Counting on Your Brand's Name
by Chris Grannell
We've seen concepts as brands (Escape, Fresh), place names as brands (Patagonia, Mars Colorado), and even colors as brands (Orange, Red). But these work because, unlike numbers, they are inherently evocative and rich in meaning.
It's fairly obvious why abstract concepts work as brands, and the same is true for place names, which often function as a virtual shorthand for a more complex set of attributes or characteristics. In the case of colors, there's plenty of research that indicates that the meaning is deep-seated: Orange is warm, suggesting sunrise or sunset. Blue is cold but tranquil. Red is synonymous with fire, blood and danger.
All of these characteristics come from enduring associations, and they seem to be fairly cross-cultural (usually a big plus for any brand-owner hoping to appeal cross borders). Surely this can't be the case for numbers? As a recent HSBC advertising campaign reminded us, while there are several examples of numbers having cultural meaning, it is often quite localized.
Thirteen and 666 are considered unlucky in predominantly Christian countries; while 888 sounds like “good fortune” in Chinese. Conversely, four is a bad number in China because in Mandarin and Cantonese it sounds like “to die.” (During school exam-time earlier this year, Shanghai's largest taxi company bowed to public pressure by recalling all cars with the number four in the license plate; apparently no one wants to go to an exam in an unlucky cab.)
So numbers do sometimes have meaning within different societies, but by-and-large they do not have inherent meaning that can span regions. This doesn't rule out using a number as a brand name, and in fact it can be a good reason to do so, provided that numbers with negative connotations can be avoided. The benefit of numerical names is that they can be used as a blank slate into which a brand personality can be built, rather than the other way round.
There are a number of examples where brand owners have invested time or money in building successful numerical brands. Australian TV station Channel Ten has the strongest youth positioning in its market. In the UK, Channel Four is associated with young people, highbrow and culture. In British radio, Three means classical music, and One pop music. Mobile phone brand 3 (which has rolled out in parts of Europe, Asia and the Middle East) has built a positioning around being youthful, fun, contemporary and in-touch.
A significant downside to numbers is that they are difficult to own, at least in a legal sense. The fact that BMW already has a 3-series does not stop Hutchison from launching a mobile phone brand called 3, but as the two refer to very different markets, there is little danger of an unsuspecting consumer getting them mixed up.
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Source:
Brandchannel
