

Product Naming: Che Chic?

Che GuevaraThere is a great deal of commentary out there in support of the recent move by to pull Che Guevara CD cases after an outcry from conservative and Cuban American groups who see no romance in the image and name of the violent Latin American revolutionary. Most blogs appear to have come out in support of an article on Investors.com that asks "What next? Hitler backpacks? Pol Pot cookware? Pinochet pantyhose?" Well, no. Most people shopping in Target (indeed, most people) have no idea who was and would not be able to recognize an image of even if they were offered a free set of cookware. And while we have not had Hitler backpacks, we have all loved Hitler's cars — the , a vehicle produced under the Fuhrer’s order’s for Die Volk, is not only the best selling car of all time but also still part of pop culture.

Target's move offers insights into an interesting dilemma that occurs when a name or image become iconized beyond its real political origins. On the one hand, those in support of Target's move have a point: "Che chic" could, in one light, be considered the glorification of a killer.

Joseph Farah argues that "Most of the kids who buy the T-shirts and the CD cases probably have no idea who Che is — or what he was. They probably don't know he ordered hundreds, perhaps thousands, of innocents to the firing squads of Fidel Castro's Cuba." I would support this statement. I would add that a good number of the people shopping at Target have no idea who the picture on that CD case is of at all. The striking photo of Che has an enduring appeal that makes it an icon almost 40 years after his death. Jay Nordinger, in an essay outlining his atrocities, adds that Che, "famous as he is, is little known".

The picture of Che that was taken in 1960 by a Cuban photographer named Alberto Diaz, better known as , has become emblematic, used to sell t-shirts, wristwatches, vodka, underwear, and lighters. Yet Korda and his descendants have never received any monies from the widely reproduced image. And the likelihood of them getting anything from the non-photographic reproduction of this iconic twentieth century image is pretty much nil, despite their recent legal efforts to ban its non-copyrighted use.

To millions of kids. wearing that image just looks cool. For all they know, it’s a picture of .

More than that, certain images transcend their object. Think of, for instance, the famous picture of the burning that graced the cover of 's first album, or the anarchy symbol, or the skull and crossbones that has graced everything from pirate flags to lingerie, leading to what has come to be called "" despite the fact that pirates were, well, murdering criminals. And surely we have seen millions of t-shirts of Chairman Mao, whose own atrocities make Che’s look tame.

Che GuevaraIt would first seem to me the ultimate irony that Che and (and for that matter and ) have their images so readily reproduced by capitalistic society. Second, these images are in the popular domain and are highly recognizable cultural icons that transcend their subjects. Not just any picture of Che Guevara is being sold, the one from Korda is the one we recognize. Not just any pirate symbol works — only the skull and crossbones will do. Had Target been selling posters or CD covers showing almost any other image of Che Guevara, possibly those decrying his atrocities would have a stronger point, but this particular image has been reproduced millions upon millions of times since the . For better or for worse, it’s a cultural touchstone.

One cannot condone Che Guevara and his nefarious place in history, but those people who buy things at Target are frankly buying something else: an image that means more to fashion history than political history. And what better way to neuter the effect of the image than to show Che wearing earbuds? I'm sure he'd be appalled.

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Posted by William Lozito at 2:21 PM

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December 22, 2006

Brand Naming: Trump and Gucci Go Well Together

trumptower.jpgI have been thinking about The Donald lately, mainly since he has been in the news so much.

First there has been the Miss USA Debacle that he has handled with his usual panache. YourFashionNews.Com said that "the man is an artist - and Tuesday, quite frankly, he made his masterpiece," when he publicly pardoned Miss USA for being a naughty girl. Nobody is quite sure what Tara Connor has done wrong other than get very drunk in a bar while being underage.

Trump has stamped his indelible brand name on the Miss USA pageant, essentially making it an extension of The Apprentice except with real life drama and better looking players. His public exoneration of Tara Connor at the base of the Trump Tower, the very gilded domain she had been publicly turned out of for her sins against the crown, had a sense of showmanship about it that would make both PT Barnum and Louis XIV proud.

Trump is also at war with another big name in show business, Rosie O'Donnell, for the aspersions she has cast on the Trump name. Seems that the words "bankrupt" and "Trump" shall never be seen together if The Donald can help it.

trump-gucci.jpgThe Trump Tower, the locus of the Trump Brand, will now be the site of a gargantuan Gucci store. Yes, the venerable store on 685 Fifth Ave will be closed down and a larger, more improved version will be built on 56th and 5th.

We're talking 45,000 square feet of Gucci - three floors of it. The cost? A fashionable $80 million. The Donald has said that "I consider Gucci to be the finest luxury brand and store in the world. And It is a great honor to have them in the Trump Tower". From here on in, the Trump and Gucci brand names shall forevermore be linked in New York.

Barry Hoggard at Bloggy says he does not think that "associating the Gucci name with Donald Trump is really a plus," but I disagree. Gucci is all about ostentatious, over-the-top luxury verging on the utterly tasteless and this will be its flagship store.

What better place to put it than in a Tower named after Mr. over-the-top himself? Gucci is going BIG nowadays, with its first store opening in LAX and nobody goes for Bigger and Better than Donald Trump.

By getting its name into LAX and the Trump Tower, Gucci is trading exclusivity for pure bling - it clearly wants to move from being the Jaguar E-Type of luxury clothing and jewelry brands to being the Cadillac Escalade. In other words, it possibly wants to stop being the brand of choice for your rich grandmother and start being the brand for the nouveaux riche hoi polloi - the very people who love The Donald.

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Posted by Diane Prange at 3:05 PM

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December 21, 2006

Naming Our Strange Addictions

New Scientist has posted a list of names for the strange addictions that have cropped up in recent years.

Blogstreaking (revealing personal information online) is a dangerous one, owning and using a "Crackberry" is another. "Egosurfing" (Googling your name repeatedly) and Google-Stalking (snooping on your friends and associates) are all on the list and the guilty habits of not a few of us. These are related to "Photolurking" - flipping through strangers' online photo albums.

There's also Wikipediholism: you can actually take a test to find out if you need help for your excessive use and/or editing of Wikipedia. How bad can it get? According to Etre, Bryan Derksen, a Canadian salesman, is thought to have personally edited 70,000 Wikipedia entries in his spare time, and there are supposedly around 2400 Wikipediaholics out there who have edited 4,000 pages each.

One of the Geek Sisters starts her own post by saying "My name is Renata and I am an egosurfer," while also quoting from the article that Google-Stalkers can quickly look up "an uncle's mysterious son from a previous marriage, for instance, or a friend's supposedly secret lover."

One blogger on Chiaro points out that Shakespeare invented thousand of words with 600 in Latin alone. But I was amused to see that the addiction we all have to Crackberry has led one airline to replace the flashing "no smoking" sign to "turn off electronic devices." That means you, you Cyberchondriac.

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Posted by Diane Prange at 12:47 PM

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December 20, 2006

Happy Holidays, SND Readers

cokesant.gifEvery year the blogosphere is filled with vitriol over the spectre of Christmas marketing. There's anger over the fact that it seems to be starting ever earlier, with Lowe's starting the assault a week before Halloween, for example.

Christmas TV, the holiday's main marketing vehicle, is accused of being bland and full of cheesy clichés. Moreover, the products that are offered to us range from the absurd to the utterly tasteless.

Two naming issues have come to the fore this year: the first is the origin of Santa Claus. Is his current manifestation as a jolly, white bearded fellow dispensing gifts an invention of Coke's or not? Most marketers know the story of Haddon Sundbloom, who was hired by Coke to create a more jolly, "user friendly" St. Nick back in the 30s. Now the folks at Urban Legends claim that this is not true; that Coke only "co-opted" Santa's current identity.

The bigger problem seems to be not whether we should wish each other "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas," but whether we should be buying "Christmas Trees' or "Holiday Trees." Steve Nix at About Forestry reminds us that the Architect of the Capitol has displayed a "Christmas Tree" on the grounds since 1964. There is an open vote where you can vent your opinion on the matter.

I don't want to skew the vote, but right now the name "Christmas Tree" for the fir tree that Christians use to celebrate the beginning of the Winter solstice, is by far in the lead.

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Posted by William Lozito at 7:24 PM

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December 19, 2006

Remembering a Legend: Joseph Barbera

joe-barbera.jpgJoseph Barbera, the cartoon animation legend who, along with his partner William Hanna, created some of the best known names from cartoonland, died yesterday at 95.

I am sure almost everybody can remember his famous creations, from Scooby-Doo and Tom and Jerry to The Flintstones and The Jetsons. These are resounding names from all of our childhoods: what would Saturday morning have been without Barney Rubble?

Hanna-Barbera.jpgJoel Keller at the TV Squad blog says Barbera and his partner "inspired many an animator in the last fifty-plus years." Funny enough, the name of their first effort was the clumsily named "Puss Gets The Boot," the precursor to "Tom and Jerry," while a forever lost cartoon named "Ruff and Ready" was the incubus for "The Huckleberry Hound Show."

The dynamic duo also brought us "The Smurfs." In 2000, when Barbera was 89, the Cartoon network launched "The Boomerang Network," which runs Hanna-Barbera cartoons 24/7.

Hanna-Barbera-Productions.jpgIn an excellent post on the Slice of Sci-Fi blog entitled "Joseph Barbera Remembered," Samuel Stone makes the point that "The Flintstones," an animated version of "The Honeymooners," was the first cartoon to bring adult themes into a cartoon, making it the precursor to "The Simpsons" and "Futurama." I would add "The Family Guy" too.

Stone says "their influence will continue to be felt for decades to come." No doubt about that.

Read more about the amazing contributions of Joseph Barbera at the Looney Toon Dad's Blog and Cartooon Brew.

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Posted by William Lozito at 9:21 AM

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December 18, 2006

Brand Naming: Cisco Introduces iPhone - Not Apple

iPhone.gifRyan Block at Engadget brings the bitter news to us: the iPhone brand name is now public, and on a phone not made by Apple.

It’s a Linksys branded VoIP device from Cisco and Block feels the brand name was probably launched only after a prolonged, unsuccessful attempt to sell the name to a reluctant Apple. Block was probably right in his thoughts about Cisco’s decision, saying, “the ‘iPhone’ is already a fairly ubiquitous brand without even being launched, hey, why not run with it?”

Ted Frank wrote about this news earlier this morning on his Overlawyered blog and pointed out that "the timing of this new product announcement makes more sense when one realizes that Apple was about to announce an iPod-compatible cell phone in January, a product that was widely called iPhone in the press, but that Linksys owned the iPhone trademark since 1996."

Linksys would have been forced to give up the naming rights if the company had not launched a product using this trademark. But this name comes with strong existing equity from Apple's iMac and iPod brand extensions, so I expect sales of the iPhone product line to instantly reflect that.

Gizmodo has a great blog post discussing the implications of Apple not owning the iPhone trademark, and questioning what Apple will call its cell phone.

google-phone.gifMy advice for Apple is to act fast. Because the next phone we all want may not be from you... it may be the GPhone. France's mobile phone unit, Orange, is talking to people at the Googleplex. Such a phone, it is rumored, could not only make handset surfing easier, it could offer you location based searches: the phone would figure out where you are and offer up restaurants, cinema and even images from Google Earth of your location.

Apple still might surprise us with an announcement, perhaps tomorrow, on the name for their iPhone or, should I say, Applephone.

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Posted by William Lozito at 12:27 PM

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December 17, 2006

Generic Domain Names Go Big

The vodka.com domain name has sold for a cool $3 million, bought by the conglomerate, which controls two thirds of the sales of premium vodka in Russia.

The vodka.com buy will in all likelihood enable Russian Standard a greater presence in the US, where it hopes to gain significant market share for its brand.

According to a Reuters article on the sale, Imperia's recipe was supposedly first brewed by , the man who also invented the periodic table of the elements. David Kesmodel reports that it seems to be Vladimir Putin's favorite tipple.

According to Kesmodel, the sale seems to be regarded as "a good indication of how large corporations are starting to see the value of domains as a crucial part of their international marketing campaigns." Kesmodel reminds us that this is not the biggest generic domain name sales ever: bought for $11 million. CNN notes that sold for $7.5 million to jewelry retailer , and sold for $7.56 million in 1999.

Earlier this year, of course, for around $12-$14 million to Boston-based Escom LLC.

Some interesting alternative generic domain names are also available. Textmessages.com has not been sold yet, it seems. In the .mobi domain we have seen dozens of generic domains sell for what one blogger calls "insane prices." In fact, .mobi may be the "name for 2006" reports Domain Name Values Weekly, with companies getting a great deal of bang for their buck for generics like heat.mobi, which could be used to promote a basketball team or an air-conditioning service.

If you are contemplating buying a domain name for your brand or indeed getting a generic, Tammy Lenski has a great post up for you that will help you check your brand name's availability.

On a lighter note, LedRim.com is for sale. One seller points out in all seriousness that this would be a great place to sell wheel rims for your Navigator that show "real pictures" as they spin. You can acquire these right now; they are sold under the brand name "Pimpstar." The cost for this domain? A mere $2500. A bargain, these days.

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Posted by William Lozito at 7:12 PM

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December 16, 2006

Domain Tasting, dotAsia and Defunct Names

ICANNThe Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers () has its hands full these days. For starters, the nefarious practice of "," where nogoodnicks buy up reams of sites with similar names to real trademarks (like, say, verizonpicture.com) and stuff them with ads, is causing endless headaches.

One of ’s lawyers claims that "Domain tasting is destabilizing the entire domain name system...people are purposefully exploiting trademarks and misleading consumers." As if that wasn't enough, ICANN has been ordered by an Illinois court to suspend UK-based spamhaus.org, a ruling that one impassioned blogger feels is "one of the most dangerous things that could potentially happen to the Internet," as ICANN has never before been used as a vehicle for law enforcement between countries.

dotAsiaOn a more positive note, ICANN and have "joined hands." DotAsia will be a top level domain (TLD) and will not be associated with any particular country. Registry agreements for dot-org, dot-biz, and dot-info TLDs have also been put into place.

Out with the old and in with the new, so the saying goes, and just as dotAsia is becoming a reality, ICANN is planning to get rid of some old domain name extensions — mainly those names associated with countries that no longer exist. According to The Web Hosting Show, the Soviet Union’s .su and the Yugoslav Republic’s .yu are going away. Also slated for extinction are Great Britain’s obsolete .gb (replaced by .uk long ago) and Zaire’s .zr after the country became the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mitch at Web Hosting Show adds that .Mobi should go as well, because "if you want to make a domain name extension that is easy to type in via a mobile device, why make it four characters long?"

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Posted by William Lozito at 2:29 PM

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Links du Jour 12-16-06

Merged Kirkpatrick Opens Gates on New Name - The law firm Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis has decided to brand itself as K&L Gates, leveraging "the iconic name of the 21st century." The firm is Bill Gates' father’s former employer.

Doctor Strangeplayer (or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Zune) - When great techies like Mike Kobrin from the CrunchGear blog talk about naming, it's exciting. Kobrin discusses the brand name and the names of the companies it is competing with: , , , and . Kobrin thinks Zune will be ranked with "Microsoft Bob and Clippy" as one of the company's "funniest attempts at a friendlier and less business-like image." Time will tell.

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Posted by William Lozito at 2:13 PM

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December 15, 2006

Company Naming: TNT Logistics Becomes CEVA

tnt2ceva.jpgTNT Logistics, the world’s largest “pure play” contract logistics company, has changed its name to CEVA Logistics. The name change and new corporate brand identity signals its rebirth as a stand-alone logistics company.

David Drickhamer is asking readers of his Logistics Today Forum what, exactly, CEVA means. I think it's an interesting question because changing the name of this $4.6 billion company was a big deal:


  • Adopting new signage in 567 facilities in 26 countries on five continents

  • Doing some serious trademark analysis (which nixed one proposed name because of “negative connotations” overseas)

  • Creating a brand name with four letters rather than three (CEVA wants to stand apart from TNT, UPS and DHL)

  • Like its global competitors, the company has also instituted a strong color-based brand identity: the logo developed, and other visual communications, is a deep burgundy that sets it apart from TNT’s orange, FedEx’s purple, DHL's yellow, and UPS’s brown

Ceva is a town in Italy, a famous geometric theorem, a computer company and the name of a veterinary medicine company.

ceva_name.jpgBut CEVA, in this case, is purely a created name. Jeff Hurley, CEO of the company’s North American Business Unit, says "it's a unique brand that stands for passion, innovation and operating excellence.”

I think it can mean just about anything with the right budget.

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Posted by William Lozito at 11:07 AM

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Links du Jour 12-15-06

Windows Live Isn’t Dead - A writer at JCXP thinks that recent reports of the death of the Windows Live brand name have been greatly exaggerated. What do you think?

BMW officially acquires the John Cooper Works brand - MINI enthusiasts will rejoice to learn that John Cooper Works has been acquired by BMW, enabling the company to create, if it wants to, an equivalent of the M series for the MINI.

WIPO Seeking to Protect Products Made from Traditional Resources - Fascinating post here about just how