Trademarking Numbers as Brands

Martin Lindstom of AdAge’s Brandflash highlights a unique naming strategy by the French automaker Peugeot.

Back in 1963 when the Porsche launched its new 901 model they received a legal notice from Peugeot. The French automaker informed Porsche that it had a trademark on the concept of auto brands comprised of a three-digit number with a zero in the middle.

Porsche was forced to change the name of its vehicle from 901 to 911.  In fact Peugeot has branded its cars with this kind of number structure beginning in 1929 with the Peugeot 201 which maintains this naming distinction to this day.

So what can we learn about Peugeot’s number trademark? Lindstrom points out three lessons marketers can take away from this unique naming structure.

1. Maintain sub-brands that have clear links to the parent brand
For example all McDonald’s products start with “Mc”.  Everything from “McFlurry” to “McSundae” always reminds customers that the product comes from McDonald’s. All Absolut vodka products from Absolut Citrus to Absolut Ruby Red are spelt wrong. Absolut owns the misspelling of the word. And finally Apple owns the “i” in front of all of its products.  So make sure you have a naming structure that links back to the parent brand.

2. Make sure you own it
Apple made this mistake just before launching the iphone and had to go into serious negotiations with the owner before securing the naming rights.

3. Keep the brand name consistent
Beware. If you adapt a new naming structure you risk destroying the brand link that could have been created.

As Lindstrom points out what’s interesting about brand names is that we can’t really remember a lot of information as consumers, therefore it is essential that we repeat ourselves.  That’s why its so important that everything we say links back to the original brand.

Invisible Brands

Recently I’ve stumbled upon some of Rob Walker’s work in prelude to his new book “Buying In”.  In one of his write-ups he talks about invisible badges.  According to Walker, badges are signals that suggest a tighter relationship with the brand producer and the brand consumer.

Walker observes that people no longer buy stuff to impress others, rather to impress themselves.  This means that logos are becoming less important indicators of status.  Look no further than the high-end fashion industry where logos are shrinking.

Christian Louboutin has made red soles the staple of his shoe line.  Bottega Venta bags are identifiable by their intricately weaved patterns. Rolex is known for the weight of its watches and Armani for the slender rounded shoulders of its men’s blazers.

Intended for small affinity groups rather than mass markets, these companies are creating brand undergrounds where consumers need to be fully indoctrinated in the brand cultures to fully understand their subtle signaling.

This is a liberating trend for brands with strong belief systems like Zappos that pays their employees to quit or Gourmet that believe that there is no conflict between mixing high fashion and streetwear pieces.  Companies with substance can now start to tell richer brand stories through the product themselves.

Moving forward the miniaturization of logos will become more prominent, where embedded clues, colors, fabric and materials will become the main brand identifier.

Brand Imprint

This image reminds me of the impressions brands leave on the mind.  Good or bad an imprint is left on in the subconscious that helps us form an opinion on things.

GTOWN KICKS

The soon to be released Air Jordan XV (15) SE has gotten a Hoya makeover that works on many branding levels.
1. You don’t need to see the schools name to recall the brand. The checkered pattern and blue and grey colors are ownable only to gtown. It creates instant recognition of the school, the basketball program and elite athletes that have walked its halls. When you think gtown basketball, you think of the legacy that Ewing, Mourning and Iverson left.

2. It raises the profile of 2 brands to endorse a 3rd. Nike uses the success of the gtown program to reinforce the name and status of the Jordan brand. This is a mutually beneficial partnership between gtown and Nike that ultimately will translate into the sales of the Jordan brand. Nike can sponsor any program but only the elite programs can say Jordan represents them.

3. The Jordan logo doesn’t supercede the gtown pattern. This is important because the Jordan brand is no longer the hero of the sneaker but rather the platform to project status. As a consumer, I’m buying the sneaker because of the gtown name but also for Jordan’s design. Nike does a good job of blending those needs.

4. When you think gtown, you think JT3. Gtown doesn’t have any marquee players but rather a proven system that works. Two big east regular season championships and a final four appear. JT3 finds the best players for his system and in return the players find success in his program (Jeff Green and now Roy Hibbert).

5. The name on the front of the Jersey is more important. The recent ruling by the NBA that players must wait one year after graduating high school before applying for the NBA draft has made college basketball programs secondary to the athlete themselves. This year’s freshman class has dominated the sports pages including Kevin Love, Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose amongst others. These are super athletes who will no doubt leave early, which means the school must constantly replace one star name for another.

Georgetown’s recognition by Jordan is significant because it is a school where no one player averages more than 15 ppg. The slowdown and deliberate offense of JT3 is the star. Kids come for the coach and they come to play in the system. This year four seniors will gradate with one of them already accepted to attend Georgetown Law School. Georgetown basketball is more than a program it is the new symbol and spirit of college sports, with smart athletes, a good coach and great fans (avg. over 15,000 in attendance).

I am happy to say that Hoya Paranoia is back and I will be buying a pair of those Jordan’s not just for myself but also for the rest of college basketball

Angles and design

The thought occurred to me the other day that design, like pool is all about angles, perspective and new ways at looking at objects.

What happens when you remove words and logos from products? You are left with design. Good design tells interesting stories about products and ultimately about brands themselves.

When you can recognize a brand without the use of its logo, that’s good design. Apple does it with the iPod, Movado does it with watches and Converse does it with shoes.

Maybe the evolution of branding will be the logo-less brand, where form and style says it all…where form is the brand and the product not the name is the hero.