America, a nation of Smiths and Williams

America is a nation of Smiths, Johnsons, and Sullivans—but also of Garcias and Nguyens.

This view of the United States on the National Geographic website is an amazing visual landscape of last names. Many of these names came from Great Britain, reflecting the early start the British had over many other settlers in America. Although common, the degree to which ‘Smith’ and ‘Williams’ still dominate from coast to coast is surprising.

Zoom in on the map below to see what surnames proliferate in your part of the country.

What the Tfark is Kraft Foods up to?

This must go down as the naming quote of the year:

Think what you will of Mondelēz International, the new name that Kraft Foods (KFT) will slap on its global snacks business after the company splits this year, at least it’s not “Tfark.” That was one of the 1,700 names suggested by more than 1,000 Kraft employees during the five-month process of soliciting ideas.

For Kraft spokesman Michael Mitchell, “Tfark” is a personal favorite. “I’m not sure what it means,” says Mitchell. “I just liked the way it sounds.”

As a couple of astute observers have pointed out, Tfark is Kraft spelled backwards.

Kraft, Mondelēz, and the ‘Art’ of Rebranding

EVRY good name deserves favor

What does EVRY mean to you?

Do you see a word? Or do you see four letters just strung together like a row of initials – E, V, R, Y?

Norway’s largest IT company is counting on you reading ‘EVRY’ as a word.

EVRY is the new name for EDB ErgoGroup, which was created out of the 2010 merger of Norway’s two largest IT companies, EDB and ErgoGroup.

“By changing to a completely new and unfamiliar name, we are nullifying people’s awareness of a business with almost NOK 13 billion of annual turnover”, says CEO Terje Mjøs in a press release.

He goes on:  “This makes it crucial that we quickly build a strong market awareness of our new name, EVRY. However, we could not ask for a better starting point. The new name suits us perfectly!

It does!? Then do tell us: what is the name, and why is it perfect?

I assume EVRY is meant to be read as ‘Every’, but EVRY is not being very helpful in this. Just seeing it written as EVRY, and all in caps, can be misleading. It looks like an acronym. The problem with EVRY is that you have to hear it spoken to get the name. And even then, why EVRY?

The press release attempts to explain:

“We were keen to develop a name that has only a few characters, that will work in different combinations and that can stand on its own and convey our message without the need for any additional logos – and of course we wanted a name that will represent the company in the best possible way”. Of course. That’s good.

“At the same time, the name EVRY does give the sense that our business has its roots in Norway, Sweden and the Nordic region, in terms of both its ownership and its activities”. Sorry, lost me again. Why EVRY exactly?

“The name also represents what we stand for, and we are committed to ensuring that the company creates value for our customers and society as a whole through:

- Each and every employee, every single day
- Every customer for which EVRY creates value
- Every critical system for which EVRY plays a role
- Every colleague who takes responsibility and inspires others
- Every person who is affected by EVRY through the benefits for society in which we play a role
- Every opportunity that EVRY recognizes and takes up”.

So, there it is: EVRY wants to be everything to everybody, in a uniquely Nordic way.

EVRY is, potentially, a great idea. But it has to be at the core of a deeper brand idea that means something to customers and employees. It’s just not coming through in this turgid press release that assumes the name and the idea are so brilliantly self-evident they need no explanation at all.

They do. EVRY new name does. Just ask my good friends at MBLM.

Time to bring back Datsun

You have to be of a certain age to remember Datsun.

Datsuns were the epitome of the Japanese value proposition: affordable, utterly reliable cars. Datsuns came with something extra; they had more adventurous, sportier styling than most vehicles on the road at the time. They had character.

The first and last time I drove a Datsun was in 1978. During a prolonged assignment in Jamaica I was given the use of a car to escape the confinement of the secured apartment complex in Kingston.

At the weekend I bounced around the Jamaican country back roads in that vehicle, a Datsun Bluebird, stopping for the occasional Red Stripe at wayside shacks, and listening to a Jim Reeves 8-Track someone had thoughtfully left behind while the lush countryside and orange ponciana trees rolled by.

It may have been the place and/or the Red Stripe, but that Bluebird’s comfort and reassuring reliability made a positive and lasting impression. I returned home to the UK a Datsun fan.

And then the name vanished. Datsun suddenly ceased to exist. It was erased from the face of the earth in early 1980s in a sweeping global strategy that replaced the friendly name with cold, soul-less Nissan.

Why Nissan? And what was wrong with Datsun?

The Datsun story dates back to Japan in 1911. Sotaro Hashimoto, an American trained engineer, joined with three partners to create the Kwaishinsha Company to produce the first Japanese cars. They were named DAT, derived from the surnames of the three partners, namely Kenjoro Den, Rokuro Aoyama and Meitaro Takeuchi.

The DAT enjoyed early success but the company fell on hard times during the Great Depression. As part of a restructuring plan in 1930 to revitalize the brand, the name of the company was changed to ‘Datson’, meaning  ’son of DAT’.

Datson, it was soon realized, sounded very similar to a Japanese phrase that means “to lose money”. A small but critical adjustment was made to the name, and the legendary Datsun brand was born.

In 1933, the company merged with Nihon Sangyo Co., or “Ni-San” as it was known on the Japanese stock market. Ni-San was formalized as “Nissan” and the name of the company was changed to Nissan Motor Company. Nissan continued to produce Datsun-branded vehicles for export, including the iconic Datsun 240Z, until 1984 when the worldwide transition to Nissan was completed.

The decision to replace the Datsun brand with the Nissan corporate name was announced in the autumn of 1981 in pursuit of a global strategy to emulate the success of Toyota and Honda, Japanese corporations that had become household brand names around the world.

Three years and $500 million later

Ultimately, the name change campaign lasted for three years, from 1982 to 1984, at an estimated cost of US$500 million.

Thirty years have gone by. Nissan is still here, which is an achievement in itself. Recently the Nikkei, Japan’s biggest business daily, reported that Nissan may bring back Datsun brand for low-cost cars in emerging markets such as India, Russia and Indonesia. Nissan reportedly wants a sub-brand that will help the carmaker sell inexpensive cars in these markets without damaging Nissan’s brand reputation.

I have to wonder – what reputation? Even after 30 years I don’t think of Nissan as a car brand like I do Cadillac, Jaguar, Ford or, for that matter, Datsun. What is a Nissan? Nissan is a manufacturer’s nameplate, devoid of any brand imagery.

Why stop at India, Russia and Indonesia, Nissan? Bring back Datsun. Period. The brand could be your Scion.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datsun

http://www.datsunhistory.com/home.html