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You may think that you have an absolute, 100% ownership for your brand, yet if your name identity is shared with hundreds of others, then you clearly lack 100% ownership. What's the point of brand-building if you are simply brand-sharing?
Global icons like Sony, Rolex or PlayStation are completely unique around the world, there is no dispute concerning who owns these brands whatsoever.

So why is it so difficult for your brands to achieve this global respect and position.

Corporations often justify or deny such serious name handicaps, similarities, marketplace confusion, and trademark limitations directly impacting the sales, as customers out there are not catching the tune. Agencies can come up with advertising campaigns and announcements complete with all the hype to attract temporary attention, yet like a fireworks display, this is often short lived and the impact of the brand name will fade away, as it begins to need more and more oxygen to survive.

So what is it that makes a great name?

Something short, sweet and simple, like Sony; something highly related to its goods and services, like Microsoft or PlayStation; something globally protectable like Rolex; and lastly, something with an identically matching dotcom URL as a key to its corporate empire, flowing smoothly on the worldwide e-commerce access, like CNN.com. Without the above qualities, a name is simply an injured identity gasping for oxygen, masked with big-budget advertising fireworks to hide its latent weaknesses, later only screaming to stay afloat while customers simply walk by. Healthy names attract customers en masse, while injured names repel discreetly.

If you have a super brand, then let the whole world see it. If you have an absolute 100% global ownership of that brand, prove it. A two second search on Google will demonstrate.

Today, 95% of big, expensive brands out there do not have complete ownership. They may have logos, unique designs, colorful executions, banners and billboards, but as long as there are similar and identical name brands existing within the marketplace, they do not have 100% ownership. Their name identities are shared by the hundreds. Why?

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Naseem Javed, recognized as a world authority on corporate image and global name identities, is a harsh critic of casual and accidental naming. He is a dynamic speaker on corporate image and branding issues, and is also the author of Naming for Power. He founded ABC Namebank International, an image and branding consultancy over 25 years ago.
Website: www.abcnamebank.com