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What happens when a naming consultancy goes rogue? They put all their hard work and creativity into naming an organization only to find that their masterpiece is wasted on a still-crappy company? They'd want payback, right?
That has now happened. But before we get to that story, let's take a quick look at the precedence for renaming companies in trouble. The temptation is certainly there. When a company has something to hide there's a strong inclination to find a quick fix. What could be easier than a name change? Philip Morris and WorldCom certainly found something attractive enough in the concept to take the chance. Now known as Altria and MCI, the two companies are working hard to show they've changed. Okay, that's not quite right.
WorldCom changed the name to rid itself of the scandalous history. Philip Morris only changed the name of the parent company - and moved all the non-tobacco business under that banner. Philip Morris is still the name of the cigarette company, but Kraft Foods is now a division of Altria, not Philip Morris. At least that's what we think all of this means.
In both cases the leadership of the companies and presumably the consultants who named the firms were pleased with the results. In a recent Op Ed in the New York Times the naming consultant (or at least the guy that reported to the consultant) wasn't so happy. John Kenney talks of the process used to create the new brand "beyond petrolium" to replace "British Petroleum." EDIT: The following item is no longer valid due to a typo from the original post. I spelled "petrolium" and it took me to a camped site. ...though it does show that you gotta reserve alternate spellings to protect your brand... //(Note - we're not sure this was ever supposed to be a brand - and we're also pretty sure that the naming consultants messed up here. The website beyondpetrolium.com is currently camped by someone other than BP. A top consultant would likely reserve the leading few names or taglines for their client to ensure that they remain available through the selection process. Names have a way of leaking out and folks are always looking to make a dime.) //Mr. Kenney also talks of the fact that ultimately the new brand is meaningless in light of the closure of the oil fields in Prudhoe Bay. How can a company state they are beyond petrolium when they stop producing petrolium and don't provide any other option during the lapse? We're a little disturbed by the fact that a naming or branding consultant has gone rogue here. Our job is to help companies create identities that can lead to success. Sometimes even with the best names or concepts a company can't help but trip themselves up. A new name doesn't solve the problems inherent in a corrupt or mismanaged organization. The naming consultant's job is to create an external image that will connect with the audience. One that is as close to genuine and attainable as possible. When the company with the new name falls out of favor the creators of the new brand have an implicit responsibility to remain silent or perhaps even to provide additional help. To do an about-face when a company is in trouble smacks of grade-school attitudes. Not only is Mr. Kenney being idealistic - something that almost always results in disappointment when applied to real people - he's being childish. I remember with an acute lack of fondness the many times my early friends and dates would tell me that I "had finally revealed my true self" when I (forgot to call and say goodnight for the first time in three months/neglected to introduce them to my visiting relatives/didn't give them the one extra ticket to the ballgame/forgot to flush.) C'mon people. We're always our true selves. The good and the bad go together. If you take the good stuff (like Mr. Kenney did when he optimistically labeled the firm) you've gotta take the bad too. It's a package deal. If we had helped name WorldCom during the heyday of their success we'd have been knocking on their door to try to sort out how to solve the problem when things went south. Still, we have a feeling we'd like Mr. Kenney if we met him. We even like the methods he discussed in the Op Ed piece. He seems smart, well written, and even highly creative - all things that make a good branding or naming consultant. (See? Even with all of the stuff we didn't like about what he said we can see that he's a good person. And if he wants to move beyond this we'd even be happy to help him brand a new identity to distance himself from this controversy.) We're thinkin' "Ford Prefect" sounds just about right. Check these links for more on the Kenney vs. BP fight. Tate Linden Principal Consultant Stokefire Consulting Group 703-778-9925 |
