The Hindu Business Line : What's in a name?

PERHAPS the first thing soon-to-be parents plan for their unborn child is its name. Naming a child should be an awesome responsibility, considering it's a cross the poor individual will have to bear all her life. One, therefore, wonders at the casual way in which young parents leaf through books written by the likes of Maneka Gandhi, or get inspired by the latest Yash Chopra hit film. I was told that hundred of Simrans suddenly made their appearance after Kajol traipsed through fields of nodding sunflowers in the film Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge.

The Maneka Gandhi book of names is an enigma to me, considering her pronounced preference for animals. I would have thought she would have written a book on animal names. Yet, somehow, pets seem to get stuck with historic Roman names like Brutus and Caesar, or attribute-oriented names like Patch, Socks, Blackie, Brownie, to name a few. Somehow, we are happy naming streets, airports, railway stations, bus terminals and the like after Indian heroes like Shivaji, but man's best friend is always a foreign hero.

Naming a company or a product, then, is somewhat daunting to say the least. A name really works two ways. On the one hand, it could stand for some aspects, features or attributes that the product or company seeks to project.

This is where you have a truck called Tusker, a car called Mustang, a fan called Polar or a telephone network called Airtel.

On the other, you have names that have been imbued with certain attributes by virtue of the company's performance or reputation.

A prime example of this would be the name Tata. A Tata truck is rugged and dependable, a Tata company is reliable and trustworthy. Tata steel is forged out of trust. This would be the ultimate aim of any brand builder. A name that inspires all the most positive attributes one could ever think of. Obviously, this equity comes the hard way. It is not an "image" that is built, but a reputation. Performance precedes communication. In fact, the communication merely reinforces something that is already embedded in the minds of the audience. Something that is built up the hard way.

With naming so critical, re-naming is something that every marketer would love to avoid. Sometimes, it becomes essential, if some negative connotations are sought to be erased from the minds of the public. However, there are times when business imperatives call for the change of a perfectly good name. This would involve real serious thinking.

UltraTech Cement is making its debut and the marketers have their job cut out for themselves. UltraTech is the new name for L&T Cement, and a major advertising campaign is currently on to communicate this message. Here is a case where a name that conjures up all the right attributes has to be changed because of an agreement arising out of a change in ownership. The Aditya Birla Group is definitely a name to reckon with, but they still have to build up the equity of a new brand of cement. They seem to be tackling it with gusto.

A TV commercial takes its time to show you that the L&T name in L&T Cement is being erased. This reiteration drives home the point that whatever is the new name, it is just the new name for a trusted brand. In fact, this would be the objective in the first phase. Make sure that the good equity that exists for the product currently, and is being manifested in its name, is carried forward in full. No one should have an iota of confusion that UltraTech is what L&T was.

If this is hammered home, as it is being done right now, half the job is done. Then one can set about building the name of UltraTech. With cement still pretty much a commodity, despite brands like Gujarat Ambuja and Birla carving out brand presence for themselves, the positioning of UltraTech as the "Engineer's Choice" seems to be a smart move. It is something that if built up in the right way can start commanding a premium thanks to the positioning.

Industry is replete with name changes, or product changes with the same name. Lucky Gold Star morphed smoothly into just `LG.' I guess the old name did nothing for the brand image. Now the addition of "Life's Good" as a tag line seems to complete the picture.

Hong Kong Bank called itself just HSBC to make it sound and seem truly international. This was an obvious change if you had global aspirations and a name as regional as Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp.

Several years ago, Bombay Telephones changed its name to Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL). Now, after establishing this name, one might see it going in for another name, if newspaper reports and ministerial utterances are to be relied upon.

A change in ownership robbed people of a favourite name, Binaca. Somehow, that name had a great charm that still lingers strongly. One is not sure why, but evidently the Giant malls are to be re-christened Spencer's. Well, with an old and trusted name like Spencer's in the bag, one might wonder why the Giant name was considered and implemented in the first place, but then, one always learns from mistakes. Too bad if they are one's own!

Dalda is a case where the product will not be the old hydrogenated vanaspati, but the new vegetable oils will be marketed with the old brand name which the new owners reckon still retains a strong equity.

The Bard of Avon who raised the classic query "what's in a name... ." would be dumbfounded today.

(The author heads Canco Advertising.)

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