March 9, 2016
The gammadion cross is an ancient religious symbol that Hindus and Buddhists have considered sacred and auspicious since the second century B.C. A plus sign with its four legs bent at 90 degrees, the cross is known better by a different name–the swastika. With some pretty far-reaching marketing, Nazi Germany effectively destroyed any peaceful, auspicious associations with […]
October 7, 2015
In the wake of a long bout of family brand therapy, they just decided to abandon the family. Yes, after 3,000 name candidates and 1,200 focus group testers, ABC Family has arrived at its new name – Freeform. ABC Family has come a long way. It first launched in 1961 as the Christian Broadcasting Network, […]
September 25, 2015
Get off your meditation cushion because Zen is out. Well, a small piece of it anyway. Last week, payroll startup ZenPayroll changed its name to Gusto as it plans to move beyond payroll, into benefits such as health insurance and workers’ compensation. But don’t confuse your chakras, the unicorn-status, HR benefits company Zenefits is keeping […]
July 16, 2015
“More and more technology needs to be invisible,” says Alastair Curtis, chief design officer of Logitech, “with that recognition, technology is becoming knitted into the everyday fabric of our lives, and it just felt natural to actually mirror that with our name.” It’s a compelling pitch for Logitech’s rebrand as Logi, which has already started […]
June 2, 2015
Hats off to Caitlyn Jenner. Her courage to share her transition with the public marks an important step towards equality for trans individuals everywhere. Cailtyn’s cover shot on Vanity Fair shows us that trans is beautiful, that we all have the freedom to define our own identity. While Bruce Jenner confirmed the gender transition during […]
December 8, 2014
Perhaps the world’s most ambitious, harebrained, unthinkable, just-so-crazy-it-might-explode rebrand ever is occurring right now in Russia. The Avtomat Kalashnikova in its various forms, most notably the AK-47, will soon be known as the Kalashnikov Concern. That’s right—the Kalashnikov Company would henceforth like to be known as an ambassador of “peace and calm” and be, as […]
April 25, 2013
Quick: What do Gucci, Yves St. Laurent, Balenciaga, Puma and Bottega Venetta have in common? If you’ve been following the marketing news, you’ll know that they’re all subsidiaries of the French holding company formerly known as PPR (an initialism for Pinault-Printemps-Redoute), which was recently renamed Kering (pronounced “caring”). The rename was triggered when the company […]
June 16, 2011
Well then, what to make of this mess in New Jersey? Once upon a time there was a mall called Xanadu. Now, the dictionary says that Xanadu is a “…place of great beauty, luxury and contentment…” But ladies and gentlemen, what we have nine miles west of Manhattan is much further away from any version […]
April 14, 2010
We couldn’t help ourselves: The KFC Double Down was just such a wacky sandwich and product name that we had to try our hand at renaming it. What would you have named the Double Down? Here are a bunch of our other, catchy names. Can you do better? Chickadon’t (from Chickadee) Chicken Out Chicky Clear! […]
May 18, 2009
I saw a short news blurb on the rebranding of GMAC Financial to Ally Bank (here’s the LA Times story). Normally, I’m not such a big fan of companies changing their names as a way to escape bad associations (see previous post on Blackwater changing to Xe), but in this case, I actually think it […]