Can Brink's Company Name Change Maintain Its Brand Name Equity with Broadview Security?

Brink's has spun off its home security unit from its very well-known armored truck division and renamed it "Broadview."

This is a massive $120 million effort supported by a barrage of commercials featuring shady thugs breaking into suburban houses and being scared away by Broadview alarm systems. Their new tagline is "the next generation of Brink's Home Security," while their stock ticker will remain CFL, which stands for "Customers for Life."

Apparently, holding on to the Brink's name had licensing and taxation implications that were fearsome enough to warrant this name change.

A Broadview representative told AdWeek that the name was chosen because it "was meant to evoke 'broadband,' among other things" and that this is indicative of where the technology is heading.

Bob Allen, the company's president and CEO, also comments that "the new name is meant to reflect the wide range of services the company offers to both businesses and homes... [and] the name, and logo, are meant to convey the "active protection" provided by Brink's."

However, the company name change has received mixed reactions. For one, the word "home" is missing from the name, notes Security Systems News.

Whether your agree with the new company name or not, one must admit that this was quite an ambitious name change. It will be interesting to see if Broadview Security will be able to maintain the level of brand equity that Brink's Home Security built over the years.

Technorati Tags: Broadview, Broadview Security, Brinks Home Security, Brinks Name Change, Company Name Change, Renaming

Posted by William Lozito at 9:20 AM
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Posted to Brand Naming | Branding | Company Naming | Naming

Hardee's Name Our Holes: Tasteless Product Naming or Modern Mobile Marketing?

I am not going to pass judgment on Hardee's new brand naming effort with their "Biscuit Holes" promotion, but cannot help but submit my aversion to the idea.

Now referring to food as "holes" has a long pedigree - donut holes were a staple of my childhood - but Hardee's is using the name "Biscuit Holes" as sort of a placeholder while they try to convince customers to better it.

Hardee's has a mobile web site with the URL www.nameourholes.com which, to say the least, sounds a little strange. Fans have responded with names like "B-Holes" and "Heavenly Balls."

You can see where this is going.

The mobile element to this naming effort samples the "man on the street" ad philosophy. Stickers on the packaging drive consumers to the site, which really makes this naming for the Facebook generation: "'We view our 'young, hungry guy' customers as people who are going to do things instantaneously, so mobile seems a natural' medium for CKE" says one CKE Restaurants executive.

The slight problem here is that the Facebook generation seems to have taste issues, and the outgrowth of the Name Our Holes campaign has been disgust on the part of the blogosphere.

We're seeing names like "creamy sweet holes," "hole munchers," and "dingle balls" while Hardee's is chuckling right along with their tagline "They sound wrong. But taste so right."

Adage calls this a Carl Jr. inspired "smutfest" and offers us a disturbing look at future ads.

Burger King, however, is also taking the same kind of flack for its "Super Seven Incher" advertisement which looks like it was cooked up in a frat house.

In light of all this, the PopWatch blog has announced that "Subtlety Is Dead." I must agree.

Technorati Tags: Biscuit Holes, Biscuit Holes Naming Contest, Super Seven Incher Ad, CKE Restaurants Product Naming, Burger King Marketing

Posted by William Lozito at 9:28 AM
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Posted to Food | Industry | Marketing | Naming | Product Naming | Slogans | Taglines

GM Struggles to Corral Popular Penske Naming With Saturn Brand

Today's Wall Street Journal reminds me of the fact that sometimes two big names can be a mixed blessing.

Here I am thinking of the Saturn and Penske combination that has been created by celebrity driver and businessman Roger Penske's Penske Automotive Group with its purchase of GM's Saturn brand name.

An upsurge in interest in Saturn cars by Penske fans has been initially seen as a result of the deal, but GM is currently asking the (very relieved) Saturn dealers not to trumpet the name too loudly lest it dilute the beleaguered Saturn brand. GM still has a major interest here, as they will still make the Aura, VUE, and Outlook for the next 2 years, but will discontinue the Astra and Sky.

Penske, for his part, might outsource production to Renault Samsung Motors of Korea. In addition, Penske has also hinted that he might introduce an electric car under the Saturn name.

Penske has already agreed to keep the Saturn "look," stating that it has a certain "brand value," which most everyone understands to have a very loyal following.

The key, I believe, is to not only to keep the look, but to go back to the integrity of the meaning behind the brand itself.

For example, Penske shouldn't do to Saturn what GM did to Saab. Essentially, Saab was made more boring by GM making it much less exotic and Swedish.

Consider, on the other hand, Range Rover, which has changed hands a few times (for better or worse), but still has its own unique brand equity.

The simple question the people at Penske should ask is this: would they create a "Penske" mid-range sedan? If the answer is no, they need to compartmentalize the names as much as possible.

Frankly, Saturn itself is a brand in rehabilitation after GM did its best to mainstream it.

Technorati Tags: Saturn, Saturn Brand Name, Penske, GM Branding, GM Brands

Posted by William Lozito at 8:41 AM
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Posted to Automotive | Brand Architecture | Brand Naming | Branding | Industry | Naming | Naming Rights

NY MTA Declares Open Season on Subway naming - Barclays Bags Brooklyn

The New York Times seems a little anxious over the fact that London-based Barclay's Bank has attached its name to "the nexus of subway stops at Atlantic Avenue, Pacific Street and Flatbush Avenue" at a cost of $4 million.

This is part of the new plan to create a Barclay's Center (the new sports stadium for the New Jersey Nets) in the area by Atlantic Yards and essentially declares open season on the New York subway when it comes to naming rights.

The New York Times continues to state its amazement, writing "if a company can pay to get its name on any station, a New Yorker might wonder what's next: Coca-Cola Presents 59th Street-Columbus Circle?"

Well, yes. The Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA) is even open to the idea of Taco Bell renaming Grand Army Station.

The New York Times' Freakomics blog also asks if the next step is "The "Bill Golden Gates Bridge," while jokingly suggesting that Subway should pay New York for getting all that free publicity.

As pointed out on Minyanville, "The possibilities are almost endless: There are 468 stations along the system's 26 lines and 722 miles of track. Advertisers already turn the inside of the subway's 6,400 cars into rolling billboards."

Interestingly, Minyanville also notes that when the subway was opened in 1904 it was meant to be ad-free.

The bloggers over in Chicago have already figured out what the Chicago Transport Authority (CTA) can do with some of the stops in that city, offering us nuggets like:

• Belmont LifeLube station


• 18th Street Blick station


• Clark/Division Viagra stop


• Diversey Starbucks stop


• Addison Axe station

Over in the UK, a more sober analysis points out that "There is a Barclay Square in London and a Barclay Street close to where the Twin Towers once stood in lower Manhattan" so the name itself shouldn't be a big shock to New Yorkers.

However, while everyone in the UK knows Barclay's Bank, few in New York do.

This will definitely change.

Technorati Tags: Barclay's Center, New York Subway, Barclay's Station, Subway Naming

Posted by William Lozito at 8:07 AM
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Posted to Brand Naming | Branding | Financial Services | Industry | Licensing | Marketing | Naming | Naming Rights | Travel and Tourism

Back from the Auto Naming No-Man's Land, The Taurus Is Back!

The Ford Taurus is back after the new CEO Alan Mulally decided to resurrect the name after asking Ford executives in 2006 "How many billions of dollars does it cost to build brand loyalty around a name?"

This is exactly the question I would have liked to ask them!

He instructed his engineers to go ahead and "make the coolest vehicle that you can possibly make (and name it the Taurus)," and the result is now on the road.

The press likes it, as does pretty much anyone who sees it.

But the interesting thing to note is that the car is not the mid-range, erstwhile "flying potato" of the early 1990s. This is an upscale, full size luxury sedan priced between $27,000 and $38,000.

Autoblog calls it the "once and future king" and takes us down memory lane from the very first Taurus (1985) all the way to its demise in 2006. They also remind us that Ford briefly revived the Taurus name on the 500 in 2007, and that it went from "America's hope to America's rental lots."

Now, you will soon be able to get the Taurus SHO (Super High Output), which one Ford executive calls the "flagship sedan."

Although, to get one of these with all the bells and whistles, you're looking at an even higher price tag of $41,000.

The San Francisco Ford, Lincoln, Mercury blog says that "convincing consumers that the new Taurus is a Taurus is one thing; making them fork over 40 grand for one is another. Both are hurdles Ford will have to overcome to make the car a success in the market."

Applying the Taurus name to an upscale automobile is a big risk. The Taurus was the ultimate mid-range car - Detroit's answer to the Camry, not the Lexus.

Why would somebody want to pay luxury prices for a brand name that is indelibly associated with good value?

I don't know how this will play out for Ford, but for me, it will definitely be exciting to see the Taurus back on the road again.

Technorati Tags: Taurus, Ford Taurus, Auto Naming, Car Names, Ford Naming

Posted by William Lozito at 8:05 AM
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Posted to Automotive | Brand Naming | Branding | Industry | Marketing | Naming | Product Naming

Is Steve Jobs Responsible for the Apple iPhone 3GS Name Change?

The entire blogosphere seems to be wondering if Steve Jobs himself changed the name of the new iPhone from iPhone 3G S to iPhone 3GS.

All references to the former name are off the website, but no formal announcement was made, nor was a press release ever issued. Even the company's partners were not given a heads up.

One thing is for sure, it will definitely make it easier for journalists and bloggers, because creating the plural of 3G S leads us to the ridiculously awkward 3G Ss.

3GSs just seems easier to write and read, doesn't it?

The change was first noted in a press release quoting Steve Jobs as saying one million iPhone 3GSs have been sold, leading most of us to think that Jobs is behind this name change.

Some feel that this is an SEO issue, although this technically changes next to nothing on Google. It has also been speculated that the a logo's odd use of the 's' may have had something to do with the change.

Additionally, there may have been a trademark concern: "3G" is generic (as myTouch 3G illustrates), and "S" is generic, but 3GS can be protected.

I too see the hand of Jobs behind this. Surely only someone as powerful as he could order a change mid-launch? Forget about the red tape, he just decided to make the switch on his first day back on the job.

So iPhone 3GS it is. Welcome back Mr. Jobs.

Technorati Tags: 3GS, iPhone 3GS, Apple 3GS, Steve Jobs, iPhone Name Change

Posted by William Lozito at 8:58 AM
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Posted to Industry | Marketing | Naming | Product Naming | Technology | Telecommunications

Kodak Takes Away Our Kodachrome Film and Brand Naming

Kodak's Kodachrome color film is being retired after 74 years and there is much nostalgia for the brand name across the blogosphere, not least because of the famous Paul Simon song where he pleads "Mama don't take my Kodachrome away."

I note that despite the film's pedigree as the preferred film for the pro and amateur alike, very few people actually use the stuff anymore - even non digital photographers seem to have switched over to Fuji's Velvia, which may sound like a low-fat butter, but is actually "a contraction of Velvet Media."

Now, there's only one place in America that can even develop the Kodachrome film.

The Business Pundit blog calls this a "necessary but sad" retirement, while Doug Plummer's blog points out that "The film now joins the ranks of the Daguerreotype, Albumen, Kallitype, Palladiotype, Ozobrome, Artigue, Autochrome, Bromoil, and Polaroid," all brand names with great history and nostalgic value, but none which are still in use.

Most of us know Kodachrome not only from the song, but also from the famous 1985 National Geographic picture of the Afghan Girl, which was later updated by photographer Steve McCurry seventeen years later using Kodak Professional Ektachrome Film E100VS.

So what's the big deal?

Well, the name has stuck. It is catchy enough be included in a song lyric and it has been carefully associated with every spectrum of photography in the U.S.

Even though it accounts for less than one percent of Kodak's business, it is easily one of the most recognizable product names they stock - excuse me - used to stock.

Technorati Tags: Kodachrome, Kodachrome Brand Name, Kodak Product Naming, Film Naming, Photography Branding, Fuji Velvia

Posted by William Lozito at 8:06 AM
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Posted to Brand Naming | Branding | Industry | Naming | Product Naming | Sports and Recreation