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BP’s new Chief Executive Robert Dudley has a long “to do” list. One thing that should not be on that list: Repairing the BP brand. Yes, the BP brand is wounded and they need a strong brand to succeed. Any effort to fix the brand today will fail. BP’s over-focus on its image has been
Repairing BP Brand Should NOT Top New CEO’s To-Do List Read More »
Move over BARF dog food–there’s another unintentionally funny brand name out there. Have you heard of Putzmeister? This German company markets machines for pouring and placing concrete, but the name suggests something else. A quick peek in my beloved Joys of Yiddish book explains “putz” rhymes with nuts and is a vulgar slang term for
Unintentionally Funny Brand Names: Putzmeister Read More »
Merriam Associate’s client Geomentum is in the news with a new president, Lisa Bradner. Merriam Associates created the Geomentum name a year ago when Interpublic consolidated several large local media-buying and marketing services units including newspaper buying agency NSA Media, Wahlstrom, a specialist in Yellow Pages and local search, and out-of-home expert Outdoor Services. Geomentum
Congratulations to Geomentum Read More »
Splitting Motorola into two companies should have been a great branding opportunity—a chance to create two distinctive, focused, world leading brand names. Unfortunately, the brains breaking up the Motorola brand missed the opportunity. Trying to spread the Motorola brand equity across two companies destroys the brand for both. Breaking up the company makes business sense:
Breaking Up the Motorola Brand Read More »
Scott Neuman of NPR asked me about the possible boycotts of the BP brand. I explained that brand is not a driver for people buying gas. Location is most important. People will literally not drive across a median to reach a gas station on the other side of the street if there is one conveniently
Lisa Merriam NPR Interview on BP Brand Read More »
The oil spewing from the destroyed drilling-rig off the coast of Louisiana is devastating the environment; it also damages the BP brand. No matter that the oil rig in question is actually owned and operated by Transocean, the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor. No matter that nine of the eleven victims are Transocean employees. The
BP Brand: Disingenuous Read More »
Fast growing, innovative companies can sometimes outgrow their brands. The CEO of Proxios discusses the rebranding and renaming process with Merriam Associates. “Our name became constraining,” said Frank Butler, CEO of Proxios, a fast-growing company using cloud computing technology to create affordable and reliable alternatives to traditional in-house information technology and phone systems. “Our old
Renaming Proxios: CEO Talks About the Process Read More »
The Marketing Executives Networking Group, an national organization of top-level marketing professionals, has just released new study of top executives on marketing trends across industries and marketing disciplines. We spoke with Tom H. C. Anderson, founder and CEO of Anderson Analytics, the firm that conducted the study:
Marketing Executives Networking Group Top Marketing Trends 2009 Read More »
While buying a steam roller is very different from buying a can of soda, brand still matters. We talked to heavy equipment operators at work sites around the Chicago area to gather their opinions about construction and heavy equipment branding. How Do Heavy Equipment Brands Compare? Caterpillar and John Deere are the dominant brands. While
Heavy Equipment Branding Read More »
Outgrowing the Brand Proxios had its beginnings as a small technology infrastructure outsourcing company called SuperServer. The company has grown beyond its Richmond, VA roots to have a national reach and had made significant investments in cutting-edge technology. They needed a brand that would convey the true stature of the company and give it a
Rebranding Proxios B2B Brand Read More »