December 23, 2009
Steve Nash Turns From Basketball to Naming and Branding
I'm going to blog about Canadian NBA player Steve Nash today, who is
gracefully turning himself into a meaningful brand name. He is nowhere near as big a name as Kobe Bryant or many other high profile athletes, but he is congruently building himself into a brand name as his professional basketball career winds down.
His new move is to take over the Fitness World chain and turn it into "Steve Nash Fitness World," this after starting with one fitness club only a few years ago.
He has also endorsed a line of Nike's using recycled material called "Trash Talk" (get it?) as well as a line of skin care products. He is well known for his philanthropic image and his genuine belief that people should become more fitness oriented.
The new buyout puts his name on 16 additional locations across Canada, and while the biggest competitor (Good-Life Fitness Centres Inc.) has a cool 200 locations, I would keep an eye on Nash.
Here is a guy who walks the talk. All of the brands endorsed have a common denominator of fitness and health. He's genuine and he means business. This is a nice change.
Technorati Tags: Steve Nash, Fitness World, Nike, Phoenix Suns, Endorsement
Posted by William Lozito at 1:49 PM| Comments (0)
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October 28, 2009
Place Naming and Product Branding: A Symbiotic Relationship
Think about these famous brand names:
- Kate Spade
- Vineyard Vines
- Chanel
Each one proudly proclaims their origins.
The words Kate Spade on a product are almost always followed by the words "New York."
The labels on Vineyard Vines products share space with the words "Martha's Vineyard."
And Chanel perfumes elegantly bear the name "Paris" on the packaging.
The reason for this is obvious: these places add instant cachet and equity to the brand 
name. Chanel may be sold all over the world, but to buy a Chanel product, for millions of consumers, is to buy a piece of Paris. Likewise, Vineyard Vines products carry the tag and the Martha's Vineyard name with pride.
The point is, the brand's place of origin - or supposed place of origin - carries an instant attraction.
All three of these brands have associations with the cities they tout on their labels, but a moment of consideration is in order. What, exactly, is so "New York" about a Kate Spade bag? They are designed in New York, but many are manufactured in China.
I am also reminded of Apple Computer, whose packaging reads "Designed by Apple in California" (I have it right here beside my Mac), but we all know the stuff is built in China.
Similarly, Vineyard Vines does have a shop on Martha's Vineyard, but much of their business, and certainly their manufacturing, is done off-island.
Ditto for Chanel - the perfume is made in California, of all places.
Consumers like to have brands that have a distinct relationship with a supposed country of origin, but its likely that the connection is tenuous at best. The brand is essentially catching a free ride off of the equity of the place name they have chosen to associate themselves with.
It may be that the people who manage the New York, Paris and Martha's Vineyard brand names might want to have a word with Kate Spade, Chanel and Vineyard Vines, but the fact is that this is a symbiotic relationship. The more products and services that want to associate themselves to a place, the better it is for the place itself.
However, there should be at least some real connection to the place you want your brand associated with.
I can go visit the Vineyard Vines store in the Vineyard, or explore the Kate Spade design studio in Manhattan online, and Chanel has a well-known presence in Paris.
So long as the brand can say that it has at least a foothold in the place is associates itself with, customers will perceive it as authentic.
Technorati Tags: Place Naming, Place Branding, Kate Spade New York, Chanel Paris, Vineyard Vines Martha's Vineyard, Place Name Branding
Posted by William Lozito at 9:16 AM| Comments (1)
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October 7, 2009
Consumers Weigh in on Beyoncé's Sasha Fierce Fragrance Product Naming
A few weeks ago I commented on Beyoncé's trademark dispute with Abercrombie & Fitch over her possible use of Sasha Fierce, the name of her alter ego, for a woman's fragrance, because Abercrombie already uses Fierce as a product name for cologne.
In the trademark world, the question that determines whether or not Beyoncé could secure a trademark for Sasha Fierce is: Would a Sasha Fierce woman's fragrance create confusion with a men's cologne called Fierce on the part of the consumer?
We thought that no one was better suited to answer this question then, you guessed it, consumers themselves.
Check out their somewhat surprising answers in the video below.
Technorati Tags: Sasha Fierce, Fierce Fragrance, Fragrance Naming, Fragrance Product Names, Abercrombie & Fitch, Fierce Cologne
Posted by William Lozito at 8:39 AM| Comments (0)
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September 23, 2009
Private Label Brand Naming 'Losing Steam' vs Top Brand Names
So it seems that name brand foods are fighting the good fight against store brands.
Store brands have seen a real upswing in sales in the last few months thanks to consumers' new spendthriftiness, but name brands aren't about to just throw in the towel.
Proctor and Gamble, for its part, started the resurgence by lowering prices and is expecting to see a growth in sales by the end of the year.
Con-Agra and General Mills are also staving off the store brands via promotions and the fact that more and more consumers are staying home for dinner and turning to brands they know and love.
Additionally, name brand companies have a higher profit margin than their slashed-to-the-bone store brand competitors, which over the long run has served them well.
Reports that consumers are moving towards a price orientated buying strategy thanks to the economic pinch, seem to have been made prematurely. Trusted brand names appear to be weathering the storm, no matter what they cost.
In fact, branded food labels have been upping their prices as private label sales trends have "lost steam."
I do think that private label brand naming is really impressive. And it may be true that private labels are learning to be more competitive, but well-known brand names aren't backing down from the fight anytime soon.
Technorati Tags: Name Brand, Private Label, Store Brands, Branding Trends, Product Naming
Posted by William Lozito at 10:15 AM| Comments (0)
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September 17, 2009
Abercrombie & Fitch Fiercely Protects its Fierce Naming and Branding From Beyoncé
Beyoncé just cannot stay out of the news.
Abercrombie & Fitch is getting ready to get fierce with Beyoncé over the "fierce" trademark.
She (possibly) wants to release a perfume that uses her alter ego, Sasha Fierce, via a multi-million dollar deal with Coty. And A&F has filed a lawsuit to prevent Coty from using "Fierce" on the fragrance.
The problem is A&F already has a Fierce fragrance and claims it is their brand's "signature scent" and is regularly sprayed in the stores. And they fiercely want to protect the product naming and branding.
A&F sees a likelihood of confusion between the "Sasha Fierce" and "Fierce" brand name. "Fierce," nowadays, means "cool" or "fabulous," not just "mean" and "dangerous." But Coty execs says that the name Sasha Fierce actually will not be used.
So what's up?
The problem is that Beyoncé has filed a letter of intent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for the Sasha Fierce mark. This is therefore a preemptive lawsuit by A&F that seems to seek an agreement that the Sasha Fierce name will not be used by Coty. Some bloggers think she should choose "Ego" or "Irreplaceable."
Let's see how fierce this product naming trademark conflict can get.
Technorati Tags: Beyonce, Sasha Fierce, Abercrombie & FItch, A&F, Perfume, Fragrance, Trademark Conflict
Posted by William Lozito at 10:00 AM| Comments (0)
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August 17, 2009
Is Old Spice Sailing Into Murky Waters with Ever Clear Naming and Branding?
Old Spice is admirably facing up to what I perceive as some pretty hefty naming and branding challenges. This is clear to see in their new "Residue is Evil" campaign.
The print campaign essentially calls for men who have deodorant residue on their underarms things like "weirdo, stupid and idiot." The new Ever Clear formulation is designed to be (pretty much) clear, although Old Spice stops short of claiming pure clarity. The name itself seems to almost purposely riff on the Everclear alcohol name.
OK. Let's get this straight. The brand name is Old Spice, which has traditionally been, well, spicy. The brand extension is Ever Clear. There are sub brands within the Ever Clear line that include "After Hours", "Pure Sport", "Showtime" and "Swagger". The tagline is "Residue is Evil. Stop It." The advertising tells men to "Tame Your Pits."
And this is for one brand extension. They also have Old Spice Classic, High Endurance, and Red Zone with related sub brand categories (there must be some residue in there). Then they have clear gels, and sprays. That's 38 antiperspirants, and 17 deodorants. Throw in body washes, body sprays and fragrances and you get a grand total of 88 different products all bearing the Old Spice name.
Fast Company has been all over this, telling us that "Old Spice Smells Like a Billion Bucks" and profiling the people involved in creating these products, which, I must admit, are alluring. But the real question here is whether or not the company can manage so many names and sub-brands. Old Spice has a traditionally nautical image: I can still recall the ads featuring the guy wearing the sailor's cap (there still is a ship logo on the packaging). The brand now seems, with its younger target, to have a landlubber NASCAR ("Take Your Pits on a Victory Lap") extension nonetheless. This features, on one product, the following:
- The traditional Old Spice name and typography
- The ship logo
- The NASCAR logo.
- The "Red Zone After Hours" brand extension.
- The "Signature Series" sub brand identifier with "Tony Stewart" signature image.
- A photo of an Old Spice race car.
- The "Impala" car brand name seen clearly on the car bumper at the bottom of the packaging.
Whew.
My thought is that if this works, then Old Spice is going to really expand quickly. But this is a massive amount of juggling. The Old Spice name, in my opinion, has now been stretched as far as it can go.
Let's see what happens.
Technorati Tags: Old Spice, Antiperspirant , Deodorant, Ever Clear, Residue is Evil, Deodorant Brand Name
Posted by William Lozito at 8:51 AM| Comments (0)
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April 28, 2009
Is the Swine Flu Name Offensive?
It turns out that the name "swine flu" is considered to be offensive by Israelis. The Deputy Health minister in Israel has said publicly that the use of the name is insulting to Muslims and Jews and has suggested it be renamed "Mexican Flu," given that the outbreak started in Mexico.
The Paris-Based World Organization for Animal Health, alongside irritated pork producers, has also said that the name is inaccurate, as it contains avian and human components and no pig has yet died from the disease, nor can you get the disease by eating pork.
They suggest that it be called "North American Influenza," following the naming scheme of "Spanish Influenza," which references the location of the initial cases.
It's a tricky problem. Obviously "swine flu" sounds very frightening (and thus is wonderful for newspaper headlines), because it seems to echo bird flu or avian influenza. Calling this North American Flu just does not have the same ring, because North America really already has its own flues.
There is just something more frightening about linking a dangerous flu to an animal. And of course, nobody who sees the pig as profane would like to be in danger of dying from a disease that bears its name.
I also might add that if the name does morph into Mexican Flu that we would start seeing protests from that region of the world.
Nonetheless, the name is not new: in 1976 there was a terrible outbreak of the swine flu at Fort Dix and predictions back then were dire indeed.
There is always the chance that the media may choose to use the virus' actual name in light of this controversy, but virus naming at the scientific level is extremely complex, so unfortunately we will all likely be washing our hands a few more times a day to elude the ________ flu.
Any suggestions?
Technorati Tags: Swine Flu, Mexican Flu, Virus Naming, Flu Names, Offensive Naming
Posted by William Lozito at 8:08 AM| Comments (1)
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