Effective Branding...Whats in a Name!

Ask any marketing executive and they will tell you that a company's name is golden. There are certain associations that people have with a name, one that invokes emotions -- good or bad. Let's examine three case studies of branding involving companies that have merged and where the buyer kept the name of the company they bought or are considering purchasing.

In the late 1990s with bank mergers in full swing, United Jersey Bank was faced with a dilemma. Having started to open branches in neighboring states, the "United Jersey" part of their name was beginning to become a hindrance. Bank executives knew that the name would have to be changed in order to continue to grow, while at the same time continuing to avoid being merged out of existence. The solution? The bank purchased a small, local bank based in Summit, NJ named Summit Bank. Once the merger was completed United Jersey Bank was renamed Summit Bank. Unlike the United Jersey name with its New Jersey correlation, few people associated Summit with the town of Summit. Instead, United Jersey Bank capitalized on a very positive name, summit, and started to market themselves as the peak of all banks. The campaign was a success as the name change was well received by consumers.

In 2005, KMart purchased Sears, Roebuck, and Company and the newly joined entity was renamed Sears Holdings. While it is much too early to tell if the decision to keep the Sears name is a success, most people have associated KMart with bankruptcy, run down stores, and as being a poor competitor to WalMart and Target. Sears, on the other hand, has pretty much put their woes behind them after forfeiting the spot as America's top retailer a generation ago to WalMart, and after laying off 100,000 employees, and closing out their famous catalog business. Branding experts will tell you that both names carry plenty of baggage [the stores will keep the KMart and Sears names too] as some see the merger as only a temporary fix. Thus, the Sears name may not be enough to save the combined retailer.

In the airline industry, several of the legacy carriers will more than likely find themselves out of business over the next few years. United, for instance, could find themselves a takeover target of a regional carrier. Skywest Airlines, which also flies as United Express [by providing regional jet services to United], may see a "buy" opportunity and offer to purchase the venerable, but bankrupt carrier. To "unite" the two companies, Skywest could consider tossing their regional sounding name and take on the reknowned United moniker. The new carrier would then be able to carry on the legacy of a 75 year old name and achieve instant recognition on the world stage while at the same time distancing itself from the problems that beset the original United.

With a wave of mergers and acquisitions anticipated over the next few years, more opportunities to purchase a "golden" name will arise for savvy dealmakers. These dealmakers must call upon the skills of branding experts to take the pulse of consumers' "feel" for a name. Neglect that or pick the wrong name and you are certain to invite disaster.

Matt runs two very successfully branded aviation sites: the Corporate Flight Attendant Community at http://www.cabinmanagers.com and the Aviation Employment Board at http://www.aviationemploymentboard.com

____________________

Advertisement: Honest Riches - Click Here!

Advertisement: Lost AdWords - Click Here!

Advertisement: Get $1 Million A Month In Google Pay-Per-Click Ads Free! - Click Here!

Advertisement: Who Loves Money? - Click Here!

Advertisement: SEO Elite, the GrandDaddy of SEO Software - Click Here!

---

The Big-Pay Off -- Brand Value

Many CEOs and marketing directors find their time wasted evaluating marketing opportunities instead of acting on them. When every possibility is followed, a meandering trail of hit... Read More

Putting You and Your Company in Position to Own Your Market

Americans have always liked their coffee hot. But then Starbucks made hot coffee desirable, in demand, and extraordinarily profitable. And then Starbucks made coffee "cool" with its... Read More

Are You Brand Worthy? Are You Brand Worthy?

Branding is a one hot topic, although it is wildly misunderstood. To make things even more confusing, branding is often tossed in the same basket as marketing... Read More

Value-pricing Strategy: Were not The Cheapest but...

In this highly competitive online marketplace, it can be difficult to persuade customers to buy from you when you offer a similar product to your opposition but... Read More

Its Time For Some Steak

Recently, I was reviewing our website statistics. One of the sites that had a link to mine caught me by surprise. Since this is a family publication,... Read More

Profitable Partnering

Become your customers top-of-mind choice.Some of these snapshots of real life SmartPartnership success stories can be adapted to help your kind of business (or non-profit or government... Read More

Effective Branding...Whats in a Name!

Ask any marketing executive and they will tell you that a company's name is golden. There are certain associations that people have with a name, one that... Read More

Acquire, Then Rebrand

Acquiring another corporation usually means that the acquiring company's name will be the name of the newly merged entity. There is one factor that can change that... Read More

What About Me? What You Need To Know About Me-Marketing

What about me? Are you asking yourself this question? If not you should be. Don't wait until you are in crisis mode when you are losing your... Read More

You Bored Me at Hello - Top Three Strategies for Networking Your Brand

"You had me at hello," those famous words from the movie Jerry McGuire let Tom Cruise know that Rene Zellweger's character was hooked from that point and... Read More

Donald Trump On Branding - Brand Identity Guru

Love him or hate him, one thing is certain: Donald Trump is a successful guy. We don't have to sum up his accomplishments for you, because his... Read More

Do What Works

"Can you hear me now?"You'd be hard pressed to find someone in the US who doesn't know the company behind that question.So why do big companies, like... Read More

Blonds Have More Fun!

In the book, The Blond Knight of Germany, American authors Toliver and Constable detail the life of the greatest fighter pilot to ever fly, Germany's Erich Hartmann.... Read More

Hawaiian Heirloom Jewelry

Back to the era of the Hawaiian monarchy, the origin of Hawaiian heirloom jewelry can be found. The Hawaiian kingdom had long enjoyed a favorable relationship with... Read More

Standing Under the Umbrella And Still Getting Wet

Make More Money Making a Name for YourselfCalling all realtors, financial planners, insurance brokers, multi-level & network marketers, and anyone else who works in the precarious and... Read More

A Successful Failure

A successfully positioned business sometimes doesn't win a new client. And that, my friend, is the point. Let me illustrate with an anecdote.Recently I was making a... Read More

Creative Branding Increases Sales Through Company Recognition

The one thing that everyone has in common is that we are all consumers; we all buy. Every day, from daily small purchases, like your morning coffee... Read More

The Keys to a Great Logo

Logo, graphic, icon, logotype, typogram, logoform, image?call it what you will, a logo by any other name is the group of letters and/or symbols used in a... Read More

Which Of These Words Attract Your Clients

Whether it's your business card, tagline, article title, web site title and description or ad, just the difference of a few words can either pull in prospects... Read More

Mascots ? The Killer Promotional Concept

Mascots are the unique dolls or puppets that help identify a sports team or a company. These carry the unique property of "Stickiness". Your great customer support... Read More

Naming Names... How to Name your Business

Sometimes the best inspiration comes from hearing about the deconstruction of other company's names. For you, I am happy to share how I came up with "Slice... Read More

Fast Forwarding Your Business

If you think only big corporate names need to think about things like brand names, think again. Your brand says a lot about you and your business,... Read More

Your Business Logo and Color Scheme

My business logo and color scheme started one lovely spring day in my office, after two years of working with words and images. I purchased some rubber... Read More

Corporate Identity - A Rough Guide

A rough guide to corporate identityThe tabloids report the millions spent by large corporate companies on their logos as a scandal... Those small swathes of colour adorning... Read More

The Big Uneasy: Clearing the Clouds of Guess

People often come to me to assist them with developing their brand because they are unable to accomplish the business success they desire. They're experiencing what we... Read More

Image is EVERYTHING

The absolute foundation of your small business is your image. The way potential clients and/or customers perceive your business sets the stage for the way your product... Read More