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What's In A Name: The BrandClarity Blog

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Brand Names that are no more: GM's Hummer

Posted on Thu, Feb 25, 2010
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Hummer H3

CNN Money reports the Hummer is headed to the scrap heap. The Hummer brand reigned supreme in better days where the economy was going strong and gas prices were low. The Hummer H2 was an extremely popular SUV with wide appeal from offroading enthusiasts, businesspeople, yuppies, and yes, even soccer moms. The brand was going strong for years, and Hummer was reinvented with the smaller, more compact H3. 

We've been very fond of the Hummer brand name and its ability to capture a wide base of loyal customers. There were rumors the brand might be sold off to a foreign car company, although now it appears to be going to the grave. We'll miss you, Hummer. You were an indicator of America's strong economy and love affair with massive, tank-like vehicles. We're sorry to say the Hummer brand name will be no more.

Did you know BrandClarity is an international branding company and has facilitated the product naming of many national car brands? Learn more about our verbal branding services.


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Top 100 Brand Names

Posted on Wed, Feb 17, 2010
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Multinational companies invest millions of dollars into their verbal branding. Which brands are the strongest? In 2005, Business Week published a Global Brand Scorecard (PDF) of the Top 100 Brands. Tell us if you think these brands still deserve their rankings.

 

  1. COCA-COLA
  2. MICROSOFT
  3. IBM
  4. GE
  5. INTEL
  6. NOKIA
  7. DISNEY
  8. McDONALD'S
  9. TOYOTA
  10. MARLBORO
  11. MERCEDES-BENZ
  12. CITI
  13. HEWLETT-PACKARD
  14. AMERICAN EXPRESS
  15. GILLETTE
  16. BMW
  17. CISCO
  18. LOUIS VUITTON
  19. HONDA
  20. SAMSUNG
  21. DELL
  22. FORD
  23. PEPSI
  24. NESCAFE
  25. MERRILL LYNCH
  26. BUDWEISER
  27. ORACLE
  28. SONY
  29. HSBC
  30. NIKE
  31. PFIZER
  32. UPS
  33. MORGAN STANLEY
  34. JPMORGAN
  35. CANON
  36. SAP
  37. GOLDMAN SACHS
  38. GOOGLE
  39. KELLOGG'S
  40. GAP
  41. APPLE
  42. IKEA
  43. NOVARTIS
  44. UBS
  45. SIEMENS
  46. HARLEY-DAVIDSON
  47. HEINZ
  48. MTV
  49. GUCCI
  50. NINTENDO
  51. ACCENTURE
  52. L'OREAL
  53. PHILIPS
  54. XEROX
  55. EBAY
  56. VOLKSWAGEN
  57. WRIGLEY'S
  58. YAHOO!
  59. AVON
  60. COLGATE
  61. KFC
  62. KODAK
  63. PIZZA HUT
  64. KLEENEX
  65. CHANEL
  66. NESTLE
  67. DANONE
  68. AMAZON.COM
  69. KRAFT
  70. CATERPILLAR
  71. ADIDAS
  72. ROLEX
  73. MOTOROLA
  74. REUTERS
  75. BP
  76. PORSCHE
  77. ZARA
  78. PANASONIC
  79. AUDI
  80. DURACELL
  81. TIFFANY & CO.
  82. HERMES
  83. HERTZ
  84. HYUNDAI
  85. NISSAN
  86. HENNESSY
  87. ING
  88. SMIRNOFF
  89. CARTIER
  90. SHELL
  91. JOHNSON & JOHNSON
  92. MOET & CHANDON
  93. PRADA
  94. NEW BULGARI
  95. ARMANI
  96. LEVI'S
  97. LG
  98. NIVEA
  99. STARBUCKS
  100. HEINEKEN
Tell us what you think. Was there a brand missing from this list, or do you think some brands have changed their strength from this 2005 ranking? Learn more about how we've helped international companies with their product namingbrand development, and shopper research.

 


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Brand Name Research: If You Build It, Will They Come?

Posted on Mon, Feb 08, 2010
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Corporate America devotes much time and resources to product naming and company names.

The right brand name is big business, and can translate to increased revenues for companies that depend on conveying a clear message to consumers and business clients.

At it’s very best, a corporate or brand name creates its own buzz, with the name driving product demand.

The traditional methods are little more than organized brainstorming. A group of creative marketing managers and consultants sit in a meeting room with white boards, and scribble whatever comes into their heads. Then they vote on the top names that seem to make the most sense. A list of finalist names is submitted to company executives to choose the top one or two. The top one or two names are run through legal to identify any legal issues and see if anyone else is using it.

While this is the popular approach in corporate America, there are some basic problems with the traditional model of branding.

  1. Will customers “get it”?
  2. Does the name convey the same message to customers as it did to the company?
  3. How does the name translate to other cultures?
  4. How does the name translate to other languages and countries?

There’s got to be a better way. BrandClarity believes there are more effective ways to address these issues:

  1. Will customers “Get it”? BrandClarity mixes the art of name selection with the science of market research. BrandClarity uses focus groups at multiple stages of verbal brand development to identify market insights into a brand name. BrandClarity’s MarketVise service polls potential customers to give feedback on brand names, assuring that a chosen name conveys the same meaning to consumers and clients as it does to company management.

  2. Does the name convey the same message to customers as it did to the company? BrandClarity delivers legally viable, focus group researched, linguistically fitting names which match our client’s intended positioning. Our behavioral research enables clients to gain deep insight into consumer motivations.

  3. How does the name translate to other cultures? BrandClarity’s market research extends to cultural name research, polling customers from specific cultural groups, to ascertain that the client’s intended verbal branding message is clear to consumers of different backgrounds.

  4. How does the name translate to other languages and countries? Today’s brands aren’t just local to America – many of today’s brands speak to an international audience. BrandClarity has international teams with multiple language expertise, to conduct naming market research in many different international markets, in many different languages. For example, considering all the countries that use different dialects of Spanish, BrandClarity's expertise can assure a consistent brand message is delivered in America, Spain, Mexico, and Argentina. International and multi-language market research can help companies avoid naming disasters (Ex: branding their next automobile Nova, without realizing the name means “doesn’t go” in Spanish).

Since 1995 BrandClarity has specialized in shopper insights and strategic brand development. Our expertise is focused on specific core elements of building strong brands: target market research, verbal branding and visual branding. Today’s rapidly changing business environment requires that companies keep their finger firmly planted on the pulse of the market. As an international brand consulting firm, BrandClarity focuses on the principle that your target market controls your brand.


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Brand Name GRILLIN’ Beans Tests, And Tastes Great

Posted on Sun, Jan 10, 2010
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BUSH Brothers’, America’s leading brand of Baked Beans, selected BrandClarity to select brand names for its four new flavors in its GRILLIN’ Beans line.

BUSH’s wanted each product name to remind consumers of each products specific taste. BrandClarity used its Marketvise branding methodology to match consumer taste tests with a variety of potential product names.

Focus groups provided market research data to help determine which brand names best communicated the individual product taste, according to consumers.

BrandClarity’s verbal brand development strategy recommended the following product names as a result of this extensive consumer name research, capturing the essence of each product’s taste:

  1. Steakhouse Recipe – An authentic blend of beans and brown sugar simmered in a robust steak sauce
  2. Smokehouse Tradition – Tender beans simmered in a sweet and smoky sauce
  3. Southern Pit Barbecue – Slow cooked beans in a rich barbecue sauce for an authentic grilled flavor you could only get in the South, until now
  4. Bourbon and Brown Sugar – Robust beans with a touch of natural bourbon flavor that adds just the right sweetness

BrandClarity’s development methodology for BUSH’s encompassed the essential product name elements, matched to the sensory attributes of the product itself, to develop strong verbal branding.

To deliver innovative and inspired ideas to BUSH Brothers, we deploy a culturally diverse international creative team, who craft unique on-target name and tagline candidates. Our brand name teams work closely with our market insights group to stay abreast of changes in the target market’s attitudes, preferences, desires and needs. BrandClarity incorporated formal market research during multiple stages of BUSH’s creative process confirming target market endorsement. In addition, we addressed critical risk management issues for BUSH Brothers by conducting legal and linguistic evaluations on potential name and tagline candidates. This balance of creativity and strategic focus enabled us to think outside the box while staying in touch with consumer brand name perception, resulting in maximum market acceptance.

BrandClarity believes that a desirable verbal brand precedes market understanding and acceptance, creating superior positioning opportunities for our clients. Our strategic brand selection process promotes client interaction, provides market driven brands, removes doubt and delivers clear, concise and memorable market endorsed results. BrandClarity's methologies utilize market feedback to guide product brand name research and deliverables. We deliver legally viable, focus group researched, linguistcially fitting names which match our client’s intended positioning. Our behavioral research enables clients to gain deep insight into consumer motivations.

Since 1995 BrandClarity has specialized in market insights and strategic brand development. Our expertise is focused on specific core elements of building strong brands: target market research, verbal and visual branding. Today’s rapidly changing business environment requires that companies keep their finger firmly planted on the pulse of the market. As an international brand consulting firm, BrandClarity focuses on the principle that your target market controls your brand.

Source: www.BrandClarity.com

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