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The name fanatics among you probably know what TLA stands for - but the rest of you likely don't. Here's a hint: Toyota Australia just decided to brand their new performance vehicles as "Toyota Racing Development". They've already helpfully shortened this name to TRD.
Now, I know that TRD has brand value - I've seen it on trucks in the US - but I'm not a big fan of Three Letter Acronyms. Why would a company go to the trouble of selecting a compelling name and then completely obfuscate it behind a few letters? Sure, GE and IBM have done well... but from what I've seen they're the exception and not the rule. There are only about 17,000 TLAs available and there are far more companies in the world than this. Chances are excellent that whatever TLA you choose is already in use by another company. Heck, TRD has 4.7 million hits on Google, and as of this writing, three of the top 8 hits don't belong to Toyota. On top of that, TRD.com isn't owned by Toyota - it's owned by Eli Lilly. So, what is a TLA? It's a three letter acronym. Here's a good rule of thumb. Never refer to your own company by a TLA. Why? TLAs can't convey brand strengths, identity, or industry. TLAs can't attract new clients on the strength of their message. TLAs do nothing other than turn potentially distinctive companies into generics. Rather than select a TLA, why not find a way to have a name that doesn't lend itself to shortening? That was one of the criteria Stokefire used when developing our own name, and it is one we encourage our clients to use as well. The Internet has made things worse. Just check out ICANN and scroll down the right hand side of the page. The company behind the Internet refers to a long list of organizations that they work with. How many of these do you know?
Tate Linden Principal Consultant Stokefire Consulting Group 703-778-9925 |
