Brand Name - 2

Haltner (2004) mentioned the importance of choosing a suitable name for a bank. While considering a name for a new bank there is a need to think globally, and also online and e-commerce activities of the bank. As online banking and e-commerce continue to grow, thinking about customers when deciding on a new name becomes very important step. Long geographic names may be confusing and difficult for customers to find on the net. Customers sometimes have difficulty with long, drawn out names. They start searching using initials. This won’t help when trying to find out the new bank online, ever tried doing an online search and 500 sites pop up? Firms don’t want this to happen. They want their customers to find them preferably in the first 10 sites. Will this happen if they use First or United? There are lots of Firsts and Uniteds out there.

When H.G. Sanders, founder of Espoma Company (is a leading manufacturer and marketer of natural and organic based plant foods for the lawn and garden industry), launched an organic and specialty plant food company in Millville, he named the venture after his first product, a proprietary blend called Espoma. The moniker appeared to violate a commonly held belief – pick a corporate name that describes your company’s business – but 89 years later The Espoma Co. is still growing (Daks, 2007).

Selecting the right name for a company can be tricky. Picking one that ties into the company’s activities gives brand managers the ability and chance to speed their brand awareness. But that can turn into a liability if a firm later decides to expand into other areas, i.e. how many people would buy food from the Ford Motor Co., or a car from a firm called General Mills. “A name can be important in the sense that it’s one more way to communicate with customers,” says Chandrashekaran. His research includes looking into ways that marketing communications influence consumer behavior. “In some cases, the name itself may convey a fairly direct message about the company’s purpose. But it does not necessarily have to do that to be effective”. Chandrashekaran cites two well-known watch companies to illustrate his point.

“Consider Timex,” he says. “The name incorporates the phrase “time”, which relates to the company’s mission so there’s little doubt about what it does. But you also have companies like Rolex, which is successful despite the lack of a direct connection between the company’s activity and its name”. (Chandrashekaran, 1998)