What's in a brand name?

Money in the bank if you choose the right one, or an uphill battle and wasted dollars if you get it wrong.

Your business is your baby, and just like your first child, choosing a name can be fraught. Rather than show stats or a share a list of "most popular brand names of 2014" or cherry picked research to explain the pros and cons of what makes a good brand, I'm going to share 30+ years of trial and error and what it's shown me actually works in the real world. Not just what sounds good when shared with your spouse when working through the choices lying in bed late at night.

How a brand name change delievered a 3000% return

City Mutual had been around for over 100 years, yet onlythan 2 in 100 Australians recognised it. Three years later it was the best known investment and insurance group after AMP, having changed it's name to Capita.

Buying IBM means you won't get fired

Managers for decades have filled tenders, often at higher prices, knowing the board would never question the decision. Every time a client comes to me saying they want to call their business a series of initials they quickly use IBM as an example of why it will work. You can forgive their missunderstanding of what makes a brand. Unless your over 100 years of age you would necessarily know International Business Machines gained it's reputation for deivering reliable and ofte leading edge typewriters and for fifty years before it abreviated it's name to the initials that sat kneatly in the corner of millions of machines in office desks around the world. Today they business is in consulting, so Business Machines wouldn't be apt.

How to make a splash

Local businesses need to think of global consequences

When IFX Markets, a UK listed financial services business wanted to test market a business model in Australia for global roll out, the question of the right name came up very early in discussions.