Do you know your brand history ? (True or False series #2)

by Éléonore Toubin

Do you really know your favourite brands’ history as well as you think you do ? Test you knowledge thanks to the second part of the True or False series. The first Starbucks opened in 1971 in Chicago. One of the 3 founders, Gordon Bowker, who had once been a writer before making a career as a businessman, wanted to name the place Pequod, after the hot-air balloon in Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days. But another founder, Terry…

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Do you know your brand history ? (True or False series #1)

by Éléonore Toubin

Do you really know your favourite brands’ history as well as you think you do ? Test you knowledge thanks to this first part of the True or False series. Asics is a Japanese company that was originally named Aoki Shinjiro Ikuso Sportswear: Aoki Shinjiro (the founder’s name), Ikuso (Japanese equivalent of “Let’s go!”) and Sportswear (to give the name an international and “cool” touch). When the company decided to go global, the brand name was shortened to its initials…

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English languages: Webster and the Americanization

by Éléonore Toubin

As a non-native English speaker (French is my first language), I had to go through the arduous process of actually learning Shakespeare’s language from scratch. In school, most of my teachers were trained in the UK (it’s the closest English speaking country, obviously) and spoke British English with a polished British accent. In the face of our complaints (why do we need to learn another language, can’t people just speak French? Well, we will just mime then) they used to…

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Naming flowers and plants

by Éléonore Toubin

It’s spring at last and flowers are starting to blossom. They are lining our streets and filling our parks: cherry blossoms (Japan’s favourite), daisies, roses,… We love Spring and we love flowers. However, few people actually know the names of the flowers they admire. As you may have guessed, Botanical Nomenclature refers to naming, and more specifically to the naming of plants. People have always named plants, obviously; but botanical nomenclature was truly established during the 18th century. At that…

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4 Approaches to Mergers & Acquisitions Naming

by Lydia Brian

The feeling towards the mergers and acquisitions market seems optimistic for 2014, with most investment banks reporting growing numbers of deals in the pipeline. These landmark events for firms aim to create synergies, and brand value is a crucial factor, however only around half of these attempts actually succeed. One of the most common reasons for failure is conflict between the two entities, and it’s no surprise this is linked to the biggest killer for brands – brand confusion. Clear,…

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How nicknames can damage or benefit a brand, Chevy vs. “Fix it again, Tony!”

by Éléonore Toubin

Fiat entered the American market in 1908. At the time, it wasn’t yet known as “Fix it again, Tony!”; the nickname was actually crafted some 60 years later in the 1970s and 1980s when some Fiat owners reportedly encountered problems with their cars. From then on Fiat got a reputation for making unreliable and poor quality cars. The nickname “Fix it again, Tony!” was coined as an acronym for Fiat and intended as a joke. However it stuck, to the…

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Life in a playful world : advergames, gamification & serious games

by Éléonore Toubin

When I was a child I liked going to McDonald’s because of the little promotional toys given away in ‘Happy Meals’. I didn’t even like the food that much but I would often beg my parents to take me to McDonald’s anyway. The fact that the toys changed so often and were always goodies from the last hot anime series or Disney movie only increased their appeal to the child I was (By the way, do you know that McDonalds…

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The importance of brands and the protection of their rights to ensure quality products and safety for the consumers

by Éléonore Toubin

Buying a product from a brand is like making a deal: the brand guarantees you that you are buying a quality product. For a firm, a brand is a precious tool to help ensure loyalty and development; it is putting its reputation on the line. Thus a firm must pay close attention to its brand and any fraudulent use that could be made of it. That is why the law, both national and international, enables firms to register a trademark….

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& Fashion

by Éléonore Toubin

Gianluca Billo, Managing Director of Nomen Italy, tells us about the macro naming trends in fashion in his column “Naming Trends” in the Pubbico Today.   The fashion world has developed, over time, two major naming trends, identifiable with two well-defined types. The more traditional brand made ??of a name + surname (or surname only) is reminiscent of high fashion and has become a genre, a code: name and surname of the creator, designer, entrepreneur, reference to the house. Whereas…

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