Which is funnier? This parody (?) of a brand identity firm like Landor / Interbrand designing a traffic “Stop” sign:
Or the case study from Landor’s own website, which details the naming and logo work they did for the merger of Fedex and Kinkos. The name Landor landed on, was of course Fedex Kinkos. The rationale:
Guided by brand strategy and research insights, Landor developed a creative name and identity solution that leverages the equity of both brands. The new brand identity, informed by the historical strengths of both companies, powerfully redefines the future of the business services marketplace.
But the funinest bit is when Landor explains the very specifc meanings they believe common colors communicate:
The identity contains a colorful brand icon that represents the collection of FedEx services available at the new retail locations – orange for the time-definite global express shipping services, green for the day-definite ground shipping services, and blue for the retail business service centers. At the heart of the icon, where the three colors converge, is purple, which symbolizes the can-do spirit shared by all FedEx companies.
Much to common fashionistas’ surprise, this clean-cut campaign may just spur buzz and debate for lacking the consistent and expected high-fashion-high-controversy material (Fall 2007, bottom right).
The question is whether or not this campaign a good representation of a brand often uniquely exploitive and controversial. Do the domestic dolls hinder the brand image or behoove it? Perhaps the clothes alone hinder the brand this time.
Much like Dove’s approach to “Campaign for Real Beauty” Schwan markets their latest pizza shedding light on healthy foods, in a less-than-glamorous package.
And much like McCain’s recent celeb-based mudslinging tv spot, the new product also waves a red flag to look beyond glamor and more towards substance; Advocating that natural, high quality flavors leave a lasting mark.
The “del.icio.us” domain name was an example of a domain hack, an unconventional combination of letters to form a word or phrase. Del.icio.us, though not the first domain of this nature, is the best-known and most frequently-accessed domain hack. Del.icio.us and delicio.us now redirect to the new domain, delicious.com.
In an interview, Schacter explained how he chose the name: “I’d registered the domain when .us opened the registry, and a quick test showed me the six letter suffixes that let me generate the most words. In early discussions, a friend referred to finding good links as ‘eating cherries’ and the metaphor stuck, I guess.”
On September 6, 2007, Schachter said the website’s name would change to “Delicious” when the site was redesigned; the design went live 31 July 2008.
Posted by Steve on
August 27th, 2008 - 8:35am |
company names + logo/identity + name changes + naming process + pop culture |
Comments (1) 
Much like Dove’s approach to 