Your brand name has to stand out and be easy to remember


Making your brand name stand out from all the others is an apparent thing to do - yet numerous firms (particularly small businesses) have brand names that are based on the founder's surname, or house name, or preferred pet's name. This is a classic wasted chance.

On the other hand, many firms try to create memorable brand names, and often have expert help in doing so. Cutting through the clutter of short, memorable, zingy brand names is difficult to say the least. One answer is to make the brand name controversial - but to do so without getting it banned altogether.

Controversial marketing is nothing new - Benetton's advertising campaigns show that - but getting a brand name that is controversial is more risky: an ad that oversteps the mark might be banned by the advertising authorities, which would imply losing the cost of producing the ad, but a brand name that oversteps the mark and is banned could lose the company its identity.

Enter French Connection United Kingdom. French Connection was founded in 1972 as a style chain, and even though it did well the brand name did not exactly stand out from the many other slick names retailers were using. In 1997, though, the company hit on the concept of calling itself French Connection United Kingdom, and using the lower-case acronym "fcuk" on its goods. The impact was electric.

The company was successful in claiming that it was simply the company's name rather than a misspelled Anglo-Saxon word, but young people nonetheless bought the T-shirts. The new brand appealed to rebellious teenagers who had not even been born when the business was founded - and when some individuals in authority failed to see the joke and banned the company's advertising, sales went up even further (and with reduced promotional expenses as a sweetener).

Being banned in Boston was a major boost to the company's American interests: in 2001, the company hung a poster saying "San Francisco's First..." outside their first retailer in that city. Being controversial carries risks - but in this situation it certainly carried rewards as well.

Try to be funny as well as controversial. Do not go too far - you may get banned altogether! If feasible, link the controversial brand to your company's name. This will help you in defending against banning charges. The main appeal of controversial brand names is to younger individuals. This idea wouldn't work for an older audience, or in a "serious" context like financial services.

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Note: This article was sent to us by: Craig Morris at 01202011

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