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Immaculate Attractions

For example, customers have never experienced, a Toy City, where they were escorted in long train rides ushered by gnomes while crossing distances over immaculate gardens, lakes and mountains with year-round rainbows, as toys dance around in a scene to the orchestral treat
from the Nutcracker Suite. If you have a super 'city' brand, then let the whole world see it. If you have an absolute 100 per cent ownership of a brand, prove it.

Today, 95 per cent of brands in the Middle East do not have full ownership. They may have huge logos, unique designs, colourful executions, banners and billboards, but as long as there are far too many identical and similar name-identities all over the marketplace, the issue of 100 per cent ownership stays behind. Global icons like Sony, Rolex, or PlayStation are 100 per cent owned, and all over the world, there is absolutely no confusion about this whatsoever.

Therefore, without an iron-clad ownership of the name identity, the entire advertising and marketing is nothing but an uphill losing battle. Also why copy western names, when their already famous themes and global icons will eventually make this region nothing but a distorted copy of a loosely-disconnected Disneyland?

Finally, the real-estate branding in the Middle East is at an elementary stage. Now with intense competition, it is going to jump out from all kinds of generic and dictionary name-identities to an advanced stage of proper world-class corporate nomenclature.

The best approach is play the image and name identity game under the laws and rules of naming. Branding city, no thanks.

Concluded.

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