In the 21st century, 14-year-old kids know that before naming anything you need to get online to find out if the URL is available and the brand unregistered for the desired use. It only takes 10 minutes. In 1966, teenagers did not think that way and businesses needed lawyers, specialists and weeks of research to … C’mon read the rest.
Manufacturers began identifying products by placing a mark on the package in the 19th century when production of household goods moved to factories. Several sources cite soap as among the first goods so named. Appropriately, soap remains among the most broadly and diversely branded products. Ironically, the notorious entertainment brand it spawned, the soap opera, … C’mon read the rest.
Way before the Internet made it possible for every company to have its own mass media bulletin board, competent public relations pros often struggled to convince business leaders that a news announcement was worth nothing unless its content was good enough to interest editors. The smart executives learned that their story had value only when … C’mon read the rest.
I started my professional career as a general assignment newspaper reporter. Like most non-business journalists, I had limited knowledge about how and why things get bought and sold. A recent college graduate with an English degree, I cared very little about the workings of commerce. However, I have spent the last 20 years promoting and … C’mon read the rest.
From 1886, when it was first concocted in Atlanta, until the mid 1950s, Coca Cola became the world’s best known brand, while selling just one product. Could that ever happen again? If not, what does that mean for start-ups and all single-product companies. Today, many pundits suggest that single-product companies have no reason to live, … C’mon read the rest.
Words do have meaning. The names that brand and describe products are crucial to why people buy and use them. Those who successfully market to consumers know why it is important to clearly define a product through its name. The opposite is often true in selling technology. In technology marketing, the dissociation between message and … C’mon read the rest.