“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet� – so spoke Juliet in 1594. She was of course right and she was wrong. The rose would smell sweet even if it was called a pigwort, but I can promise you it wouldn’t fly out of the garden centres. Names are an important element of branding and if we get the name right, we are well on the way to having a successful brand. Luke Johnson, the former head of the Pizza Express restaurant chain, writes a great article in today’s Financial Times on the power of the name. If you have Jnr in your name, please avert your eyes.
The power of a Fat Bastard Chardonnay
By Luke Johnson
Financial Times June 6 2007
The power of words – how they sound, how they look, what connotations they bring – should never be underestimated. If you want to give a person, company or product a decent start in life, take some trouble to name it properly.
First, employ your imagination. Do not choose the lazy alternative by going straight for the predictable option every time. If there is heritage, use it, but only where appropriate. I cannot understand the conceit of American men who give children their own name with the appendage ‘Jr’. How will such poor fellows escape the shadow of their fathers?
Similarly, the lack of creativity at ITV in calling its digital channels ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4 defies belief. What differentiates one from the others? What does each channel mean to the viewer or advertiser? I haven’t met anyone yet at ITV who can tell me. They need a few basic lessons in branding and how to build a memorable character for a television station. It is an example of acronym disease – the noxious spread of initials instead of actual words across every walk of life.
Wherever you can, make sure a name has some underlying meaning. Diageo, for example, means nothing – and it isn’t even that straightforward to spell. The bigwigs at Guinness thought it had more international appeal than the legendary Irish stout: but what’s wrong with being associated with one of the most famous beers in the world?
Some years ago, I helped assemble a company called Bath Press – a book manufacturer founded in the 18th century by Mr Pitman of shorthand fame. Once the company expanded, it grandly renamed itself Liberfabrica – apparently, the Latin for book printing. But no one could spell it or knew what it meant. Sadly, it was a name too clever by half, and the City never really took to it. In due course, the business was sold to a French company.
Holding companies are forever struggling with their identities. While I was a governor of The London Institute (what the hell was it?), we renamed the organisation University of the Arts London. Suddenly, the world began to realise we were the body comprising the best of London’s art colleges. It became clear what we did and where we were. The rebranding strengthened the institution and enhanced its status.
Avoid being too precious, obscure or stuffy about names. The French have clung on to their complex system for designating wine, part of the reason they have relentlessly lost export market share to New World rivals. But some growers are beginning to learn: the fastest growing French white in the US is called Fat Bastard Chardonnay. A human, quirky name will beat an academic or artificial one every time.
Names should be simple to say and understand where possible. About seven years ago, we invented a wood-fired pizza restaurant and called it Strada because it was a very Italian word and easy to spell and pronounce.
In spite of a plethora of products and services, there are still good, resonant names to be found. How about BlackBerry, Viagra or YouTube? The internet has only intensified competition for English names, since domains like dotcom are instantly international. Online search engines have amplified the value of a good name. Every technically literate entrepreneur knows their company’s web address is vital if there are to attract digital traffic.
Management are forever discarding names, and all their attached goodwill, for petty reasons of ego or just to make change for its own sake. Advertising and design agencies are skilled at persuading clients to spend huge sums on new launch campaigns. You hear excuses about “coherence of corporate identity” or “economies of scale”. This is mostly cant. When I was a stockbroker in the 1980s, I saw almost all the finest, long-established broking houses gobbled up by banks and their revered names unnecessarily thrown away. No wonder few of the buyers achieved much value for their acquisitions.
What we should all avoid is the fate William Cowper ascribed to certain names in the Biographia Britannica:
“Oh, fond attempt to give a deathless lot
To names ignoble, born to be forgot!”
