Some brands are prominent because of their brand images and not just the quality of their services or brands. For example, Colgate and Pepsi are synonymous with the market for quality products. Have you ever paused to wonder why this is so? Was it pure coincidence or a strategy? It's easy to think that probably the brand names are named after a person or significant thing. To know more about these famous brands and their marketing tips, we discuss a few such brand anecdotes below.
1. NIKE
The brand identity is derived from the Greek goddess of victory, and the swoosh you see signifies her flight. Probably, you have seen the name several times and even own most of its outfits or footwear in your wardrobe but didn't know what it meant.
Several names came up, and the founders Phil Knight and coach Bill Bowerman didn't like the names that they came up with.
As the story goes, Jeff Johnson, their first employee, was reading an article about a Greek winged goddess of victory in an in-flight magazine. He presented the name NIKE to the founders, and because they were running out of time, they settle for it temporarily. But you now know they never changed it as it became a hit. The sportswear company became NIKE Inc in 1971. Carolyn Davidson designed the swoosh to symbolize flight; at the time, she was a Portland State University student in graphic design.
2. Coca-Cola
Its brand name was inspired by Dr. John Pemberton, who majored in treating wounded soldiers from the 1886 civil war. He saw addiction to morphine a major problem and wanted to create an alternative medication. His first thought was to create a flavored syrup where he mixed carbonated water and sold at 5 cents a glass. The brand name was inspired by the key ingredients, which are kola nuts and coca leaves, and created an iconic brand identity logo Coca-Cola that is synonymous with advertising. He went on to create inspiring consumer slogans like Coke adds life or "you can't beat the feeling," etc.
3. Amazon
When it started, it wasn't a digital brand name or even the second name. The founder Jeff Bezos changed the brand name at least three times in its first year of business before he decided to go with Amazon, which is a recognizable and one of the most iconic brands in the world. Jeff Bezos first chose Cadabra, and his accountant misheard it wrong, thinking its Cadava, which sent him back to the drawing board. The second name change was Relentless, which his friends thought was sinister. He later turned to his dictionary as he desired a name beginning with letter A. He stumbled upon Amazon, which to him, was an ideal metaphor for a new venture. The name was different and exotic, just what he wanted for his new online store. Besides, it was the name of the longest river and forest in the world, which was befitting his business vision.
4. Sony
The founders Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo and Masaru Ibika had a vision of creating an ideal factory that rides on the spirit of freedom through technology to inspire Japanese culture. After decades of running the company in Japan, the founders wanted to expand to other regions globally and quickly realized that Americans had problems mentioning the company name. To be a successful brand product, they had to change the name and first thought of using TTK as initials of the founders but realized that westerners had issues pronouncing the name.
In 1958, they settled on Sony from the Latin word Sonus which means sonic and sound. Currently, Sony is one of the most valuable company brand identities in the world. The persistence of the founders finally paid off.
5. Google
The giant search engine was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The name was coined after the founders received a check represented of 100 zeros. They decided to name the company Googol, which represented by 1 followed by 100 zeros. Later during the domain registration, it was mistakenly registered as Google. The name has stuck since.
Bottomline
Most major brand identity products have incredible stories behind their names and slogans. It's the uniqueness that makes the brands memorable. Aim to create a unique brand name that fulfills your vision. Take time to develop an enduring and iconic brand name. It can take you more than one or two trials to get it right. However, when you get the right brand name, the dividends will pay off handsomely.
